An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Archive for Stuff
People of Walmart
Don’t you love those emails ya get from relatives and friends, featuring the People of Walmart? I have to tell ya, some of the pictures with the captions have me literally in tears from laughing so hard. Well, I got one of those emails today from my brother in law, and yes, tears rolling down the cheeks, cackling like a chicken laying an egg. Well, I thought I’d go look at the site to see what’s new, just for something to do. Well, it’s not like I don’t have anything to do. It’s just that, well, at the time, I didn’t feel like doing it. 
HELP!
For some reason, something called Boxbe has attached itself to my gmail account, and sends out rude emails to some, not all, of my contacts. This is REALLY starting to chap my hide! Does ANYONE know how to get rid of it??????
Ah HA! Thanks to Peter, via Facebook, I know what this annoying thing actually is, and I do think I solved the problem.
From CNET:
The big catch is that Boxbe isn’t actually a spam filter. It doesn’t do anything for spam that may be coming into your regular e-mail account, just the mail that is going to your Boxbe forwarding address. So if you already have a spam problem, this doesn’t look like it’ll be an ample solution. The ideal Boxbe customer is, at least in my opinion, a novice Internet user who’s just starting to use services that require e-mail registration. By plugging a Boxbe address into a social networking site or e-mail list, you can guarantee (according to the company) that you won’t be getting spam from it other than the stuff that you’re demanding cash for. But as for pre-existing spam, nada.
I got the ‘label’ domaflitchy deleted, and I no longer have one of those little icons that says my email is not safe. Not sure how, or who, attached it, but if you’ve gotten a nasty email from me, saying you aren’t ‘approved’, or some nonsense like that….I do apologize! HOPEFULLY, it won’t happen again. 
Letter to Verizon
It has come to my attention that Verizon has decided to drop advertising during Glenn Beck’s show on Fox New Channel. I would like to know if this is true. If so, I will be shopping for a new cell phone provider, and advising every person I know to do the same.
I find it rather pathetic when a well known, and respected company succumbs to the whining of a bunch of left wing loons. If this ‘rumor’ is true, your reputation has been damaged. I have convinced many people to use your service, as opposed to the many others out there. I will work doubly hard to convince them to get rid of it as well!
As a side note, I’m fairly sure you didn’t drop your ads from MSNBC when the commentators continuously bashed Bush. Rather hypocritical, don’t you think?
Can you hear me now?
The Abortionist – A Review
When I started reading the blogs a few years back, I stumbled across a blog called From Where I Sit. It intrigued me because it is written by a fictional character named Elliot Stearns. That fictional character has now come to life in a book titled The Abortionist written by Michael James Caughill.
In this post I reflect on friendships and the internet. Michael James Caughill is one of those who I got to know through Twitter and I finally got to meet him in person a couple of months ago. As a very avid reader, I was a little uptight reading a book written by someone I know – what if it’s bad? What if it’s just so-so? What do I say?
Well, in this case I don’t have to worry about those what-ifs. This book is fantastic!! It a suspense/thriller about a serial killer that takes place in Milwaukee. It is also a love story. It is NOT pro-life or pro-choice…as the author says, it’s pro-thought. The character development is tremendous – I really “got to know” the characters. Above all, it is a spine-tingling blood-chilling page turner. It’s one of those books you just don’t want to put down…you want to find out what happens next.
If you don’t believe me, visit the site – you can read the first five chapters for free!! And if you don’t want to go out and buy the book after reading those first five chapters, there is something seriously wrong with you! 
Well Nuts!
Now I’m just gonna have to buy new towels……………………………………………………………………………………….eventually!
I really liked this mirror. Now, I’m going to have to find a vanity light to sorta match the rest of the little doodads! Hmmm….
Obviously, we aren’t totally finished, as you can see by the mess still on the counter. We’ve got the doors and trim to deal with, and some detail work that Ick refuses to acknowledge and insists I can do on my own. Not a problem. THAT I can do!
Don’t tell him I said so, but he’s done a heck of a job. Some vacation, eh? LOL Well, since he’s going down to the Gulf tomorrow, to spend time with his side of the family, I guess he can relax down there. At least I sure hope so, cuz he sure hasn’t had time to hardly even catch his breath around here. Well, expect for in the morning….cuz, as we all know….
Update: Mid Hurricane
Well, work is progressing along nicely. I know it doesn’t look like it right now, but believe me, the walls were in bad shape under all that wallpaper, holes, some gaping…odd things.
Yeah, it’s a mess, but I’m thinking it’s gonna be pretty nifty when it’s all said and done. Next step, priming the walls, then the paint, then the trim. Sounds like LOADS of fun, doesn’t it. The Ick has been working his hinder off. Me? I typically just get in the way, but, it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes to point any missed spots, right? Heh.
