I'm back, & I've slept! I feel better now. :) So it hit 15° last night. Didn't I move south to get AWAY from temperatures like that? I did learn something by moving to Texas though. You can compensate for cold. You can wear thermal underwear, sweat pants, thick sweaters, jackets, wrap up in afghans or comforters ... but you CAN'T compensate for Texas heat. When it's in the triple digits, you're miserable & there's nothing you can do about it. Sure, you can crank the A/C & have an electric bill that's also in the triple digits every month, but the second you walk out the door ... it's like walking into an oven. I on the other hand don't use central A/C. Window units proved much cheaper. I have one in my office, one in the bedroom, & then one in the kitchen. The one in the kitchen doesn't help much unless you're IN the kitchen making something to eat. The rest of the house is just unused space. It's used, but for passing through to get from here to there. We're not in any of the other rooms enough to NEED to keep the temp low, so why waste the money? The bathroom ... not in there long enough to warrant keeping it cold all day & night. Same with the living room, dining room, hallways ... it's a waste of money to cool those rooms. The most time is spent in an office or bedroom ... the rooms with the window units. We have central heating, but I'm keeping it about 10° colder than I did for the past 45 years. It's a little cool in here for me, but that's OK. I've got sweat pants, fuzzy socks, & a great sweat jacket that I bought at the beginning of the season that has a thick fuzzy lining. Freezing my butt off so far this season has in turn given us the money we saved on electric to use on fuel for my truck. We're going to Myrtle Beach & this time we're taking my truck. That's like a limo ride from Dallas to Myrtle Beach! Super comfy with XM Satellite radio. YAY! And everyone gets to see my truck out there. No one has except in pictures. :) The last time we took this trip we did it in Pete's Honda Civic. Great on fuel, but there were 4 of us jammed into that little car WITH 2 week's worth of our STUFF jammed in there with us. It was miserable. That car is great for commuting to & from work, but it was never made for family trips half way across the U.S. & back. Ugh! But this year there's only 3 of us (1 is already out there), the truck is a HUGE 4-door, we all have room to stretch out AND there's room for all of our stuff without ANY discomfort added. All I need is an oil change & new wiper blades & Big Red is ready to roll! One of the cool things is having my stereo this trip. The last time, as soon as we got out of DFW we played the "find a radio station" for the next thousand miles. With XM, we never lose the stations & if we get bored with that, I've got almost 300 songs on my phone & will just plug that into the stereo! I feel really bad that Josh can't come with us. I know it's going to be hard for him being here alone on Christmas while we're all out in Myrtle Beach visiting his fiancee. Someone had to stay behind & take care of the pets & the house though. We'll make it up to him. I promise. Yesterday I cleaned the tub, Windexed the dresser mirror, fed the cats & dogs, cleaned the bar, went through the freezer & chose Fiesta Blend veggies to go with tonight's pork chop w/ gravy & stuffing dinner, & folded some laundry. After having switched to the new way of handling chores a few months back, it's time to change things again. This way just wasn't working either. We went from daily randomly assigned chores to just a list where people could do what they wanted. All they had to do was 3 of the 6 each & they were done. Well, that hasn't been working so Pete said to go back to assigning chores but instead of it being different every day, make it so that one week Josh has a specific 3 all week & Kyle has a specific 3. Then on Sunday swap them. This way instead of random (Kyle hated not knowing what he was going to get each day) or instead of choosing (Kyle hated getting stuck with whatever Josh DIDN'T pick every day), I assign them & Kyle knows what he has all week (and next week because it's opposite of this week). Let's see how long it takes before he starts complaining about THIS setup. I don't think the list in ANY form is a problem, I think the problem is he's a teen & doesn't WANT to do chores ... period. Well guess what? We all live here & we ALL contribute. Pete works hard & pays for *EVERYTHING*. I