I bring this up because of the post about wanting to plant lavender in Minnesota. As much I would love to plant it, I might have to plant it too far from the house for my own enjoyment because lavender is a bee attractant. It's the blue flowers. Bees LOVE blue flowers. I learned that the hard way when I decided to plant Russian sage near my mailbox one year. Let's just say that I'm sure I was a topic of conversation on the street because I would wait until the dead of night to run out to the mail box while the bees were asleep.
Obviously, I'm allergic to bee stings.
When I moved to Minnesota, I started apple picking in the fall- what fun! They used to have this great little apple orchard in Eden Prairie (Eden Apple) that had at least 6 different varietals. The first year, I got a little carried away and ended up picking a couple of bushels of apples....
If you haven't picked a bushel of apples, all I can say is that it's a LOT of apples.
It's about 9 gallons to one bushel!
I, incidentally, learned how to can apples that year...but that's a different story.
I had so much fun that I decided to go apple picking every year. One year, I got stung by a bee and my whole hand and arm swelled up. I got to take a lovely trip to one of the area hospitals because didn't know how bad the swelling was going to get and we didn't know what had happened until the doctors said, "Looks like you got stung by a bee".
I didn't even see the bee!
I certainly would have left it well enough alone.
Well, I got an epi pen for life, a sleep dose of 1500 mg of benedryl, and a lecture about how these allergies usually get worse with every exposure, so DON'T GET STUNG.
Uhm, I think I understood the "Don't get stung" without the doctor saying so, but whatever. I find most of the advice given by doctors to be on the "duh" level. "It hurts if I move my foot like this", "Well, don't do that"; "I've had this cough for a couple of weeks", "Have you tried some cough drops?"
Anyway, BEES are what I was and am always on the look out for. After a forced semester of entomology (study of insects), I learned that there are MANY different types of hymenopterans (bees and wasps- think "humming insect") Some sting, some don't. Some are big, some are small. Some are very poisonous, some are not. You've got to kind of figure that insects, being the most numerous creatures on the face of the planet, would have diversity. After all, how can they survive the next cataclysm is they aren't?
But my simple request to all of you, as a bee-phobe, is that if you're going to plant a beautiful garden, don't plant bee attracting plants near your front door. It makes it very interesting trying to come to visit you when your front porch is already occupied.
Or perhaps if you have friendly neighbors that are allergic to bees, you'll want to plant every bee attractant in the book between your houses.
If you're interested in learning more about bee attracting plants, Berkeley has a great online site bee gardens.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Propaganda Alive and Well in the US
As you may recall, a short time ago, I posted a blog about what life is really like in Eden Prairie and why Money Magazine got their rating of the city as the #3 best place in the US to live completely wrong.
Despite several attempts at contacting them about this story and leaving feedback posts on their online story about Eden Prairie, they refuse to acknowledge any of my queries.
In fact, they refuse to post my comments on their story.
This is a fantastic example of propaganda.
In fact, I read through a good number of their posts on the story and the biggest disagreement with Money Magazine was that Eden Prairie lacked a good public transportation system. (good, yes, public transportation they have). This makes it seem like everyone agrees with Money Magazine's story. It's really quite sad that they feel the need to moderate the comments to this degree.
Please feel free to add your own comments to the story site and see what happens. Perhaps you'll have better luck.
Despite several attempts at contacting them about this story and leaving feedback posts on their online story about Eden Prairie, they refuse to acknowledge any of my queries.
In fact, they refuse to post my comments on their story.
This is a fantastic example of propaganda.
In fact, I read through a good number of their posts on the story and the biggest disagreement with Money Magazine was that Eden Prairie lacked a good public transportation system. (good, yes, public transportation they have). This makes it seem like everyone agrees with Money Magazine's story. It's really quite sad that they feel the need to moderate the comments to this degree.
Please feel free to add your own comments to the story site and see what happens. Perhaps you'll have better luck.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Mediterranean Lavender
I purchased some dish soap recently with the scent "Mediterranean Lavendar". Since it was the only non-vile scent available (they didn't have "Original", ironically), I decided to purchase it- bottles need washing after all. But when I was washing the bottles early one morning, it dawned on me:
Does lavender even grow in the Mediterranean?
I actually had to look this up. I know that lavender is a weed, pretty much, but it's been so cultivated over the years, I didn't know if it's weed-like qualities would allow it to grow in such diverse places as England and anywhere in the Mediterranean. I pictured the low, marshy heaths of England and the dry, arid, dusty, rock hills of Greece and there was a complete disconnect in my mind. I thought for sure that the manufacturers had made a rather large and embarrassing error.
But I looked it up. Turns out that lavender is native to the Mediterranean- it just has been cultivated to grow in England. In fact, the dampness is the #1 enemy of lavender; it grows best in dry, chalky soil in the sun. It's part of the Labiatae herb family, which includes rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, patchouli, and mints- basically, the common aromatic herbs. I read further that smelling rosemary and lavender actually have some health benefits, documented health benefits: smelling these lovely weeds actually increases free radical clean up in your body. Remember that free radicals are actually parts of atoms that are flying free with lots of energy and doing lots of damage. Vitamin E is supposed to be taken for free radical cleanup, among other vitamins.
So, I guess, come spring, I'll try to grow some lavender here in Minnesota. It's supposed to love zone 5, but with the changing weather patterns, we're on that borderline now. Guess I can live with the swap; no ice fishing but you can grow lavender.
Does lavender even grow in the Mediterranean?
I actually had to look this up. I know that lavender is a weed, pretty much, but it's been so cultivated over the years, I didn't know if it's weed-like qualities would allow it to grow in such diverse places as England and anywhere in the Mediterranean. I pictured the low, marshy heaths of England and the dry, arid, dusty, rock hills of Greece and there was a complete disconnect in my mind. I thought for sure that the manufacturers had made a rather large and embarrassing error.
But I looked it up. Turns out that lavender is native to the Mediterranean- it just has been cultivated to grow in England. In fact, the dampness is the #1 enemy of lavender; it grows best in dry, chalky soil in the sun. It's part of the Labiatae herb family, which includes rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, patchouli, and mints- basically, the common aromatic herbs. I read further that smelling rosemary and lavender actually have some health benefits, documented health benefits: smelling these lovely weeds actually increases free radical clean up in your body. Remember that free radicals are actually parts of atoms that are flying free with lots of energy and doing lots of damage. Vitamin E is supposed to be taken for free radical cleanup, among other vitamins.
So, I guess, come spring, I'll try to grow some lavender here in Minnesota. It's supposed to love zone 5, but with the changing weather patterns, we're on that borderline now. Guess I can live with the swap; no ice fishing but you can grow lavender.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Playing House Is NOT for Children
Ok, I'm on a roll with Fisher Price, so I'm going to continue.
I purchased the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Home because, god, doesn't it look like fun? From a child psychology standpoint, the experts say that if it looks neat and interesting to you, then your child will probably also find it so. Well, this just looked really neat- a little door that works; a facade that has the exterior of the house on one side and the interior of the house on the other; a mailbox slot; a working window...
and an analog clock that has both hands that move.
Ok, so my first complaint: there is a cute little song about numbers that is tripped when you turn the hands on the clock. But the song only counts up to 10.
Uhm, the last time I checked, the numbers on the clock range from 1 to 12...
ok, so, there's that problem.
Then there's the ball drop slot on the side of the house. It also counts only up to 10. And it plays the same song repeatedly when you any number of balls in the slot. I would think that it would play different songs for the number of balls you drop, particularly because it is difficult to understand what the voice is saying about the count of the balls.
Ok, so problem #3: The address numbers on the house exterior. They range from 1 to 9. What about 0??? Honestly! I mean, I understand why you'd leave off "10" and "11" and "12" because in an address, such as they have, it would just be "1" "0" and "1" "1" and "1" "2". Oh, wait, that's right- they only have the digits once. It's quiet sad because the little roller that is inside could have been made big enough to accommodate digits 0-9 in each of the slots. That would be more realistic for learning addresses, wouldn't it?
Problem #4: the shapes in the door and on the interior of the house: these seem to have no tie-in to the house songs or sounds AT ALL. It's just like they were thrown in as an afterthought. Unlike the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Kitchen that talks about all the parts of the kitchen (except the trash..hmm...) in a song of some sort, the House completely omits them!
Which brings me to problem #5: The door itself. I had such high hopes. It has a cute little key and keyhole that you can insert the key....if you have the knowledge of how to hold the door still. The door is so touchy to move, that every attempt my daughter makes to put the key in the keyhole, causes the door to move out of reach. What kind of crappy design is that? You'd think that Fisher Price would have tested these out. There is NO WAY to put the key in the keyhole without the door moving away from you unless you hold it still with the other hand or block the door. Same goes for the shapes. How can that teach a child anything?
And then there's the key itself (problem #6): it has such a short stock on it and such a large handle that it falls out of the keyhole unless you can balance it just right. It actually does turn in the keyhole, but it doesn't affect the door handle at all (problem #7). If you're going to teach someone about keys and locks, then it would be helpful if, I dunno, the lock actually does something?!
Problem #8 comes with the tippiness of the design. It's intended audience is the transitioning crawler to walker stage child, which means that they're learning to pull themselves up on things. This is such an attractive and intended tool for doing just that, that you'd think that FP would have made the base weighted so that it wouldn't tip over.
But they didn't. Very tippy. You can't let your child pull on it, or it will be them pulling the house down on top of themselves.
And finally, there's the radio on the interior side of the house for Problems #9, #10 (#11 and #12...but since the house doesn't count that high, I'm not sure I can list those two). There are four radio buttons on a radio and each one of them plays a song...a song WAY to complex to learn and WAY to fast and garbly to make out clearly. REMEMBER WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS, FISHER PRICE! It's a bunch of tiny, tiny children. SIMPLE, REPETITIVE songs and instructions are how we educate them the best; the radio seems to be a complete waste of batteries and a complete educational cop-out.
At least it doesn't have an insidious Spanish language track.
I purchased the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Home because, god, doesn't it look like fun? From a child psychology standpoint, the experts say that if it looks neat and interesting to you, then your child will probably also find it so. Well, this just looked really neat- a little door that works; a facade that has the exterior of the house on one side and the interior of the house on the other; a mailbox slot; a working window...
and an analog clock that has both hands that move.
Ok, so my first complaint: there is a cute little song about numbers that is tripped when you turn the hands on the clock. But the song only counts up to 10.
Uhm, the last time I checked, the numbers on the clock range from 1 to 12...
ok, so, there's that problem.
Then there's the ball drop slot on the side of the house. It also counts only up to 10. And it plays the same song repeatedly when you any number of balls in the slot. I would think that it would play different songs for the number of balls you drop, particularly because it is difficult to understand what the voice is saying about the count of the balls.
Ok, so problem #3: The address numbers on the house exterior. They range from 1 to 9. What about 0??? Honestly! I mean, I understand why you'd leave off "10" and "11" and "12" because in an address, such as they have, it would just be "1" "0" and "1" "1" and "1" "2". Oh, wait, that's right- they only have the digits once. It's quiet sad because the little roller that is inside could have been made big enough to accommodate digits 0-9 in each of the slots. That would be more realistic for learning addresses, wouldn't it?
Problem #4: the shapes in the door and on the interior of the house: these seem to have no tie-in to the house songs or sounds AT ALL. It's just like they were thrown in as an afterthought. Unlike the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Kitchen that talks about all the parts of the kitchen (except the trash..hmm...) in a song of some sort, the House completely omits them!