Nice Day With the Mr
It was a fairly pleasant morning out on the range, unless you consider red clay unpleasant. And after the rain last evening, there was a LOT of that red mud. I may never get it off my sneakers, or socks for that matter. But we didn’t expect to stay sterile, so I suppose it wasn’t too bad.
We picked up a few targets at the club house, chatted with the folks in charge, and headed over to the range. I had been wanting to try out the .32 for a while. So, I figured I’d start with that one. I’ve learned something. I don’t much care for my Barretta .32. At all. You wouldn’t think an itty bitty thing like that would kick the crap outta me. The Mr didn’t have a problem with it, but I sure did. I’ve got a bruise on that place between the thumb and trigger finger. Nope. Don’t like that at all. Two clips, and that was enough of that!
I tried out the Mr’s long barrel looking .22, and that was a WHOLE lot easier. I liked it! Then, I pulled out my Walther P.22 and I like that a WHOLE LOT BETTER! Let’s face it, I’m never going to be a sharp shooter, but for a novice, I suppose I did alright.
As you can probably tell, head shots are NOT my strong suit. sigh… That’s ok, I’ll keep practicing. I suppose I good whack to the neck will be quite effective, bleeding out and all that. Not that I seriously want to off anyone, but if the need arises, I’d like to get it right. The way it looks right now, all I’ll be able to do is seriously piss off the bad guy. 
It started getting amazingly humid, and I think we both came close to melting, so it was time to pack it up and go in search of food!
We decided to try someplace totally different, and headed into the little burg of Counce, not to far from the gun club. I’m seriously glad we did! We came across a BBQ place that was pretty doggone tasty. Either that, are we were so hungry, cardboard would have tasted good. Naw….it was pretty good. The beans were kind of strange, a little vinegary, but different strokes and all that. I gave mine a shot of the “hot” sauce. Uh….my lips were burning about 20 minutes later, but my goodness, that was good. Hey, at least my eyelashes weren’t sweating, right?
On our way home, we took a detour through Savannah. Needed gas, and that’s the closest place to get the NO CORN kind. (Corn is for food, NOT gas tanks!) We decided to take a run over to Wally World, since we were close by, and made a side trip to our local gun store. Now, when you walk into this place, expect to spend at least an hour there, chatting. It’s a great time, I can assure you. I was telling them how I wasn’t too crazy about the .32, so the lady says, “I LOVE my Glock!” and started talking about doing a little trading. Hey, I like the idea. So, we talk, we decide…..let’s do it! After filling out all the paper work, I run into the same dadburn wall I got the last time around. So, now I have to send the SAME papers up to the TBI in Nashville, so they can turn around and call the gun store and say “Ok, she’s cool! Give her the gun.” Jeeez! Don’t they keep track of this stuff?
It was really nice spending the day together, but I gotta tell ya, I am happy to be home. I’m pooped! 
A New Gig
I have been graciously invited by a Wisconsin blogger and dear friend to share my views and opinions about local issues on his blog. So I will once again be splitting my time…now between here and The Chad Has Spoken. C’mon over and check it out!
Thanks Chad – I’ll try not to embarrass you
And Ol’ Broad, no comments on how much or little I post!
Saturday Afternoon – Janesville Air Show
On Saturday, a group of local bloggers got together and attended the Southern Wisconsin Airfest in Janesville, WI. We decided to go for the gold and get VIP seating. A huge shoutout to The Asian Badger for putting the whole thing together. We were right in front, dead center. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Great people, perfect weather and a most outstanding air show. Here is just a glimpse of what we saw…
This is shockwave – a triple engine jet truck. It set a world speed record for a full size truck – 376 m.p.h., with 36,000 horsepower. You can read much more about the Shockwave here. We watched this bad boy race a plane. At the end of the race, a pyrotechnic explosion rocked the show.
There were some awesome aerobatic demonstrations.
This is Patty Wagstaff. (Sorry about the quality of the photos – I have a basic camera and planes go kinda fast) She is the first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic Champion…and went on to win it two more times. You can read more about her here. And yeah, we were THAT close!!
And what air show would be complete without the Navy Leap Frogs proudly flying the colors…
Also performing were the Golden Knights, F-16 Viper demo and Susan Dacy, among others. But of course, the highlight of the show…the incomparable Blue Angels. Oh yeah!!! Those pictures will be up soon…
Mine!
Where’s The Outrage?
Isn’t this pure-D racism? I mean, there are people who get their knickers in a twist when fried chicken is associated with the black population, so why isn’t this racist?