cook, clean, & manage everything. Kyle has the responsibilities of doing well in school, keeping his room clean, & helping out with cooking & cleaning. Josh, since he doesn't pay rent, has the same responsibilities as Kyle except swap "doing well in school" with "doing well at his job". Make sense? Fair? I think so. With 3 of us cooking & cleaning around here it should look MUCH nicer than it does. Kyle & Josh really need to step up to the plate here. I'm tired of always having complaints about one or both of them slacking off when I never asked that much from them to begin with. Anyway, today I wipe the chore board clean & put up the new weekly assigned tasks. This should be fun. LOL! After the housework yesterday I crawled into my massage chair (I sure needed it too after being awake for 2 days straight) & figured I'd relax & play 5 Card Slingo until Pete got home (he was already on his way). I crawled into the chair started it up (AAaaahhhhhhhhhh) :) & turned on the TV. It was on Reelz. I changed the channel to Game Lounge & it went black. Huh? I tried to switch back to Reelz. Still black. I tried to go to channel 4. Still black. I tried to bring up the guide. Black. I fell asleep in the massage chair. 10 minutes later the finishing woke me up. I restarted it. TV still black. 2nd beep. Restarted it. TV still black. Pete got home. Pete has no idea what's wrong with my DirecTV box, but did confirm that the TV works fine by hooking my laptop up to it. This also confirmed that my laptop works! Pete thought the board AND screen were cracked. it turned out to just be the screen. YAY! Now I just need to replace the laptop screen. That's good news! Anyway, I checked eBay, made ground beef & macaroni & cheese as planned for dinner & Pete & I watched Hawaii 5-0. We went to bed at 11. I was SO tired & was hoping to go to bed MUCH earlier than that, but 11 is pretty early (for us), so I can't complain too much. After 10 hours sleep I don't feel too bad. :) FD maintenance tonight. Aaron called so I went to the station early to get a couple things done & stayed for a couple hours & did a bunch of stuff. So technically, I did my FD maintenance stuff, just not at 7 when everyone else is going to be there doing maintenance. My new ring just got here! See the photo? Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?! :D Additionally, I completely wore out my mouse so I just bought a new one. I learned a lesson ... well, I already knew it. You get what you pay for. I had a cheap mouse ... it didn't last long at all. Got a nicer one now. I still refuse to pay $80 for a gaming mouse, but the one I just bought costs double what my old one did. Just got fuel, picked Kyle up from school, & dropped Josh off in Princeton. (?!) You mean I get a day off tomorrow? An ALL DAY ALL NIGHT day off? When Pete goes to work at 9:30, I'll be alone in the house until Kyle gets home tomorrow NIGHT at 9:30. Do you know what that means? 12 FULL hours of DAY OFF! WOOHOO!!! I feel like a child on Christmas Eve!
Before your bath, change the sheets on your bed. After bathing, apply body cream & lie in bed luxuriously naked.
On this day in 2008, financier Bernard Madoff is arrested at his New
York City apartment and charged with masterminding a long-running Ponzi
scheme later estimated to involve around $65 billion, making it one of
the biggest investment frauds in Wall Street history.
Madoff, who was born in Queens, New York, in 1938, founded a small trading firm bearing his name in 1960. The business was established, in part, with money he earned working as a lifeguard. Two decades later, Madoff’s firm, which helped revolutionize the way stocks are traded, had grown into one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry, and he and his family lived a life of luxury, owning multiple homes, boats and expensive artwork and jewelry.
Based on the success of his legitimate operations, Madoff launched an investment-advisory business as part of his firm, and it was this business that by the 1990s had become a Ponzi scheme, in which he paid his earlier investors with funds received from more recent investors. For years, clients of this business were sent account statements showing consistently high—and fraudulent—returns. Potential new customers clamored for Madoff to invest their money. However, in 2008, with the U.S. economy in crisis, Madoff’s financial swindle began to fall apart as his clients took money out faster than he could bring in fresh cash.
