Hijacked!

My Google homepage has been taken over. Here's the evidence:

*Questionable includes widgets titled "slap the monkey" with a monkey named Spanky.

**Note: The monster theme at the top is mine. It's awesome. 

I think there are co-conspirators.

It's time to take my iGoogle back!

Return to Sender

The subject line of an email Danjo the Magnificent received from Pharmacist's Letter:

"New Bowel Prep Guidance"

Yup. That's what it said. Picture that in your inbox.

For the uninformed

More dour economic news out of the United Kingdom:

Looking at the shows that kicked off Paris' haute couture week on Monday, you'd never know the world was the midst of the most serious financial turmoil since the Great Depression.

Hundreds of angry young people, many drunk and recently unemployed, rampaged through the historic Old Town

The upper house of parliament, though, may be more dicey. 

Joaquin Almunia, the European economics commissioner, warned that the picture would turn "dramatically worse" this year.

There you have it. The economy of Europe. Straight from the internet.

Budget Battles

I did a little research today on the budget of the state of Arizona. 

Some interesting things:

The budget for FY 2008 is $9.9Billion

The deficit for 2008 is somewhere between $1billion and $1.6billion (that's nine zeroes.) The calculator on my imac's dashboard could only handle up to 100million, so I had to go find a regular calculator.

The deficit is about 16% of the state budget, which is the worst of any state-even worse than CA.

There are no pie charts on the internet that I could find that show where the state's budget is spent, but at least 43%, and maybe as much as over 50% of the state budget is spent on education. Of that, 80% goes to "faculty salaries."

45% of the state's budget is "protected from budget cuts"---what??

So, if education is 45% (approx) of the budget, and 45% of the budget is protected, that only leaves 10% of the budget left to cut, if not education. So, if we cut all of that, we still have another 6% of the entire state budget that needs to go, and will have to come from education. That's only $600,000,000 or so. 

I just want to know about the 45% of the budget that is "protected"...

(I almost forgot, in case you were wondering, according to the internet [controlled by the guy in Utah who is keeping a Dalek in his basement] it's either the fault of the republican legislature or the democratic [don't let the door hit you in the behind on the way out] former governor. I'm not really sure which. Maybe it's even both their faults)

Now I will go pick the kids up from school, and write about something else next time. Maybe the economy in Europe and all.

Do You Recall?

So, the kids went to youth symphony last night, where some parent brought peanut butter crackers for the kids' snack. Does this person not watch the news? Maybe. The kids think it's a plot. Chair auditions are next week, and this parent is maybe trying to get their kid ahead by poisoning the competition. Adventurer Two, who currently sits first chair, wisely chose cheese crackers instead. Venom, who doesn't have room in her busy head for the mundane things of life, went for the peanut butter and felt silly about it later. 

As for me, I'm going to go spread some Jif onto a Nilla Wafer, top with chocolate chips, and enjoy a risky snack. 

After ten days absence, has anything happened?

Unable to blog for the weekend (some things you really do need a real laptop to do effectively), I kept a list (on the "laptop") of things which I found to be bloggable. 

[Why is that text blue? I have no idea]

Here is some of that list. It may take more than one post.

Travelling through AZ, NM, TX. Lots of THING signs. Young Adventurer counted over twenty while Texas-bound and didn't bother to count going the other way.  

New Mexico: strange place. Every year we are entertained by some of their unique road signs. Our favorites are "Dust Storms May Exist" and "Warning, Correctional Facility Ahead, Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers." That sign is followed immediately by a sign that says "Fairgrounds Next Right."

Also, see the photo above for the strangely painted lines in the road. the camera was unable to capture the extreme crookedness of the lines. Was the line painter driving drunk?

Seen entering TX. Yikes. I am afraid of this gym.

A weekend of hard, dirty labor can change a family's life. Extreme Home Makeover, Faith Foundations Edition. Oddly enough, the TV show was in town on the US side of the border, building a house the same weekend. 

Jose with his dog (and his mom and brothers and other family member-anyone know who?)

