Quick Hitters

We are in the middle of some record-breaking temperatures right now.  It was just our "luck" that we are now living in a house with no air conditioning, and we're trying to figure out creative ways to rotate the sticky air.  I wouldn't say this is without its benefits - for one thing, I'm not spastastically afraid of spiders any more.  Still afraid, but I can kill them without shrieking.  For another thing, it has forced me to become closer to nature by using some of her cooling methods rather than my own, which is of course cheaper and somewhat greener, though we are using several fans 24/7 to cool the house at night.  We've also been trying to push the cold air from the basement and garage up to the living room/office area, which presents quite the challenge with a 1-year-old toddler who loves to climb stairs.

Anyway, between this heat and working on a hot laptop in the unbearable afternoons, I haven't wanted to sit and type more.  It's 10 p.m. and 79 degrees outside.  However, I will give you some quick hitters that have been bouncing around in my head for a while - some guilty pleasures, some not so guilty:

• Raise your hand if you're happy not to read about LiLo's crack tweets for the next 180 days while she's in jail/rehab.  Did you see that she manicured the phrase "f*** you" on both her middle fingernails?  Someone snapped the photos while she was at her hearing and being sentenced.  Judge Marsha Revel's no-nonsense haircut and pursed Mom lips dished a "f*** you too" right back to her.  
• Who else said "Praise God!" when that little 4-year-old girl who was found alive after being kidnapped from her front yard in Missouri?  You almost never see it end that way.  Unfortunately, the person of interest in the case shot himself when approached by police.  The mystery may never be solved, but a family and community is rejoicing tonight. 
• Speaking of other celebrities I want to go away:  LeBron.  Seriously.  SI.com has a LEBRON WATCH going right now.  Kind of like the tornado warning that hit my hometown last weekend, only a lot more annoying and no one caring.  Check off another reason why I avoid anything that has to do with the NBA like the plague.
• Super bummed about the Steelers' season already.  Big Ben = Big Butthead, and now Willie Colon and Limas Sweed are both out for season with Achilles tendon injuries.  Better than Randle El will be there to fill in as WR.  
• The Pirates are just a laughingstock right now.  I think the media cares about them as much as they care about my husband taking the trash out.  At least our trash doesn't stink as much as the Buccos.  PNC Park is just a beautiful ball park - no bad seat in the house.  Shameful.
• Continuing on Pittsburgh's professional teams:  Kind of like what the Pens did during free agency.  The loss of Gonchar was a bummer, but as a friend pointed out to me, his leadership skills were great - his defensive skills, not so much.  He was also injured way too much.  Pens put a ton of money into the defense and I hope it works out. 
• Where else other than Facebook can you have a conversation with buddies across the nation about The Goonies and dry shampoo in 24 hours?    
• Ju$t found out why we only get profe$$ional photo$ done every five year$ or $o.  

Time to rock out to some Gaga remixes and catching up on my celeb gossip.  Good night, dear readers.

Quick Hitters

With two little girls, a business to run and more transcription than I know what to do with, things have been pretty crazy in my abode, and my poor blog is sprouting cobwebs worse than the ones sold at Wal-Mart for the Halloween season.  No matter how small my readership is, I know some of you visit on a frequent basis, so thanks for keeping the faith.  


I just have a few brief thoughts on some news items that you are probably familiar with.  I'll hyperlink when appropriate; otherwise, you'll just get to hear me jabber on!

• A Facebook friend made a great point on her status today:  In a nutshell, Ed Rendell is asking sick folks to stay home and recuperate without spreading H1N1.  The friend thought it "funny" that Rendell can say this to folks living near or below the poverty line while he earns six figures.  How sad is that?  Job security is shakier than ever, and yet we feel that we have to choose between spreading our germs or keeping our jobs.
• Is it me, or does the sex offender/missing child ratio seem to favor the Florida area more than most?  Another day, another child dies at the hands of some sicko in that Southern state.  Yet another Facebook friend posted what she'd like to do to these people, and I can say that some very bad thoughts indeed have crossed my mind if someone were to get their paws on my girls.  
• I think everyone should be able to have health insurance.  There was a time when I faced a lapse in coverage, and it was awful.  But I'm not sure the Dems have the right idea with this public option.  For starters, the deficit has swelled to the amount it was after WWII.  That is a right large deficit for me, my husband, children and children's children to pay off.  Insurance companies have gotten much too powerful, but then again, I don't want to stay in the public option if I leave my job, especially if I can afford a private plan. 
• Did anyone else cheer when Ken Lewis (Bank of America CEO) resigned from BofA, and then pay czar Kenneth Feinberg asking him to pay back $1M in compensation?  And then did anyone get SPITTING mad when we found out his compensation package ($69.3M)?  Look, you need to pay good money to good businessmen and entrepreneurs who can help create jobs.  But when he turns into a crook who is making me pay 25% interest on a debt incurred from a failed business attempt, with no late payments or other blemish on my perfect credit record, then I wonder how BofA can afford to give that compensation while posting a third-quarter loss of about $1 billion?  No one wins.
• H1N1.  I'm not vaccinating against that or seasonal/regular flu.  I'm not against it, but I've got worries about vaccinating against a virus.  That said, it's killing people my age, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried a little bit. 

What a boring post!  Compared to some of my last posts, I guess I have slipped into the dreaded direction of talking about what everyone else is talking about.  I guess my creative juices are being milked directly into my daughter (pun intended).  One of these days I will write about some of the great links my husband sends me from physorg.com - now that's some interesting reading, if you know where to look - like this article about a study one of my former professors recently completed.  If there's a link you click today, it should be that one.