Carbon Credits

Money For Nothing

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This is a fascinating bit of information.

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Carbon Credits

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Read for yourself, I can't educate you well enough here. But people are making money this way. I'm just amazed.

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Also read:

• http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover031307.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_project
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint

Chicken Man

Indigo Girls

Saturday May 31st - Richmond National Theater

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My friend JJ and I will be going. My blog drew her attention. So I ordered our tickets this evening. Generally speaking I'm not a concert person. I prefer the clean version of song via cd's, over the noise of a concert. Unless it is a group that I have really liked for a long time. As you can imagine I want them to sing "Chickenman."

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If only the special guest were Kristen Hall.

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NOW, it's time to get 'wise and dirty from the weather.'

Wondering

What did I Wonder Today?

• Why does Thistlewhite have death prickles?
• Why do I have a Tree growing from my porch steps?
• Why are their 20 rose blums on my dying rose bush?
• Why won't it stop raining so I can mow my yard?
• Why does Wonder Woman resemble a Dominatrix -->?
• Why am I contemplating going to see the Indigo Girls by my own damn self on Saturday May 31st?
• Why did my sort-of Ex from last year, call me out of the blue to tell me I was missed, and that dinner and a talk would be a good thing?
• Why is the BK Steakhouse Burger so darn good?
• Why is USPS postage going up to .42 cents?
• Why did I dream Underdog as my "Murphy" Avatar, for when I'm feeling used, abused and down on my luck.
• Why were the women in the office so quiet today?
• Why am I reluctant to buy manure for planting my Peonies?
• Why didn't I go into Psychiatry?
• Why, oh why, are blue birds - so gay?

Bleck

I told you about Murphy a few blogs ago. I suppose I jinx'd myself just before my vacation. Getting sick mid-way through a vacation just plain sucks. It was just a head cold at first, but it ballooned into the Strep Throat and Bronchitis deal on my 13 hour drive back. I hardly remember the drive because I spent more time coughing, sneezing, wheezing and having to stop to bio-break all the time. A week and a half later, I am now feeling better with just a hint of congestion still to move on out of my lungs. I slept most of this weekend.

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Vacation that I did have was nice and relaxing. I was able to spend some quality time with my folks. I visited my Grandfather in the nursing home. That's where I sorta think I caught my cold, but I can't be sure. When I visit my grandfather, I try to see him each day I am home and I was able to do that this go-round. My last visit with him was hard of course, because I always feel like it will be my last time I ever get to see him. He's frail, tired and wants to 'go home.' And truthfully I want that for him. But I am grateful that I get to see him each time. I will be home to see the family this coming Christmas. I asked Gramps if he'll be around then. He said that he plans to check out by then. Sad, but it made me chuckle. Mom made me all my favorite eats, and my aunt made me her homemade lasagna. I ate well and did have a good time. I also was able to visit my friend's Adam and Mary from College days. The have to energetic daughters, to put it mildly.

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I got back to work this past Thursday and struggled through the last two days of the week. I should be good to go this week.

Economic Stimulus

Economic Stimulus Package Payments Begin

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DIRECT DEPOSIT
Last 2 SSN digits..... Payment by
00 through 20......... May 2
21 through 75......... May 9
76 through 99......... May 16

PAPER CHECK
Last 2 SSN digits..... Payments by
00 through 09......... May 16
10 through 18......... May 23
19 through 25......... May 30
26 through 38......... June 6
39 through 51......... June 13
52 through 63......... June 20
64 through 75......... June 27
76 through 87......... July 4
88 through 99......... July 11

Filing a return after April 15 will delay your stimulus payment, probably about 2 weeks later than the schedule shows. A return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment. See online calculator for an estimate of the amount you will receive.

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Everyone seems to be expecting their $600 or $1200 whole dollar amounts. The wording actually says you will receive "UP TO" those amounts. I worked the online calculator with my 2007 tax information and it said "You may receive." So I guess I'll have to wait and see how much stimulating Uncle Sam believes I deserve. But, I'll get to wait the longest for my paper check and my SSN ending in the 90's. Woot!

Doppleganger

I told you that I have strange dreams. Do you remember those Pepsi commercials from a few years back where the Pepsi celebrity 'unzipped' their skin, only to find another celebrity inside themselves. Well, my dream was not about Pepsi so much as it was about the Presidential race. Now, recall from a previous blog that I think John McCain looks a lot like Winnie-the-Pooh! I'm not sure how I feel about this, but Hillary Clinton and Lance Bass look alot alike.

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Tearin' Up My Heart

Blog: Frankie Can't Relax

^^^ Frankie^^^

sorta
Okay, I was going to beg you off one more day.
Because I'm still struggling to recover and not feeling the muse.
But - Jadielady shared this blog with me tonight
As thick as the congestion is in my lungs,
THIS helped via laughter loosen some of it up.

Thank you Frankie!!! So Much!!!
and I'm sorry.

FRANKIE CAN'T RELAX

Read: GROSSEST. PET STORY. EVER.

