Candy Alert!

I like to refer to Halloween as the time when parents make their kids work and slave for candy especially for the parent. Did you really think that those parents let that hyper 4 year old eat another 20lbs of candy that he acquired?

From Hallmark Magazine:

Parents Confess to Stealing Halloween Candies!
Hallmark Magazine Survey Discloses the Most Popular Snacks Parents Swipe From Their Kids' Trick-Or-Treat Bags

NEW YORK, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- You suspected the truth when you were a kid, and now parents have confessed that it was so: They really DO steal candy from their kids' Trick-or-Treat bags! According to a recent poll published in the premiere issue of Hallmark Magazine, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was the candy parents were most likely to swipe. Other popular targets of parental pilfering:

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (24%)
2. Almond Joy (12%)
3. Snickers (9%)
4. Butterfinger (8%)
5. Kit Kat (6%)

"My parents always told me they were just keeping my bag so I wouldn't eat it all at once and get sick," said Amy Palanjian, Assistant Editor, Hallmark Magazine, and the author of the article. "This is so disappointing."

A noble minority claimed that they would never steal candy from their kids' treat bags. "We don't believe them for a second," said Editor-in-Chief Lisa Benenson, "but maybe that's just because all the moms here at Hallmark Magazine are just a little bit too fond of their chocolate."

"Researchers have found that the average American consumes 22 pounds of candy a year, but looking at the empty candy wrappers around our office, I'd say we're on the high side of that estimate," adds Benenson.

Just in time for Halloween, researchers at Hallmark Magazine also unveil a Sweet History of candy on page 17 of the September/October issue.

Did you know that:
* Good & Plenty is the oldest branded American Candy, dating back to 1893?
* Tootsie Rolls were included in WWII rations because they can withstand severe weather?
* Candy corn dates back to 1898. Nine billion pieces of it will be produced during 2006?
* Snickers, America's best-selling candy bar, is named after the Mars family horse?

For more candy facts and the full Sweet History of candy, check out the current issue of Hallmark Magazine or go online at http://www.hallmarkmagazine.com.About Hallmark Magazine

Hallmark Magazine is the women's lifestyle magazine that talks to women about the true substance of their lives -- family, friends, homes and community. The magazine is available through subscription as well as in booksellers, grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchants and Hallmark Gold Crown(R) stores across the country. Hallmark Magazine is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc. SOURCE Hallmark Magazine

Bryan PD TRT

As much as I like the town I live in, it has many of the same problems as anywhere else. This is an excerpt from SWAT USA, which is a series aired on Court TV featuring SWAT teams across the nation performing their duties in the field. Bryan PD’s TRT (Tactical Response Team) was featured in an episode which originally aired on 08 Oct 2006. The first half of the show was dedicated to the Bryan TRT while the second half featured San Antonio SWAT, specifically their team leader Willie Cantu, who is faced with a hostage situation. (I haven't found that part of the show yet.)

Lights out, Lights on, Lights out

Yippee! The Brazos Valley had a brown out for about three hours, and our part of town went completely dark for about another two hours, from 8:30 to 10:30pm yesterday. I was hoping to see some stars but a bright moon lit the entire street and sky instead. Purty!

We had planned on ordering pizza for dinner last night but were thwarted by the brownouts. The pizza man said, "Try back in 15 minutes," and then "Try back in 20 minutes." My kids know what generators are but didn't understand why the hospitals have them but not the pizza joints. Hubby got the bright idea to just drive and get whatever pizza Double Dave's had left, but he was greeted at the restaurant by a line going out the door! Everybody else in town suddenly decided they wanted pizza too. I took forever to get our dinner and Double Dave's shorted us a pepperoni roll, but the family loved it. Unfortunately, Double Dave's fried one of their ovens with the brownouts.

When the lights went out completely, the neighbors started coming out with lawn chairs. One parent broke open some Halloween glow necklaces and passed them out to the kids running everywhere. Hubby broke open an old army glow stick and was disappointed to find it was an infared glow stick. (It glows but only if you're wearing night-vision goggles!)

