★ October 25, 2012 ★

I'm back from my weekend, which instead of Saturday & Sunday, was Tuesday & Wednesday. After I left you on Monday, I cleaned the toilet & my night stand, fed the cats & dogs, went through the kitchen cabinets & decided to bake a cake (haven't done that yet though), checked the Brinks alarm system, mopped the living room, blew the dust out of my knitting machine, watered the flowers outside, & swept the dining room. After that I sat down & updated the apps on my iPhone, checked eBay, machine knitted another white wide panel for the afghan (3rd panel), & then loaded up the Sims 3. I played Summer Garden Cottage. A beautiful house that I didn't create, but whoever did is very

talented. I picked up where I left off with Robert Whipsnake (2nd generation), who is disciplined & brave, a Gemini (like me), likes Roots music, spaghetti, & the color hot pink. He's a workaholic who's unlucky. His mom, Jeanita, is still trying to befriend the unicorn that she keeps seeing outside, but is having no luck. Their dogs had puppies & we now have Rags 2nd (2nd generation) who's a destructive hunter. Robert has met Tammi Castellanos in

school & things look promising for them. Since Robert is disciplined, as soon as he became a teen I bought him what he needed to start studying the martial arts skill & he's doing great! At the end of the day (IRL), I found out that it should have been my day off. Picture this: you go to work, work a full day, & THEN the boss comes up to you & says "Why are you here? You're off today." ARGH! I wish someone would have told me that BEFORE I started

working! That's some need to know information right there. SO ... since I worked on my day off, the only thing to do was take off the next work day, which was Tuesday in this case. Taking Tuesday off was great except for the teacher we had to deal with & the meeting with the religious group that Kyle is part of ... of course all of this was after Pete got off work which directly coincided with training at the FD. Anyway, for my day off on Tuesday I woke

up & loaded up a new house that I hadn't played yet, another beautiful home that I didn't build but was built by a very talented person, & that house is called Modern Mediterranean. I started out with a Sim I created & named Hazel who is a neat genius, a savvy sculptor, a computer whiz, & unflirty. She wants to be a Forensic Specialist: Dynamic DNA Profiler (Law Enforcement career). She likes mac & cheese, custom music, & the color hot

pink. She's a Pisces. Her furry companion is a Japanese Bobtail named Isabel who's piggy, independent & hyper. Isabel died of old age & is missed greatly. Hazel met & married Goodwin Goode at work (her partner) who dreamed of being a firefighter, so he quit his level 1 job in law enforcement & joined the FD. They adopted Grimalkin to keep Isabel company. Hazel & Goodwin had a daughter & named her Hazel II Goode (2nd generation). Hazel

II is eccentric, good, an Aquarius who likes Hip Hop, tofu dogs, & the color red. She's also a slob, ambitious, & a perfectionist. Hazel started inventing the day she aged up to school age & was extremely successful by the time she graduated school. Isabel & Grimalkin had kittens & Harry (2nd Generation) was added to the happy family. Harry is playful & adventurous. Hazel II met Ramon Bennett & Tate Sisk in school. She ended up marrying Tate who

wanted to join the criminal career. At least no one will ever rob our house, honor among thieves & all that. Hazel II & Tate had a son, Neo Sisk (3rd generation). He's excitable & evil. A Gemini who likes classical music, cookies (Join the dark side & get a free cookie!), & the color Aqua. Neo will also join the criminal career with his dad when he grows up. Each of the past 3 days, I've also worked on my house, Heart of Texas. It's coming along nicely & I've completed the family room, 3rd bedroom, & 3rd bathroom. Only 1 more room to go! As soon as I finish the nursery & then put siding on the house, it's done & will be uploaded! If luck runs my way, I'll do that tonight! :) Yesterday I loaded up my Journalist game. The original Sim created for this game was Heather. She was ambitious, artistic, a bookworm, charismatic, & athletic. She liked cheesesteak, Indie music, & the color lime. She was a Virgo. I talk about her in the past tense because she died of old age. Her furry companion was Yuzo, a Somali cat who was hyper, proud, aggressive, & adventurous. Yuzo also died of old age. Heather met & married Barry Tenderlove (if that man was real I'd be in love ... damn he's gorgeous (for a Sim), & the adopted Nona to keep Yuzo company. Nona has also died of old age. Heather & Barry had a son, Edward Tenderlove (2nd generation) who has all the useful traits for Journalism + 1 random trait. Edward is artistic, brave, a bookworm, charismatic, & a workaholic who likes Egyptian music, Stu Surprise, & the color purple. He's a Leo. Edward has mastered the writing skill & sold many books all before he started his official job in the journalism field because he started writing the day he aged up to school age. Yuzo & Nona had kittens & Tony was added to the family (2nd generation). Edward met Sarah Crum & Yusun Mark in school. He ended up marrying Yusun because Sarah got stuck in elementary school. I've never seen that happen, but after 3½ game weeks, she's STILL in elementary school. Yusun dreams of being an International Super Spy & has joined the law enforcement career. Edward & Yusun adopted Bodica to keep Tony company. Edward & Yusun had a daughter, Olivia Tenderlove (3rd generation), who is an artistic & grumpy Pisces who likes R&B, Vegetarian Lobster Thermidore, & the color Hot Pink. Back IRL, Princeton Fall Festival Saturday.