Joseph with Ann's dog. Joseph told Ann he would like to take Bailey home, and if not Bailey, then Connor. Joes on both sides of the border really like puppies.

As to other noteworthy events:

1. The Cardinals are in the Superbowl. Go Cardinals. [wow, that is weird to say] To my little brother, parents root for eldest child's local team if the Chargers aren't playing. No usurping. Maybe that's why the Eagles lost. Good to hear you don't expect them to cheer the Stealers. Yes, I can spell. Is that  game recorded for posterity, Ohm? Did the tech stuff work? Did the Tivo thingy really figure out how to record the game itself?

2. President Obama. We all watched your inauguration. Mandatory viewing at school. All of this adventuring family liked the John Williams piece by far the best. Go Yo Yo. Mr. Perlman, Adventurer Two doesn't like your technique but it sure seems to work! You might have a few things to say about her technique too.  Young Adventurer preferred the piano the best. Clarinetist dude, nice job.

Mrs. Obama, we didn't like the outfit. Not fans of greenish yellow.  Little Obama kids-cute-I would have brought a camera too. 

Adventurer Two liked the poem also. It was understandable and didn't use big words. 

The Pray-ers were so-so, but we liked the second guy better. Sis, they should have called Stanley. Or is he dead?

"Trace is a Christian Game"

Young Adventurer loves my new iPod Touch enough to take it without asking, hack into it, and hide in his room to play with it, all after being told he could not play with it right then. His favorite game (and mine) is Trace, downloadable for free from the App Store. 

Today on the way home from school, he announced that he thinks Trace is a Christian game. I asked why, and here is what he said, summarized:

The character in the game is like me. The game player is like God (!!). The obstacles in the game are like the Devil. The game character(me) can't do much of anything without God drawing the path so that I can avoid the obstacles. Worthy of special comment were the levels of the game with plants. The plants have thorns (again, like the Devil) which can be difficult to avoid. A path is needed, drawn by God. Young Adventurer also noted that the more levels you complete successfully, the harder it gets to avoid the obstacles on subsequent levels. 

For My 100th Blog post...

Danjo the Magnificent and his pet monkey

Venom took this-leaves with frost.

Siblings not hating each other

All he needs is a cause

Movie Star in Disguise spotted near hole in rock.

Just a few random comments:

Dealing with school administrations is right up there with dealing with insurance companies in my book.

Adventurer Two has found herself first chair in her section in the symphony, much to her utter delight. It's good to see some happy smiles in this girl's world!

Young Adventurer chose to discuss a problem rather than scream about it the other day. This is a huge monstrous step in the right direction!

Venom is off to camp up in the snow (or mud?) Not in a tent, but a cabin. Hoping for fun and friends.

I am looking forward to the next symphony concert, after hearing their new music at rehearsal last night.  Should be fun!

I need to watch more Doctor Who. 

The dogs look and smell better when they are clean. I need to find time for doggie baths!

Home Improvement takes time

We just installed a ceiling fan. We purchased this one at Lowes rather than going back to Home Depot to save $10 because this one billed itself as the "Five Minute Fan." It claims that an average installer can get the job done in 5 minutes, after the mounting bracket is mounted to the electrical box. We've installed approximately 10 ceiling fans together, so we are not completely inexperienced at this job. The mounting bracket took at least an hour. The fan took at least another hour. We think we saved about five minutes because of the creative blade-attachment mechanism. The light was the most complicated we have ever seen. 

I will call or email the manufacturer asking for my ten dollars back. 

There is just no way to accelerate home improvement projects. Do not be deceived.

The Naming of Things-Part 1

Danjo the Magnificent has renamed my new gadget, "Joelle's iTouch." That is cruelty to ipods. I have changed the name to "Joelle's 'Laptop.'" That is what it is. I have heard that this was the hot gift of the season, which makes Danjo a pretty Magnificent guy. Even if it is not a real macbook. Hmmm. Maybe I will name it Pinocchio...

Part two will be the naming story for the Webkinz belonging to Young Adventurer.