I stayed up past midnight to reset all the clocks the easy way.

The news reports said a $1 million transformer blew up but I really think that's just a cover-up. Here's some more realistic reasons that the power went up:

(1) Organized revenged attack by squirrels, for the multiple deaths of their comrades.
(2) Somebody at the Power Plant forgot his anniversary and needed a good excuse.
(3) Chuck Norris, Texas Ranger needed power and we'll find out why on the next episode.
(4) Power diverted to the Houston Texan's training room in attempt to revive team.
(5) Texas A&M University experiment gone right.

My thoughts on Foley

Congressman Foley of Florida has been exposed as a predator in recent Instant Message (IMs) conversations he had with young pages on the Hill. First, the facts:

Congressman Foley sent some emails to young men that were later reported to authorities. The emails were described as "overtly friendly", it was discussed with Foley, and the issue was thought over. However, some really nasty IMs to the pages have recently surfaced. They went way beyond "friendly" and have crossed the line in sexual solicitation.

I am not calling for the head of Speaker of the House like some. I disagree that Hastert and party are in any way to blame. You simply don’t go around accusing people of attempted child solicitation without more proof. The emails alone just don’t cut it.

Now I wonder about those that held onto the IMs. After all, we’re being told that somebody has been “shopping” these IMs to reporters for a while now. I've heard “months” being tossed around. (From the Foley campaign, I believe.) If true, This person/these people should have federal charges brought against them for failing to report the abuse. I recall how the blogosphere spit upon that Watergate tattle-taler, who reported the fiasco to a reporter instead of the police or a justice authority. I see parallels between these two.

Frankly, I can’t figure out how this information would have been collected by a group to release it. How many sources are producing/releasing these IMs? I’d like to learn more about the big picture.

Motorcycle Quotables

I have collected fun quotes and bits of wisdom for a while. I have not verified the citations, but supply them in the form I have seen it presented. Choose your favorites and share a laugh. If you do not see one of your favorites, I would encourage you to post it. I will add it to the list.


Great motorcycle quotes and wisdom...


Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.

“200mph, no hands. d**n that’d be cool right before the part where you die.”
– A. Duthie

“There are only three sports: mountain climbing, bull fighting, and motor racing. All the rest are merely games.”
– Ernest Hemingway

“Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls.”
– Stirling Moss

“Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle.”

Seen on a motorcycle’s rearviews:
“Warning: objects seen in mirror are disappearing rapidly”

Got a $5 head? Get a $5 helmet.

“There’s the V-4 thing: there’s just something about it that inline 4s don’t have, and V-twins have too much of.”
– Murray Duncan

“Life may begin at 30, but it doesn’t get real interesting until about 150.”

If you’re going to lead, then lead. If you’re going to follow, get the hell out of my way!

“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...”
– Hunter Thompson

“Keep thy eye on the tach, thine ears on the engine, least thy whirlybits seek communion with the sun”
– John 4:50

“You start the game with a full pot o’ luck and an empty pot o’ experience... The object is to fill the pot of experience before you empty the pot of luck.”

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!”

“Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don’t have the balls to live in the real world.”
– Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden

“I believe in treating everyone with respect, but, first you have to get their attention.”

“Never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence”.

Everyone knows Honda’s attitude in the GP Paddock! “ Who will be behind us this weekend? “

“A zest for living must include a willingness to die.”
– R.A. Heinlein

If you think you don’t need a helmet, you probably don’t.

“Racing is living, everything else is just waiting”

“If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.”
– Larry McMurty

“Why are motorcycle dealers closed on Sundays? Because Sunday is for worship... Catholics go to church, Motorcyclists go to the track.”
– Justin Skalka

I want to leave this world the same way I came into it: Screaming and covered in blood.

Kansas: home of the highway with 318 miles and 11 curves.

