Clinton: Hillary would be an 'excellent president'

TOKYO - Former President Clinton said Sunday that his wife, Hillary, would be an excellent choice as the first female leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

In an interview with Japan’s TV Asahi, Clinton said he did not know whether his wife, the senator of New York state, has any plans to one day run for the presidency.

“I don’t know if she’ll run or not,” he told the network, but added, “She would make an excellent president, and I would always try to help her.”

Separately on Sunday, Sen. Joseph Biden said Senator Clinton would be incredibly difficult to beat if she decides to run for president.

Clinton has said she plans to run for re-election as New York senator in 2006. Speculation has periodically surfaced, however, that the 57-year-old former first lady may have her sights set for the presidency in 2008.

Results from a U.S. poll released last week showed that six in 10 American voters believe the United States is ready for a female president.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7041441/

That's funny, I was just talking about Hillary. Hmm, another Clinton for President. What do you think? Could she really get elected?

Brad and I took the Midget out for a spin today, and a visit to the car wash. It was fun driving it! This is the first time I was able to get behind the wheel for any distance. It's certainly much different than driving any of our other vehicles. We noticed that there were a lot of people gawking at us. I wasn't sure if this was because we were driving a neat little British sports car, or if they thought we were nuts for driving a convertible in the middle of the winter as the snow was beginning to fall...

We picked up the MG from our mechanic yesterday. It didn't need anything major - bleeding of the brakes, a switch, a few seals, that was pretty much it. The car received a clean bill of health, and nothing major needs to be replaced anytime soon. That was welcome news. You just don't know what you might have on your hands buying any used car, especially one that is 29 years old. I also received our first batch of MG parts - a few things that need to be replaced (various lights, a doorknob, odds and ends).

We received a call from the notary and are supposed to be receiving a title soon. If the weather holds out, the new car should be on the road very soon. Weather forecasters are predicting the possibility of a bad storm on Monday, unfortunately. It's always hard to say for sure what's going to happen so far ahead of time. Nevertheless, the MG is now being stored under a car cover in the driveway for the time being. We had a stretch of milder weather, but snow is again covering the ground. At least the dogs seem to like it...

Husky love! 

In the news

I think I'm a bit worn out after compiling that "100 Things" list last night. It's time to take a break from writing, and spotlight a few newsworthy items on the web right now.

How many women like chocolate? I love chocolate, but my husband likes to give me a hard time about eating too much of it (the words "gruba dupa" come to mind). However, this story reports that chocolate may actually be good for you in various ways. Hell, we knew this years ago.


Chocolate-fed women have better sex lives

Is chocolate better than sex? While some may argue yes, it turns out you may not have to make the call. Chocolate may just be good -- both to eat and for sex, according to a recent study.

Italian researchers found that women who ate chocolate on a daily basis had higher libidos than those who didn't. They also found that chocolate-fed women had better sexual arousal and more sexual satisfaction. Their scientific conclusion: The craving of choice for many women has some real benefits for our sex lives.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/berman/cst-ftr-berman21.html




Severed penis retrieved from toilet is reattached

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A 44-year-old Anchorage man has had his penis surgically reattached after it was cut off by an angry girlfriend and flushed down a toilet, local police say.

The events unfolded about midnight on Saturday, after the pair had been arguing over an impending breakup, an Anchorage Police Department statement said on Sunday. At some point, the two decided to have sex and the man agreed to let the woman tie his arms to a windowsill.
But the woman used a kitchen knife to amputate her partner's penis and flushed it down the toilet, police said. She untied the man, drove him to a local hospital and was cleaning up the bloody scene when police arrived at the home, according to the statement.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=856&ncid=856&e=15&u=/nm/20050221/od_uk_nm/oukoe_crime_penis

Just remember: you better really trust someone before you allow them to tie you up!




Florida man finds python in the potty

MIAMI (AFP) - A Florida man got a rude awakening when he reportedly found a six-foot (two-meter) python in his potty, rearing its diamond-shaped head out of the toilet bowl.

Shannon Scavotto immediately grabbed his camera phone, snapped a few shots and called for help.

But the reptile expert from animal control was out of town and a snake rescue company wanted 150 dollars, so Scavotto decided to take matters into his own hands.

The St. Petersburg resident lassoed the African rock python out of the toilet, under the watchful eyes of his wife and three-year-old daughter, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

He then called work to say he'd be late, but his boss found the story a little hard to swallow, until Scavotto showed up at his office with the snake.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1516&ncid=1516&e=1&u=/afp/20050224/od_afp/ussnakeoffbeat_050224202313

I found "Palmetto bugs" coming up through the shower drain when I lived in Florida, but this is ridiculous...

And finally...




Man's sperm got ex-lover pregnant, but U.S. appeals court nixes theft charge

CHICAGO (AP) - An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep.

The ruling Wednesday by the Illinois Appellate Court sends Dr. Richard Phillips' distress case back to trial court.

