My Inauguration Photo Blog As Posted To Facebook

Inspiration Tuesday

Telepathic Kids

Public defy frowny-faced journalists and buy clothing, anyway!

My daughter and her friend were at the Chandler mall -- sorry, the "Chandler Fashion Center"-- yesterday, and they said that all the stores were crowded, with lines at all the cash registers.

When my husband said, "They must be having really big sales," my daughter said that there really weren't any deep discounts. The best sale was "save ten dollars for every thirty you spend" at American Eagle. People were buying anyway.

To those who live in yucky climates: It was a totally beautiful day here in Arizona, so no one was in the mall because they couldn't be outside.

Obviously my daughter and her friend didn't visit every store in the mall. For example, they didn't check out Ann Taylor or J. Jill. But they were in every clothing store that appeals to teens and young women (more than half of the stores at the mall!) Claire's, Limited II/Justice (they appear to have merged,) the Apple store, Build-A-Bear workshop and Nordstrom's.

I think the public has decided that they are sorry that they listened to all gloom-and-doom journalists and didn't have more lavish Christmases and they are making up for it now.

(Each year that the papers report bad holiday retail sales, I scream at the newsprint -- like it does any good -- "You morons! Everyone I know starts holiday shopping in freaking JULY! We pick up things all year round, often through the magic of the Internet. How the heck do YOU know what's getting socked away for December? If the stores didn't put up their Christmas trees right after freaking LABOR DAY, maybe they would know how many "holiday sales" they really have!")

The restaurants were busy, too. I guess someone desperate for a negative headline could make something out of this: We went to Outback at 6pm, thinking there would be a forty-minute line, but there was only a thirty-minute line. "OUTBACK GOING UNDER!!!!!"

Ponies BANNED at Fountain Hills High

My daughter's high school officially has the dumbest firewall software ever. This isn't a matter of blocking Food.TV because they mention "chicken breasts." This is software that gets its instructions from the planet Zork. This is software that makes no sense at all.

My daughter's semester project in English is to create a blog about horses. Anyone who knows my daughter is saying, right now, "Of course!" As part of her assignment, she was supposed to show her teacher examples of similar blogs. So yesterday, in the classroom, on the school's computer, in the presence of her teacher, she tried to reach the following sites:

Horse Bloggers

Araya's Blog which she first tried to access through Stable Days.

Blocked, blocked and blocked!

Okay, I can see how in Paranoid World, Horse Bloggers might be blocked. After all, sometimes the ladies on Horse Bloggers (anyone know knows horses will not be surprised that all the blogs we checked out were women's) sometimes talk about things other than horses. Sometimes they talk about cooking, and it's possible that one of these ladies might possibly have gone so far as to post a recipe for "chicken breasts."

And I can also see how, in Really Paranoid World, Araya's Blog might be blocked. A student might decide to see what "Typepad" is all about. They will find that it's a place to host blogs. Then maybe they will starting reading those blogs. And maybe they will find stuff that their parents don't want them to see. And why make your firewall software work hard to filter out those blogs? Poor software! It's so tired! Better just ban Typepad completely!

But I cannot understand how any human on the planet Earth who is not a member of the Taliban can find anything wrong with Stable Days. It's a website about a fictional girl who rides horses. If it got any more G-rated sugar syrup would ooze out of your computer screen. Fans of the site go to Araya-the-fictional-girl's blog and post photos of their ponies, their birthday parties, their ponies' birthday parties and.... well, you get the picture. This is where I start to suspect infiltration from Zork.

And yes, I am calling the principal. I'll let you know what they say!

Baby Horse Jumping Photos!

I got to see my "baby" horse being trained yesterday. He's being ridden by Shannon Alexander.



Here's how he started out: naughty!



Here he is getting his dressage on!



Here he is jumping the sails for the first time. He's jumping big, just in case they're deceptive!



Here he is after a few rounds. He's figured out he doesn't have to make all that effort!

2009 Xmas Prediction

There were a lot of canceled corporate holiday parties this year (December 2008.) Companies would cancel even if it meant they would lose their deposits on musicians, catering and banquet rooms. Other companies, who usually plan late in the year, didn't book at all. In the past, bad economic times meant a cheaper party, not a canceled party, but this year, for many companies, el-zippo.

I think some of them are regretting this now. I think an e-mail message I just received from a regular client is the tip of the iceberg. Normally they book the same band two months in advance. This year they waited until December, asking for pricing (which hadn't changed) and then decided on no party at all. Then yesterday, January 12, they asked me if the band is available for Xmas 2009.

