Now here's an old photo, in the background is our Dodge Dakota. That's going back a few years. That truck was stolen in Richardson. It was found days later in a church parking lot in Dallas with empty water bottles & orange peels all over the seats & floors. They had made a mess, instead of using a tool to unlock the door when they stole it or breaking a window, they apparently used a crowbar to pop the little plastic door handle out & destroyed most of the surrounding metal. They ripped the stereo out broke a bunch of the plastic dashboard while doing it, & just in general wrecked that poor little truck. I don't get it, it's a Dodge Dakota. Nothing fancy, not nice, not pretty, it wasn't even a nice color. Had no options or additions, & almost every vehicle in the lot at the time had to be nicer &/or worth more. It didn't have a nice aftermarket stereo, nothing. Anyway ... back to my truck. There's an earpiece hanging from the mirror. Not wireless, & pre-iPhone. I think this photo was taken during out 1st winter here back in '05. You can see Eve's head popping up over the back of my seat & she looks young. I think I must have been getting ready to drive them to school. Anyway, multiple disasters. Fire, near-fatal accident, vehicle theft, juvenile diabetes ... we've been through so much & yet we always bounce back. We haven't lost our home or our vehicles, we've NEVER declared bankruptcy or had a repo or a foreclosure. We may not have as much as some people, but we're doing amazingly well considering what we've been through & we have much MORE than people who have been through less & either went bankrupt or just plain gave up & stopped fighting. No one in our family has ever been on welfare, food stamps, or any other type of government or state aid. Not bad, huh? I'm proud!
After a long day of doing what I do, I completed another panel on the blanket & then settled down into some Sims time. Some people watch soaps, I have Sims. It's the same thing. Each game is wildly different. There's a story going on in each family, some are easy going & calm, others are nuts & tangled webs. Last night I played a house that came with the game, Remington. My absolute favorite house in Sims. It's a beauty. An older house with 3 floors & SO much space. Beautiful covered porches, 2nd story decks, a detached garage with a spare room over it. A full attic that's large & empty. The house sits way up on a hill overlooking the town & can be seen from town in all it's beauty. The original residents have long since passed on & there are little graves all around the house & an urn in the spare bedroom over the covered porch. This means ghosts are all over the place in the game. They're funny, they actually cook meals that we can eat for days, they take showers, they clean up the dishes after themselves (sometimes), & you can even have conversations with them. Again, I don't have the supernatural expansion pack, this is just part of the base game. If a Sim dies on your property, a grave appears where they died if they were outdoors. If they were inside, an urn appears. You can take these to the local graveyard if you like, or simply delete them. If you leave them though, you have ghosts roaming around every night. Different colors mean different things. There's one ghost of a grade school age girl that shimmers blue. That means that she died as a result of drowning. She asks my Sim's dad to read her a bedtime story every night & he does! If the ghost is red, it means death by fire. I think green means starvation. White is plain old age. I won't remove these ghosts, they're part of the house & I really don't want to make many changes to this lot. As it is I don't like buying new items & adding things because it changes the original beauty of the home. Sometimes though, I don't have a choice & one day I may even buy a big screen TV for the living room. Not yet though. It's a large house & there's plenty of room for all of us including the ghosts of the original residents that the house was named after. The only time they get in the way is in the morning when my Sim needs to take a shower & get ready for school or work & one of them are already using the shower toilet. Then I either have to skip it & end up stinky by the time I get home or be late. The game went smoothly because it was nice to me & didn't give me twins again. LOL! Just 1 son ... Michael Jones - 2nd generation (of my Sims) to live in Remington (this time around). A long time ago I had a game going in Remington & I had completely lost count of how many generations I was into that particular game. Many many many generations. Now I keep track of such things. Have a little family history on paper for each game. Not a lot of game info ... just names, traits, what their profession is, & who they marry. Michael has met & is going to marry Thelma Mueller, he met her in grade school & they've become best friends. After they graduate & get married, the 3rd generation will named Piper Jones if they have a girl, Quinn Jones if it's a boy. I finally completed my master list of names. I always go blank when it's time to name a newborn Sim. I have favorite names for each letter of the alphabet, 1 for a girl & 1 for a boy. I have some specific to pets, but I didn't go through the whole alphabet for the pet names (yet). Just a couple favorites ... like a male cat's name that I love (my baby who died way too young as a 3 month old kitten) is Phoenix. He's in this game. Looks just like him, too. A beautiful black & white cat. Family names were used when possible which made part of it easy. Q, U, X, Y, & Z were a pain in the butt ... but I finally did it. The name Michael comes from my 1st boyfriend, my 1st love, & one of the very few people I haven't been able to find from my past. His full name is SO common that it made it impossible to find him. I was channel surfing a few years back & froze solid on some TV show. There he was. Mike! Well, not really, but this guy looked JUST like him! Same clothes, same hair, same face ... it was his twin frozen in time. Then he spoke. He even SOUNDED like him, acted like