Memphis KFCs leave Colonel’s new grilled recipe to the suburbs
Colonel Sanders is serving up a healthier alternative to buckets of deep fried chicken.
Last week, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Louisville-Kentucky fast food chain, rolled out a new secret recipe — the Kentucky Grilled Chicken.
But many Memphians looking to sink their teeth into the less fatty fowl are out of luck. None of the KFC’s within the city limits is offering the grilled chicken.
Seriously? Isn’t it just a bit absurd to sell the grilled chicken in every burg around Memphis, but not in Memphis itself? With the population of Memphis residents being somewhere in the 2/3 range of the total population….. Well, it just strikes me as odd. That’s all I’m sayin’.
Just So Ya Know….
……I survived the invasion of wires and needles.
Do they know what the heck is wrong with me, other than the obvious? Um….no. They found my kidneys are fine, I have a 30% blockage in my heart, a leaky valve, and too many heartbeats, on occasion. “Nothing to worry about!” Uh huh.
So, next week, they are going to do some more tests. Oh, lucky me. Hey….at least I won’t have to be there till 8:30, instead of 6:30, so I guess this is a good thing.
Kids and Ethics Part III
In Part I, the conclusion was made that except for the fear of being caught, most kids would be willing to sacrifice someone else for their own gain. In Part II, it seemed readily apparent that they knew right from wrong; ethical from unethical.
The last question presented to the kids:
Is the fear of getting caught the only thing that keeps most people from doing unethical things? Do people behave ethically most of the time?
No it is not because people will still do the unethical stuff just so they can please themselves in the end. I don’t think that over 15% of people actually act ethically.
No, I think guilt is the biggest factor of keeping people from doing unethical things. Although the fact that the person could get caught is the first thing they think of I think personally I am more worried about how it will affect other people.
No, because the fear of getting caught is not keeping people from doing what they do because if they scared they wouldn’t be doing it. No people do not behave ethically because most people do not care what happens to them because most of those people do bad things have money and can get out of bad situations.
I believe that getting caught doesn’t really matter to anyone when there is a prize that they want. Not many people behave ethically all the time because almost everyone is selfish and cares for only themselves.
I would say it’s part of it the other part would be the fact that they have to live with themselves. People do not behave ethically most of the time which is a really bad thing.
The fear of getting caught is some of the reason, but the other part is basic human morals.
Yes because if somebody is doing something wrong then they are not going to care they just want what is best for them. Yes, for the most part people behave ethical most of the time.
I do believe that is a possibility of why most people do not take the risk of doing unethical things
I think that most people have a conscience and would feel guilty about what they do even if they think that they wouldn’t get caught.
Many students are becoming more and more ok with cheating so that would be a fact that would show otherwise. However, there are more small business and personal investments that would give people initiative to do the right thing, both legally and morally.
Yes, that keeps many people from doing unethical things. People try to come off as ethical around people but they definitely act more unethical. That’s only most people. Some people are really nice and ethical.
I think it has a small effect that people are afraid of getting caught. I think most of it is more of a conscience thing of doing unethical things.
So, to wrap it up, this class believes that most people are unethical, if they aren’t behaving unethically it’s out of the fear of getting caught, and given the chance, they would probably behave the same way. What a depressing commentary.
That being said, can you really blame them? We have public officials who are as corrupt as can be, we have a presidential cabinet which consists of a number of lawbreakers, and professional athletes who get away with any number of crimes, because they can. What the hell has gotten into this country? When did we cease being shocked by this behavior? When will we start making the punishment fit the crime?
I remember when I was young, the worst thing I could hear was “Wait till your father gets home.” These days, you can’t even discipline a child without fear of the law intervening. We’ve got kids whose parents believed in “reasoning” with a child. I’m sorry, you CANNOT reason with a five year old. That’s what parents are for – to make judgments for kids who lack the ability to make sound judgments themselves. We have parents who want to be “cool” and “friends” with their kids. Nope – I won’t go there. My sole job as a parent is to try to raise a child with morals, values and the ability to become a productive member of society. When parenting gets wussified, this is the result. Kids who don’t seem to give a crap.
I was profoundly saddened when I was reading these papers. I’m sad for those kids. I’m sad for us as a society. Unfortunately, I don’t see it getting any better in the near future.
I think I’ll go buy a private island somewhere.
Mini Road Trip
The Mr and I are going to Corinth, MS. I have to have a couple of tests done in the morning, and seriously…..can you imagine us getting up at 4 in the MORNING to make sure we get to the hospital by 6:30? Get real! Reality snap here!