Aim to arrive at least 5-10 minutes before the curtain goes up when going to a movie or play with friends or a date. Arriving after showtime can spoil the whole evening.

"Camelot," "Harry Potter" star Richard Harris dies (2002):

On this day in 2002, Irish-born actor Richard Harris, whose career spanned six decades and included starring roles in films ranging from "Camelot" to the "Harry Potter" series, dies of cancer at age 72 in London. Harris was known for his acting talent as well as his carousing off-camera. As BBC.com reported after his death, "He was everything a bad-boy Hollywood star should be: a handsome, boozing, brawling, womanizing, jet-setter whose moody magnificence brought glamour to even his weakest movies."

Richard St. John Harris was born on October 1, 1930, in Limerick, Ireland, where his family had a flour-milling business. As a young man, Harris was a talented rugby player, but his athletic career was cut short by a battle with tuberculosis. He went on to study acting in the mid-1950s at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and afterward found work in various London theater productions. By the late 1950s, he was earning small roles on the big screen. Among his early film credits were supporting parts in "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), featuring Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn, and "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), with Marlon Brando.

Harris shot to international stardom with his performance as a coal miner tuned rugby player in 1963's "This Sporting Life." The role earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. A long list of acting credits would follow—Harris made more than 70 films over the course of his career—including a 1967 cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical "Camelot," in which he played King Arthur. In addition to his movie roles, Harris became equally famous for his reputation as a raconteur and hell-raiser. He reportedly suffered nine broken noses during his life and received last rites twice from a priest.

Harris portrayed a hardened Irish farmer in 1990's "The Field," for which he garnered a second Oscar nomination for best actor. He went on to appear in such movies as "The Unforgiven" (1992) directed by Clint Eastwood, "Patriot Games" (1992), "Cry, the Beloved Country" (1995) and "Gladiator" (2000), in which he played Marcus Aurelius to Russell Crowe's Maximus.

In 2001, Harris gained legions of new fans when he played Albus Dumbledore, the wise, white-bearded headmaster of Hogwarts School, in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Harris reprised this role for the second film in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which was released in the U.S. in November 2002, just weeks after his death.

Concinnity:

Harmony or elegance of design especially of literary style in adaption of parts to a whole or to each other.

Julia maintains that no modern play can rival the concinnity of the classical Greek tragedies.

The Romans apparently found perfect harmony in a well-mixed drink. The cocktail in question was a beverage they called cinnus, & so agreeably concordant did they find it that its name apparently inspired the formation of concinnare, a verb meaning "to place fitly together." Concinnare gave ride to concinnus, meaning "skillfully put together," which in turn fermented into concinnitas. English-speakers added the word to our mix in the 1500s as "concinnity."

Concorde makes its final flight (2003):

The supersonic Concorde jet makes its last commercial passenger flight, traveling at twice the speed of sound from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London's Heathrow Airport on this day in 2003. The British Airways jet carried 100 passengers, including actress Joan Collins, model Christie Brinkley, and an Ohio couple who reportedly paid $60,000 on eBay for two tickets (a roundtrip trans-Atlantic fare typically cost about $9,000). A large crowd of spectators greeted the plane's arrival in London, which coincided with two other final Concorde flights from Edinburgh and the Bay of Biscay.

The Concorde, which was developed jointly by the British and French governments, began commercial service in January 1976. A significant achievement in aviation technology and design, the sleek, delta-winged planes could make the trip from New York to London in around three and a half hours, traveling at 1,350 miles per hour. The Concorde became a symbol of speed and luxury, although it was not without its problems. Some who lived under its flight path criticized the enormous noise it produced. And, tragically, on July 25, 2000, an Air France jet crashed after takeoff from Paris and 113 people died. All Concorde flights were grounded for over a year after the incident.