On December 10, 2008, Madoff revealed to his brother and two sons, who worked for the legitimate arm of his firm, that his investment-advisory business was a fraud and nearly bankrupt. Madoff’s sons turned in their father to federal authorities, who arrested him the next day. Madoff was freed on $10 million bail, and placed under 24-hour house arrest at his penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The fallout from Madoff’s scam was widespread: The victims included everyone from his wealthy country-club acquaintances, Hollywood celebrities, banks and hedge funds to universities, charities and ordinary individual investors, some of whom lost their life savings. The charitable foundation of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel lost more than $15 million, and Wiesel also lost his personal savings. Public outrage was further stoked when it was revealed that since the late 1990s a private financial fraud investigator, Harry Markopolos, had repeatedly warned the Securities and Exchange Commission about his suspicion that Madoff was operating a massive investment scam.
On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to the 11 felony counts against him, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury. On June 29 of that year, a federal district court judge in Manhattan sentenced Madoff to 150 years behind bars, calling his actions “extraordinary evil.”
On December 11, 2010, the second anniversary of Madoff’s arrest, his 46-year-old son Mark was found dead in his Manhattan apartment after committing suicide. Bernard Madoff, who is serving his sentence at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, has maintained that his family members knew nothing about his crimes and although they have faced intense scrutiny, none have been charged with any wrongdoing. Several of Madoff’s former employees, including his accountant and chief financial officer, have pleaded guilty in connection with the long-running fraud.
Madoff, who was born in Queens, New York, in 1938, founded a small trading firm bearing his name in 1960. The business was established, in part, with money he earned working as a lifeguard. Two decades later, Madoff’s firm, which helped revolutionize the way stocks are traded, had grown into one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry, and he and his family lived a life of luxury, owning multiple homes, boats and expensive artwork and jewelry.
Based on the success of his legitimate operations, Madoff launched an investment-advisory business as part of his firm, and it was this business that by the 1990s had become a Ponzi scheme, in which he paid his earlier investors with funds received from more recent investors. For years, clients of this business were sent account statements showing consistently high—and fraudulent—returns. Potential new customers clamored for Madoff to invest their money. However, in 2008, with the U.S. economy in crisis, Madoff’s financial swindle began to fall apart as his clients took money out faster than he could bring in fresh cash.
On December 10, 2008, Madoff revealed to his brother and two sons, who worked for the legitimate arm of his firm, that his investment-advisory business was a fraud and nearly bankrupt. Madoff’s sons turned in their father to federal authorities, who arrested him the next day. Madoff was freed on $10 million bail, and placed under 24-hour house arrest at his penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The fallout from Madoff’s scam was widespread: The victims included everyone from his wealthy country-club acquaintances, Hollywood celebrities, banks and hedge funds to universities, charities and ordinary individual investors, some of whom lost their life savings. The charitable foundation of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel lost more than $15 million, and Wiesel also lost his personal savings. Public outrage was further stoked when it was revealed that since the late 1990s a private financial fraud investigator, Harry Markopolos, had repeatedly warned the Securities and Exchange Commission about his suspicion that Madoff was operating a massive investment scam.
On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to the 11 felony counts against him, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury. On June 29 of that year, a federal district court judge in Manhattan sentenced Madoff to 150 years behind bars, calling his actions “extraordinary evil.”
On December 11, 2010, the second anniversary of Madoff’s arrest, his 46-year-old son Mark was found dead in his Manhattan apartment after committing suicide. Bernard Madoff, who is serving his sentence at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, has maintained that his family members knew nothing about his crimes and although they have faced intense scrutiny, none have been charged with any wrongdoing. Several of Madoff’s former employees, including his accountant and chief financial officer, have pleaded guilty in connection with the long-running fraud.
Check your in-box 1st thing in the morning, in the middle of the day, & an hour or so before you leave - or more often to make sure you're not missing anything important. (Turning off the audible signal indicating you have e-mail will help you concentrate on your work.)
Even __________ run away from you, because they fear __________.
If your shoe collection consists of 50 shoes but you only regularly wear 5 pairs, it's clutter. If you don't use them, you're wasting valuable real estate in your home & more importantly, your closet.
Intestate:
1: Having made no valid will. 2: Not disposed of by will.
Mark & Joan worried about what would happen to their child if they died intestate, so they hired a lawyer to draw up a will soon after the baby was born.