Mr. Hanky the Vacation Poo

Howdy Ho!!

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Well my vacation was partly fun.

I started getting sick last Wednesday and it just kept getting worse.

Drove back from NY on Saturday and coughed and sneezed and wheezed.

Slept Sunday.

Went to Doc-in-a-Box on Monday morning.

Strep Throat and Bronchitis.

Mom and Dad have it too.

Friend Wayne is sick now.

My dog has been patient with me.

Work has been patient with me.

And thankfully you seem to have been peacefully waiting for me to blog again.

I'll get right on that soon.

Vacation

I'm on vacation and will return in a week.

No computer to blog.

Off I go - see you later.

Hell Bound

According to some folks, I'm going to Hell.

Golly, Gee-Whillickers! I'm supposed to do good in my job. I am charged with fighting for a yes when and wherever possible. I'm a problem solver, a fixer, a mediator and closer. Lately, I have had to provide more negative feedback than I like. It's an emotionally high-stress position that deals with yellers, complainers, whiners and the like. But I generally pride myself in fighting for "what's right."

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One person that I have helped numerous times in the past, recently hit my "no." Which in fact really means, Sorry I can't do that for you and neither can god. She complained about me and called me "Rude."

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But the best gripe from a customer, so far to date in my job, said that he was turning the matter over to the God of creation... In due season He will punish me for my actions and I will be well aware of this when it happens. He would hate to be in my shoes when God exacts His wrath. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

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I'm glad I was wearing my lucky underwear that day, or I'd take that "curse" to heart.

Fur everywhere

This is not my dog, but a reasonable likeness

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I'm not a professional dog groomer. A fact that my own dog is well aware. He does not appreciate being brushed but will be tolerant. Then I discovered that he enjoys being buzzed down. He comes running when I pull out the clippers. Tonight was that night. Man - he has a triple thick coat of dense fur, but it's so soft I almost want to make a pillow out of it. But I'll forgo that itchiness. I have enough fur on my living room floor to warrant another dog. Funny though, I am only half done. My dog is patient with me, but he only let me do one half of him. He's running around the back yard right now communing with the Bad Kitties and looking 1/2 foolish. That's my dog. He's so handsome. I'll get the rest of him tomorrow night.

August Rush

August Rush

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Do whatever you do.

Rent it.

Buy it.

Borrow it.

*Don't Steal it*

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But watch it... Soon!

Thank you Marta

April Showers

I really don't have much to chat about tonight. I worked some today and did some domestics. I also watched the movie Constantine. I'm not a Keanu fan but I do like his movies, so go figure. Constantine was awesome and fits right in with my view of the world. Ah, just heard the dryer buzz that my tidy whiteys have finished drying. They aren't really tidy whiteys, I wear boxers of many hues. I think they are sexier on me and I like the freedom. Oh, but I totally digress, because I did have a point of writing this evening. The rain has been falling intermittently since Thursday. This was the weekend that I was going to get out to weed-whack and mow the lawn. Well you just can not do that when it's all wet. I head for New York to see the parents this coming weekend. And that yard work will have to get done before I leave. My lawn is looking like Don King's hair. Thankfully, it's consistent with my neighbors.

Morpheus

Dreams can be freaky

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Jadielady posted about dreaming. So I shared my super scary dream I used to have when I was a child. You'd think I'd tell you here, but I won't. You'll just have to bebop on over to her blog to read about it. I once had a dream that I was a member of the Gilligan's Island crew. I also had a dream that I was the bionic man. Both of those dreams were when I was a kid. In college I dreamt that my father had died and that he was at the foot of my bed. My college music professor, a follower of Eckankar, advised me that a dream like that meant my relationship with my father was entering a new and more advanced stage of development. Maybe it was the power of suggestion - our relationship has gotten stronger over the years.

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Sometimes I dream in only black and white. But I often dream in color. Seems to me, to say either is a bit strange. I'm not viewing anything with my eyes, so how can there be "color" of any kind. The mind is a beautiful thing. Obviously we aren't seeing anything. Our brains are simply incorporating our experiences into "mind"-reality; from which color is drawn. There's my scientific dissertation on the matter.

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Several years back I had a dream that made me wake up laughing. I have remembered it ever since. There must have been something about the news that was disturbing me. It was back when the nightly news-dramas were really hot. Stone Philips was giving a broadcast and so was Tom Brokaw. All I could see were their faces. As TV does, my dream panned away and I could see they were side by side. Even more, I could see that they were giving the news in bed, while naked together. There is where I wake up laughing.

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Recently, I had a dream that I was out visiting friends in the country. I stepped out into the back yard and wandered out. So peaceful and quiet in the country. No clouds and I could see the stars clearly and smell the fresh unpolluted air. Suddenly, my danger senses acted up and I could tell I was surrounded but was not able to see anything. I could hear the growls. I discerned that the sound came from wolves. Just as they jumped toward me - WHOMP! I heard the wolves squeal out in pain yelping. I was picked up and carried back to the house. In my dream I could actually feel the running movement and the arm that carried me by the middle. "IT" put me on the house deck and started away. I got up and realized that Bigfoot had just saved me. Thank you Bigfoot!!!