Which brings me to problem #5: The door itself. I had such high hopes. It has a cute little key and keyhole that you can insert the key....if you have the knowledge of how to hold the door still. The door is so touchy to move, that every attempt my daughter makes to put the key in the keyhole, causes the door to move out of reach. What kind of crappy design is that? You'd think that Fisher Price would have tested these out. There is NO WAY to put the key in the keyhole without the door moving away from you unless you hold it still with the other hand or block the door. Same goes for the shapes. How can that teach a child anything?
And then there's the key itself (problem #6): it has such a short stock on it and such a large handle that it falls out of the keyhole unless you can balance it just right. It actually does turn in the keyhole, but it doesn't affect the door handle at all (problem #7). If you're going to teach someone about keys and locks, then it would be helpful if, I dunno, the lock actually does something?!
Problem #8 comes with the tippiness of the design. It's intended audience is the transitioning crawler to walker stage child, which means that they're learning to pull themselves up on things. This is such an attractive and intended tool for doing just that, that you'd think that FP would have made the base weighted so that it wouldn't tip over.
But they didn't. Very tippy. You can't let your child pull on it, or it will be them pulling the house down on top of themselves.
And finally, there's the radio on the interior side of the house for Problems #9, #10 (#11 and #12...but since the house doesn't count that high, I'm not sure I can list those two). There are four radio buttons on a radio and each one of them plays a song...a song WAY to complex to learn and WAY to fast and garbly to make out clearly. REMEMBER WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS, FISHER PRICE! It's a bunch of tiny, tiny children. SIMPLE, REPETITIVE songs and instructions are how we educate them the best; the radio seems to be a complete waste of batteries and a complete educational cop-out.
At least it doesn't have an insidious Spanish language track.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Another Miss for Fisher Price
So, being a German family, I LOVE coo-coo clocks! My mother has one with the little dancers that go around every hour. I remember sitting and wondering what the dancers on the inside of the clock did during their off time before they needed to be on stage again...yeah, great imagination as a child. I even found an authentic one at a charity shop for so cheap I had to own it, particularly having been to Germany and seeing the original prices of these.
Naturally, when I saw this Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Coo-Coo Clock I had to have it for my daughter. I was really impressed that Fisher Price would be selling an analog clock that was so cute in today's digital world.
Then we got the clock.
The hands don't work! Or should I say HAND. It's just a single, bent piece to represent the two different hands of the clock. HOW LAME! How's a kid supposed to learn time from that!? Or even to just learn that there are TWO hands, not just one!?
The coo-coo is cute, but it's completely an appeasement toy. It just plays a few songs. THAT'S IT! It'll keep a smart kid occupied for about 5 minutes and then they'll be done with it for the rest of their ownership of it.
Very lame, Fisher Price. You should have made the hands work.
Naturally, when I saw this Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Coo-Coo Clock I had to have it for my daughter. I was really impressed that Fisher Price would be selling an analog clock that was so cute in today's digital world.
Then we got the clock.
The hands don't work! Or should I say HAND. It's just a single, bent piece to represent the two different hands of the clock. HOW LAME! How's a kid supposed to learn time from that!? Or even to just learn that there are TWO hands, not just one!?
The coo-coo is cute, but it's completely an appeasement toy. It just plays a few songs. THAT'S IT! It'll keep a smart kid occupied for about 5 minutes and then they'll be done with it for the rest of their ownership of it.
Very lame, Fisher Price. You should have made the hands work.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
New Year's Resolution
- Click the File tab
- Click Cleanup Tools.
- Click Archive.
- Click the Archive this folder and all subfolders option, and then click the folder that you want to archive. Any subfolder of the folder you select is included in this manual archive.
- Under Archive items older than, enter a date.
- If you do not want to use the default file or location, under Archive file, click Browse to specify a new file or location. Browse to find the file that you want, or enter the file name, then click OK. The destination file location appears in the Archive file box.
- Select the Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked check box to include any items that might be individually marked to be excluded from automatic archiving. This option does not remove that exclusion from these items, but instead ignores the Do not AutoArchive check box for this archive only.
It's time for those lovely New Year's Resolutions again! I'm a Business Analyst, so I collect a LOT of documentation throughout the year. As a part of my resolution list this year, I'm going to be making an effort to clean out the last year's documents and emails. It's also a good time to verify your computer backups at home and at work.
For those of you using Outlook, email backups and cleanup should be easy. To set your Archival settings, follow these steps:
NOTE! Be sure you include items on your calendar if you keep agendas on the calendar items themselves.
Once you have created your archive, be sure to save this off to your backup location. There are many options for system backups: from cloud storage to local hardware. One option I like to recommend is Dropbox.com. If you haven't used it, it works like the archival settings on Outlook- you download the software and establish your backup schedule and which folders to backup. You get 2GB free storage, but I personally recommend you take Dropbox up on its current offer of free additional space if you invite others to use the service. Of course, if you like Dropbox, you can always purchase the additional storage for a small annual fee. Google has its own cloud storage that accompanies all email addresses: Google Drive. Again, you get a small about of free storage with the option to purchase an increased amount.
The downside I see with Dropbox or Google Drive, or any cloud storage, is security- someone can see the data you put out there and someone has access to it, at least from an administrative perspective. Then there's the possibility of a security hack of Dropbox, so I highly recommend that you encrypt your data if you have secure or confidential contents that you put out in the Cloud. In addition, there still the possibility that the servers will corrupt and your data will be lost, though the cloud providers would like you to believe that this will never happen.
That brings us to the option of local hardware backups. The problems that I see here are price, convenience, and knowledge. You will need to go purchase a drive or other media for your backups. Yes, you can use CDs, but what most people don't realize is that CDs have a shelf-life and the data eventually decays. Copying a copy from a CD had data integrity problems- little errors are created every time you copy and then you're making a copy of a bad copy which gets worse…in other words, your data gets cancer. So, what else? Hardware drives fail (ah, the click of death). Hard drives can also be expensive though the price of a 1TB hard drive is definitely coming down to a household expenditure level. But then you need to REMEMBER to do your backups. You also need to know how to administrate your own backup issues.
Whatever method you pick, you might want to keep in mind that your data is like a retirement plan: diversify and review often. There isn't one best solution, but it's the amount of risk you want to live with (or without).
Monday, December 24, 2012
Something to Limit The Imagination
So, my daughter got this toy from Grandma and Grandpa today. It's the Fisher Price Play and Go Farm.
Now, I've been very impressed with Fisher Price so far. Her favorite toy is the little Laugh and Learn Kitchen. With the exception of the mandatory inclusion of the Spanish setting (instead of having an option for another language or just having that channel at one end or the other), the fact that the trash can makes no sound, and the fact that they should have put more songs on the faucet, it's fantastic. There are plenty of songs and noises for most of the movable parts and they are appropriate for the age and for the fact that it's a kitchen.
But this Farm- you get one male farmer (uh, are we in Hugo, Minnesota? Where are the women!?) and one cow and one sheep and one tractor. I really like how they all fit in this little barn lunch box.
What I don't like is that only the farmer fits in the tractor. Of course, the first thing that I wanted to do is put the sheep in the tractor....but he doesn't fit. (or she) It was certainly something ewed not expect ( ha ha ha).
And then there's the fence- only three pieces. It only fits one animal at a time! But you have two animals!
FP, you really missed the mark on this one.
Now, I've been very impressed with Fisher Price so far. Her favorite toy is the little Laugh and Learn Kitchen. With the exception of the mandatory inclusion of the Spanish setting (instead of having an option for another language or just having that channel at one end or the other), the fact that the trash can makes no sound, and the fact that they should have put more songs on the faucet, it's fantastic. There are plenty of songs and noises for most of the movable parts and they are appropriate for the age and for the fact that it's a kitchen.
But this Farm- you get one male farmer (uh, are we in Hugo, Minnesota? Where are the women!?) and one cow and one sheep and one tractor. I really like how they all fit in this little barn lunch box.
What I don't like is that only the farmer fits in the tractor. Of course, the first thing that I wanted to do is put the sheep in the tractor....but he doesn't fit. (or she) It was certainly something ewed not expect ( ha ha ha).
And then there's the fence- only three pieces. It only fits one animal at a time! But you have two animals!
FP, you really missed the mark on this one.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Eyes Have It
So, today's is short but interesting.
We've all heard of the Mendelian genetics of eye color: Big "B" for Brown is dominant to all other eye colors; Little "b" for blue; Little "g" for green; and so on.
But there are actually 8 different genes identified that control eye color. This is why you can have some icy blue eyes and some baby blue; some black brown and fawn-colored. It turns out that eye color is produced by a protein in the iris cells of your eyes. The genes control the amount of protein that is produced in the cells- how often it is recycled in the cells and the shape of the protein. This protein is produced by melanocytes (colored cells), which are the same melanocytes in your skin (if you have moles, you know ALL about melanocytes and watching for melanoma). Anyway, large amounts of this "P-Protein" make your iris look brown. Just like in the skin, this darker pigment is a response to bright UV light; the pigment is a protection for the cell against DNA damage from the UV light. Cells with damaged DNA can become cancerous, so it makes sense that people living in regions with lots of sun have darker eyes.
It is also interesting that the color is controlled by a protein because this can be affected by your diet or other factors. My eyes are hazel, but they can have days where they are straight up ochre yellow and other days that they are leaf green and other days that they look brown. This is probably because of the amount of protein in the irises on a day-to-day basis. My dad actually 1.75 blue eyes- he's got a little pie wedge of brown in one of them. I've always thought that was really cool. It turns out, he's just got a group of cells in his eyes that produce more of this protein than the rest of the cells in his irises. (This also explains why some days his wedge is bigger than others...hmm)
So, I hope I haven't ruined anyone's genetics lesson plan. The rules of dominance still hold true...but you have to account for 8 genes, not just a single.
We've all heard of the Mendelian genetics of eye color: Big "B" for Brown is dominant to all other eye colors; Little "b" for blue; Little "g" for green; and so on.
But there are actually 8 different genes identified that control eye color. This is why you can have some icy blue eyes and some baby blue; some black brown and fawn-colored. It turns out that eye color is produced by a protein in the iris cells of your eyes. The genes control the amount of protein that is produced in the cells- how often it is recycled in the cells and the shape of the protein. This protein is produced by melanocytes (colored cells), which are the same melanocytes in your skin (if you have moles, you know ALL about melanocytes and watching for melanoma). Anyway, large amounts of this "P-Protein" make your iris look brown. Just like in the skin, this darker pigment is a response to bright UV light; the pigment is a protection for the cell against DNA damage from the UV light. Cells with damaged DNA can become cancerous, so it makes sense that people living in regions with lots of sun have darker eyes.
It is also interesting that the color is controlled by a protein because this can be affected by your diet or other factors. My eyes are hazel, but they can have days where they are straight up ochre yellow and other days that they are leaf green and other days that they look brown. This is probably because of the amount of protein in the irises on a day-to-day basis. My dad actually 1.75 blue eyes- he's got a little pie wedge of brown in one of them. I've always thought that was really cool. It turns out, he's just got a group of cells in his eyes that produce more of this protein than the rest of the cells in his irises. (This also explains why some days his wedge is bigger than others...hmm)
So, I hope I haven't ruined anyone's genetics lesson plan. The rules of dominance still hold true...but you have to account for 8 genes, not just a single.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Holy Cow!