Phillips accuses Dr. Sharon Irons of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" after their affair six years ago, saying she secretly kept semen after they had oral sex, then used it to get pregnant.

He said he didn't find out about the child for nearly two years, when Irons filed a paternity lawsuit. DNA tests confirmed Phillips was the father, the court papers state.
...
The judges backed the lower court decision to dismiss the fraud and theft claims, agreeing with Irons that she didn't steal the sperm.

"She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift - an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee," the decision said. "There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1835&ncid=1835&e=2&u=/cpress/20050224/ca_pr_on_od/oddity_sperm_theft

Orbs... Many orbs...

"100 Things About Me"

Well, I've had this web blog up now for almost 2 months, and I still haven't gotten around to compiling the obligatory personal blog "100 Things About Me" list. At the risk of causing potential embarrassment to family members for illustrating just what a strange one I am, here goes... *clears throat*

100 Things About Me That You May or May Not Know

1. I am horribly obsessive-compulsive, but usually only in secret (shhhh). One of my roommates used to torture me by turning all the labels of my bathroom products so they were backwards.
2. I have bizarre names for our pets that make absolutely no sense. The cat is referred to in the plural ("my friends Sebastian"), and the dogs are often called names such as "La La Doghouse". My husband thinks I'm nuts.
3. My memories stretch back to at least the age of 2. My first unpleasant memory of note is the feeling of a dirty diaper. My first clear memory is the realization that I was living as a cognizant human being. I think I stared at my hands and fingers for about an hour.
4. At age 4, I hid behind the bushes of my family's house and proceeded to cut my hair off, after stapling my hands.
5. At age 5, I thought it would be a fun idea to hide on my family for a day to see if anyone would come looking for me (sorry Mom!).
6. I thought it would be a good idea to ride a skateboard on my chest when I was 8. It wasn't. I still have the scars.
7. I never really found the humor in Monty Python... don't know why, just never appealed to me.
8. I am short (5'2"), but have never thought of myself as being short. I only think of it when someone points it out to me.
9. My husband and I met on the internet. We've both been computer geeks since the late 1970s when PCs first came out.
10. I run an archaeology website which amazingly has close to 10,000 registered members. I wonder where all these people are coming from!?
11. I believe in reincarnation and remember things (and people) from several of my past lives. I might even remember you.
12. I usually don't tell this kind of thing to strangers. People tend think I'm a little nuts anyway... It's better not to encourage them!
13. Before the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome, I used to be able to type 100wpm (and not using all of my fingers). I learned to type on my own from using my brother's Atari 800. John and I ran some of the earliest Atari BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) in the U.S.
14. I've always looked several years younger than my real age. I hope this continues as I get older! I'll chalk it up to good genes!
15. For me, there is never a good hair day. If I could get away with wearing a baseball cap all the time, I probably would. When I was a child, I thought maybe I would have been better off as a guy. I've never been into all the feminine frilly stuff.
16. I've seen what some people would call a ghost on three occasions - in 2 separate houses, and also in an old movie theater. The last one was dressed in ca.1920s clothing!
17. In high school I was a "Vo-Techer" and attended a class in Commercial Art for my junior and senior years. Drawing pictures for 1/2 of each day in high school wasn't a bad way to pass the time at all! This is one of my only positive memories of high school. I really didn't like it very much otherwise.
18. I receive unusual pleasure from simple physical activities like chopping wood, and, well, digging holes. I think I've chosen a career where I like to be intellectually stimulated, but not too much. I'd rather exercise my mind on my own time.
19. In college I built a washing machine out of an exercise bicycle and various parts modeled after the Professor's contraption on Gilligan's Island. The funny thing was, the damn thing worked! It was something of a tourist attraction at our apartment.
20. I have been very poor at several points in my life. I once subsisted on nothing but a bag of nasty, chewy, expired PowerBars purchased 10 for a dollar from a Mexican grocery store. I ate them for over a month, and I will never eat PowerBars again.
21. I think that Bill Clinton would be fun to hang out with, and Hillary is somewhat intimidating. But I'd still consider voting for her if she ran for President.
22. Besides working as an archaeologist, I've had a lot of jobs over the years. I started out delivering newspapers when I was 14. I've also worked through the years as a dishwasher, convenience store/gas station clerk, security guard, deli counter help, cell phone sales associate, clerk at various stores (RadioShack, Sam Goody, Everything Natural, etc.), sewer/assembler of dolls, janitor/maintenance person, office assistant, information systems coordinator, cartographer, AutoCAD technician, researcher, historian, and assistant manager/projectionist at 2 movie theaters. I've also had several factory jobs, delivered phone books, had one little job which involved "surveillance", played trumpet at cemeteries (for funerals, veterans day events, etc.), did a little freelance art/design, been a costumed participant in a parade, been paid to construct a parade float, manned a booth at events, passed out fliers, conducted telephone surveys, picked cucumbers, mowed lawns, and worked as a grunt helping people move. I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can remember right now!
23. I was once scolded by a priest at confession for admitting that I did Tarot card readings.
24. One Thanksgiving, I was invited to dinner at a friend's house. During dinner, I somehow managed to overflow their upstairs toilet. Water ran down the ceiling, onto the chandelier, and on their table. Ever since then, I've had a fear of overflowing toilets.
25. I often have premonitions when something with the plumbing is going to go awry. Once a shower head popped off and hit me in the forehead, and I knew it was going to happen a week ahead of time. Weird, huh?