What does a Harley and hound dog have in common ? They both spend most of their time in the back of a pickup truck. What differentiates the two ? The hound dog can get in and out of the pickup under his own power.

“98% of all Harleys ever sold are still on the road. The other 2% made it home.”

Midnight bugs taste best.

Saddlebags can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need.

NEVER argue with a woman holding a torque wrench.

Never try to race an old geezer, he may have one more gear than you.

Home is where your bike sits still long enough to leave a few drops of oil on the ground.

Routine maintenance should never be neglected.

It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed.

The only good view of a thunderstorm is in your rearview mirror.

Never be afraid to slow down.

Bikes don’t leak oil, they mark their territory.

Don’t ride so late into the night that you sleep through the sunrise.

Pie and coffee are as important as petrol.

Sometimes it takes a whole tankful of fuel before you can think straight.

If you want to get a job, you may have to compromise your principals (you may even have to shave).

Riding faster than everyone else only guarantees you’ll ride alone.

Never hesitate to ride past the last street light at the edge of town.

Never mistake horsepower for staying power.

A good rider has balance, judgment, and good timing. So does a good lover.

A cold hamburger can be reheated quite nicely by strapping it to an exhaust pipe and riding forty miles.

Never do less than forty miles before breakfast.

If you don’t ride in the rain, you don’t ride.

A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

Respect the person who has seen the dark side of motorcycling and lived.

Young riders pick a destination and go... Old riders pick a direction and go.

A good mechanic will let you watch without charging you for it.

Sometimes the fastest way to get there is to stop for the night.

Always back your bike into the curb, and sit where you can see it.

Work to ride & ride to work.

Whatever it is, it’s better in the wind.

Two-lane blacktop isn’t a highway – it’s an attitude.

When you look down the road, it seems to never end – but you better believe it does.

A rider can smell a party 5,000 miles away.

Winter is Nature’s way of telling you to polish.

A motorcycle can’t sing on the streets of a city.

Keep your bike in good repair: Motorcycle boots are NOT comfortable for walking.

People are like Motorcycles: each is customized a bit differently.

If the bike isn’t braking properly, you don’t start by rebuilding the engine.

Remember to pay as much attention to your partner as you do your carburetor.

Sometimes the best communication happens when you’re on separate bikes.

Well-trained reflexes are quicker than luck.

Good coffee should be indistinguishable from 50 weight motor oil.

The best alarm clock is sunshine on chrome.

Learn to do counter-intuitive things that may someday save your butt.

The twisties – not the superslabs –separate the riders from the squids.

When you’re riding lead, don’t spit.

If you really want to know what’s going on, watch what’s happening at least five cars ahead.

Don’t make a reputation you’ll have to live down or run away from later.

If the person in the next lane at the stoplight rolls up the window and locks the door, support their view of life by snarling at them.

A friend is someone who’ll get out of bed at 2 am to drive his pickup to the middle of nowhere to get you when you’re broken down.

If she changes her oil more than she changes her mind follow her.

Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt @ 70 mph can double your vocabulary.

If you want to get somewhere before sundown, you can’t stop at every tavern.

There’s something ugly about a NEW bike on a trailer.

Don’t lead the pack if you don’t know where you’re going.

Sleep with one arm through the spokes and keep your pants on.

Practice wrenching on your own bike.

Everyone crashes. Some get back on. Some don’t. Some can’t.

Beware the rider who says the bike never breaks down.

2 bikes is useful because at least one can be raided for parts at any given time.

Don’t argue with an 18-wheeler.

Never be ashamed to unlearn an old habit.

Maintenance is as much art as it is science.

A good long ride can clear your mind, restore your faith, and use up a lot of fuel.

If you can’t get it going with bungee cords and electrician’s tape, it’s serious.

If you ride like there’s no tomorrow, there won’t be.

Bikes parked out front mean good chicken-fried steak inside.

Gray-haired riders don’t get that way from pure luck.

There are drunk riders. There are old riders. There are NO old, drunk riders.