Citing rising operating costs and reduced ticket sales, British Airways retired its Concorde fleet in October 2003. Air France, the only other Concorde carrier, had permanently grounded its jets in May 2003. However, the allure of the Concorde was so powerful that when the airlines auctioned off spare parts from their fleets shortly after their retirement, many items sold for significantly more than their suggested price. For example, a blanket valued at $100 sold for $2,000, a door sold for $33,000, and a needle nose sold for $550,000.

Do what you love, because you'll always be better at it. Pay cash & have a written game plan. Begin to lay out your business plan. Ask questions like: How are we going to do our marketing? What equipment & supplies are needed? What do we project our revenues to be? What are we going to charge per unit of service or widget? What do we have to do to create that service or widget? Write a report that describes how you're going to start your business.

Energy Star logo signifies that an electrical appliance is what?

A. Energy efficient

B. Recyclable

C. Greenhouse gas free

D. Asbestos free

Answer: A. Energy efficient

Flashlight:

Flashlight uses the LED light on iPhone 4 and fills your screen with bright white light to illuminate your world when you find yourself in a dark spot or concert.
Includes fully customizable special effects including: Magnifying Lens, Fireworks, Strobe Light, Trippy, S.O.S., Yin-Yang, Halloween, Candy Hearts, Holiday Lights, Photos, and more!
PLEASE NOTE: Continued use of the LED flash may dramatically decrease battery life.
Features:
- Use LED light on iPhone 4, including as a strobe light
- Full white screen
- Open to the effect of your choice
- Custom color (defaults to Bondi Blue)
- Slide/flick up and down to dim the screen
- Slide with two fingers to change the speed of effects
- Customize every screen and colors
- Strobe light modes: Strobe, Trippy, Deep Trippy, Abyss Trippy, S.O.S., Smooth, 2-Color, 6-Color, Yin-Yang, Chasers, Holiday Lights, Hears, Hexy, Stars&Stripes, and Halloween.
NOTE: Flashlight is not able to return the brightness of your screen to it's previous setting automatically, however, it will go back to normal just by locking/unlocking your device.

Hostage crisis in Moscow theater (2002):

On October 23, 2002, about 50 Chechen rebels storm a Moscow theater, taking up to 700 people hostage during a sold-out performance of a popular musical.

The second act of the musical "Nord Ost" was just beginning at the Moscow Ball-Bearing Plant's Palace of Culture when an armed man walked onstage and fired a machine gun into the air. The terrorists—including a number of women with explosives strapped to their bodies—identified themselves as members of the Chechen Army. They had one demand: that Russian military forces begin an immediate and complete withdrawal from Chechnya, the war-torn region located north of the Caucasus Mountains.

Chechnya, with its predominately Muslim population, had long struggled to assert its independence. A disastrous two-year war ended in 1996, but Russian forces returned to the region just three years later after Russian authorities blamed Chechens for a series of bombings in Russia. In 2000, President Vladimir Putin was elected partly because of his hard-line position towards Chechnya and his public vow not to negotiate with terrorists.

After a 57-hour-standoff at the Palace of Culture, during which two hostages were killed, Russian special forces surrounded and raided the theater on the morning of October 26. Later it was revealed that they had pumped a powerful narcotic gas into the building, knocking nearly all of the terrorists and hostages unconscious before breaking into the walls and roof and entering through underground sewage tunnels. Most of the guerrillas and 120 hostages were killed during the raid. Security forces were later forced to defend the decision to use the dangerous gas, saying that only a complete surprise attack could have disarmed the terrorists before they had time to detonate their explosives.

After the theater crisis, Putin's government clamped down even harder on Chechnya, drawing accusations of kidnapping, torture and other atrocities. In response, Chechen rebels continued their terrorist attacks on Russian soil, including an alleged suicide bombing in a Moscow subway in February 2004 and another major hostage crisis at a Beslan school that September.

In what sport do rikishi compete?

Sumo wrestling.

In which of director Martin Scorsese’s films do his parents appear—his mother serving pasta and meatballs; his father, in jail, preparing tomato sauce with “too many onions”?

GoodFellas (1990). Scorsese’s parents, Catherine and Charles, have cameo roles in a number of his films.

Keep a family calendar posted so it's visible for all family members. use color coding to track what activities are whose. Write all events that involve multiple family members on this calendar.

Let the sun restore you. Turn your face to it, close your eyes & bask in the natural warmth for several minutes.