26. In high school and college I had the bejesus scared out of me on more than one occasion by fooling around with a Ouijia board. One time, I had a whole group of people thinking I was possessed by a spirit from the board. There was a girl down the hall who was afraid of me, and sprinkled holy water on her door to keep me at bay. She went out of her way to avoid running into me for the rest of the school year.
27. I am technically a Reverend in a friend's New Age church. At least I was last time I checked.
28. Over the years, I've attended just about every type of church service there is, everything from fundamentalists to Mormons to Jehovah's Witnesses. I think my interest may stem from my background in anthropology. Observing others' rituals is fascinating to me. This is the only way I was able to bear attending church as a child.
29. I once had a roommate who was in love with her mother. And I walked in on them in the act. After I discovered her relationship, she stopped talking to me, and I ended up moving out.
30. In 9th grade I won a VFW essay contest for an entry entitled, "What Loyalty Means To Me". Go America!
31. I was a vegetarian for seven years. The first items of meat consumed at the end of that period: hot dogs and Slim-Jims! I got physically ill...
32. I only like having my photograph taken from a distance. I've never photographed very well.
33. As a child, my favorite toy was a simple pen and pad of paper. I miss having that kind of ubridled creativity.
34. I have been told that, on several occasions, I've spoken foreign languages fluently in my sleep, in particular, Russian and Spanish. In my waking state, I have never learned to speak either of these languages. I actually have a hard time learning languages. In college, I had to take German classes repeatedly to get a passing grade. I failed French in high school.
35. In college, when drinking alcohol, I used to adopt a Southern accent without trying to. The scary thing was that I couldn't stop. It used to freak people out sometimes.
36. The smell of a freshly spackled wall has always been a pleasant sensation for me. I think this originated with my parents' building of a new house when I was 4 or 5 years old.
37. My husband and I do not watch television. At all. I feel like I am quickly losing touch with popular culture. If I were to watch TV, it would likely be something educational or a documentary.
38. I have a weakness for renting DVDs - usually foreign or indie films. I think Netflix is the greatest thing.
39. My husband and I agree to disagree about politics. It's a forbidden topic of discussion in our household. He is a Republican who loves George Bush and I'm a raging liberal.
40. In high school, I was often accused of reading the dictionary for fun. I thought the accusation was unfounded, as I only did this once.
41. When I was a child, I sometimes had difficulty pronouncing words. My kindergarten teachers made fun of me for once asking "to use the faculties" (I was trying to say "use the facilities").
42. At age 6 I wrote a book about a little girl who was abducted by aliens. You can say me being weird was always a given.
43. I am a closet Shania Twain fan.
44. In college I failed a photography class by not completing one assignment: a nude self-portrait.
45. I have a difficult time starting my day without at least one cup of coffee and NPR.
46. I'm a former chain-smoker. Nowadays I'm lucky if I have one cigarette every year - only if I am very stressed.
47. In high school, I was voted the quietest of my senior class. It wasn't that I didn't talk - I just didn't talk to most people. I recently skipped my 15-year high school reunion.
48. I love to sing - but only when I have no audience.
49. E-mail has replaced the telephone in most of my communication with friends. I think we're casualties of the digital age.
50. I'm probably the only person I know who visited New Orleans for Mardi Gras and didn't drink any alcohol.
51. Several of my jobs in college entailed working as a pizza delivery girl. On one occasion I was chased by a large woman in a moo-moo dress. She accused me of trying to sell her "white man's pizza". I wasn't sure what race had to do with anything. Oh well.
52. At another job working at a movie theater, I was also chased by a man who tried to break into the theater. I narrowly escaped. I didn't report the incident to the police, though I'm not really sure why.
53. You know those pictures people post on ghost chaser websites of orbs? I've seen them since I was 19 years old. The orbs actually move around pretty fast, even though they appear to be stationary in people's photos. It's not a big deal - I've run into at least 5 other people who also see them. I have no idea what they really are!
54. In college, I was known as the wild girl who would jump into water fountains or do crazy things after a night of drinking. I've also been kicked out of fraternity houses for being too obnoxious while under the influence. Few people know it, but I had to do "community service" in my dorm as punishment for "inciting a riot". The funny thing is, after college, I was no longer interested in drinking alcohol. Some people have told me that I'm not a "real archaeologist" because I usually don't go to the bar with the crew.
55. Everyone thinks I can't cook. I really can, I just don't want to.
56. Though I spend a lot of free time in front of a computer, I hate to sit in front of one at work for very long. I'd much rather be out in the woods digging holes all day.
57. When I was 18, I wanted to have my name legally changed to "Tatiana Domanich". My mother talked me out of the idea. I still think it has a nice ring to it.
58. Walking through old houses has always excited me. If I visit an old house that I've never been to, I always want to see the basement.
59. If I could get away with sleeping for 12 hours out of the day, I'd probably do it.
60. I have always intuitively practiced the principles of Feng Shui.
61. My husband has been employed in the past at a well-paying job playing video games.
62. I don't think John Kerry tried hard enough. For awhile, I was pretty pissed about it too.
63. I once broke up with a guy over religion. He thought I was going to hell. I thought he was nuts. God interfered in our relationship. The last I saw of my ex he was passing out bibles to people on the street. God bless him.
64. Two of my most interesting archaeology projects involved digging up graves at cemetaries. Some of the bodies were a little, shall we say, fresh. I've been up close to rotting corpses and had brains and body parts splash in my face and hair. I've excavated gunshot victims who have had their skull blown off and accidentally tasted dried maggots that fell off a skull. Occasionally I have nightmares about dead people. I'm not sure if I would ever do another cemetary excavation project.