Yep, I get the dubious pleasure of being poked and prodded before the chickens even wake up. Although, odds are, most of the day is going to be spent in waiting around. Why do they want a copy of my Living Will? Hmmm….
So, we’re going to head down, a whopping 45 minute drive, and do some tourist type stuff this afternoon, like wander around “historic downtown” Corinth. As many times we’ve gone down there, to pick up an item or two, we’ve never actually taken a gander at downtown. Might as well do it while we’ve got the time, and the inclination, right?
What the heck are LttC and Renal angiograms anyway?
Depending on how much of “all day” this takes, we might just stay another night down there.
Kids and Ethics Part I
Over the weekend, I was at a retreat that I participate in every year. The retreat is held at a monastery, which means no internet, no TV and very sporadic cell phone reception. This “forces” one to be introspective and reflect. It is something I look forward to every year. I share a room at the monastery with one of my closest friends, who teaches business courses at the high school level. One of our traditions is that on Saturday evening, I help her grade papers. Usually it’s various types of correspondence, resumes, etc. This year, however, it was something completely different.
The children, who are juniors and seniors, were asked three questions regarding ethics. The responses they gave so stunned me that I asked permission to use their answers on this blog. I will do a separate post for each question asked, and would be most grateful for your input. The first question was:
If you could succeed at someone else’s expense, would you do it? There is a chance you could get caught; if you do, jail time. If not, you are free and a rich person.
Depending on what it is I probably wouldn’t do it. If it was for billions of dollars of course I would because it’s all about risk reward and I figure even if I do jail time I would at least be able to hide some money and have it when I get out.
I would not succeed at someone else’s expense because that is not right…I would rather not be rich then possibly get in trouble and take something from someone. Something they probably worked really hard on for a long time. I also would not do it because I believe what comes around goes around and it is not worth the risk
I would not succeed at someone else’s expense because that is just wrong. There is a fine line between wanting to succeed yourself and using someone else to succeed. I also wouldn’t feel good about myself because I used someone else to succeed.
If I could succeed at someone else’s expense, and there was a risk of jail time if I was caught, but if I made it out alive was a rich person, I think I would not do it. Reason being is because to succeed and get money has a certain level of satisfaction. You feel great about the hard work you just put forth and the reward you get once you see that pay check, or that new care or house. That you just bought with the money you worked hard to get. So to cheat and make someone else pay for it I feel is wrong and not worth it. In the end you would always be thinking about how you just screwed that guy over. The money you just got would not feel right. You also would not have earned it, you wouldn’t feel that extra reward.
If there was a chance that I could succeed at someone’s expense would I do it or not. Yes I would do it I’m not going to lie. I know that succeeding at someone’s expense means that I win and they lose but that’s a chance I would have to take and even thought I could get caught and do possible jail time but that’s a chance I’m willing to take because I know that if I don’t get caught I will be rich and a free man.
If I had the chance I would succeed at someone else’s expense. If you do get caught then you are going to go to court and let the jury decide. There is always room for risk.
No. I would only do that if there was no jail time if I got caught. That is kind of obvious. Why would I risk going to jail. Now if there was no penalty and it was benefiting me and my family, I would do it.
I might do it depending on whose expense it was and how it would benefit me. Some reasons that I would do it would be if I get a lot of money and knew that I would not get caught. On the other hand if I knew there was a good chance that I might get caught then I probably would not do it.
I probably would not do it because the consequences of getting caught would prevent me from going through with it. I think there are better ways to get rich. However it depends on if I absolutely needed the money then my decision would most likely be different.
I would take the opportunity to become rich over someone else because in this world everyone is looking out for themselves and the person that I would be doing this to would more than likely do the same thing to me so there is no point in worrying about other people’s feelings.
No, I would not succeed at someone else’s expense if there was a chance of getting caught. I would choose my freedom over getting rich any day. You could still end up getting rich without doing it through someone else’s expense and without the risk of getting put in jail.
I wouldn’t because money isn’t worth jail time. I would just work hard and be successful without hurting someone else.
No, because I wouldn’t think it would be right and that someone will find out and eventually gets caught. I wouldn’t want that type of pressure on me for the situation and would want that haunting me in the future. I wouldn’t want karma to get back at me.
Note that of those who said they would not take the risk, most stated that the reason is the fear of being caught…NOT because it’s just the wrong thing to do. What are we teaching these kids? What ever happened to right and wrong? Of course, current events certainly don’t help. After all, there is the former governor of Illinois who will stand trial for corruption, yet may be starring in a reality TV show. We have tax cheats appointed to the president’s cabinet.
My question to you is this: Are you surprised at these answers? Saddened? What was your first thought when you read this?