People who look elsewhere while being introduced to someone may be suffering from a case of nerves or self-consciousness, but what their actions say is that they aren't very interested.

Sockdolager:

1: Something that settles a matter : a decisive blow or answer : finisher. 2: Something outstanding or exceptional.

For a while I was completely stumped, but then, all of a sudden, I got a sockdolager of an idea.

The verb "sock" ("to punch") & the noun "doxology" ("a hymn of praise to God") may seem like an odd pairing, but it's a match that has been promoted by some word mavens when discussing the origins of the Americanism "sockdolager." Don't be too quick to believe their hype, however. When a word's origin is simply unknown, as is the case with "sockdolager," there's a tendency to fill in the gap with an interesting story, whether or not it can be verified. In the case of "sockdolager," the "sock" part is plausible but unproven, & the "doxology" to "dolager" suggestion is highly questionable. the theory continues to have many fans, but it can't deliver a knockout punch.

Thaumaturgy:

The performance of miracles; specifically : magic.

He moved through half-lit corridors, their contours outlined with thaumaturgy or phosphorescent mold.

Thaumaturgy, from a Greek word meaning "miracle working," is applicable to any performance of miracles, especially by incantation. it can also be used of things that merely seem miraculous & unexplainable, like the thaumaturgy of a motion picture's illusions (aka "movie magic"), or the thaumaturgy at work in an athletic team's "miracle" comeback. in addition to "thaumaturgy," we also have "thaumaturge" & "thaumaturgist," both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," & the adjective "thaumaturgic," meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy."

There's nothing wrong with trading cars all the time. Buying a car isn't like adopting a kid - you don't have to keep it. Just make sure you're not buying new & losing money to depreciation every time you drive one off the lot.

Top 5 cell phone manners:

1. Keep the volume down.
2. Turn off your phone or ringer in quiet places.
3. Pay attention to the people you're with. Excuse yourself if you must, but quickly return.
4. Find a private place to make your calls rather than going on a calling jag in public.
5. Use "clean" language especially when there are others around who might be offended.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the document leading to the creation of the United Nations. Since then, the U.N. has deployed more than 35 peace-keeping missions, negotiated 170+ peaceful settlements, & helped to wipe out polio from most areas of the world.

Was that you I saw on "Lifestyles of the __________ & __________" last night?

What was the name of the first commercially produced home robot to reach one million in sales?

When filing your file drawer, leave room to slide the hanging file folders so you can easily remove or add files as needed. If the drawer is too full you won't be able to reach your fingers in to pull out the papers you need to reference.

When selling unwanted items, prepare the item so you can earn top dollar. Prepare the item for sale by collecting all accessory pieces, clean the item thoroughly, erase your identity (remove your name or personal information on the item,) & do your research to ensure the item is worth your time in selling it.

Where do most amateurs like to sing?

A. In the car

B. In church

C. In the shower

CAB. It seems us steamy-shower Sinatras like the echo-chamber effect you get with hard bathroom walls. Cars are good too, if you can handle the weird stares you get at stop lights.

Which bone is the smallest?

A. Fibula

B. Tibia

C. Patella

CAB. Patella is a fancy word for that thick, triangular bone you & I call the knee cap. Let's keep it that way. When asking a girl to marry you, who wants to get down on bended patella?

Which building has the highest residences?

A. Petronas Towers

B. John Hancock Center

C. Taipei 101

BAC. The 100-story Hancock Center is also reputed to have the fastest lifts in the world.

Which building took the longest to complete?

A. Blue Mosque

B. Taj Mahal

C. St. Peter's Basilica

Which is bigger: a crevice or a crevasse?

A. A crevasse

B. A crevice

C. They're synonymous

D. They have nothing to do with size

Which of these are player pieces in the original version of Monopoly?

Shoe, ship, cannon, pistol, thimble, candlestick, hat, iron

Shoe, ship, cannon, thimble, hat, & iron.

Which of these countries wasn't a member of the Axis during WWII?

A. Italy

B. Germany

C. China

D. Romania

Answer: C. China

Who were the five U.S. presidents with four-letter last names?

James Polk, William Howard Taft, Gerald R. Ford, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

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Your overall goal for retirement - consistantly adjusted & monitored - ought to sound something like this: You ought to be able to live off of 8% of your nest egg a year or less. If you've $500,000 saved, 8% would be $40,000/year. If you want to live on $40,000/year at retirement, you need $500,000. If you want to live on $80,000, you need $1 million. That's probably a pretty good target - somewhere in there or above. Much below that, you're going to struggle.