Thin leather looks good in the bar, but it won’t save your butt from “road rash” if you go down.

The best modifications cannot be seen from the outside.

Always replace the cheapest parts first.

You can forget what you do for a living when your knees are in the breeze.

No matter what marquee you ride, it’s all the same wind.

Patience is the ability to keep your motor idling.

Only a Biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.

Four wheels good, two wheels better

There are those who have crashed and there is those that will crash.

There are two types of people in this world, people who ride motorcycles and people who wish they could ride motorcycles.

Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly

It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.

Learning to ride at 41 (or 91) is better than never learning to ride at all!

West Nile: "Home, Home on Our Range"

Bad news on the doorstep:

From KBTX:

The explosion of human cases of West Nile continues in Brazos County. Friday, health department officials said they are now aware of seven possible cases of the disease.

Officials announced there are five people who are "presumptive positive" for West Nile in Brazos County. That's in addition to the two cases that the state have confirmed, which we first reported to you Thursday.

One of the most severly effected people, and the only one who has released his info, is a Bryan Police sergent. However, there's a lot of hope and prayers for this man.

There was a huge amount of rainfall in July last month, filling up streams and waterholes that are typically dry all August long. Also, a different breed of day-flying misquito just tested positive as a carrier in this county. I'm sure these factors have contributed this out break at least some.

"They had a big jump on us this year," said Texas A&M expert Jim Olsen of the mosquitoes in the area, "so we anticipated that if West Nile was going to pop, it was going to pop big, and it did."

At the press conference, the local West Nile experts laid out the oft-repeated but often necessary statements: West Nile is here, there and everywhere in the county.

"This is a preventable illness," Charles Williams with the county health department said. "The way you prevent the illness is not to be bit my mosquitoes."

You know, I wish they could just be that straight forward about STD's. "This is a preventable STD. The way you prevent the illness is not sleeping around."

In addition to the human cases, the first local horse has tested positive for West Nile. No word on where in Brazos County the animal is stabled. The health department is encouraging all horse owners to see their veterinarian to get vaccinations for the disease.

I did a quick google about vaccines for horses and found they've been around for approximately three years. The website for the CDC info on this hasn't been updated since 2003 so I presume that date is related. However, maybe there's hope that an effective human vaccine can be developed quickly since effective one for other animals is now available.

Math Joke for Friday

As I attempt to enlighten you to the joys and truth of math, I present to you the following:



The other day, I was speaking to a friend, Kimberly, and she said she planned to teach an art course dedicated to the math and functionality of art. Personally, I was truly confused. I had never heard math and art used in the same sentence before.

Computer Genius Am I

Hubby** and I learned all the in's and out's of Windows Operating System because of our then toddler son. At the time, he would reach up and grab the mouse, franticly moving it to and fro, hitting the button as fast as he could. He had to be fast because I was chasing him down right away! It was always a marvel to me to discover what damages and changes that boy could do to our computer because of 30 seconds of random mouse clicking.

However, it was my job to UNDO all those weird things. Hence, I learned Windows Operating System.

But here's another funny blog post, "Revenge", a story of the boy getting the hand up on his mother. I feel for this mother.

http://blogs.chron.com/mamadrama/archives/2006/08/revenge_1.html

**Hubby claims that he already knew everything and learned it in high school. I dispute this claim of his.

Are your kids reward dependent?

School's coming back and with it my home will accumulate a-hundred-and-one small junk toys ordered through the Oriental Trading Company, more of the same kindI just got rid of during this summer's garage sale. They're passed out at schools as prizes for every good behavior. At my children's elementary school, they get prizes for behaving in the lunch room, for staying straight in line, for being the best class in P.E., for good grades, if they wear an orange shirt on Wednesday... I can keep naming them forever.

Thankfully, I've been able to counter that public school culture at home. Hubby and I debated a long time what our parenting philosophy was going to be. Were we going to pay for chores done? Should they have a set allowance? What will their responsibilities be? How much control will I exert over their allowance spending once I "give it to them"?