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Share your dreams.

Bad Kitty

Opossum - Opossum

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The bad kitties are back. *Thomas, you're strange, what are you talking about now?* I bought my house December 2004. In the Spring of 2005, I experienced my first resident Opossum brood. There were 5 of them; the momma and the babies. I know they are transient and fairly passive so I wasn't worried about them. What I was worried about, was the mutt. My dog is very protective, but if you're ON the property he figures you're a friend. Inside the house is a different story. But the Opossum's were outside. My dog is a quick learner and stubbornly smart. But he knows the following words well:

• Bad
• Kitty, and
• Careful

So I sat on the back porch and let him watch the Opossum invade his space while holding onto him. He so very badly wanted to go play with them. I told him, "Careful - Bad Kitty." He just looked at me like, "but dad, surely not!" We waited and watch. All the while I kept repeating "Careful - Bad Kitty." I then let him loose. He slowly walked around and the Opossum just watched him. He slowly meandered up to the larger one. It hissed and he jumped back and ran to me. "Daddy, Bad Kitty." I had to laugh. But he learned. The bad kitties stayed for about a month then moved on, as they normally do.

The past couple of days, he's been acting sort of funny wanting to stay out longer and sniffing at the hole in the door to the garage (which is a fancy word for saying structure that needs to be torn down.) Tonight - I discovered that the bad kitties had returned. Dog did his business and came right back in for what he knew would be some people-food yummy scraps. Well that ended quickly enough. So I took him to the back door and told him to sit. He and I had a man to dog revisit on the "bad kitties." He looked at me, as if to say, "you dork, I've been trying to tell you that for days. Can I go back out and have tea with my friends, please?" They are just outside hanging inside the garage. I think my dog thinks he's their protector. Yes, he's had his rabies vaccine, but I'm not worried. I'm more worried about the chow-chow that has learned to climb fences. It's the funniest durn thing to watch. And my dog - he don't be likin' no chow-chow's, at all.

I'm Minty

Mint Tea

Naturally sweet, I have a happy-go-lucky attitude. The world is full of fun and wonder! Although I can be naive at times and quite aloof to my surroundings, I know how to have good clean fun! Most people see me as cute and very gentle by nature and it is most likely true. I have a great outlook on life and I try not to let things get to me.

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Go me!

What tea are you?

Somewhere more familiar

Yes, today was a better day. I did as I planned. At 7:30am in the morning I put in Sister Hazel's "...somewhere more familiar," rolled down my windows on a chilly Spring morning and turned up the volume. Cruised through my neighborhood and got on the highway and turned up the volume a bit more. I did in fact listen to "Happy" three times before I rolled into the work parking deck and didn't have time to listen to "Starfish." But that's okay, because I was content to have woken up to blasting music while the rest of Richmond was trying to get their personal engines rolling on assorted caffeine concoctions.

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Our team meeting was fairly brief because we were down one overly chatty "person." And we were able to get on with business. Unusual was my 1:1 with my boss today. Usually our monthly meeting is all of 5 minutes. Today, it was an entire 1/2 hour long. We did discuss a bit of work, but mostly it was just banter. I'm low-maintenance like that. Wish we all were, it would make things go much smoother. My desk was wonderfully messy all day, just the way I like it to tick off my lady colleagues. And it was promptly neat when I left.

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I got home and rubbed the mutt. I did a little of this and that. And I popped in my NetFlix movie. I watched "Ice Age - The Melt Down" tonight. I particularly enjoyed Sid's Fire-King Dance sequence. The movie made me smile. Amidst all that excitement I was able to unblock a friend of mine on AOL that I had accidentally refused an IM from, because her on-screen name made me think I was getting a spam instant message for a sex-kitten. Not to mention being happy that I can write a blog that is more upbeat. So I won't drag you down by telling you how disappointed I was at 6am that I didn't win Mega-Millions. Because I could.

Rant

• Tuesday night television stinks. It's nothing but reality shows.
• Rain connotes wetness. Wet pavement means that you will slide more. Use your brakes gently people and I know I blogged about your durn directional signals, they do exist!
• Dude in front of me in the check-out line. Don't pay entirely with pennies - It serious pisses me off and is not as funny as you seemed to think it was. That's why I looked at you like that you moron.
• I swear, if I ever have children - they will be "right" in the head, I promise.
• I'm not overly intelligent, but don't blame me if your not competent and don't have a lick of common sense.
• Mediocrity may satisfy some, but it sucks to me.
• I let Susanna Hoff influence me into a Manic Tuesday. Damn Her!!

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Wednesday morning I'm listening to "Happy" by Sister Hazel.

I'm going to listen to it and repeat it and repeat it and repeat it.

Then, when I pull into the parking garage, I'm playing "Starfish."

I'm gonna friggin have a better day tomorrow if I have to hurt someone.