So, a couple of weeks ago, you might have noticed that the price of milk jumped an entire $1 per gallon.
I was curious, so I looked it up.
It turns out that the government subsidy on milk has expired because Congress has fiddle farted around and can't agree on a simple thing like the price of milk. This means that the price of milk is no longer controlled. The laws of supply and demand are kicking in and the farmers are jacking up the price of milk to get as many dollars as they can for the milk.
This of course means that, as the price of milk continues to rise because farmers want the most they can get for it, fewer people will be purchasing milk. THIS DOES INCLUDE CHEESE, which is practically a staple in America- American's put cheese on everything. Anyway, as fewer people buy the milk because the price is so high, the farmers will be getting paid less, there by leading to a surplus of milk. But, wait- don't get your hopes up yet. You won't see the price drop again. What will happen is that the farmers will do away with the surplus. That means that hamburger might be at a great price next June, but milk will most likely stay at $7/gallon unless the US government can take its head out of its, well, you know.
This is, evidently, going to be a wide spread epidemic as most of the policies in the government expire and lead to uncontrolled competition. Spending will continue to drop to an all time low, as people won't be able to afford the normal purchases. This leads to an even worse economy.
This is why a 100% capitalistic market is bad for the consumer. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
I was curious, so I looked it up.
It turns out that the government subsidy on milk has expired because Congress has fiddle farted around and can't agree on a simple thing like the price of milk. This means that the price of milk is no longer controlled. The laws of supply and demand are kicking in and the farmers are jacking up the price of milk to get as many dollars as they can for the milk.
This of course means that, as the price of milk continues to rise because farmers want the most they can get for it, fewer people will be purchasing milk. THIS DOES INCLUDE CHEESE, which is practically a staple in America- American's put cheese on everything. Anyway, as fewer people buy the milk because the price is so high, the farmers will be getting paid less, there by leading to a surplus of milk. But, wait- don't get your hopes up yet. You won't see the price drop again. What will happen is that the farmers will do away with the surplus. That means that hamburger might be at a great price next June, but milk will most likely stay at $7/gallon unless the US government can take its head out of its, well, you know.
This is, evidently, going to be a wide spread epidemic as most of the policies in the government expire and lead to uncontrolled competition. Spending will continue to drop to an all time low, as people won't be able to afford the normal purchases. This leads to an even worse economy.
This is why a 100% capitalistic market is bad for the consumer. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Top 10 Reasons Why Eden Prairie IS NOT A Good Place to Live
Namely, Eden Prairie.
I honestly hope that some spider picks up this blog and makes it very public. Eden Prairie, MN is one of the worst places in which to live. Money Magazine is WRONG. Why?
1. Airports- plural
Eden Prairie has their own airport and in an effort to be "a big city" has continued to extend the runways. In addition, the FAA has lowered the flight ceiling, so you CONSTANTLY here airplanes. And they fly ALL NIGHT. The airport is supposed to be closed between 10pm and 6am, but they won't enforce the law because that would make the pilots mad and they might (heaven forbid) go somewhere else.
In addition, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, in their infinite wisdom, has rerouted all of their jet traffic over 494, which means that they ALL come over Eden Prairie.
2. The Traffic.
Eden Prairie used to be a little town on the edge of 494 (a major freeway). It was so nestled among the hills of the city that you wouldn't even know that you were passing through it. But now, Eden Prairie has 4 major highways going through it. And they didn't increase the other roads that feed the freeways to accommodate the traffic. So, from 7 to 9 in the morning, 11:30 to 2pm, and 3:30 to 6 in the evening, the city is so gridlocked, you can't travel in it.
And, no, the traffic isn't any better on the weekends. The streets are so full of cars that you'd think that it was a parking lot between going to the one undersized mall and the mega-churches on every corner. (The top 3 largest churches in the Twin Cities are found in Eden Prairie)
3. School Buses
If you HAVE to be on the road during one of these times, 9 times out of 10, you'll be stuck behind a school bus. Their routes overlap- you can watch the buses pull out of the same school and then stop at every corner of every block- And they won't let you around.
4. Southwest Station
It was a great idea to put a city bus station in Eden Prairie. They even built a parking ramp so that you could find parking there. However, Southwest Station is the HUB for the entire Southwestern Metro bus system...and they obviously didn't count the number of bus riders of the line before putting up the parking structure because they can't even get 1/2 the cars into the structure before it's full. So, they make you park a mile down -at a church- and walk a mile to the bus. It's a great challenge in work clothes on raining and snowing days. Thanks, Southwest Metro.
6. New train!
Oh, yes. As if it weren't enough that you can't get away from the air traffic or car traffic or bus traffic, Eden Prairie is going to add a train station! Isn't that fantastic? And they're not going to increase the city infrastructure to handle this, either. The plans are just to add the train station and a little parking area (maybe 50 cars). It'll be the only train station for miles...So, if the city is only hoping for 50 people or less to ride the train, great! Otherwise, you morons, you didn't plan for the parking or the access to the station.
7. City voting in churches
Evidently, the city hasn't heard of the separation of church and state. The polling places are in churches. Now, some religions forbid their believers from entering other religious buildings. So, this is specifically designed to keep the voting population Christian and to prevent other peoples from having a fair say.
8. Forced Ethnic "Desegregation" of schools.
In an effort to equalize the ethnicity of the schools in Eden Prairie, the city is enforcing a busing schedule. Did they learn nothing from Watts, California??
9. Spanish immersion schools.
We live in the United States of America. There was a vote during the Continental Congress for a national language and English was selected. But if they wanted to offer one Spanish immersion school, that would be fine. But we live less than 300 miles from Canada- French, Canada. So, why don't they offer French immersion schools? Because, generally, people who speak French also learn English, so there's no need to learn their language. People who learn Spanish (granted, this is Mexican Spanish, not Spain Spanish), don't learn English. I want my child to learn German and Gaelic. That's my heritage. Or, I want her to learn Japanese or Chinese, because that is actually meaningful in the world of business.
10. The Best of all: The "Amenities" of Eden Prairie are discriminatory against people of lesser income.
Specially, the Eden Prairie Art Center. One of the instructors made a comment that she refused treat non-class members of the Art Center equal with respect to letting us use the facilities. (You can be a member of the Art Center to use the facilities without having to take one of the over-priced classes). The City of Eden Prairie Recreation Department has now supported this decision and stated that those people who pay more (i.e. are rich enough to afford the over-priced classes) should be treated with more consideration and should be allowed to use facility more often and with priority over those members who cannot afford the luxury of an Art Class.
So, in summary, if you're a rich Christian, have your own plane, or just don't have to work, Eden Prairie will match up with you just fine. If you're in the working class, don't go to a Christian church, or just want to be treated as an equal, then I highly recommend moving elsewhere. Minnetonka, for instance.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Pick that up spiders.
I honestly hope that some spider picks up this blog and makes it very public. Eden Prairie, MN is one of the worst places in which to live. Money Magazine is WRONG. Why?
1. Airports- plural
Eden Prairie has their own airport and in an effort to be "a big city" has continued to extend the runways. In addition, the FAA has lowered the flight ceiling, so you CONSTANTLY here airplanes. And they fly ALL NIGHT. The airport is supposed to be closed between 10pm and 6am, but they won't enforce the law because that would make the pilots mad and they might (heaven forbid) go somewhere else.
In addition, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, in their infinite wisdom, has rerouted all of their jet traffic over 494, which means that they ALL come over Eden Prairie.
2. The Traffic.
Eden Prairie used to be a little town on the edge of 494 (a major freeway). It was so nestled among the hills of the city that you wouldn't even know that you were passing through it. But now, Eden Prairie has 4 major highways going through it. And they didn't increase the other roads that feed the freeways to accommodate the traffic. So, from 7 to 9 in the morning, 11:30 to 2pm, and 3:30 to 6 in the evening, the city is so gridlocked, you can't travel in it.
And, no, the traffic isn't any better on the weekends. The streets are so full of cars that you'd think that it was a parking lot between going to the one undersized mall and the mega-churches on every corner. (The top 3 largest churches in the Twin Cities are found in Eden Prairie)
3. School Buses
If you HAVE to be on the road during one of these times, 9 times out of 10, you'll be stuck behind a school bus. Their routes overlap- you can watch the buses pull out of the same school and then stop at every corner of every block- And they won't let you around.
4. Southwest Station
It was a great idea to put a city bus station in Eden Prairie. They even built a parking ramp so that you could find parking there. However, Southwest Station is the HUB for the entire Southwestern Metro bus system...and they obviously didn't count the number of bus riders of the line before putting up the parking structure because they can't even get 1/2 the cars into the structure before it's full. So, they make you park a mile down -at a church- and walk a mile to the bus. It's a great challenge in work clothes on raining and snowing days. Thanks, Southwest Metro.
6. New train!
Oh, yes. As if it weren't enough that you can't get away from the air traffic or car traffic or bus traffic, Eden Prairie is going to add a train station! Isn't that fantastic? And they're not going to increase the city infrastructure to handle this, either. The plans are just to add the train station and a little parking area (maybe 50 cars). It'll be the only train station for miles...So, if the city is only hoping for 50 people or less to ride the train, great! Otherwise, you morons, you didn't plan for the parking or the access to the station.
7. City voting in churches
Evidently, the city hasn't heard of the separation of church and state. The polling places are in churches. Now, some religions forbid their believers from entering other religious buildings. So, this is specifically designed to keep the voting population Christian and to prevent other peoples from having a fair say.
8. Forced Ethnic "Desegregation" of schools.
In an effort to equalize the ethnicity of the schools in Eden Prairie, the city is enforcing a busing schedule. Did they learn nothing from Watts, California??
9. Spanish immersion schools.
We live in the United States of America. There was a vote during the Continental Congress for a national language and English was selected. But if they wanted to offer one Spanish immersion school, that would be fine. But we live less than 300 miles from Canada- French, Canada. So, why don't they offer French immersion schools? Because, generally, people who speak French also learn English, so there's no need to learn their language. People who learn Spanish (granted, this is Mexican Spanish, not Spain Spanish), don't learn English. I want my child to learn German and Gaelic. That's my heritage. Or, I want her to learn Japanese or Chinese, because that is actually meaningful in the world of business.
10. The Best of all: The "Amenities" of Eden Prairie are discriminatory against people of lesser income.
Specially, the Eden Prairie Art Center. One of the instructors made a comment that she refused treat non-class members of the Art Center equal with respect to letting us use the facilities. (You can be a member of the Art Center to use the facilities without having to take one of the over-priced classes). The City of Eden Prairie Recreation Department has now supported this decision and stated that those people who pay more (i.e. are rich enough to afford the over-priced classes) should be treated with more consideration and should be allowed to use facility more often and with priority over those members who cannot afford the luxury of an Art Class.
So, in summary, if you're a rich Christian, have your own plane, or just don't have to work, Eden Prairie will match up with you just fine. If you're in the working class, don't go to a Christian church, or just want to be treated as an equal, then I highly recommend moving elsewhere. Minnetonka, for instance.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Eden Prairie is one of the worst places to live in.
Pick that up spiders.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Santa Rules- Continued
So, I think that we've all heard the stories about how Santa makes a list and checks it twice...and if you're on the naughty list, you get coal.