65. In high school I dated a guy who was wanted by the law. On some of our dates, we were pursued by the police. It was terribly exciting at the time.
66. In junior high, I was the founder of not one, but two computer clubs. Yeah, I'm a dork.
67. College took me almost 7 years to finish (and that was just for my BA). I can usually kick ass playing Jeopardy.
68. It upsets me when people squash bugs for no reason. Maybe I was a Jain in a past life?
69. I've had several friends who were strippers, er, exotic dancers. I was always jealous of how much discretionary income they had to blow.
70. A perfect life for me would entail an apartment in the city, and a house in the country.
71. I've always been fascinated by Chinese Foo Dogs, or Tibet Snow Lions. For those who aren't familiar with them, this is usually the pair of statues you see in front of Chinese restaurants. I used to dream about them a lot. In dreams, we would communicate telepathically.
72. If I could live anywhere, it would probably be out west in Arizona or California.
73. At one time I lived with a friend in a 14 foot camper near the U.S./Mexico border. One of my jobs there was working the graveyard shift alone at the local 7-Eleven. And I couldn't speak Spanish.
74. For many years, there was a guy I knew who was somewhat obsessed with me. I hope he's not reading this blog right now. *shudders*
75. Sometimes I wish I didn't tell people about my blog. If I could hide behind the veil of anonymity, this would sure be more fun! ;>
76. I was once blessed and cursed by two different Native Americans in the course of a week. I figured that the blessing and the cursing cancelled each other out.
77. On several occasions I've traveled cross-country on a Greyhound bus. I was chaperoned by a newly released prisoner on one trip (a convicted murderer, no less), and proposed to by a drunk Native American elder on another. On one trip, I had someone press a crack pipe into my hand, and witnessed an incestuous mother-son couple making out and swigging tequilia out of a thermos. I alternately find comfort or trepidation in the fact that there are a lot of people weirder than me out there.
78. Twice in my life I have had someone try to get me in their car. Again, there are a lot of weird people out there, and some sickos to boot.
79. I am, without a doubt, addicted to Chapstick. I think there's an extra ingredient in there that nobody knows about...
80. In high school, I once let some friends copy my test answers in history class. I gave them the wrong answers on purpose. I can be a bitch sometimes.
81. I don't currently have a religious affiliation, but if I had to choose, I'd probably either be a Pagan or follow a path of Native American spirituality.
82. If I were rich, I'd blow most of the money on traveling. A large portion would also be donated to charity. I think it would be fun to give envelopes stuffed with hundred dollar bills to complete strangers.
83. I always knew I'd never quite be one of the cool kids in school, but I didn't really give a damn.
84. In college, a friend and I were put into a situation where we could have been raped in a fraternity house. It was one of the scariest close-calls I've ever had.
85. I have a story in my head that I've been writing and rewriting every since I was a kid. I usually play out different scenarios within the storyline whenever I'm bored.
86. I once physically bumped into a black bear (I was carrying a box in my hands at the time and didn't see it until I almost knocked it over). It was a large mother bear with cubs. On another occasion, I was chased by a bear for about 1/2 mile. It was so close behind me that I could hear it breathing.
87. I've actually had a lot of encounters with animals, usually on archaeology projects. There have been a lot of snakes, and spider bites have sent me to the hospital. Sometimes dealing with the public has proven to be just as difficult. I've had the cops called on me, and on one project, my boss was hit in the knee with a shovel by someone who didn't want us digging on his property.
88. I was once present for an exorcism. I can't really say whether or not it was successful.
89. I've probably read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" at least three or four times. At first I thought the protagonist was really messed up, but she's been kind of growing on me.
90. When I was a teenager, I often had premonitions of things that would come to pass. As I've gotten older, I seem to have lost a lot of my psychic abilities. Life is a little less complicated this way. Oh yeah, and I see things too. I usually don't tell people about it.
91. Over the years, I've chosen to have friends who were always far more interesting than myself. Sometimes I live vicariously through other people.
92. One of my majors in college was art. I once submitted a 3-dimensional sculpture with live mice as part of the work. It went well until the mice escaped into the art gallery...hehehe.
93. For some reason, I find firing a rifle to be quite exciting! I've never wanted to go hunting, but, man, I could shoot a gun all day. The staccato percussion of the ammo vacating the weapon and the smell of the gunpowder invigorate me.
94. I was in the Army- briefly. I was foolish not to have stayed in. It's something I will always regret.
95. The gas chamber was simultaneously both my favorite and least favorite experience in basic training. I did very well on the rifle range firing an M-16, especially during night fire while wearing a gas mask. I think I was pretty close to being a crack shot. I wish I had an M-16 of my own.
96. Late at night on a street in San Diego, I once scared away a potential attacker by reciting one of the violent cadences I learned in basic training... something about bayonets and "blood making the grass grow green". Hoo-ahh! Even though I was only in the Army for 2 months, I learned a lot that actually helped me out later on in life. Call me crazy, but I thought about enlisting again, but I'm getting too old now. It really bothers me that I wasn't able to finish what I had started.
97. Secretly, I really enjoy receiving junk mail. It's good to know that someone cares.
98. I have been told that I have been abducted by space aliens. I have also been told that I really AM an alien. I just want to know when the mother ship is really coming. This waiting around kind of sucks.
99. My doctor told me that I broke my clavicle bone when I was a kid. I have no recollection of the event, though it was supposed to have been very painful. I'm thinking that maybe the aliens did it during one of those abductions? That would explain the missing memory...
100. It's not a well-known fact, but there are a lot of weird people who work in the field of archaeology. Try as I may, I can't think of anything I'd rather be than an archaeologist! In this profession, I almost fit in...

