Category: Opinion

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Safeguarding The Public’s Food

This peanut butter recall has been going on for a couple of weeks now and I keep hearing about how more and more people are getting sick from food poisoning and at last count I think I read that 18 have died from complications. All because a crappy manufacturing plant has been getting away with unsanitary conditions for months and selling contaminated peanuts and peanut paste to people who used it for hundreds of different products. All those products are now suspect and being pulled from the shelves. Who knows what is safe to eat now?

There is a recall list on the Government’s FDA site, but it keeps growing longer and the story continues to worsen. I can’t take any chances on tainted food, so I’ve thrown out anything in my pantry that has peanuts or peanut products in it. That was like $60 worth of food wasted – and I despise wasting food. But I can’t afford to get food poisoning and die from peanut butter. Now I heard that there is a second crappy plant in Texas that has been doing the same thing. This is outrageous and one more example of the failure of both the FDA and the state health departments to inspect facilities and safeguard the public.

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Pandora Charms Were A Total Hit On Christmas

My sister’s face was priceless when she opened up my gift of several pandora charms on Christmas day. I wish that I had been video taping that day or at least snapped a picture right at that moment, but in all the madness it just didn’t happen. It is always such a crazy day when we get over to my parents house for Christmas (or for any holiday for that matter) coming from a large family that keeps getting bigger and bigger each year, that it is just total chaos and extremely loud! I always get a head ache and end up having to take someone to keep me from turning into a total witch in front of everyone.

Pandora Reeds
Pandora Charms

Anyway, I knew that she really wanted some more charms for her charm bracelet but I wasn’t sure if she would like the ones that I picked out for her. So I’m really tickled that she fell in love with the ones that I finally decided on, bought, wrapped up and gave to her that day. Each time I have seen her since that day she has been wearing her charm bracelet and she has mentioned a few times how much she loves them. She isn’t the easiest person to please, never has been and most likely never will, so with that said I really don’t want to break my arm patting myself on the back for a job well done, but I am really very happy with the way it all turned out.

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Movies On Demand

For some reason I ditched regular TV last tonight and decided to find a movie “On Demand.” I’ve been using the On Demand feature from Comcast for a couple months and I have to admit that I’m getting really spoiled with the convenience of seeing a movie not only when I want to watch but it lets me pause and rewind, as if it was a VCR tape or a DVD. Very cool for when you can’t hear a mumbled line and you want to know what they said. The movie I chose was Semi-Tough, with Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson as two professional football players in a love triangle with the team owner’s daughter. There are some great lines in this movie that reflected the social times and values of the early 1970s.

Most movies and TV shows that I watch from back in that era are so darned corny, and this movie did certainly have it corn balled moments but for the most part it was decent enough for me to get through the whole thing. Kris Kristofferson has always been one of my favorite actors and there are several of his songs that are really wonderful, such a unique sounding voice, that a lot of people don’t appreciate as much as I do. He is no spring chicken these days.

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Reputable Surgeons at Realistic Prices in the U.K.

As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions here, I have been experiencing a weight issue all my life. I have heard some great stories about some of the procedures that are now available for folks like myself and have decided to start doing a bit of research on Cosmetic Surgery. A few of my friends and co workers have had the lap band surgery that is all the rage, I don’t think that I would be a good candidate for that particular procedure, but I do think that I might possibly be a good candidate for some good old liposuction.

People are going over seas for a lot of their cosmetic surgery these days. You can get much better prices in the U.K., and I’d have no problem taking a quick trip over there myself. I have some relatives over there that have issued me an open door invitation that I could take advantage of, so I could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I would love to see them and be able to see where they live and take care of my weight issue once and for all. Something that I definitely want and need to look into possibly after the holiday season is over and done with.

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Online Tutoring – A God Send For Many Students

It seems that my niece would never had graduated into high school last year if she hadn’t found Math help via the good old Internet! Her guidance counselor suggested that she check into this Online Tutor, since several of her classmates had discovered this Math Problem Solver. Since most of us in the family are not the best when it comes to math, we really couldn’t be much help to her. My sister was pulling hair out trying to find a Math Tutor for her that was local and in the neighborhood and had no idea that by going online would bring the much needed help that she was looking for.

My niece has a good head on her shoulders and will go far in this life. Some times we just need a helping hand some times to keep ahead of the game and sometimes that help isn’t readily available for a lot of us. We certainly could have used this type of assistance back in my day of schooling, but computers were just coming into the picture at that point. What computers were available were used by the government, big corporations and kids that wanted to play games like Pong, Pac Man and the like. What a difference a few decades have made for all us!

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Sports Injuries

It amazes me how many people are disabled these days.  I see more and more people in wheel chairs, using canes and other types of devices to help them get around with, especially at the mall. I know that a good amount of people have sports injuries that they are dealing with. I have a friend who injured not just one, but both of his legs playing football in college, he is constantly on the look out for the newest types of knee supports to try. He will never be the same as I knew him in high school, but still an awesome guy with a lot to offer the world, besides playing football.