Well, does it count if you're a 3 year old who, knowing better, knocks down the entire Christmas tree and beats his younger sister?
I think that it doesn't take a lot of brain power to say, "uhm, naughty?!"
Well, my - well, let's say it's a young relation of mine-, whom I have never had the "pleasure" of meeting, did just that. Evidently, he's given full run of the house every day, unsupervised, while my "relative" takes a nap. He knows how to move chairs to reach what he shouldn't, he knows how to unlock the safety gates, and he knows how to get to the poisons and his dad's tools. This child also has a history of beating his sister and beating up other kids at the Y. So...free rein of the house....
I think I see something wrong with that...
But, let's set aside the obvious poor decision that is, and move on to the next item: the Christmas tree. The child has played with the tree for the past three years....Yes, he's 3, so that makes it EVERY year of his life. Every year, I hear stories of how he's playing with the tree and my relative threatens him that Santa won't come if he continues.
Well, this year, he knocked it down. Ornaments and tinsel everywhere. Smashed class and whatnot. My relative was naturally furious and said Santa wouldn't be coming, and then complained to our mutual relative about it. When our mutual relative asked about whether "no Santa" meant "no gifts, period", my relative said that it was only the one gift from Santa that he wouldn't be getting- but that he would get all the others
O_o
Seriously??
Well, I told our mutual relative as soon as I heard that it wouldn't last long before she gave in with that last gift. Sure enough- THE VERY SAME DAY, she has completely caved and now he Just has to write a little letter of apology to Santa and he gets it all.
Honestly, I'm glad that he doesn't have the same last name or know where I live because he's one of those dangerous kids that grows up to be in Juvie by the time he's 13. I know. I used to babysit one JUST like him. The kid was 7 and he had cavities and fake teeth already because he had knocked them all out. He used to take a hammer to his dad's truck. He used to pull a lawn chair up next to the chimney outside so he could climb on the roof. Even though the money was great babysitting him, I finally stopped because he pulled the butcher knife on me one day. Needless to say, I left and didn't return to the house. I did hear from the mom- they were our next door neighbors- that he had taken an axe to his sister's door a month later... That is the type of kid we're describing here.
I hope that they survive to live and play another day. I hope they do. But in the meantime, I'll just be glad that they don't keep in contact with us...and think seriously about moving so they don't know where we live.
Well, does it count if you're a 3 year old who, knowing better, knocks down the entire Christmas tree and beats his younger sister?
I think that it doesn't take a lot of brain power to say, "uhm, naughty?!"
Well, my - well, let's say it's a young relation of mine-, whom I have never had the "pleasure" of meeting, did just that. Evidently, he's given full run of the house every day, unsupervised, while my "relative" takes a nap. He knows how to move chairs to reach what he shouldn't, he knows how to unlock the safety gates, and he knows how to get to the poisons and his dad's tools. This child also has a history of beating his sister and beating up other kids at the Y. So...free rein of the house....
I think I see something wrong with that...
But, let's set aside the obvious poor decision that is, and move on to the next item: the Christmas tree. The child has played with the tree for the past three years....Yes, he's 3, so that makes it EVERY year of his life. Every year, I hear stories of how he's playing with the tree and my relative threatens him that Santa won't come if he continues.
Well, this year, he knocked it down. Ornaments and tinsel everywhere. Smashed class and whatnot. My relative was naturally furious and said Santa wouldn't be coming, and then complained to our mutual relative about it. When our mutual relative asked about whether "no Santa" meant "no gifts, period", my relative said that it was only the one gift from Santa that he wouldn't be getting- but that he would get all the others
O_o
Seriously??
Well, I told our mutual relative as soon as I heard that it wouldn't last long before she gave in with that last gift. Sure enough- THE VERY SAME DAY, she has completely caved and now he Just has to write a little letter of apology to Santa and he gets it all.
Honestly, I'm glad that he doesn't have the same last name or know where I live because he's one of those dangerous kids that grows up to be in Juvie by the time he's 13. I know. I used to babysit one JUST like him. The kid was 7 and he had cavities and fake teeth already because he had knocked them all out. He used to take a hammer to his dad's truck. He used to pull a lawn chair up next to the chimney outside so he could climb on the roof. Even though the money was great babysitting him, I finally stopped because he pulled the butcher knife on me one day. Needless to say, I left and didn't return to the house. I did hear from the mom- they were our next door neighbors- that he had taken an axe to his sister's door a month later... That is the type of kid we're describing here.
I hope that they survive to live and play another day. I hope they do. But in the meantime, I'll just be glad that they don't keep in contact with us...and think seriously about moving so they don't know where we live.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Continuing with Santa...
So, as a kid, I went to the mall to see Santa. Where I lived, there were actually two malls- one of them had the best display I've ever seen. Granted, I've never been to Disneyland at Christmas, so this would be the best mall display, but go with me.
It was a winter wonderland scene with model rail roads running through the snow and dwarfs mining gems around it.
Now that I think about it, it's weird that there were dwarfs in a Christmas display, but it was REALLY cool. I spent an hour or so looking online for a video of the old display, but I couldn't find one. Just one a shooting at the mall. Figures- everyone's got to ruin your holiday spirit.
And speaking of ruining the day...
The family that cut in front of us while we were waiting for Santa this morning- BAH HUMBUG! What a rotten thing to do to bring all three of your kids in front of us while we have a baby and you have grown kids. And then to take forever with the picture- we just wanted to say "hi" to Santa.
You know who you are and what you did. It wouldn't surprise me if you got coal for Christmas.
But my daughter was so cute- she waited for over a 1/2 hour (for a 10 month old, that's A LIFETIME) and she didn't cry or fuss the whole time. And then when she got to see Santa, she was very happy and excited!
And then the people running the display walked up to me where I was standing outside the "enclosure" to take a couple of free mommy pictures. They told me that no photographs were allowed, to which I said, "I'm outside the enclosure, right?" That's the rule. Then the bah humbug said that I was only allowed to take one picture.
And then while she's standing right, RIGHT next to me to monitor how many pictures I take, she tells me how cute my daughter is.
Uhm, a little late to be acting cute, don't you think?
But, she's right- my daughter is the cutest...you'll just have to take my word for it.
It was a winter wonderland scene with model rail roads running through the snow and dwarfs mining gems around it.
Now that I think about it, it's weird that there were dwarfs in a Christmas display, but it was REALLY cool. I spent an hour or so looking online for a video of the old display, but I couldn't find one. Just one a shooting at the mall. Figures- everyone's got to ruin your holiday spirit.
And speaking of ruining the day...
The family that cut in front of us while we were waiting for Santa this morning- BAH HUMBUG! What a rotten thing to do to bring all three of your kids in front of us while we have a baby and you have grown kids. And then to take forever with the picture- we just wanted to say "hi" to Santa.
You know who you are and what you did. It wouldn't surprise me if you got coal for Christmas.
But my daughter was so cute- she waited for over a 1/2 hour (for a 10 month old, that's A LIFETIME) and she didn't cry or fuss the whole time. And then when she got to see Santa, she was very happy and excited!
And then the people running the display walked up to me where I was standing outside the "enclosure" to take a couple of free mommy pictures. They told me that no photographs were allowed, to which I said, "I'm outside the enclosure, right?" That's the rule. Then the bah humbug said that I was only allowed to take one picture.
And then while she's standing right, RIGHT next to me to monitor how many pictures I take, she tells me how cute my daughter is.
Uhm, a little late to be acting cute, don't you think?
But, she's right- my daughter is the cutest...you'll just have to take my word for it.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
MOA
The Mall of America.
It's funny- when my family moved here it was strictly branded "The Mall of America"....but we called it MOA. Everyone we talked to was wondering what we were talking about.
But NOW, everyone calls it MOA. Such trend setters.
They used to have a great Xmas display, but that was back when they had Snoopy Land (which they called "Camp Snoopy", but everyone I talked to that had been to Disneyland called it "Snoopy Land"- it was an unspoken understanding). Now, Snoopy Land is "Nickelodeon Universe".
It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?
They could at least call it "Nicki U" or something. I don't know. I'm personally VERY much against Sponge Bob and most of the other Nickelodeon programs. I would be against Dora, but she's very educational...and I first saw her in Ireland where she was teaching Gaelic (I really wish I could find those recordings...)
But I digress: MOA Decorations suck.
They have Santa literally crammed into a janitor's closet next to Macy's. They used to have Santa in this huge rotunda (called "The Rotunda"-fitting, huh?) Well, the past few years, they have used this space for HGTV advertising. HGTV puts up this elaborate miniature house and yard with different lights and advertising their programming.
But no Santa.
Is HGTV against Santa?
It seems to me that it's a great marriage between something that adults care about (HGTV) and Santa. I mean, you have to wait in this huge line, anyway! Part of the Santa experience is the lead up. It's something that Disney was always great at: when you wait in a line at Disneyland (or Epcot...or any Disney park), you don't feel like you're waiting in line because it's the whole experience of being there. In fact, if you don't wait in line, you miss part of the story. Well, that's my point. Having Santa crammed into a janitor's closet with no visual lead up or story..that's criminal. Who would want to go there?
MOA, you suck at Santa.
And besides, I would have expected that, being the Mall of AMERICA, you would have decorations for all of the winter holidays for different people of America...am I expecting too much?
BTW, the best Santa display that I'm aware of in the Twin Cities is (was?) at Southdale Mall. They have a huge 2-story Santa house that they put up. You can walk through both stories...and the display can be seen anywhere in the mall. You get to see all the excited kids...it's an important part of the holiday lead up!
MOA, seriously- you REALLY SUCK at Santa.
It's funny- when my family moved here it was strictly branded "The Mall of America"....but we called it MOA. Everyone we talked to was wondering what we were talking about.
But NOW, everyone calls it MOA. Such trend setters.
They used to have a great Xmas display, but that was back when they had Snoopy Land (which they called "Camp Snoopy", but everyone I talked to that had been to Disneyland called it "Snoopy Land"- it was an unspoken understanding). Now, Snoopy Land is "Nickelodeon Universe".
It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?
They could at least call it "Nicki U" or something. I don't know. I'm personally VERY much against Sponge Bob and most of the other Nickelodeon programs. I would be against Dora, but she's very educational...and I first saw her in Ireland where she was teaching Gaelic (I really wish I could find those recordings...)
But I digress: MOA Decorations suck.
They have Santa literally crammed into a janitor's closet next to Macy's. They used to have Santa in this huge rotunda (called "The Rotunda"-fitting, huh?) Well, the past few years, they have used this space for HGTV advertising. HGTV puts up this elaborate miniature house and yard with different lights and advertising their programming.
But no Santa.
Is HGTV against Santa?
It seems to me that it's a great marriage between something that adults care about (HGTV) and Santa. I mean, you have to wait in this huge line, anyway! Part of the Santa experience is the lead up. It's something that Disney was always great at: when you wait in a line at Disneyland (or Epcot...or any Disney park), you don't feel like you're waiting in line because it's the whole experience of being there. In fact, if you don't wait in line, you miss part of the story. Well, that's my point. Having Santa crammed into a janitor's closet with no visual lead up or story..that's criminal. Who would want to go there?
MOA, you suck at Santa.
And besides, I would have expected that, being the Mall of AMERICA, you would have decorations for all of the winter holidays for different people of America...am I expecting too much?