Oil's well that ends well...

(I like thinking up cheesy headlines for this blog...)

Sometimes it's easy to take the basic necessities of life for granted... health, food, shelter, that kind of thing. Yesterday Brad and I found out just how unpleasant it is to do without heat in the middle of a cold Pennsylvania winter. We ran out of heating oil on Monday night. Usually this wouldn't post much of a problem, but we also did not have any wood cut for the woodstove. I plugged in an electric heater, but that kept tripping the house wiring (something we need to update), so, we went without.

I remembered that diesel fuel can be used in a home oil heating system in this kind of scenario, and Brad drove to the gas station and lugged back 20 gallons of the stuff in jerry cans. He emptied the cans into the fuel inlet, but was unable to restart the system. So, we acquiesed and bundled up for the evening. The dogs joined us in the bedroom, and the cat snuggled up between us for maximum warmth. In the morning, I called various oil companies with limited success. Finally, we were able to get someone to deliver on short notice. Brad and I learned something new: an oil furnace must be bled before being restarted. With this precious kernel of knowledge, we were back on our way to heat.

We've been in this house now for close to 3 years, and are still learning about it. Can't say lack of heat was ever a problem in Florida...

 

It's in the stars?

What are your thoughts on astrology? I just got a free reading online.

This was a bit long, so I've just included a short excerpt...


Sun in Gemini, Moon in Cancer

You were born with the Sun in Gemini and the Moon in Cancer. Your personality comes under the rulership of the Moon which indicates one who is attached to the comforts of her home life. You are friendly in manner and gesture. You are highly sensitive to nature and your surroundings. You should be careful not to fall under the influence of other people so readily.

You have the capacity to escape the confines of self and empathize fully with the feelings of others. The Moon in cancer always creates a personality overflowing with sensitivity and emotions. In order to feel secure it is very important that you have your family and social affairs completely settled and running smoothly.

Coming under the influence of the Sun in Gemini, your core is intellectual, seemingly in opposition to your personality.Internally you are less emotional than appears by the role you have assumed in society. You need to have more determination and self-reliance in whatever you do.

The key to a better integration of your personality is to become more detached and independent of your family and home affairs and to acquire a more solid psychological focal point, so that you follow your goals with more determination.

Ascendant in Cancer, Moon in the First House

At the time of your birth the zodiacal sign of Cancer was ascending in the horizon. Its ruler the Moon is located in the first house.

Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiacal belt and its natives are under the rulership of the Moon. Your life will be full of changes and intermittent periods of activity and relaxation. Your vulnerability to external influences makes you subconsciously imitate the manners and ways of those with whom you relate.

In many instances, circumstances will require that you play the role of worldliness and sophistication but under the mask there will exist a very sensitive human being who is easily offended, and also very perceptive of the more subtle influences and impressions, as well as of psychic vibrations.

Cancer gives the tendency to completely retreat when hurt or frightened of a situation. This happens to you often because you tend to interfere in the affairs of others when you are not needed or wanted. Throughout your life, your responses will be emotional rather than rational.