Sports are a big issue with a good majority of us and the amount of injuries done to us by playing these popular sports are mind boggling. A good web site that addresses sports injuries can be found at physioroom.com and deserves a look see if you have a mind to learn about injuries related to sports,  from a – z. They also have an official Premier League Injury Table List where you can see what sports player is injured and any of their previous injuries as well. Most interesting to read about!

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Love Me Some Kitchenaid

Not very often do I get what I call “good mail” since the majority of mail that finds its way into my mailbox is a bill or advertisement, neither of which do I enjoy receiving and dealing with. It used to be that once in a while a card or a letter could be found waiting for me to open, those days are long gone compliments of the Internet. LOL! The days are pretty much gone that I would get dozens of Christmas cards in the mail. I think last year I received a total of 3, with the majority of my Season’s Greetings being said and done online.

But today I got a piece of “good mail” not only was it a Christmas card but it had a healthy VISA gift card included in it that just about floored me when I opened the card and saw the amount clearly written on it. My Great Aunt Pearl, bless her heart, was feeling very generous this year and it didn’t take me long to figure out what I want to do with this particular blessing. Check out this sweet looking kitchenaid artisan mixer – candy apple 90th anniversary edition with free glass bowl that I think I will order when the weekend rolls around again.

KitchenAid Artisan Mixer
KitchenAid Artisan Mixer – Candy Apple – Low Res

I plan on spending a good part of this up and coming weekend online. While I’m at it I think I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the parts for the saucepan racks that I need to get that all installed and out of the way as well as trying to find a great deal on some lion sabatier stainless steel knives to complete the set that I’ve been working on for several years now. My kitchen is always a work in progress and I’m always wanting/needing something or another, but I do spend a good amount of time in there so my kitchen is important to me.

Thanks Aunt Pearl, you’re a doll!

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Questions About Bluetooth

These days online shopping is fast becoming the way to go, I love being able to stay at home and look around on the Internet much more than driving somewhere and dealing with the public, going from store to store and getting lousy customer service on top it all. Give me my PC and let my fingers do all of the work any day. I have decided that it is time that I jump on the band wagon of owning and using the Bluetooth headsets that you see people wearing all of the time these days, it seems to be the norm now to see a person walking by themselves and carrying on a conversation with what appears to be themselves, since they are not talking into a visible cell phone or with another person. Although sometimes I still find myself startled at times when someone starts talking right beside or behind me on those things.

I have been asking a few people that I know a few questions about their experiences with their Bluetooth headsets and for the most part I am hearing good things about them. And they are always coming up with new technology and great ideas that are keeping people coming back for more.  I understand that their Plantronics Headsets are a great way to go, they are so light weight that there is no discomfort involved as was with some of the older models when the first came out. I was told about a great online company that does have a web-site that you can order off of, that has a great selection of these lightweight models, that goes by the name of MobileBloc.net, and are affiliated with Skype, and after looking around at a few other places, I have decided to go ahead and order from them. They offer payment from PayPal which is a feature that I like and wish more companies would accept from them, I use my PayPal a lot.

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Good Friends

I used to be good friends with a gal that worked for an insurance company as a claims representative. She was such a lively person, full of energy and life, I miss her and want to try and find her on the computer somehow. I used to love hearing all the stories that she would tell about the customers that she dealt with each and every day and how they’re acted to a female claims rep in a male dominated world.  Not only did I enjoy hearing her stories, but she also got me hooked up with the best van insurance that money could buy and I’m grateful for that.

I have had to submit a few claims from time to time, always hoping that she would be assigned my claim, but was always happy with the service by the claims rep that did receive my claim. It has been a few years, I was told back then that she was still with the company, sure would love to hear from her again. I’m sure she has some new funny stories to tell me and we have a lot to catch up on. Gonna have to work on finding her soon, I think I’ll start with looking on Facebook which seems to be the best way to find people these days.

 

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A Rude Wake Up

Heard several firetrucks go past the house early this morning and they woke me up from a fairly deep sleep. This is a pretty rare happening for this quite neighborhood, there are not all that many houses out this far and along our road. Strangely, the firetrucks returned in a few minutes going the other way, still with their sirens blaring. That makes me think they were having trouble finding the right house.

When we first moved here we found that by law we have to display our house number so that it is visible from the road at all times of day or night. The number cannot be obstructed by bushes or flowers, and if the numbers are on wall address plaques, they must be lighted numbers or you must keep a light on them all through the night.

Now folks, that is just plain common sense, and as most houses have a rural route mail box at the end of their driveways, you would think this is not a problem. But evidently it was a serious enough problem that my good neighbors decided that it had to be a law. We have a mailbox at the end of the driveway, plus added address plaques and numbers to the front porch and the side door. We keep the porch light on all night anyway, so finding our house should be easy for anyone who might be looking.

I really think that home address plaques add an important element of style to your home, just as the exterior lights and window shutters add color and style.  I love the rustic farm house style, with white painted numbers and a black, wrought iron background.