HOUSES OF SAN DIEGO AND STUFF

This picture is of two "houses" near San Diego, California. My auntie lives nearby and we had to take the pics. The boats have been remodeled to be honest to goodness liveable "land boats". Well, they couldn't be "house boats" could they? The picture will enlarge by clicking on it. (P.S., I didn't say anything about "strange people in California" to her either.) This post is meant to give you a little respite from the usual serious stuff I blog about. Enjoy. And don't forget to click on the header. _______________________________________________________________-- Dear Dogs and Cats, PET RULES The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required. The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough! To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets: 1. They live here. You don't. 2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. 4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they: 1. Eat less 2. Don't ask for money all the time 3. Are easier to train 4. Normally come when called 5. Never ask to drive the car 6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends 7. Don't smoke or drink 8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions 9. Don't want to wear your clothes 10. Don't need a "gazillion" dollars for college. And finally, 11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children ________________________________________________________________ Women and Cats

I've never understood why women love cats. Cats are independent, they don't listen, they don't come in when you call, they like to stay out all night and when they're home, they like to be left alone and sleep. In other words, every quality that women hate in a man, they love in a cat. ________________________________________________________________ At a nursing home in Miami, Florida, a group of Senior Citizens were sitting around talking about their ailments: "My arms are so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee,"said one. "Yes, I know. My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee," replied another. "I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck,"said a third, to which several nodded weakly in agreement. "My blood pressure pills make me dizzy,".... another went on. "I guess that's the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man as he slowly shook his head. Then there was a short moment of silence. "Well, it's not that bad," said one woman cheerfully."Thank God we can all still drive." _______________________________________________________ This has to be news to the Brits...But not David, I betcha... "Australia Finds a New Power Source -- Beer" -- London Times headline _______________________________________________________ President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has announced that Mexico will not participate in the next Summer Olympics. He explained "Anyone who can run, jump or swim has already left the country." _______________________________________________________ What kind of cat are you? http://cats.about.com/cs/gamespuzzles/l/blwhatkind_one.htm I turned out to be a Bengal. _________________________________________________________________ A good piece of chocolate has about 200 calories. Since I enjoy two servings per night and a few more on weekends, I consume 3,500 calories of chocolate in a week, which equals one pound of weight per week. Therefore, in the last three and a half years, I have had a chocolate caloric intake of about 180 pounds. I only weigh 165 pounds, so without chocolate, I would have wasted away to nothing about three months ago.I owe my life to chocolate! _________________________________________________________________ One more entry to click on (don't forget the header). http://www.rru.com/webodor/

WHAT'S A FAVORITE TOY OF MINE?

One of my favorite sites is http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/ David often asks those reading his site a question that can be answered by a posting on one's own blog. This weekend his question is: Which toy was your childhood favourite?

I can think of several. One of them might have the Chinese grinning in satisfaction. Smug satisfaction. Oh, well.

For whatever youthful birthday I was given two sets of lead soldiers in opposing uniforms North and South, I think. I learned to play with them from John Wayne and Bill Bendix movies. (It didn't matter if the North or South won, either.) I also remember being told (many more times than a mere once or twice, not to put them in mouth). Finally, a statement from an uncle to the effect that "Putting them in your mouth will take all the paint off", worked.

Another toy that finally drove my parents into hiding it from me on a top shelf was THE Chemistry set. I particularly enjoyed the phial of mercury, 'cause it could do almost anything. I liked trying to make concoctions that could stink up at least my room, if not the entire house. I often wondered where the kit had gone. I found it years later, but I had passed high school chemistry by then and what was left of the chemicals had hardened in their containers.

But another toy that became an obsession was my shortstop fielder's glove. The hours I spent working neat's foot oil into that (honestly) cheap leather glove could have served to complete my elementary education. BUT, I became our pick up team's shortstop. Was pretty good at it too.

You can visit David's site at the link above. He's a worthwhile read and very nice guy.

Clicking the banner will show you someone else's efforts in time spent doing "important" things.

I COULD USE SOME HELP WITH THIS

ajdlinux writes "Members of the Australian comedy group The Chaser were arrested today after [0]attempting to breach security at the APEC Leaders Conference in Sydney.

Chas Licciardello and Julian Morrow [1]were arrested, along with nine crew members (all are now free on bail), just a short distance away from the Inter Continental Hotel where President Bush is staying. They had already cleared at least two police checkpoints, [2]according to CNN, disguised as a Canadian motorcade. "No particularreason we chose Canada," said Taylor. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinize too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade — as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him." [2]CNN has a photo of Licciardello, dressed as Osama bin Laden, being arrested. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Celebi writes "U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ruled in favor of the ACLU and [0]struck down a portion of the revised USA PATRIOT Act this morning, forcing investigators to go through the courts to obtain approval before ordering ISPs to give up information on customers, instead of just sending them a National Security Letter. In the words of Judge Marrero, this use of National Security Letters "offends the fundamental constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EU plans to collect personal data on air travelers from outside EU As part of a new anti-terrorism campaign, the European Union’s top justice official has proposed a tougher security measures which seek to collect personal data on air passenger flying into the 27-nation union. EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told MSNBC that “We cannot be complacent, we have to continue striking the right balance between being aware of the threat and taking adequate and proportionate measures, both at European and national level, to prevent it.” Under the proposal, the airline carriers will collect 19 pieces of air passenger data during the arrival from non-EU countries and submit these to the member states who will store it for up to thirteen years. The proposal is similiar to the controversial Passenger Name Record (PNR) system used by the US. However, the plan does not foresee a centralized EU database but instead suggests that each member state sets up its own unit for collecting and analyzing collected data. Under the proposed plan, data to be collected would include passenger’s name, address, phone number, email address, passport number, travel agent, credit card number, and history of changes in the flight schedule of the passenger. The proposal would need the approval of the European Parliament and all the 27 EU member states. It has met opposition in some quarters, including some EU lawmakers and rights groups. Tony Bunyan from UK liberties group Statewatch told Business Week that “This is yet another measure that places everyone under surveillance and makes everyone a suspect without any meaningful right to know how the data is used, how it is further processed and by whom”. In addition, he said that “There is little evidence that the gathering of ‘mountain upon mountain’ of data on the activities of every person in the EU makes a significant contribution,†IHT writes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The help I need is this: All through these cut and pasted articles, (from a large circulation, usually pretty accurate newsletter) there are strange and non-decipherable figures. I have no idea what they are, nor why any newsletter would be published with this kind of typography. Any answers? Oh, don't forget to click the header.