Cancer also gives a tendency for life to be centered in the home and family; your attachment to your private and domestic habits is so strong that without them you could hardly endure. In love matters, you are emotional and gentle.

For the difficult aspects we must warn you against becoming overly preoccupied with trivial details of a psychological nature. Another tendency that you have is to flatter and to criticize carelessly, without regard for the other person's feelings.

Destiny may place you in environments where your natural traits can be best expressed. You will be happier when allowed to be occupied with searching for a person or a thing, though not necessarily in important work.

The Moon, the ruler of your life, is located in the mundane first house. This is a strong position for the Moon and will generally indicate that whatever success you obtain in life is solely due to your own effort and ability.

You appear to be someone with whom it is easy to relate. Your disposition is exceedingly sensitive and sensible and very affected by all opinions and cliches that you pick up. You feel compassion for those who suffer and are very apt to have a humane understanding of problems and of psychological complexities. When free to express yourself, you display a fanciful flair, imagination and a creative spirit.

Public opinion and rumors are constantly awakening your interest; you strive to be involved in all sorts of organizations as well as to make the acquaintance of well known personages.

In your inner self you possess a tenacious, persistent and determined disposition with a great power to cling to a single idea or person. Your nature is hypersensitive to psychic influences; you can practically feel the vibrations of a place or person as if they were physical quantums of energy.


If you're interested in trying this out, you can get a free reading at http://www.astro.com .

Not quite spring yet...

Dark and dreary this morning, the Rovers are presently buried under several inches of snow... 

This morning's webcam from Cape Breton Island - not much snow on the ground 

It's been a few days since I've updated this blog. As you can see from the first photo, the weather has taken a turn that is decidely more winter-like. Par for the course in February, I suppose. I just keep telling myself, a few more weeks, and the snow will disappear (hopefully - PA weather can do anything this time of the year). Interestingly enough, the weather on Cape Breton Island looks a little nicer than what we have here!

It looks like I won't be able to drive the new MG legally for a few more weeks anyway. When we bought the car, we transferred the title at a notary in Pittsburgh. Apparently we now have to wait 4-6 weeks for the state to issue us a new certificate of title in order to register & insure it here. The waiting is killing me, but maybe it's for the best. In a few more weeks, spring will be here - a much better time to take out the new convertible. Right now the MG is at a local mechanic getting checked out. Hopefully we'll find out just what we have on our hands very soon.

MG Midget advertisement, ca. 1976 

Chris, my father, and me with his new MGB, ca. 1977 

New car!

I am happy to report that I've just had a childhood dream realized. My dad had an MGB convertible in the 1970s, and since then, I have ALWAYS wanted one of my own. My husband surprised me by announcing that I could get one as a Valentine's Day present (I don't know what I must have done to deserve a present like this!). After recovering from the shock of him wanting to add another vehicle to our fleet (which now numbers 6 vehicles), the search for a proper MG commenced.

We scanned the auctions on e-bay, bought a few copies of Paper Shop and the various auto classified mags, and looked elsewhere on the web. I finally found an MG in the Pittsburgh area which sounded like a pretty good deal. The price was right, and from all accounts, the vehicle was in pretty good shape. It was a 1976 MG Midget, which is actually a slightly smaller model than the MGB. I didn't know how tiny this car was until we pulled up and saw it in person. It makes the clown car at the circus seem small in comparison. Let's put it this way, I'm pretty short, and I tower over this thing. My waist is actually higher than the hood, and I can lean over the roof very easily. This is the only car that I've ever had that feels like it is just my size!

On Wednesday, Brad and I left the house at 4am and drove out to Pittsburgh. I had pre-arranged a U-Haul auto transport trailer in the area. The Discovery had a tow hitch, and the U-Haul rep said there wasn't anything else we needed. We found out that was not the case when we pulled up. Apparently we needed to buy a trailer hookup kit for the lighting, brakes, etc. for the Land Rover. We were told that this was a Land Rover-specific item that could only be obtained at the dealership. After a few phone calls, we found out that the nearest dealership was reportedly in eastern Pennsylvania, that is, at least a 5 or 6 hour drive! Brad refused to believe this could be possible, and looked through a Land Rover manual in the vehicle. Lo and behold, he located a Land Rover dealership that was located in Sewickley, PA, which coincidentally was located about 1 1/2 miles from the U-Haul franchise. We shelled out $260 or so for the trailer hookup, which U-Haul installed for us, and finally were on our way to pick up the MG.

We were pleased with the car... that is, until we began to load it onto the U-Haul auto transport trailer. This MG is so tiny that its width was barely enough to fit onto the steel wheel supports of the trailer. I watched in complete horror as not once, but twice, the car actually fell off the trailer as we were trying to load it (there is one scratch to show for the experience). Somehow the car made it on the trailer, and Brad strapped down the wheels. We then drove back across the state, trying to avoid potholes and rough road, and hoping that the car was stable enough on the trailer. I would never transport this car on this kind of trailer again - anyone who is thinking about purchasing a Midget should take note!