him. It was really freaky. Then someone in the show spoke to him & his name was Michael. I completely freaked. No way! The show? "That 70s Show" They would hang out in his basement just like we did back then. So many things were similar that it just freaked me out. I still watch that show. It's a blast from the past in more ways than one. Mike (the real one) was a good person & his family was great! His mom & dad were more like family than my own family. His mom was straight from Sicily & she was the most amazing cook I've ever knew. To this day I think about her & I miss her & miss her cooking. His dad was a very successful businessman in Manhattan. His older brother was a CPA & I think the only one in the family who either didn't like me as much as the rest of the family did, or was just too busy to really be around much. His oldest sister was nice, but I didn't see her much, she lived WAAY up state, & his youngest sister was super nice as was her husband. The whole family was incredible. You want to talk about wonderful people with great family values, morals, etiquette ... they had it all. We went to Catholic church EVERY Sunday together for 2½ years. They even took me on vacation with them (with my parents permission of course). They were what I had hoped to model myself & my family after. I hope they're all doing OK wherever they are. I've only been able to track down the youngest sister's husband, & even said hello (online), but felt odd asking about Mike. I was a part of their lives so many years ago & I didn't want to seem as if I was only saying hello to him to ask about Mike. I know Mike's mom died many years ago. I felt so terrible when I heard the news. She was on her way out to the mall with her husband one Saturday morning & she was feeling unusually tired that morning. She said she was just going to go lay down for a little bit before they left. She never got back up. I know one other person who did they same thing ... they were feeling tired & called in that they would be a little late to work that day. They went to lay down for a bit & never got back up. Since then I've been paranoid about daytime naps. I don't care how tired I feel, if it's light out I'm just terrified to go lay down for a bit. I've seen that end badly twice already. Stupid, yes. Paranoid, yes. Maybe even a little superstitious. Mike & I parted as friends & lost track of each other over the years. Mike, if you're out there somewhere ... "Hi!"
I'm in the market for a used dash light for my truck (for the FD). Must be red/white. The one I have is so tall that I can barely see over it. Yes, I'm short. I've priced new ones & WOW! They're so compact though, they just disappear down on the dash. I'd hardly even know it's there. So ... if you have an old one laying around that you'd like to sell, let me know! :) I miss my old one from about a decade ago. It was the kind that had a dome & would spin. Very bright. I loaned it to someone who never gave it back & now they're gone. I have no idea who "claimed" my dash light after that, but I doubt I'll ever see it again. Lights since then had gotten brighter & more compact. Now they have these LED emergency lights & from what I've seen, they're not that bright during the daytime. So much for brighter. Maybe it's just the one I checked out & they have varying degrees of bright / quality. I guess somewhere between my old rotating dome light & today's LED lights was a good time to get a BRIGHT dash light. LED seems to be all I can find though, so I guess that's all they make these days? I've seen a couple of dome lights like my old one that are still on the market, but damn they're expensive & in my truck I probably wouldn't be able to see over it! The one I had was tall & stupid expensive back when I got it & the price doesn't seem to have come down at all. Since this isn't a mega priority or a "need" I'm not really willing to spend a lot of money on a brand new dash light. It's a convenience (sometimes). I live really close to the station & the only time it's really useful to have a dash light is if I go POV to a call, which isn't recommended & I rarely do it unless I have to. So if I come across a good deal on a used dash light, I might take it. I already checked eBay. Nuthin'! LCFD training Tuesday.
Since we're back in '82, here's a movie from then:
In this sequel to the wildly popular farce Airplane!, pilot Ted Striker
(Robert Hays) knows that the first commercial spaceflight to the moon is
headed for disaster. Fighting his fears, he races to save the
passengers and win back his ex-girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). Lloyd Bridges
reprises his role as the chain-smoking, amphetamine-popping,
glue-sniffing airport controller, while William Shatner, Raymond Burr
and Sonny Bono are among those on board.
And a news headline from '82:
A Wall Street scheme is hatched (1982):
Martin Siegel meets Ivan Boesky at the Harvard Club in New York City
to discuss his mounting financial pressures. Arbitrageur Boesky offered
Siegel, a mergers-and-acquisitions executive at Kidder, Peabody &
Co., a job, but Siegel, who was looking for some kind of consulting
arrangement, declined. Boesky then suggested that if Siegel would supply
him with early inside information on upcoming mergers there would be
something in it for him.
In January 1983, although little
information had been exchanged, Boesky sent a courier with a secret code
and a briefcase containing $150,000 in $100 bills to be delivered to
Siegel at the Plaza Hotel.
Over the next couple of years, Siegel
passed inside information to Boesky on several occasions. With Siegel's
inside tips, Boesky made $28 million dollars investing in Carnation
stock before its takeover. But his success began to fuel investigative
inquiries by both the press and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Rumors that Siegel and Kidder, Peabody & Co. were involved in
illegal activities began floating around.
Despite the pressure,
Siegel and Boesky met at a deli in January 1985, where Siegel demanded
$400,000. This time, the cash drop-off was made at a phone booth.
