Florida is having to come to terms with the FCAT scores …..kids can’t/won’t write…..Up until this year, spelling and punctuation was not considered in the test scores…..as in, one didn’t have know how to spell or punctuate.I’ll write more later…..when I get my pin
Author Archives: seriouslyscorpio
THE PLOT THICKENS
After my parents died, our family found they had a cemetary plot they didn’t choose to use. We put it up for sale and received phone calls regarding the purchase….There were a few that asked “What’s wrong with it?” mmmmmmmm
SAY WHAT!!!!!…
This mornings news said two things one should do when turned down for a job…..don’t feel bad…..and send them a thank you note….
NO!!!!! AND NO!!!! I will feel bad and I will hold off on the note…sending it to the person WHO GIVES ME A JOB!!!
THE SOUNDS OF BEAUTY IN MY YARD
Mother Nature teaches us all kinds of lessons. Some are very quiet and peaceful, such as the sun touching our face, or wind conducting a symphony with my outdoor chimes. I love the fog clouds as they climb come over the mountains. They seem so strong and determined and then the sun touches their fingertips and they go way to who knows where.
The sounds of nature used to be distant, as I was too busy to stop and listen to the branches sway, the finches bathe, and the maple leaves land on the lawn grass.
Now, I take the time….as time is drawing nigh in my life. I watch the sun rise on some mornings, knowing that my grandchildren are up and already in school and my brother is loading is truck for the day. I take comfort in knowing these quiet moments, before the day begins.
As I make coffee, finches, by some magical design, come from nowhere and everywhere to breakfast on sunflower and thistle in my back yard. We evidently have a friendship because when I put my kitty out on his leash and discard the morning paper, they continue ‘talking over the fence’ as though I didn’t exist.
The iris have faded for the season and I am trimming their tired leaves, as new ones reach to the sky for added enrichment before winter. Each day, when my inside work is done, I take my little seat, my gloves, an my clippers and work my way around the yard, just to freshen everyone’s looks for those who walk by. I hope it makes them feel better, cause it makes me feel better.
I’ve given up on the gopher and the two ground squirrels. I think the gopher knows he is okay as long as he stays on the slope, but woe to him, if he ventures onto my yard. The squirrels, however, come and eat the dropped seeds with their feathery friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Crow, however, even tho they come almost every day, have not been welcomed by the aforementioned. I don’t know what was said, but it sure rubbed everyone the wrong way. The couple come in late morning to miss the breakfast crowd and they waddle their way thru the dropped seeds, not minding if the picking is thin. If, by mistake, the squirrels are still there, they might nip at their tails now and then, to gain the prime seed spot.
And so it goes, Mother Nature, tapping us on the shoulder, every moment of our lives….if only we would take time to feel her touch.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN….DNC/RNC/CANDIDATES, ETC
Please forward this memo to the person in charge of unemployment information. We are sadly in need of the following information.
1. Please send a breakdown of age groups, and how many are..
a. newly unemployed
b. unemployed over 3/6/9/12 months
2. How many were working in jobs paying $10/$15/20/$25 or more an hour prior to be laid off or fired…in age groups, and gender
3. How many working in jobs quit to go back to some kind of education…
a. by age and gender
b. whether or not they were on unemployment, got part-time work, and then decided to go back for some education
4. How many were in the armed forces and now out looking
5. How many men and how many women by age breakdown using info found from answering question by age and gender
6. Why this information is not in the WSJ for reference to all.
Using unemployment findings without explaining fully who these people are, where they live, their age and gender, and their length of unemployment….is nothing but a shell game……I’ll be looking in the Business Section….
RNC/DNC ……I’M FROM MISSOURI! SHOW ME!!
Have been watching both conventions….listening to the speakers, seeing the convention work, hearing the promise of lower taxes, and do-gooder deeds in the years to come. I’ve watched banners, people, kids, and smiles.I’ve listened to opinions, and heard the ‘4 more years’ as well as ‘no more years’.
But most of all…..I’ve seen little to impress me……And the reason for this opinion is very easy. THERE IS NO PROOF! There is no proof Obamacare will work or fail…..(it’s been spread out not to fully take effect for years…so people will either forget, or throw up their hands in defeat). There is no proof banks will remember who their customers are and become user-friendly again (why should they, their fees and mortgages keep them in he black without doing anything)
Student loans are and were sold on the false idea that money would never dry up….that students graduating would pay easily because of their higher salaries, and that colleges recommended them. So how’s that working?
Taxes go up and taxes come down….promises appear and then fade away. Yes, the answer is touted on both sides…..live within a budget. The problem is “are your paycheck taxes going to be spent on police or parties, on school rooms or school superintendents, on veterans or vague expenditures, on good roads, or gov. rallies, on welfare for the needy or welfare for the greedy, on building a better nation, or feathering a politician’s nest?
My question is…..who, on either side, is going to become the reputable person they probably started out to be? Who, on either side, is going to gallantly represent the people, Who is going to ‘go by the rules in effect’, instead of shying away from what the people voted for. Who is going to stand up to countries who cheat us on a daily basis, just because we can keep dialogue open? Who is going to finally refuse to be part of a United Nations who does nothing but hinder world progress toward helping one’s fellow-man?