Luckily we made it home without incident. We got the car off the trailer without any problems, and already went for a spin. Brad thinks that the MG handles like a "typical British sportscar". I don't know if that's a good or bad thing...lol. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know my new car, inside and out. I hope spring comes here soon, as this should be a lot of fun.

A shot of the vehicle with the top down. I don't think we'll be trying this at home for another month or two yet... 

Luckily the MG also came with a tonneau cover...pretty cool! 

The Discovery was pressed into service to tow the vehicle. Eventually we'd like to get an auto trailer to tow our other vehicles as well. 

Notice that the width of this car is just about the width of the supports on the U-Haul trailer. Potential MG Midget buyers: you may want to rent a different type of trailer. I wish I had known this beforehand... 

Finally home, and just unloaded off the trailer 

The trio of windshield wipers is very interesting! 

Shot of the interior - this is it, just 2 seats, and a very small space behind them, maybe big enough for 2 small bags of groceries. Getting into this space is a bit like fitting your body into a bobsled - awkward at first, but afterwards it's fairly comfortable and cocoon-like. The best part was watching my 6'1" husband getting into this..hehe. 

I really like the chrome luggage rack. It's needed, as there isn't much space in the trunk for anything but the tire. 

We just took it around the block for a spin. Next, it's off to apply for an antique registration, and a visit to the MG mechanic in town to give it the once-over. I'm also keeping a running list of the various little bits that need to be replaced (things like wiper blades, a doorknob handle, weatherstripping). We now have our hands full with antique British vehicles... I think I'm up for the challenge!

National Humor

Two bits of national humor... The first was forwarded to me by Kerry, and the second was a post on the Poconocommuter.com website.

Item #1

A recently discovered text, which the Bush Administration apparently managed to deep-six (aided by the legislation currently in effect that bans the importation of subversive materials printed outside the U. S.), forcing this circulation among the affected population to occur in samizdat fashion.

NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE

by Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) Fawlty Towers, Torquay, Devon, England

To the citizens of the United States of America:

In the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern ourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths nd other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy.

Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need forfurther elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium". Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as "favour" and "neighbour", skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell "doughnut" without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "-ize" will be replaced by the suffix "-ise". You will learn that the suffix "burgh" is pronounced "burra" e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as "Pittsberg" if you can't cope with correct pronunciation.

Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up "vocabulary". Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with fillernoises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up "interspersed". There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.

2. There is no such thing as "US English". We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'U' and the elimination of "-ize".

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as"Taggart" will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon". If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as "Men Behaving Badly" or "Red Dwarf"will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up halfway through.

6. You should stop playing "American football". There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as "American football" is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays "American football". You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby,which is similar to "American football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies. We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called "rounders" which is baseball without fancy teamstrip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.

7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called "Indecisive Day".

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will gometric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British senseof humour.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French Fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian, though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist oncalling potato chips are properly called "crisps". Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.

12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer", and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "lager". The substances formerly known as "American Beer" will henceforth be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine", with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as "Weak Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine". This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or "gasoline" as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6 US/gallon- get used to it).

14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only behandled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.

16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).

17. Last but not the least, and for heaven's sake... it's pronounced "nu-kleer" as in "clear" NOT "nuk-u-lar". Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.


Item #2

ONLY IN AMERICA:

Only in America.....do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America......do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke!

Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.

Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

EVER WONDER .... Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?! Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

This photo is from awhile back, as the grass is still green and not covered in snow. It's one of the few of Tasha I have where she doesn't look like an evil dog! 

Kylie standing near one of the many holes the dogs have excavated in their fenced-in yard 

A pair of lazy Siberian Huskies (it's VERY difficult to see in this photo, but there is also a lazy Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix lounging on the couch in the background)

This photo made me laugh out loud. Kylie had just woken up from a nap, and somehow her ears had turned inside out. 

Megaliths abound

NZ unveils Stonehenge replica

By Kim Griggs Wellington, New Zealand

Nestled into the verdant hills of the New Zealand region of the Wairarapa is the world's newest "Stonehenge" but this henge is no mere pastiche.

Instead, Stonehenge Aotearoa, which opened this weekend, is a full-scale adaptation of its Salisbury Plain ancestor, built to work for the Antipodes.

The aim of the Kiwi Stonehenge is to help people rediscover the basics of astronomy.

"You can read as much as you like in a book how the sun and the moon work, how people use stars to navigate by, or to foretell the seasons," says Richard Hall, president of the Phoenix Astronomical Society which built the henge.

"You stand here amongst the henge and you show people exactly how it works. Somehow it simplifies it and it becomes that much more easy to understand," he said.
...
One advantage of the New Zealand henge, says Geoff Austin, professor of geophysics at the University of Auckland and head of the New Zealand Institute of Physics, is that visitors are able to explore the structure in depth.