My favorite parenting book, Kids are Worth It!, by Barbara Coloroso has this list to help clue you into if you're raising a reward dependent child:

The following is a checklist of warning signs that your child might be reward-dependent. Most children will exhibit some of these signs as they struggle to develop their own sense of self. It is the frequency, intensity, and persistence of these behaviors that would indicate a need for concern and intervention.

1. "Does to please" to win approval of those in authority.
2. Does what is told without questioning.
3. Lacks initiative, waits for orders.
4. Sense of self is defined externally; has dignity and worth when producing what adults want.
5. Who she is and what she does are one and the same. If she does something "bad," she sees herself as "bad."
6. Uses his history as an excuse for his behavior.
7. Is pessimistic, despairs easily.
8. Places blame outside self: "He made me do it." "It's not my fault."
9. Hides mistakes, feaful of adult's wrath.
10. Lies to avoid consequences and cover mistakes.
11. Feels controlled.
12. Feels worthwhile only when on top, when number one.
13. Is competative, gets ahead at the expense of others.
14. Needs to be perfect, views mistakes as bad.
15. Seeks approval and fears disapproval, fearful of rejection.
16. Is conformist. Goes along with the crowd.
17. Considers behavior by its consequences. "If I don't get caught, what is wrong with it."
18. Focuses on the past and the future, misses the moment. Worries about "What if..."
19. Experiences self-talk that is negative; parental injunctions keep playing over and over.
20. Has private reservations about public self; "If they really knew me..."
21. Uses only simple problem-solving skills to try to solve all problems.
22. Is always concerned about the "bottom line."
23. Says what she thinks other want to hear.
24. Is cautious, insecure.
25. Has a mercenary spirit; is selfish, self-centered, greedy, does good deeds to obtain rewards or avoid punishment.
26. Is cynical and skeptical; views world in terms of "us" and "them."
27. Swallows values without question from those in authority.
28. Frames deeds with "should."
29. Holds on to resentments.
30. Is oversensitive to criticism, diqualifies compliments.

"Rewards and punishment are the lowest form of education" - Chuang-Tzu

I would think the easiest problem to spot would be #9. This makes #8 & #10 side-effects of the #9 problem. If your kid is scared of you and in tears because he dropped his dinner plate, then you've got a real problem. If everytime an accident happens, your kid cries and lies, you haven't taught him how to deal with the problem. And when I say, "how to deal with it", I mean, to fix the problem rather than sobbing hysterically. For example, if the kids drops his dinner plate, he should think about cleaning it up. He'll probably still need your help cleaning it up but at least he's taken control of his mistake, his problem, and made it right. That's what you have to do in the real world too.

I think the worst side effects are the last four. If you're a kid whose looking for an authority to praise you, you can easily be sucked into a gang. You listen to your gangs values ("the gang family comes first"), you follow the gang's ideals ("He should be beaten for that look he gave me"), you never forgive any little thing, and instantly hate any teacher who gives you a criticism.

And oddly enough, I took a parenting class with that book at the very same school I was complaining about! Well, to be honest, they were quite a bit better about handing out prizes this year than last year.

Bug Trap

Unlike most people I know, and especially my mother-in-law, I LIKE spiders and bugs. Well, I don't roaches, no matter how clean entymologist tell me they are. And gnats and flies are definitely off the list too. Whenever I find a spider, I have my husband put it outside so that it can live and eat more of the bugs that I don't like.

This past March, my son received a bug house as a birthday gift. Now this must be the most annoying, worse bug house I have ever seen. At first I thought it cute with it's decorative bugs and inside lanscaping. It has a button you can push that plays the most annoying bug sounds I've ever heard. And inside are three bugs that light up. Instead of looking like fireflys, they look more and more like radioactive roaches to me.