"Intestate" was borrowed into English in the 14th century from Latin intestatus, which was itself formed by combining the prefix in- ("not") & the adjective testatus, meaning "having left a valid will." Testatus, in turn, derives from the past participle of the verb testari, meaning "to make a will." Approximately a century later, English-speakers returned to testatus to coun the word "testate," which also means "having left a valid will." Other descendants of testari include "detest," "protest," & "testament," as well as "testator" ("a person who dies leaving a will or testament in force").
Major difference between hardwood & softwood trees is their what?
A. Branches
B. Roots
C. Life Span
D. Seeds
Mistletoe is what state's floral emblem?
A. Nebraska
B. Kansas
C. North Carolina
D. Oklahoma
Answer: D. Oklahoma
Refinancing your mortgage is a good idea when you can lower your interest rates enough to pay for the closing costs before you plan to sell your home. In general, a refinance is worth it if you can lower your rate by at least 2%
Star Walk:
*** Over 6 million users! Winner of Apple Design Award 2010***
Star Walk is the most beautiful stargazing app you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. It will become your go-to interactive guide to the sky above, following your every movement in real-time and allowing you to identify over 200, 000 celestial bodies with extensive information about stars and constellations that you find.
Get started quickly
• Launch the app and point your iPhone at the sky, you'll see the stars, planets and constellations in their proper place from your location. As you move your device, the star map updates in real time.
• Tap Augmented Reality icon in the upper right corner to engage your camera.
• Use Night Mode to go easy on your eyes and preserve night vision.
Go deeper and beyond
• Every object you tap has an (i) next to its name, tap it to access information.
• A scale on right is the Time Machine, slide it to see the sky map of tomorrow or years ago.
• A calendar of celestial events will make sure you never miss anything interesting.
• TelRad will help you find the exact position of an object when stargazing with a telescope.
Share your experience
• Project to a big screen with no picture quality loss.
• Browse through stunning space pictures in Picture of the Day.
• There is an entire stargazing twitter community within Star Walk - don't miss out!
Vito Technology is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families.
Recommended Ages: all
Categories: Environment, Science
Star Walk is the most beautiful stargazing app you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. It will become your go-to interactive guide to the sky above, following your every movement in real-time and allowing you to identify over 200, 000 celestial bodies with extensive information about stars and constellations that you find.
Get started quickly
• Launch the app and point your iPhone at the sky, you'll see the stars, planets and constellations in their proper place from your location. As you move your device, the star map updates in real time.
• Tap Augmented Reality icon in the upper right corner to engage your camera.
• Use Night Mode to go easy on your eyes and preserve night vision.
Go deeper and beyond
• Every object you tap has an (i) next to its name, tap it to access information.
• A scale on right is the Time Machine, slide it to see the sky map of tomorrow or years ago.
• A calendar of celestial events will make sure you never miss anything interesting.
• TelRad will help you find the exact position of an object when stargazing with a telescope.
Share your experience
• Project to a big screen with no picture quality loss.
• Browse through stunning space pictures in Picture of the Day.
• There is an entire stargazing twitter community within Star Walk - don't miss out!
Vito Technology is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families.
Recommended Ages: all
Categories: Environment, Science
What new name did animal rights activists urge the town of Slaughterville, Oklahoma, to adopt in 2004?
Veggieville. The town rejected the request from People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals despite the incentive offered—$20,000 in veggie
burgers for its schoolchildren. The town was named for founder James
Slaughter. (HAHAHAHA!)
What song was being performed when Justin Timberlake ripped Janet
Jackson’s costume, exposing a breast, in Super Bowl XXXVIII’s halftime
“wardrobe malfunction”?
Which part of the eye reacts to light 1st?
A. The retina
B. The cornea
C. The lens
BCA. When you look at something, light rays reflect onto the cornea, then the lens, where they're focused onto the retina. The resulting image is upside down, but the optic nerves & your brain fix that, no problem. See?
Which rank is the highest?
A. Vice admiral
B. Fleet admiral
C. Admiral
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