BTW, the best Santa display that I'm aware of in the Twin Cities is (was?) at Southdale Mall. They have a huge 2-story Santa house that they put up. You can walk through both stories...and the display can be seen anywhere in the mall. You get to see all the excited kids...it's an important part of the holiday lead up!
MOA, seriously- you REALLY SUCK at Santa.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
The Christmas Letter
I _hate_ the Christmas letter.
With the exception of decorations before Halloween, it is the one thing that I truly detest about Christmas. I honestly don't know what it is. Perhaps it's the feeling that the card is more of an advertisement about someone's past year in a very mass-produced type of manner...perhaps it's just that it's more information than I care to know about people I've barely seen in the past 10 years.
You go to get the mail, and instead of those monotonous white/blue bill envelopes and other mass marketing postcards, there it is: a personalized card address just to you. Even if you don't send them yourself, find yourself a little bit happy just to get one.
You find that you have at least half a smile as you tear open the envelope.
And then there it is:
The Christmas Letter.
It's a card with some message that isn't even signed to you- just someone's signature and a printout of single-spaced, mass-produced synopsis of what someone did this year...because you weren't involved in their lives to know.
Isn't that saying something?
If you don't have time to see them during the year, why would you want to read an annual memoir of the whole family?
But, let's say that you don't feel that way- that you don't mind the letter.
Have you ever been left out of it? I think that it was leaving a huge event off (like the death of a mutual father/grandfather) that really turned me off of the Christmas Letter.
I tried looking up the origins, but the only hits I got were church sites: a modification of the "Letter to Santa", but since the churches don't believe in Santa, they support drivelous digests being sent out to keep in touch with all those people who don't attend their church...yet. And when I saw these sites, it wasn't surprising to me. It was just another "that figures". Yet another way the churches continue to destroy the original celebration of the shortest day of the year.
With the exception of decorations before Halloween, it is the one thing that I truly detest about Christmas. I honestly don't know what it is. Perhaps it's the feeling that the card is more of an advertisement about someone's past year in a very mass-produced type of manner...perhaps it's just that it's more information than I care to know about people I've barely seen in the past 10 years.
You go to get the mail, and instead of those monotonous white/blue bill envelopes and other mass marketing postcards, there it is: a personalized card address just to you. Even if you don't send them yourself, find yourself a little bit happy just to get one.
You find that you have at least half a smile as you tear open the envelope.
And then there it is:
The Christmas Letter.
It's a card with some message that isn't even signed to you- just someone's signature and a printout of single-spaced, mass-produced synopsis of what someone did this year...because you weren't involved in their lives to know.
Isn't that saying something?
If you don't have time to see them during the year, why would you want to read an annual memoir of the whole family?
But, let's say that you don't feel that way- that you don't mind the letter.
Have you ever been left out of it? I think that it was leaving a huge event off (like the death of a mutual father/grandfather) that really turned me off of the Christmas Letter.
I tried looking up the origins, but the only hits I got were church sites: a modification of the "Letter to Santa", but since the churches don't believe in Santa, they support drivelous digests being sent out to keep in touch with all those people who don't attend their church...yet. And when I saw these sites, it wasn't surprising to me. It was just another "that figures". Yet another way the churches continue to destroy the original celebration of the shortest day of the year.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Serving Sizes
So, I recently started taking one of these tea pill vitamin supplements. The serving size is 8 tiny little bee-bees three times a day.
First off, I can't tell you the number of times that I've lost of one these bee-bees down the drain or skittering across the floor, which the cats find most entertaining and then I get to go chasing the new toys before they're eaten or hidden under the frig.
And then there's the fact that you have to count out 8, three times a day. Honestly, 8 tiny bee-bees. Why can't they just combine them into one, normal sized pill!?
And that brings me to my current complaint: the serving size is 24 a day; the bottle is 1000 pills. That's 41.66666666666666666666666666666666666666667 daily doses in a bottle. Would it have been so hard to put another 16 pills in the container?
It cracks me up about my these little juice melties that my daughter has, too: amount in package: 2.5 servings.
Why not make it a full 3 servings!?
Can you imagine what lunch would be like if you had .75 servings of a PB&J sandwich? or .666666666666666667 servings of an apple? Would you like me to take a bit out of it to make sure that it's only 2/3?
It's not like these people can't do math. They keep decreasing the serving sizes on cookies until you have 1/2 a 2" cookie so that there's only 80 calories per serving! Fantastic! (And, yes, the Girl Scouts are in on it. )
Hoedowns
First off, I can't tell you the number of times that I've lost of one these bee-bees down the drain or skittering across the floor, which the cats find most entertaining and then I get to go chasing the new toys before they're eaten or hidden under the frig.
And then there's the fact that you have to count out 8, three times a day. Honestly, 8 tiny bee-bees. Why can't they just combine them into one, normal sized pill!?
And that brings me to my current complaint: the serving size is 24 a day; the bottle is 1000 pills. That's 41.66666666666666666666666666666666666666667 daily doses in a bottle. Would it have been so hard to put another 16 pills in the container?
It cracks me up about my these little juice melties that my daughter has, too: amount in package: 2.5 servings.
Why not make it a full 3 servings!?
Can you imagine what lunch would be like if you had .75 servings of a PB&J sandwich? or .666666666666666667 servings of an apple? Would you like me to take a bit out of it to make sure that it's only 2/3?
It's not like these people can't do math. They keep decreasing the serving sizes on cookies until you have 1/2 a 2" cookie so that there's only 80 calories per serving! Fantastic! (And, yes, the Girl Scouts are in on it. )
Hoedowns
Friday, December 14, 2012
Dare Devil
I have to say that I've done some rather daring things in my life. I wouldn't classify myself as a dare devil, but I haven't lacked for the gumption to go try something out, either. Some would call it flat out moxie. I can remember back when I was 7 or so: it was my younger sister's birthday and we had gone to Disneyland (yes, there is only ONE Disneyland - it's in Anaheim) and we were watching Merlin and some kids try to pull the sword out of the stone. Before I knew it, there were two men in jester costumes approaching my sister and I to see if we wanted to go pull it out. My sister freaked out- I jumped at the opportunity. I figured that if anyone was strong enough to pull that sword out, it would be me! And so, before my parents even knew that I was gone, I was walking off with these two jesters up to see Merlin. In fact, I think that they didn't know where I had gone until they saw me up with Merlin.
Anyway, I did pull the sword out of the stone and I was Queen for the Day. WEEEE. Never forget that.
And then there's another (few) times that I have driven in absolute blizzards from Eau Claire to Minneapolis, just because it was time to go home. I've driven late nights from Itasca to Minneapolis (like at midnight to 3am) because I wanted to be home.
So, I haven't lacked for some craziness in my decisions.
But now that I'm a Mommy, I am finding that I have a rather conservative outlook on life. It's supposed to rain and snow tonight and tomorrow and I won't venture out to a party that I want to go to because it means taking our daughter with us...and it's just too dangerous.
And I don't want my mother venturing out to parts undisclosed because of the snow, either.
So, what I wonder is: is this change psychological or physiological?
If anyone has an research on this, I'd love to see it.
Anyway, I did pull the sword out of the stone and I was Queen for the Day. WEEEE. Never forget that.
And then there's another (few) times that I have driven in absolute blizzards from Eau Claire to Minneapolis, just because it was time to go home. I've driven late nights from Itasca to Minneapolis (like at midnight to 3am) because I wanted to be home.
So, I haven't lacked for some craziness in my decisions.
But now that I'm a Mommy, I am finding that I have a rather conservative outlook on life. It's supposed to rain and snow tonight and tomorrow and I won't venture out to a party that I want to go to because it means taking our daughter with us...and it's just too dangerous.
And I don't want my mother venturing out to parts undisclosed because of the snow, either.
So, what I wonder is: is this change psychological or physiological?
If anyone has an research on this, I'd love to see it.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Something Missing About Xmas
So, this year is the second year that we don't have cable.
Yes, we are one of those weird families that decided that an ever-increasing cable bill for crapping programming just wasn't worth it. And now we have Netflix. Yes, I resisted. Oh, was a huge obstacle for my husband. He tried to convince me for months, but it was when Comcast raised the cable box price and programming price in the same month (again) that I finally agreed.
And I love it. For the most part, especially with a child, on-demand, auto-saving programs are the WAY TO GO! You never miss an episode. You can pause for a diaper change- you can watch whatever you want at whatever hour (heck, I hadn't even seen Fraiser before we got Netflix and it's great!) No more channel surfing through countless "reality" shows trying to find something good to watch. No more disappointment that they decided to play a rerun when you get all settled in front of the TV.
But in the fall, and now in the winter, I find that I am missing something: the Ads.
I sounds sick, but I really miss the ads at Xmas. There's something about the marketing of the evil empire of toys and made-for-TV-movies that just really gets me in the spirit. It's just not the same trying to find them on Netflix, since you can't search by keyword "genre= Christmas" and no one puts "Christmas" in the title of their made-for-TV movies anymore- who would watch?
It's just weird, but I really miss it. It's really going to be weird raising my daughter without "TV", too- it's like the X gens and Y gens will have nothing in common with my daughter's generation because there's no TV.
And with that, I'm signing off for the evening....
Yes, we are one of those weird families that decided that an ever-increasing cable bill for crapping programming just wasn't worth it. And now we have Netflix. Yes, I resisted. Oh, was a huge obstacle for my husband. He tried to convince me for months, but it was when Comcast raised the cable box price and programming price in the same month (again) that I finally agreed.
And I love it. For the most part, especially with a child, on-demand, auto-saving programs are the WAY TO GO! You never miss an episode. You can pause for a diaper change- you can watch whatever you want at whatever hour (heck, I hadn't even seen Fraiser before we got Netflix and it's great!) No more channel surfing through countless "reality" shows trying to find something good to watch. No more disappointment that they decided to play a rerun when you get all settled in front of the TV.
But in the fall, and now in the winter, I find that I am missing something: the Ads.
I sounds sick, but I really miss the ads at Xmas. There's something about the marketing of the evil empire of toys and made-for-TV-movies that just really gets me in the spirit. It's just not the same trying to find them on Netflix, since you can't search by keyword "genre= Christmas" and no one puts "Christmas" in the title of their made-for-TV movies anymore- who would watch?
It's just weird, but I really miss it. It's really going to be weird raising my daughter without "TV", too- it's like the X gens and Y gens will have nothing in common with my daughter's generation because there's no TV.
And with that, I'm signing off for the evening....
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Baby's Favorite Toys
So, as a new parent, I have discovered that my daughter is much like my cats: the free non-toys are the best toys she's ever gotten. For example, I'm making stockings for her and my husband this year and I had a scrap of lavender felt. She LOVES it. She folds it, crumples it, sucks on it...you name it. A little scrap of felt. And she LOVES waving it around, which makes the cats super happy. (By the way, I think that there is some jealously between the cats and my daughter and I found their relocating her scrap of felt to their toy perch very humorous).
Anyhoo, another of my daughter's favorite "toys" is a clear tupperware container. It doesn't matter if it's Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or what, but it has to be DURABLE (those cheap dispo types of Glad and Ziploc are just too fragile for a baby). She has convinced her nanny to give her the empty lunch container every day and my daughter has mostly waved it around and patted it like a drum. But I upped the ante when I gave my daughter some flap ware (I think that's what it's call- it's got the flap closures...clear lids and clear bodies...). I had my Corn Chex in it and it wasn't so much of me giving it to her, as her seeing and acquiring it. Just like cats. "oh, this must be for me, thanks!" Well, having something that made the rattle sound was awesome. She got this huge mischievous grin on her face and for almost an hour, I let her shake my cereal to crumblings.