Well, spring has come and so have the bugs. Some big wolf spider thought it would find a meal in my bedroom and, instead of tossing it outside, I decided to put it in this bug house. It was all for naught because the bug died a mere 24 hours later. All dead bugs are icky and nasty so I had to have my son clean it out.

And just a week later I found another large wolf spider! My kids were thrilled and hit that noise button a hundred times. I'm sure all that ambient noise drove the spider insane; either that or it was scared of the radioactive roaches that occupied it's cell. Whatever the cause, it found a hole in the handle and never came out. I'm sure it's shrunken body is still in the bug house.

It was only a day later when we discovered another spider! I put the spider in the bug house and instantly regretted it. This one was probably going to die too. I used to save spiders and now I'd inavertly been the cause of two deaths. A third death was quite forseeable. So I took the bug cage outside and put it on it's side with the top off. Surely the spider would crawl out and escape.

Six hours later the idiot spider was still there. It happily had strung a couple of web lines and was sitting on one of the radioactive roaches. Since I couldn't just leave the bug cage outside for the kids to steal, I decided that spider had to go by force. So I took the bug and shook it upside down- and the spider was still there! I banged it against the wall and banged it against the ground to get that spider out and back into it's natural habitat.

How does the story end? Well, I killed it of course. You see, as I banged the bug cage on the ground, the spider fell out. But I banged it again and accidently smashed the spider as I hit it against the ground.

So the bug house of death has been retired and I will no longer try to catch bugs for my kids to see. They'll just have to catch their own bugs.

The Search is Over

I have missed out on the opportunity to buy a couple of motorcycles since I couldn’t just go running off whenever I saw a deal. School has to come first, especially since it has been such a rough semester.

I finally had the time to go and look last weekend. Here is the description from the online Cycle Trader. The image was of a showroom lined with many rows of neatly lined bikes. I have seen that sort of thing before. Some places don't bother to keep up with photos of all the bikes they sell and just have a stock picture they use.

2001 YAMAHA FZ1, blue, 14K miles, very clean, new tires, $5,000, obo, All Texas Powersport, McKinney TX, 972-XXX-XXXX

I called and talked to a man about a bike. Sounded good. Not “too good to be true” good. It just sounded like a good deal. He described the bike as being in great shape with custom tribal graphics job. 14k on the odometer isn’t too bad either. He slipped and told me it was $4500, not the $5k from the ad. I took advantage of the offer and made arrangements to go first thing in the morning.

When I was about an hour away from the shop, I get a call. He asks me how much he had said it would be. I reminded him that he had told me $4500. He told me that the price he had quoted me was for another bike he had. He started to ask for me to meet him in the middle somewhere on the price, but changed his mind quickly and left it at, “If that’s what I told you, that’s what you’ll pay.”

Up to this point I have had different bells and whistles sounding off one warning after another, but I had determined to check this bike out all the way.

The shop is on the southbound feeder, but I saw it and the bike out front from the northbound lane before I exited and made the u-turn. Excitement mounted when I saw the bike, but then I realized something was amiss with this shop. It wasn’t a bike shop. They sell trailer homes there. There is a guy out front that likes to work on bikes and 4-wheelers and occasionally sells a bike or two. There is no showroom lined with bikes of any kind. Just a shack.

Remember the ad at the top? The description says “very clean.” When I walked up, this is the bike I found.

• Engine cases scuffed and gouged from a (some?) fall/slide(s).
• Fairing sanded off from sliding.
• Crash evidence on levers.
• Crash evidence on Jardine CF muffler.
• Worn, rusted, and un-maintained chain and sprockets.
• The clutch cable, likely the original piece, didn’t look like it had ever been lubed.
• Tires were low quality and improperly sized. Though claimed to be almost new with a couple of hundred miles on them, they had signs of wear and age.
• Brakes were poor. Though there was lots of pad left, they were probably aged or glazed to the point of not working, nevermind the fluid probably being the OEM stuff and needing to be flushed and bled. These brakes are straight off Yamaha’s finest performance motorcycles. This bike felt like it’s brakes were made of wood and had about as much stopping power as a jelly doughnut.
• The whole bike was covered in scuffs and scratches from someone probably stunting it and climbing around on it.
• Custom tribal graphics? More like stickers to cover more scratches.
• Behind the seat on the tail of the bike was an Evil Calvin peeing on something.