Siegel, who was apprehensive about his relationship with Boesky, decided
to put an end to it after he had received his money. Still, he
continued to trade inside information with other Wall Street executives.
In
1986, the illegal schemes, which by then included many of the biggest
traders in the country, came crashing down. Arrests were made up and
down Wall Street, and Boesky and Michael Milken, the junk bond king
charged with violating federal securities laws, were no exception.
Siegel
turned out to be one of the few cooperative witnesses for the
government and virtually the only one who showed remorse for his role in
the fraud, causing him to be ostracized on Wall Street. Nevertheless,
he did fare better than the others: Milken received a 10-year sentence
and Boesky received 3 years, but Siegel was only required to return the
$9 million he had obtained illegally. The entire incident came to
symbolize the era of unfettered greed on Wall Street in the mid-1980s.
Big Brain of Fire:
Rock your iPhone with Big Brain Of Fire!
Big Brain Of Fire is a totally different approach on music games, where you can play whatever you want on real drums, real guitar's fret, and even
a whole octave of rocking vocal!
Every instrument has its own, unique control scheme and highest quality, real sound which will give you an impression of being a real rock star.
Big Brain Of Fire includes a classic tour mode with awesome rock songs,
in which you can practice your skills and gather points.
Complete the tour mode to unlock jam session, where you can free style anywhere you want!
Gather 3 friends and make your own pieces of rock, play them together
and have a rocking fun!
Main features:
- Great songs, beautiful and stylish, full 3D environment
- Original and funny scenario
- 2 instruments to play on and a vocalist to master
- Tutorial for every instrument
- 3 types of difficulty
- 2 types of gameplay: tour and jam session (free style),
where BBoF really shines!
CHECK OUT THE TRAILERS:
Tour Mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEArH-7O5Ug
Jam Session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gx7_qHRooQ
Big Brain Of Fire is a totally different approach on music games, where you can play whatever you want on real drums, real guitar's fret, and even
a whole octave of rocking vocal!
Every instrument has its own, unique control scheme and highest quality, real sound which will give you an impression of being a real rock star.
Big Brain Of Fire includes a classic tour mode with awesome rock songs,
in which you can practice your skills and gather points.
Complete the tour mode to unlock jam session, where you can free style anywhere you want!
Gather 3 friends and make your own pieces of rock, play them together
and have a rocking fun!
Main features:
- Great songs, beautiful and stylish, full 3D environment
- Original and funny scenario
- 2 instruments to play on and a vocalist to master
- Tutorial for every instrument
- 3 types of difficulty
- 2 types of gameplay: tour and jam session (free style),
where BBoF really shines!
CHECK OUT THE TRAILERS:
Tour Mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEArH-7O5Ug
Jam Session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gx7_qHRooQ
Congratulations on your recent election to the mayor of __________. Voters were swayed by your promise to __________ & by the fear of __________.
Fill your gas tank the day before leaving on a road trip. This minimizes any delays the day of your trip. Gas prices rise on the weekends so fill up in the middle of the week, if possible.
How did Chang and Eng Bunker, the first recorded Siamese twins, come by their first names?
In what heart-wrenching 1959 movie are the title character’s last words:
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at
heart”?
The Diary of Anne Frank. The words are delivered as a voiceover, as Anne Frank’s father reads her diary.
Is mom staying at home with the kids a crazy idea? Absolutely not! All you have to do is look in the face of your young children & ask them which they'd like best - more money or having mommy around a lot more. I think you already know the answer to that one.
Keep to the right & ride single file, in a line when on a bicycle & riding with your friends. So many kids (and adults!) don't do that. It's like they think they own the whole road & have no respect for cars & trucks on the road. It's called common courtesy people!
Lucullan:
Lavish or luxurious.
For most, gaining a few easily shed pounds is a small price to pay for a week or 2 of Lucullan bliss.
"Lucullan" echoes the name of Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus, who had a distinguished military career (including the defeat of Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, at Cabira in 72 B.C.), but he's best remembered for the splendor of his opulent retirement. Lucullus established a reputation for magnificient banquets, at which he wined & dined the leading poets, artists, & philosophers of his time. His feasts were sufficiently extravagant to establish his name as a synonym of "lavish" in the English lexicon.
Pluto loses planetary status. Dwarf planets around the Universe start campaigning for equal rights. (2006)
Unlock the secret to love with this heart key pendant! Made out of
surgical grade stainless steel with wood inlay and cubic zirconia, this
pendant will surely be the key to the heart!
Take special care not to use Reply All when you don't intend to. Once sent, e-mail can't be retrieved. Horror stories abound: The intern who criticized the way the company was run, the man who trashed the new boss, & more ...
Which game was created 1st, 2nd, & 3rd?
A. Snakes & Ladders
B. Ludo
C. Reversi
ABC. Did you know Snakes & Ladders was invented in Victorian England, but some say it was actually adapted from ancient India, dating back to the 2nd century B.C.
Which hit the screen 1st, 2nd, & 3rd?
A. Bram Stoker's Dracula
B. Love at 1st Bite (Love this movie!)
C. Blade
No comments:
Post a Comment