And then there's wrapping paper. She does this "trick" where she makes two pieces out of one...which is just SO cute, but not so helpful when you're trying to wrap gifts. So, you can image the picture: baby who's learning to crawl, along with two cats "helping" me wrap gifts this season. Glad that they can all keep a secret!
Anyhoo, another of my daughter's favorite "toys" is a clear tupperware container. It doesn't matter if it's Tupperware, Rubbermaid, or what, but it has to be DURABLE (those cheap dispo types of Glad and Ziploc are just too fragile for a baby). She has convinced her nanny to give her the empty lunch container every day and my daughter has mostly waved it around and patted it like a drum. But I upped the ante when I gave my daughter some flap ware (I think that's what it's call- it's got the flap closures...clear lids and clear bodies...). I had my Corn Chex in it and it wasn't so much of me giving it to her, as her seeing and acquiring it. Just like cats. "oh, this must be for me, thanks!" Well, having something that made the rattle sound was awesome. She got this huge mischievous grin on her face and for almost an hour, I let her shake my cereal to crumblings.
And then there's wrapping paper. She does this "trick" where she makes two pieces out of one...which is just SO cute, but not so helpful when you're trying to wrap gifts. So, you can image the picture: baby who's learning to crawl, along with two cats "helping" me wrap gifts this season. Glad that they can all keep a secret!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Neighbors that everyone can hate
The irony of this little post is that my husband found it the same day that my parents are fighting the same a-hole with the dog. I honestly wonder if they moved right next to my parents because the argument between them is almost IDENTICAL. Mom, if you're reading this, I hope you at least laugh a little between the crying
http://www.27bslash6.com/halogen.html
http://www.27bslash6.com/halogen.html
Sunday, December 9, 2012
White Christmas
Well, it's a gorgeous snowy day out in Minneapolis this morning. We got about 4" of snow over night and it looks like it will continue through the day. Having grown up in Fresno, we had to drive for 2-3 hours to see snow when I was a kid, so I find this concept of looking out your window at the white stuff still magical. Today's snow is the big puffy flakes that look like you're in the middle of a snow globe. And there's nothing like a fresh snow in the evening- the reflection of the fallen snow combined with the refracting snow in the air makes this purplish pink glow in the sky. And no matter how dark it is, it's always light out after a fallen snow.
Of course, I'm glad that we don't have to go anywhere today because the travel would be horrendous. It snows in Minnesota (or Mini-snow-tah as the native call it) every year, so why is it that people forget how to drive EVERY YEAR. They forget about braking distances and they forget about skidding and they forget that following too close means that you're GOING to end up in someone's back seat if they skid. But what makes me chuckle, every year, is that the majority of vehicles in the ditch are not cars, but SUVs.
And why is this? It's because the owners think that just because they have ABS and 4-wheel drive, that they are immune to the affects of physics on their rather large, rather heavy vehicles. And they must not understand the concept of inertia, either- a body in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an equal and opposite force. (That's Newton's 2nd law, for those of you who care). This means, the heavier you are, the more you're going to continue until something BIG hits you. So while me, in my little Hyundai subcompact, is just going to slide a little bit into the snow- you're going in the ditch! I actually did skid off into the shoulder on an on-ramp one year because a moron cut me off. I went about one car length into the shoulder, spun around 180 degrees, and thought I was stuck....and with only my high heels and nylons, I certainly didn't relish the thought of getting out to push.
But it turned out I didn't have to. Believe it nor not, my car is so light that a combination of revving the tires and me throwing my weight against the steering wheel, I actually forced the car out of the shoulder and on to real pavement, thus saving the soaking shoes and nylons.
But that was the LAST time I went out in high heels without a pair of moon boots (aka snow shoes) in the cab of the car with me. I carry my snow shovel in the car at all times. Since then, I've helped many people dig themselves out of skids....and they're ALWAYS in SUVs (or sport cars, but that's to be expected, right?)
Of course, I'm glad that we don't have to go anywhere today because the travel would be horrendous. It snows in Minnesota (or Mini-snow-tah as the native call it) every year, so why is it that people forget how to drive EVERY YEAR. They forget about braking distances and they forget about skidding and they forget that following too close means that you're GOING to end up in someone's back seat if they skid. But what makes me chuckle, every year, is that the majority of vehicles in the ditch are not cars, but SUVs.
And why is this? It's because the owners think that just because they have ABS and 4-wheel drive, that they are immune to the affects of physics on their rather large, rather heavy vehicles. And they must not understand the concept of inertia, either- a body in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an equal and opposite force. (That's Newton's 2nd law, for those of you who care). This means, the heavier you are, the more you're going to continue until something BIG hits you. So while me, in my little Hyundai subcompact, is just going to slide a little bit into the snow- you're going in the ditch! I actually did skid off into the shoulder on an on-ramp one year because a moron cut me off. I went about one car length into the shoulder, spun around 180 degrees, and thought I was stuck....and with only my high heels and nylons, I certainly didn't relish the thought of getting out to push.
But it turned out I didn't have to. Believe it nor not, my car is so light that a combination of revving the tires and me throwing my weight against the steering wheel, I actually forced the car out of the shoulder and on to real pavement, thus saving the soaking shoes and nylons.
But that was the LAST time I went out in high heels without a pair of moon boots (aka snow shoes) in the cab of the car with me. I carry my snow shovel in the car at all times. Since then, I've helped many people dig themselves out of skids....and they're ALWAYS in SUVs (or sport cars, but that's to be expected, right?)
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Indulging My OCD
Every year, I have this obsession, probably like many people around the world, of having the perfectly decorated tree. I don't know if it's just my obsessive-compulsive tendencies or just my perfectionism (is there a difference??) I was actually wondering this year if anyone did studies of the chaos patterns of lights on trees- seems like that would be a great opportunity to have people send in pictures of their trees for study.
But this year, it seems that the English have developed a geometric formula for perfectly decorating a tree.
How to decorate the "Perfect" Tree
I checked it out (skeptic that I am), and it takes into assumption that you have all of the same ornaments and decorations to spread out all over the tree. I think that's cheating. Honestly, what would the Christmas tree be like without the Pillsbury Doughboy or Starbucks reindeer hanging from the branches?
But this year, it seems that the English have developed a geometric formula for perfectly decorating a tree.
How to decorate the "Perfect" Tree
I checked it out (skeptic that I am), and it takes into assumption that you have all of the same ornaments and decorations to spread out all over the tree. I think that's cheating. Honestly, what would the Christmas tree be like without the Pillsbury Doughboy or Starbucks reindeer hanging from the branches?
Friday, December 7, 2012
Sicks Days
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/12/07/1512225/stay-home-when-youre-sick
Now this post- I find it hilarious People don't stay at home when they're sick because they only have a limited number of sick days....and they use these when their kids get sick or they use them as extra vacation, because companies work their employees into the ground. I find it amazing that two weeks of vacation is all Americans are given at a new job, plus a week of sick days. If you have a child, you can plan on using all of these, vacation and sick days, just to be at home with the kid when the kid is sick because day care centers don't take them. (Luckily, I have a nanny, but when the nanny gets sicks or goes on vacation, I have to go on vacation). I do agree, though, that there is a HUGE amount of pressure in the work environment to suffer through it. I was told by several different bosses in my life to take some NyQuil and get into the office. Then, I would and I'd end up in the hospital- Guess it showed them, but, seriously....
I find this whole comment ridiculous. What people need to do is group together and demand to be paid normally for working at home when they're sick, so as not to spread the disease.
<headshake> It's like, duh, you really have to wonder why people don't stay at home?
Now this post- I find it hilarious People don't stay at home when they're sick because they only have a limited number of sick days....and they use these when their kids get sick or they use them as extra vacation, because companies work their employees into the ground. I find it amazing that two weeks of vacation is all Americans are given at a new job, plus a week of sick days. If you have a child, you can plan on using all of these, vacation and sick days, just to be at home with the kid when the kid is sick because day care centers don't take them. (Luckily, I have a nanny, but when the nanny gets sicks or goes on vacation, I have to go on vacation). I do agree, though, that there is a HUGE amount of pressure in the work environment to suffer through it. I was told by several different bosses in my life to take some NyQuil and get into the office. Then, I would and I'd end up in the hospital- Guess it showed them, but, seriously....
I find this whole comment ridiculous. What people need to do is group together and demand to be paid normally for working at home when they're sick, so as not to spread the disease.
<headshake> It's like, duh, you really have to wonder why people don't stay at home?
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Making Cookies
So, I grew up with the whole making cookies around the holidays and giving away cookie plates to neighbors and friends. And I have taken that to the nth degree now that I've got my own household. Everything from spritz (that would be the little green Christmas tree cookies) to Russian teacakes (or as we called them in CA- Mexican Wedding Cakes) to fudge.
But it's sad that over the years, I have fewer and fewer people with whom to share these cookies. I remember wrapping up the plates with the bargain brand Saran wrap and it not sticking together so we'd have to tape it to the bottom of the plates...and then walking door to door giving cookies to our neighbors, and then our teachers, and then bringing them to the phone company for my mom's holiday party. (That was back in the day where the kids just came along to the office on the day before Xmas and there was a huge potluck of fattening foods and egg nog...and everyone was happy...and my mother used to get my sister and I a special "busy" gift for that day...but that's another topic).
Anyway, today I finished up four batches of cookies and a loaf of banana bread. We used to have a cookie exchange party that we'd all bring a dozen cookies to and then trade...that was fun, but it eventually degraded into everyone making the spritz cookies or buying them, so I guess they're not doing it this year. I guess that's a good thing because, being gluten intolerant, I couldn't eat the cookies...
...or should I say, I shouldn't have been eating the cookies. And, no, the incurred pain and suffering for weeks afterwards was not always worth it...I definitely became a consignor of gluten foods to gauge which goodies would be worth it. I would always think that it would be worth it- whatever I was sneaking. My husband (then boyfriend) would just support my own decision to eat the poison. It definitely counter-acted the calories since I couldn't absorb them.
So, last year, when I was pregnant, I finally felt that NOTHING was worth eating the poisonous fruit called the Christmas cookie. And I have to say, I feel better for it. I've been gluten-free for almost two years now and it's amazing the difference. And I'm continuing to be gluten-free because I'm breastfeeding. I find it interesting that I am willing to eat something that will damage myself, but the thought that I could be doing something damaging to my daughter prevents me from going near it. I didn't even sneak the little scrap of dough around the cut-outs today (which was REALLY difficult not to do).
What scares me is that my daughter is now 9 1/2 months old and I plan on continuing to breastfeed her until she's a year old, then start mixing in the cow's milk. So, once I'm done breastfeeding, I'm worried that I won't have a good enough reason not to sneak the occasional bread slice again.
Has anyone else faced a similar scenario?
Addicted to gluten
But it's sad that over the years, I have fewer and fewer people with whom to share these cookies. I remember wrapping up the plates with the bargain brand Saran wrap and it not sticking together so we'd have to tape it to the bottom of the plates...and then walking door to door giving cookies to our neighbors, and then our teachers, and then bringing them to the phone company for my mom's holiday party. (That was back in the day where the kids just came along to the office on the day before Xmas and there was a huge potluck of fattening foods and egg nog...and everyone was happy...and my mother used to get my sister and I a special "busy" gift for that day...but that's another topic).