I took a test ride and can say that the motor is probably good, but that’s about it. We parted company after I explained that I didn’t want to buy a fixer-upper, especially so close to blue book value. His boss was probably just as happy that the bike didn’t sell so he could try to get more for it anyway.

With dark clouds hanging over us (literally and figuratively) we were homeward bound, empty-handed. We made a pit stop at a random fast food joint next to the highway and headed off again. I noticed a Harley Davidson dealership on the feeder next to the onramp and thought out loud that sometimes bike shops cluster together, and wondered if there happened to be a Japanese dealer nearby. Just after getting on the on-ramp, I saw it: a big red wing on the side of a large truck. That isn’t a common sight outside the realm of biking. I made it back around to the Honda dealership so I could look at something shiny and forget the earlier trauma.

When I walked into the Honda dealership there wasn’t much in the way of used bikes out. I asked if they had anything in the back. They didn’t, but they had another dealership about an hour north. About five minutes later the salesman comes back and tells me they have an ’02 FZ1, and if I was interested, they could have it at their shop in a couple of hours. I walked into a Honda shop and walked out with a Yamaha.

So, long story short(er), after all the hassle, I now have a shiny ’02 FZ1 in blue with a very noisy pipe. I’ll have to fix that one.

Mexican Women Want Their Men Back

I might have called it hillarious if it wasn't so true. Some Mexican women sent a letter in for publication stating they wanted their men to come back home. They wanted them home to help raise the child, till their corn fields, and work on the jewelry. The money they send home isn't worth living your whole life without your husband or your father.

Quote from FrontPageMagazine.com:

Not all Mexican women want to have “anchor babies” in the Unites States. The real Mexican women of Tecalpulco want their migrant men to come back home and take care of the babies they left behind. “Close the U.S. borders!” they say. “Send our men back home!”

Tecalpulco is a small village in Guerrero, Mexico, on Mexico’s southernmost border. It is just north of the city of Campuzano. Tecalpulco is famous for hand-made craft and jewelry. There is an internationally known artisans establishment there called ArtCamp. Vacationers know the place. The artisans run a coop, and they’re subject to the pressures of global market manipulation.

But their men don’t care. They’ve all moved norte, to join the mass trespassing movement in America. And the women of southern Mexico are tired of this nonsense. They have expressed their protest to BadEagle.com, where a number of pieces on Mexican issues have been posted in recent weeks. BadEagle.com has received direct mail from the artisanas campesinas, the women who make the famous jewelry.

I’ve gotten permission to post this correspondence. The women write from the heart in imperfect English, as one might expect.

Here is the first, from May 4, 2006:

When our men went to the United States they were young and adventurous; They have had their adventure, now we want them to come home to us and to their families and to their home country. Close the border so that the ones who are here do not leave. We have work now and the men can help us to sand-down and polish the jewelry.

Our group is of women from the village of Tecalpulco. The tradition of our village is handcrafted fashion jewelry. Since the men have left, we women have organized a good business of fashion jewelry production in cottage industry. The men can help us, they don’t have any excuse to stay [in America].

Thank you very much from the hearts of the women of Artesanas Campesinas.

Rosalinda Mejia Baron
Eva Albavera
Viveros, Contact Personealbavera@yahoo.com.mx
Telefonos:001 762 62 73481001
762 62 22758

Funny!

Copperfield Uses Illusion to Evade Robbery

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Illusionist David Copperfield magically escaped getting robbed.

After his show at a West Palm Beach performing arts center Sunday Copperfield was walking with two female assistants back to their tour bus when four teenagers pulled up in a black car and two armed demanded the group's belongings, according to police.