"The original is rather difficult to understand and nowadays one is not even allowed to walk near it so this one is much more hands on," he explained.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4264945.stm

I've always loved megaliths. If only most of what I do for work was this interesting... New England has its own megalithic mystery site. If you've never visited America's Stonehenge (http://www.stonehengeusa.com) in Salem, New Hampshire, it's worth a visit if you're in the area. I have been there twice over the years. A lot of archaeologists seem to dismiss this kind of thing, but I think it's fascinating.

This past weekend I was cleaning up our property, and had the experience of moving a stack of several hundred pounds of 2" thick slate. Using an elaborate system of fulcrums, I was able to move a large slab about 4 feet - it only took about 20 minutes! ;p After this, I have a new appreciation for individuals who were able to move massive blocks of stone. One of the most amazing sites I've ever been to is Sacsayhuaman (http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_9.htm) in Peru. Visiting this type of archaeological site was, for me, a very humbling experience.

And just so the locals here in the Poconos don't feel left out, we have our own modern megalithic site - http://www.columcille.org/. One of these days it may merit a road trip...

The times they are a changin'

An article by the Washington Post (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6962426/) claims that CDs will eventually go the way of the LP, 8-track, and cassette. Downloading music via the internet is on the rise, Ipods are flying off the shelves, and "no format" music is likely in our future.

Sure, I can see this happening. I'm a music lover. But how many CDs do I own now? Hmm, probably about 5, and they are all computer-burned mixes either I or someone else has made (otherwise, the used CDs would have probably ended up on e-bay by now). Somewhere in the closet I still have a box of record albums, and there are hundreds of cassettes lying around in storage. We do have 2 MP3 players that we use to listen to audiobooks, but they're pretty small in storage (64MB) compared to these 20 GB monster models now on the market.

A few years ago, Brad bought me a MiniDisc player for Christmas (pictured above). The technology for MiniDiscs isn't exactly new, but this format is well-suited for our purposes. A MiniDisc is like a small CD enclosed in a hard plastic shell (which prevents it from being scratched). They are said to be rewriteable up to 1,000,000 times, and can hold up to 5 hours of music (though I've been told there is a newer MiniDisc format which now holds a lot more).

Over the last few years, I made the decision that I am no longer going to try to keep up with the ever-changing formats of music on the market. I'm going to stick with MiniDisc, though I'm sure one day it will probably be an antique in its own right. Everything I've had has been slowly being changed over to the MiniDisc format, including the aforementioned record albums, cassettes, CDs, and well, if I still had 8-tracks, I'd copy them too. MiniDiscs can also be used to record voice or music with microphones (reporters tend to use them a lot professionally), as well as downloaded MP3s, and capturing streaming audio across the net with the right equipment. I still think it's the most versatile format out there right now, at least for our purposes. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I like having some kind of disc in my hand, something tangible. And for those folks who have 10,000 songs on their Ipod, I sure hope you have some kind of backup. If something ever happened to the MP3 player, that kind of loss would be catastrophic to a music lover.

The Rovers, in warmer times 

Halfway through the weekend...

Today was pretty decent, as far as winter goes. Relatively sunny, in the low 40s, and not too windy. I spent most of it outside cleaning up the property. Last year Brad cut down some trees in the area of our house's 19th century summer kitchen. I removed most of the trees, and used a lopper to trim a giant pile of kindling for the woodstove. The summer kitchen has been used as a trash pit for probably the last 50 or 75 years of this house's existence, so I've also slowly been getting rid of junk. Eventually when the surface is cleaned of most debris, I'll get to the fun part - excavating the summer kitchen! We've already recovered a number of artifacts from a cursory examination last summer, including lots of historic ceramics, bricks, patent medicine bottles, etc.

Brad spent part of the day working on the 101. 1 down, 2 Rovers to go. Actually the 109 only needs a new battery and windscreen. The 88 has a few more issues, though all are relatively minor. I'd rather not drive it for the time being, though, without an emergency brake. The weather was somewhat mild today, but, generally, Brad hasn't wanted to spend a lot of time outside this season working on the Rovers. We're hoping to erect a pole barn / garage in the spring when the weather breaks...

Global warming? Naaaahh...

NASA: 2005 could be warmest year recorded

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A weak El Nino and human-made greenhouse gases could make 2005 the warmest year since records started being kept in the late 1800s, NASA scientists said this week.

While climate events like El Nino -- when warm water spreads over much of the tropical Pacific Ocean --affect global temperatures, the increasing role of human-made pollutants plays a big part.

"There has been a strong warming trend over the past 30 years, a trend that has been shown to be due primarily to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, based in New York.

The warmest year on record was 1998, with 2002 and 2003 coming in second and third, respectively.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/02/11/warming.planet.nasa.reut/index.html

Why cats like the dairy barn...

This is really cute. The cat on the left looks like Sebastian!

From http://www.strangecosmos.com