SHOW ME…..that man, that party, that representative, that mayor, that councilman, that senator, and yes, that businessman…..and I’ll follow him to the ends of the earth……THAT’S WHAT AMERICA WANTS!!!
CONVENTION TALK
A billion dollars here and a billion dollars there….here a billion, there a billion, everywhere a bilion billion……our eyes are glazing over.
GOUGE AND GEAUX!!
In Shreveport, La.til Mon eve….prices at La Quinta were around $70 a nite…til tuesday…..went to $130. Just people helping people, right!!!!
I AM YOUR POLICY……FROM THE OLD DAYS
While gleaning old files, and shredding in front of the TV, I ran across this letter, attached to a policy that has been cashed in…….thought you would enjoy a little of the ‘old days’ of explanation.
I AM YOUR POLICY
You and I have purpose in this world, which,when broken down, are quite similar. It is YOUR job to provide food, clothing, shelter, schooling, medicine and sundry other things for your loved ones; you do this while I lie in your strong box.
I must have faith and trust in YOU, Mr. Policyholder, for out of your earnings will come the cost of MY upkeep. At times I may appear to be somewhat worthless to you–, but someday (and who knows when) you and I will change places.
When you are laid to rest, I will come alive and do YOUR job. I will provide the food, clothing, shelter, schooling, medicine and other things your family will continue to need — just as you are now doing. When YOUR work and toil is done, MINE will begin, through ME, your hands will carry on.
Whenever you feel the price you are paying for my upkeep is burdensome, remember, that I WILL DO MORE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THAN YOU CAN EVER DO FOR ME.
Mr. Policyholder, if you do your part, I will do mine.
Sincerely
Your policy
‘CAN WE HEAR AN ….’AWWWWW’
THE GADGET AND I
Sometimes the light bulb comes on a little slow for me…and even then it is slightly dim for a while. I try to stay up on general day-to-day living. I read the newspaper, scan the ads, and read about what’s new. In those question and answer series, I’m NOT the one, however, who has to have the newest gadgets or drive the latest gas saving creation from the auto giants. I mean, if they have to ask me for a loan to design and make a vehicle that doesn’t go as far as my electric lawnmower, then I really can’t count on their expertise or reasoning.
So some way this leads me to the items I’m familiar with…like an iron, a desk calculator, a toaster, and of course, my computer. Other than using electricity, these items may not seem to have a lot in common. They can’t be interchanged, however they are very useful. I can clean the iron when the deposits get bad..at least for a while. I can get new tape for the calculator until it bites the dust, and the toaster will work until it decides not to. For the most part they are pretty easy to replace…..and it doesn’t cost me a paycheck.
But then there is there computer….ah yes, it runs, most of the time. I would junk my car if it ran…most of the time. I would pitch the stove top and oven if it ran, most of the time. I would ditch the lawnmower if it ran…most of the time, and I would dump the TVs if they ran…..most of the time. But what about the computer….no dumping here, no trash can here. NO! This baby is here to stay, for at least a few years.
And so I amble along thru my web page and emails. I sigh when the download takes 2 Adel songs to finish. I glare at the screen when ,the famous words “not responding'” flashes before my bloodshot eyes. But when the ‘freeze’ takes over, I am not nice to be around.
The “PREFETCH” and the “%temp%” are run and the trash can is emptied, but no one inside this tower of doom cares. The cookies are eaten and the other “sh…. I don’t know anything about is discarded…and still nothing but the freeze.
Well, let me tell you, this isn’t my first computer….I can call for help. Menus and discussions later, in the darkened gloom of my monitor, I cry ‘uncle’ and begin the search for online 24 hour repair.
Dang if I don’t find one….and they seem to even have a little pity on me. I like Simone…she’s from Miami, and she does her best to dry my tears and promise me things will be better….IF I buy the ‘we’ll fix it 24/7 package”. I hesitate at the cost, she reminds me of the corrupt SOB who has come to live in my house, we discuss using it on two computers, and the decision is made. If she can fix my computer and make it almost as good as it was when I bought it…..she and I will be dear friends. (Now I’m no dummy, cause this baby is a whole 5 years old….and I realize in computer land, this guy is about to be cremated) but I say yes.
And lo……it happens. A mystery person takes over the doomsday machine and 3 hours later, I am sitting in front of a nice mannerly machine that will actually do what I ask it to do….corrupt files gone, virus gone, stupid hidden files, gone, and especially stuff I don’t know about….GONE. I am a happy girl. For one year they promise to give up their first-born, if they can’t keep my computer running and me happy….and, when I move to the other computer, I can move the service there.
For 3 days now all was well……and lo again…….. I had to call. A virus visited me in the middle of the night and froze me up again….plus messed up my games. Now mess with the web page, but don’t mess with Scrabble Blaster, if you know what I mean.
I called, they fixed, end of story. The afternoon sunshine glistens in my star-crossed eyes as I use my old, no ancient computer to write this saga. Ain’t life grand!
Lesson learned here…….Irons and TVs come and go, but my computer damn well stick around for a while. Although I am skating on thin ice here….cause I have come to the conclusion that compouters…….no computers are made to be like my iron or toaster…I repeat MADE to be like my iron and toaster. There are many ways to fix the problems, but we end-users are not allowed to know them. The menus to keep us satisfied are tightly held secrets, known only to the people I pay $180 a year to.
seriouslyscorpio 