An assistant handed over $400 from her pockets while the other gave up her purse with euro200, $100, her passport, plane tickets and a cellphone. Copperfield refused to empty his pockets, the report said.

Copperfield says he turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing in them, even though he was carrying his passport, wallet and cell phone.

Kitty Rescue!

Good news! That dang cat is safe!

Cat trapped for 14 days rescued in New York

NEW YORK — After 14 days trapped in the innards of a Greenwich Village building, Molly the cat finally emerged wearing a look on her face that said, "What's all the fuss about?"

As a crowd of reporters and onlookers jostled for a glance, the 11-month-old black cat appeared docile and unscathed despite her ordeal, which came to a happy end on
Friday after a volunteer pulled her to safety from a crawl space.

"I think you'll all agree that she is in great shape," said a proud Peter Myers, a delicatessen owner in the building who kept Molly in his store to catch mice.

Molly's distressed meows — audible from the sidewalk outside the building — became international news, and rescuers worked almost around the clock for her safe retrieval.

The activity began after the cat wandered into a narrow space between walls and got lost in the building's complex network of beams and pipes.

Those involved in the rescue effort drilled and hammered out bricks in the cellar of the 157-year-old edifice, trying everything from special cameras to traps to locate her and get her out. Kittens were used as bait to appeal to Molly's maternal side. A pet psychic and self-described "cat therapist" even stopped by to offer a hand.

But in the end, it was good old-fashioned elbow grease that got the job done.

Rescuers drilled a hole in the wall from inside the store, cutting through layers of brick to get to Molly, said Mike Pastore, field director for Animal Care & Control of New York City, a private organization with a city contract to handle lost, injured and unwanted animals.

Animal Care & Control will set up a link on its Web site for people to donate to help with repairs at the deli.

Molly was finally retrieved by Kevin Clifford, a tunnel worker at a project nearby who had been volunteering for the rescue effort.

"I gave what they needed, and lent a hand to it," he said.

The animal didn't come easily at first, said Pastore.

"It was twisting and turning, paws were flying everywhere," he said. "It took a little struggle to put her back in a cage."

Molly's first meal? Nibbles of roasted pork, sardines in oil and water, Myers said. Hearty fare, but perhaps not surprising for a feline who spends her time in Myers of Keswick, a deli specializing in meat pies, clotted cream and other British food specialties.

"I'm amazed at how well she looks," Myers said. "She always was a fit cat, otherwise she wouldn't have survived 14 days in that hole."

Dog attack gone to the dogs now

It's a dog attack. The dog has your child in it's jaws and won't let it go. You make a decision and decide to ________________. Remember, this is America so you have options. You don't have to call three diferent organizations nor sign any paperwork. Read the following story about a dog attack in England recently.

His mother Sherry, 23, said: "The dog had him by the back of his head and wouldn't let go. He was throwing Nicholas around like a rag doll. There was blood everywhere. If Nicholas had not covered his face with his hands, he could have been scarred for life."

Husband Michael said: "I kicked Mitch to get him off Nicholas. Then I ran into the kitchen, grabbed a bread knife and stabbed Mitch four times with it. The dog ran round the front and Sherry hit him with a broom."

Nicholas escaped briefly by climbing on to a car in a nearby car park. But the dog pulled him back and attacked him again, blacking his eye and biting him on his legs and body.

"By this time, a neighbour had called the police and there were 13 police cars outside," said Mr Andrea.

"The police dog-handler couldn't snare Mitch. They called a vet to give him a lethal injection but the vet didn't want to know.

"That's when the police armed response vehicle turned up. They got me to sign a statement saying I approved of them shooting Mitch."

Playing politics when a killer dog attacking a child is lose is sad.

I have a friend whose small dogs were attacked by large dog that jumped into the backyard. The neighbor is the one who used his belt and got control of the large dog. My friend called 911 because she was worried that the neighbor might shoot the dog! Ahh, a bit of a soft heart there still. :)