Anyway, today I finished up four batches of cookies and a loaf of banana bread. We used to have a cookie exchange party that we'd all bring a dozen cookies to and then trade...that was fun, but it eventually degraded into everyone making the spritz cookies or buying them, so I guess they're not doing it this year. I guess that's a good thing because, being gluten intolerant, I couldn't eat the cookies...
...or should I say, I shouldn't have been eating the cookies. And, no, the incurred pain and suffering for weeks afterwards was not always worth it...I definitely became a consignor of gluten foods to gauge which goodies would be worth it. I would always think that it would be worth it- whatever I was sneaking. My husband (then boyfriend) would just support my own decision to eat the poison. It definitely counter-acted the calories since I couldn't absorb them.
So, last year, when I was pregnant, I finally felt that NOTHING was worth eating the poisonous fruit called the Christmas cookie. And I have to say, I feel better for it. I've been gluten-free for almost two years now and it's amazing the difference. And I'm continuing to be gluten-free because I'm breastfeeding. I find it interesting that I am willing to eat something that will damage myself, but the thought that I could be doing something damaging to my daughter prevents me from going near it. I didn't even sneak the little scrap of dough around the cut-outs today (which was REALLY difficult not to do).
What scares me is that my daughter is now 9 1/2 months old and I plan on continuing to breastfeed her until she's a year old, then start mixing in the cow's milk. So, once I'm done breastfeeding, I'm worried that I won't have a good enough reason not to sneak the occasional bread slice again.
Has anyone else faced a similar scenario?
Addicted to gluten
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Clothing Sizes
Ok, so, I've always found it strange that we use numbers to describe girl's/junior's/women's sizes. It's actually a throwback from WWII when the army needed to make standardized uniform sizes for women. They took a bunch of women and said, "you're a size 1, you're a size 3,..." etc. and that's how those sizes came about.
But who came up with baby clothing sizes? Seriously, if I said, "I'm 35", would that let you know what size pants I need? I find the baby sizing by age ludicrous. My daughter is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 79th for height at 9 months....what size pants does need? Well, she's got some brands of size 12 month, some brands of size 9 month, and some brands all the way up to size 2T (that's two years old!) and that doesn't account for the shrinkage from crummy non-preshrunk fabrics. Honestly, what do clothing manufacturers think that they're getting away with? All of the clothing is the same price in the store for sizes NB to 2T, so, it's not like they're saving anywhere!
Perhaps it's as my husband says- it's preparing them for anorexia in their teenage lives because that's the only way they'd fit into these clothes as babies.
and let's not forget the head-holes. Babies have large heads, if you haven't noticed, and the holes for the heads to be large enough to get the clothing on their bodies. But most of the clothes don't have any kind of extra closures at the neck, like snaps or buttons, so you can't get the clothes ON the baby to being with.
Who's designing this stuff? If you know of someone, please have them review their infant anatomy: LARGE heads, round tummies, and short appendages. It would really make it so much easier if you could get the shirts on the babies and not have bumper sleeves from having to roll them back so much.
But who came up with baby clothing sizes? Seriously, if I said, "I'm 35", would that let you know what size pants I need? I find the baby sizing by age ludicrous. My daughter is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 79th for height at 9 months....what size pants does need? Well, she's got some brands of size 12 month, some brands of size 9 month, and some brands all the way up to size 2T (that's two years old!) and that doesn't account for the shrinkage from crummy non-preshrunk fabrics. Honestly, what do clothing manufacturers think that they're getting away with? All of the clothing is the same price in the store for sizes NB to 2T, so, it's not like they're saving anywhere!
Perhaps it's as my husband says- it's preparing them for anorexia in their teenage lives because that's the only way they'd fit into these clothes as babies.
and let's not forget the head-holes. Babies have large heads, if you haven't noticed, and the holes for the heads to be large enough to get the clothing on their bodies. But most of the clothes don't have any kind of extra closures at the neck, like snaps or buttons, so you can't get the clothes ON the baby to being with.
Who's designing this stuff? If you know of someone, please have them review their infant anatomy: LARGE heads, round tummies, and short appendages. It would really make it so much easier if you could get the shirts on the babies and not have bumper sleeves from having to roll them back so much.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Farmer's Daughters and Farmer's Sons
I've heard this many, MANY times since I've lived in the MidWest: Boys will be boys.
I hear this from parents and grandparents of Minnesota families who have boys that run around and are, in my opinion, undisciplined. I actually have a sister now who has drunk the Kool-aid and feels that boys deserve looser rules than girls.
Frankly, it doesn't matter what's in a person's pants that should determine their discipline level.
Perhaps it's that I grew up in California where boys and girls are treated the SAME that it is such a stark contrast to this insane notion that you can't control boys because they have too much energy. This reminds me of the old Greek notion that you couldn't control women because their uteruses would float through their bodies and when it reached their brains, they would be uncontrollably crazy, or "hysterical". That was insane then, and it's just as crazy to think that boys can't be controlled. I checked with my parents: my dad wasn't allowed to run around like a hooligan, nor was his older brother. My mother's brother wasn't allowed to hit things or yell in the house. I never noticed this treatment as a kid in California....
So, is Minnesota just that socially slow that they don't realize that discipline is gender-agnostic?
Other Minnesotans, please defend your belief with some sort of scientific basis for why boys need to be allowed to run around without discipline.
I hear this from parents and grandparents of Minnesota families who have boys that run around and are, in my opinion, undisciplined. I actually have a sister now who has drunk the Kool-aid and feels that boys deserve looser rules than girls.
Frankly, it doesn't matter what's in a person's pants that should determine their discipline level.
Perhaps it's that I grew up in California where boys and girls are treated the SAME that it is such a stark contrast to this insane notion that you can't control boys because they have too much energy. This reminds me of the old Greek notion that you couldn't control women because their uteruses would float through their bodies and when it reached their brains, they would be uncontrollably crazy, or "hysterical". That was insane then, and it's just as crazy to think that boys can't be controlled. I checked with my parents: my dad wasn't allowed to run around like a hooligan, nor was his older brother. My mother's brother wasn't allowed to hit things or yell in the house. I never noticed this treatment as a kid in California....
So, is Minnesota just that socially slow that they don't realize that discipline is gender-agnostic?
Other Minnesotans, please defend your belief with some sort of scientific basis for why boys need to be allowed to run around without discipline.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Child-Proofing
When I was growing up, I remember when we _got_ a microwave. It was this huge box- the size of a television, and we couldn't cook much in it because they didn't have microwaveable containers.
I only mention it to give you an idea of the era in which I grew up. There weren't plug covers and cords were taped down to the floor, not velcro-ed under some table. I know that I grew up with stairs in the house, but we didn't have a protective gate over them- it was just forbidden to go near them and I was watched while I was in the room with stairs.
Nowadays, houses are "child-proofed". This is a ridiculous concept. It's created by a bunch of lazy parents who would rather leave their child unattended and go off and play by themselves, rather than watch what their children get into. I bring this up because my in-laws were over yesterday and asked if we were going to child proof our house more. I told them my philosophy on child-proofing:
The world isn't child-proofed, why should my house be any different? Child-proofing leads to lazy, unaware parents when children are allowed to run amok and do whatever they want in a room because it's "safe".
Now, if you're a parent, you know that there is no such thing as "safe". But I swear, ever home I've been to that has been child-proofed, the kids RUN through the house, they have no respect for the objects (i.e. furniture or other obstacles) in the room, and the parents pretend not to see any of this. When these parents bring their children over to your house, they act the same way. The parents don't pay attention because they aren't vigilant. I was at a couple of parties over the past year when one of the toddlers went over the Christmas tree and removed antique glass ornaments because they're pretty....and the parents didn't do anything about it! Like, if this was my antique glass ornament, I would expect the parents to remove the child from the room and give the child a quick "NO!"...and if it continued, a short, rap on a rump. But these same parents allowed their older toddler to JUMP into couches and throw toys and run around a house for a Thanksgiving party this year. And they didn't do anything this year, either.
Now, I'm not saying to leave obvious DANGEROUS hazards in the reach of your child. We have a split level where the steps lead down to a tile entry and there will be a safety gate at the top of those stairs. However, there aren't any plug covers going up in this house. And the toilet isn't going to have a lock on it. (Honestly, if you let your child drown in a toilet, you deserve it.) I will put the little grippy fish in the bottom of the bath for traction, but I'm not taping padded corners to my cherry wood furniture.
Parents: get with the program. You need to be vigilant. You need to TRAIN your child what is safe and what is dangerous. You can't do that when you remove all of the hazards. Even YOU don't remember what's dangerous.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
You'd think a baby would be safe at the doctor's office....
So, I took my little girl in to the doctor for her 9 month checkup. SO BIG! I won't bore you with the details of how she's the cutest baby in the world or that she's so smart that she's already sharing food with others and knows how to use a mirror.
But I will bore you with one small detail that really stuck out in my mind at the doctor's office: the examination table.
I go to Allina clinics, so perhaps it's different with other providers, but the examination table is the same examination table that they use for adults. It's narrow, it's open on all four sides, and it's got that slippery paper on it. Needless to say, I found the irony when I was being asked "Do you have any concerns about your daughter's safey?' by the nurse when I was trying to hold her still on this narrow precipice of an examination table.
Honestly, if they can hide drawers and stirrups in those same tables, where are the protective bars for an infant? The table is 4 feet off the hard floor with nothing to stop the fall!
How is it with other providers? do they have something more age appropriate?
But I will bore you with one small detail that really stuck out in my mind at the doctor's office: the examination table.
I go to Allina clinics, so perhaps it's different with other providers, but the examination table is the same examination table that they use for adults. It's narrow, it's open on all four sides, and it's got that slippery paper on it. Needless to say, I found the irony when I was being asked "Do you have any concerns about your daughter's safey?' by the nurse when I was trying to hold her still on this narrow precipice of an examination table.
Honestly, if they can hide drawers and stirrups in those same tables, where are the protective bars for an infant? The table is 4 feet off the hard floor with nothing to stop the fall!
How is it with other providers? do they have something more age appropriate?
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
What do you do when someone thinks that they have talent...and they don't?
Ok, so today's post is really more of a question out to all of you, but I would like to hear from you. I'm sure that you've all been to a bar or just listened to someone in a car...attempting to sing and they're tone deaf? Or been out dancing and there are people who think that they can dance, but they look like frogs in a blenders?
yeah...
So, this is a similar quandary. What do you do when you have a group of people at work who think that they can write and want to "help" you out with the big writing assignment? Specially, my boss very directly asked me to write the content for a website. This content includes the PR-type sales write-ups of previous projects to showcase the company. I interviewed the project managers and spent three days working on the blurbs. It's frankly tricky to write PR/sales blurbs because you want to tease the audience with just enough information, but not give them the whole story- you want them to contact you for the rest of the story.
I know you can see this coming. So, after the boss specifically told me to write-up all of the project histories, specifically ME, and specifically all of them for consistency, he provided "updates" to the blurbs when I told him that I had finished writing them up. I asked for a content review and I got a style update. And it wasn't exactly "great". It seems to run rampant in this company that people can't spell or conjugate verbs or use punctuation correct. I'm not talking about whether or not to use an em or en dash or ellipsis, I'm talking about "the companys IT Team", when it should be "the company's IT Team". I'm talking about noun/verb mismatches ("I is", "we is"...you get the idea).