I think a lot of companies are now saying, "What were we, crazy?" The canceled parties probably gave the employees the impression that the company was going under, which was bad for morale, as well as the rumor mill. The companies are probably saying, "Why did we panic? We could have afforded that!" and "If we get in serious trouble, the amount we saved by canceling the party won't help."

My husband thinks that companies will plan holiday parties again this year because it's widely predicted that things will be better by next December, but I think they'll have them anyway. You can't spend every waking moment being a Gloomy Gus, and no one likes Eeyore at Christmas.

The Ornamental Ceramic Moose

Disagreeing with a Saint

I came across this quote from St. Isaac of Nineveh today:

"Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you."

I've read some of St. Isaac's writings before, and am generally of the same mindset, but this time I'm not so sure.

It's easy to see how you will be at peace with the Universe in general if you are at peace with your own soul. However, there are plenty of mortals here on earth who have their own agendas, and who are definitely not in harmony with you no matter how certain you are of your own path.

Maybe some of my philosophically-minded friends will add their thoughts!

The Seventies called; they want their bed back

All kidding aside, I love this!

Okay, this layout has finally made me mad enough to change it!

I didn't use a layout generator on this blog because I thought it looked fine, but apparently the way it is now you can only post teeny images. NOT good for posting cartoons! So now I know what I'm doing today -- programming this blog!

UPDATE: It was a quick fix!

Another Fun Submilimal Advertising Story

Another fun subliminal advertising story

Yesterday: Wine. Today: Beer!

Why is Corona served with lime?

No, it has NOTHING to do with any ways people in Mexico do or do not drink beer.

According to Parade magazine, which offers no names or citations and therefore could be totally making this up or passing on a story that would make a great urban legend, in 1981 a bartender somewhere in the US stuck a lime in the neck of a Corona bottle and bet his buddy that he could start a trend.

If this is true, hope Corona found a way to reward that guy! The "lime-in-the-Corona" craze caused Corona to overtake Heineken as the best-selling imported beer in the US.

Fun Subliminal Advertising Story

I think stories about what induces people to buy things are fascinating. Here's one from a recent Parade magazine, so of course there are absolutely no citations and it could be totally made up.

British researchers spent two weeks playing either French accordian music or German oom-pah music in the wine section of a supermarket. On French music days, 77% of shoppers bought French wines, and on German music days, almost all shoppers bought German wines.

Forty-four customers filled out a survey about their wine selections, and only one mentioned the background music as a reason for picking their particular kind of wine.

More tomorrow!

Inspirational Artwork

Cavemen

I don't think this really qualifies as a clearance sale

American Home Furnishings has declared bankruptcy and they are having a "huge clearance sale." We went there yesterday.

Their housewares, pictures and mirrors are 50% off. That's pretty cool, although not really a rock-bottom price. And what is more, they don't give any further discounts for damaged goods! That's right: if there are two mirrors, and one is missing some decorative tiles, it's the same price as a mirror that is intact.

Their furniture is 10% off. TEN percent? They say the prices had already been reduced, but how do we know that? We're in the market for TV stands. We saw one there that we had already seen on the internet. The "reduced price," minus the 10% discount, plus tax, made the price to match -- not beat, match -- the price on line.

I'm not sure how serious they are about liquidating their stock!

The importance of the intangible

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub;
It is on the hole in the center
that the use of the cart hinges.

We make a vessel from a lump of clay;
It is the empty space within the vessel
that makes it useful.

We make doors and windows for a room;
But it is these empty spaces
that make the room livable.

Thus, while the tangible has its advantages,
It is the intangible that makes it useful.

-- Lao Tzu

Quick fix for downed internet connections

>


Did you know that your computer's cable internet cable could build up a static charge? Me, neither! If you mysteriously can't connect to the internet, that might be the cause.

I was on the phone with tech support, and there didn't seem to be any problem with my modem, router, or connection between my house and the cable company. I had already unplugged and replugged the cable that goes into my computer. Then I had a flash: what if my cable was actually bad?

I took my laptop to the den, and my connection was fine there. The tech support guy told me that my kitchen cable could have just up and died, but that I should try this: take my laptop back to the kitchen and reverse which ends of the cable do what (wall now goes into computer, computer now goes into wall.) It worked!

Apparently your cable can build up a static charge. Reversing the ends takes care of it.

I love it when I find a good tech support guy!

Smoking bans really do save lives!

There have been eight serious studies of the effects of smoking bans on public health, but this ninth one is the most important because it's the longest. A three-year study of post-smoking-ban heart-attack rates in Pueblo, Colorado shows a decline in heart attacks of FORTY-ONE PERCENT!

For more info, go to the Center for Disease Control website.

The lesson: stay away from second-hand smoke!