This must happen to other people. I know it happens to my husband. He has to work with clients directly and the clients often want updates that decrease the quality of the product. I've always just told him to run with whatever the client wants because it's what they want and they're paying. But now that I'm in the same seat, I find that advice difficult to swallow.
I find that poor writing skills are particularly prevalent here in Minnesota compared to the area of California where I grew up. My first semester teaching college, I used to give short-answer questions. I was always impressed with the ABSOLUTELY INDECIPHERABLE ANSWERS. And I don't just mean the handwriting. I mean that it understanding the wandering, groping answers was made particularly difficult by spelling and grammatical problems. The whole semester, I spent hours, HOURS trying to understand those answers and providing grammatical corrections. They were all ignored. (Yes, I quickly embraced the Scan-tron, as well).
So, now I work in IT with this same group of people (symbolically) that I used to teach and I find that they still have not improved, but now these people wield the power and in order to keep the peace, I just have to take their "suggestions".
Well, readers? Share the grief.
yeah...
So, this is a similar quandary. What do you do when you have a group of people at work who think that they can write and want to "help" you out with the big writing assignment? Specially, my boss very directly asked me to write the content for a website. This content includes the PR-type sales write-ups of previous projects to showcase the company. I interviewed the project managers and spent three days working on the blurbs. It's frankly tricky to write PR/sales blurbs because you want to tease the audience with just enough information, but not give them the whole story- you want them to contact you for the rest of the story.
I know you can see this coming. So, after the boss specifically told me to write-up all of the project histories, specifically ME, and specifically all of them for consistency, he provided "updates" to the blurbs when I told him that I had finished writing them up. I asked for a content review and I got a style update. And it wasn't exactly "great". It seems to run rampant in this company that people can't spell or conjugate verbs or use punctuation correct. I'm not talking about whether or not to use an em or en dash or ellipsis, I'm talking about "the companys IT Team", when it should be "the company's IT Team". I'm talking about noun/verb mismatches ("I is", "we is"...you get the idea).
This must happen to other people. I know it happens to my husband. He has to work with clients directly and the clients often want updates that decrease the quality of the product. I've always just told him to run with whatever the client wants because it's what they want and they're paying. But now that I'm in the same seat, I find that advice difficult to swallow.
I find that poor writing skills are particularly prevalent here in Minnesota compared to the area of California where I grew up. My first semester teaching college, I used to give short-answer questions. I was always impressed with the ABSOLUTELY INDECIPHERABLE ANSWERS. And I don't just mean the handwriting. I mean that it understanding the wandering, groping answers was made particularly difficult by spelling and grammatical problems. The whole semester, I spent hours, HOURS trying to understand those answers and providing grammatical corrections. They were all ignored. (Yes, I quickly embraced the Scan-tron, as well).
So, now I work in IT with this same group of people (symbolically) that I used to teach and I find that they still have not improved, but now these people wield the power and in order to keep the peace, I just have to take their "suggestions".
Well, readers? Share the grief.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sugar or Salt?
So, have you ever played that game, perhaps at a bridal shower, where you have to guess whether that white granulated substance is sugar or salt?
Perhaps you've seen some comedic bit where a newlywed uses salt instead of sugar in coffee?
Well, evidently, that comedic bit didn't use Morton's salt.
Or should I say Morton's sugar?
Out of boredom or just happenstance, I looked at the ingredients on bottle of Morton's salt. Ingredients are "Sodium Chloride" (i.e. "salt") and Dextrose (that would be sugar).
I was curious so I checked the bargain brand salt. It's ingredients were "Sodium Chloride".
So, what gives, Morton? I've heard that restaurants put sugar in their kids menu items to make them more "palatable" to children (like in pizza!) and thus get the kids to want to come back for more. But seriously, sugar in salt?
I wonder how many of you out there are diabetics who know that there is sugar in Morton's salt? Or how many restaurants use Morton's salt thinking it's pure salt, when it's actually salt and sugar? Morton's isn't this a bit deceitful?? I always had a special place in my heart for Morton's because they make the mini salt shakers, which are cute and fit in children's play kitchens. But I think now I'll have to steer clear until they can make up their mind: are you a salt company or a sugar company?
Perhaps you've seen some comedic bit where a newlywed uses salt instead of sugar in coffee?
Well, evidently, that comedic bit didn't use Morton's salt.
Or should I say Morton's sugar?
Out of boredom or just happenstance, I looked at the ingredients on bottle of Morton's salt. Ingredients are "Sodium Chloride" (i.e. "salt") and Dextrose (that would be sugar).
I was curious so I checked the bargain brand salt. It's ingredients were "Sodium Chloride".
So, what gives, Morton? I've heard that restaurants put sugar in their kids menu items to make them more "palatable" to children (like in pizza!) and thus get the kids to want to come back for more. But seriously, sugar in salt?
I wonder how many of you out there are diabetics who know that there is sugar in Morton's salt? Or how many restaurants use Morton's salt thinking it's pure salt, when it's actually salt and sugar? Morton's isn't this a bit deceitful?? I always had a special place in my heart for Morton's because they make the mini salt shakers, which are cute and fit in children's play kitchens. But I think now I'll have to steer clear until they can make up their mind: are you a salt company or a sugar company?
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Allergic Rashes on Your Baby
Ok, so I had one of my first scares at a new Mommy- my baby daughter broke out into a large, hot rash last night. After spending hours looking for what it could be, wondering if it was teething or not, I looked through my own medical books (yes, I was Pre-Med) and thought I found the answer: Allergic Hives.
What threw me was that it seemed to start on her ears, then her neck, then her tummy, and then her thighs. In adults, hives generally start on the back or tummy.
Now, let's be clear what hives are: Hives are an allergic rash caused by something you ingested or got bit by or got stung by- basically, the rash is coming from the inside out. The rash is your body's Mast cells (a type of white blood cell) releasing histamine. (Yes, it's the same type of histamine as in "antihistamines") The inflammation occurs throughout all your body's tissues, but the inflammation appears on your skin as large, flat, hot, red rash patches.
It's very important to note the difference between hives (patches) and spots (like chicken pox). Hives are different from teething rash or a drool rash that is caused by extra blood flow to the face/gums and the baby drooling as a result or rubbing her face often.
When I spoke with the doctor, she indicated that hives appear in the warmest places on the body for babies. So, the ears, the neck, the arm pits, the inguinal areas...etc. The treatment was a minuscule amount of Children's Benedryl of Children's Zyrtec.
So, what to notice about hives vs. teething or a drool rash:
1. It is all over the body (check your baby's torso for the rash).
2. The rash is hot.
3. The rash is large patches- like a big sunburn- rather than dry, chapped skin.
What you should do for hives:
Sorry that I didn't get a picture for you, but here's a picture of adult hives so you can check it out on you baby, should the need arise.
Hives on a Child I don't know
Patchy appearance of hives on the skin
What threw me was that it seemed to start on her ears, then her neck, then her tummy, and then her thighs. In adults, hives generally start on the back or tummy.
Now, let's be clear what hives are: Hives are an allergic rash caused by something you ingested or got bit by or got stung by- basically, the rash is coming from the inside out. The rash is your body's Mast cells (a type of white blood cell) releasing histamine. (Yes, it's the same type of histamine as in "antihistamines") The inflammation occurs throughout all your body's tissues, but the inflammation appears on your skin as large, flat, hot, red rash patches.
It's very important to note the difference between hives (patches) and spots (like chicken pox). Hives are different from teething rash or a drool rash that is caused by extra blood flow to the face/gums and the baby drooling as a result or rubbing her face often.
When I spoke with the doctor, she indicated that hives appear in the warmest places on the body for babies. So, the ears, the neck, the arm pits, the inguinal areas...etc. The treatment was a minuscule amount of Children's Benedryl of Children's Zyrtec.
So, what to notice about hives vs. teething or a drool rash:
1. It is all over the body (check your baby's torso for the rash).
2. The rash is hot.
3. The rash is large patches- like a big sunburn- rather than dry, chapped skin.
What you should do for hives:
- Think about what your baby has come in contact with that is new or different. Often, allergic reactions are caused by the second or third exposure to something.
- CALL THE DOCTOR.
- If your baby is having trouble breathing AT ALL, GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!
- If your baby is just miserable but deemed safe by the doctor, you can:
- Dress her in cool clothing, preferably something all cotton.
- You can also give her a cool (not cold) bath. This will help the heat of the inflammation.
- If your doctor says to do so, you can give some Children's Benedryl. Since this is not recommended without a dosage amount from your doctor for children under age 2, you MUST get the dosage from your doctor. DO NOT GO OVER THE DOSAGE or you could be damaging your baby's liver.
Sorry that I didn't get a picture for you, but here's a picture of adult hives so you can check it out on you baby, should the need arise.
Hives on a Child I don't know
Patchy appearance of hives on the skin
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Decorating for Xmas
So, I wouldn't say I'm a Christian (or as I have started writing "Xian"). But I don't think that it matters because the Xians stole Xmas from the Celts. That's where the whole presents under the tree and the tree inside and the candles on the tree and the red, green, white colors come from....all of it.
And I _LOVE_ Xmas. I love the lights and the songs and the running around getting gifts and the snow...LOVE IT!
But
It's really too soon to decorate before Thanksgiving. And I saw Xmas deco going up before Halloween this year. I wonder if retailers really think that it is better to put all of it out that soon. Has anyone done any sales analysis on that? Or is it just that they don't want to store the stuff anymore? (and isn't that what after Xmas sales are for?) I can't honestly believe that they make sales before Thanksgiving of Xmas stuff, other than the start-up households (you know, the kid's first Xmas out on their own or the divorcees). And, really, it just discourages me from wanting to purchase anything from those companies. In fact, Target, is a great example. Their Xmas decorations went out before Halloween. And now I don't feel the slightest inclination to purchase any Xmas deco from them. I don't know what Walmart did, but I think I might be buying from them....
or just buy it from Amazon.
And I _LOVE_ Xmas. I love the lights and the songs and the running around getting gifts and the snow...LOVE IT!
But
It's really too soon to decorate before Thanksgiving. And I saw Xmas deco going up before Halloween this year. I wonder if retailers really think that it is better to put all of it out that soon. Has anyone done any sales analysis on that? Or is it just that they don't want to store the stuff anymore? (and isn't that what after Xmas sales are for?) I can't honestly believe that they make sales before Thanksgiving of Xmas stuff, other than the start-up households (you know, the kid's first Xmas out on their own or the divorcees). And, really, it just discourages me from wanting to purchase anything from those companies. In fact, Target, is a great example. Their Xmas decorations went out before Halloween. And now I don't feel the slightest inclination to purchase any Xmas deco from them. I don't know what Walmart did, but I think I might be buying from them....
or just buy it from Amazon.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Don't try this at home- we're professionals
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dishwasher-lasagna-minimyth.htm#mkcpgn=fbdsc17
This is just weird. Honestly, I wanted it to be cooler since AB is there, but he's gotten fairly egotistical since his hosting roles...and it comes across here.
Wish Jamie had a larger part...
This is just weird. Honestly, I wanted it to be cooler since AB is there, but he's gotten fairly egotistical since his hosting roles...and it comes across here.
Wish Jamie had a larger part...
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
It _is_ Minnesota, but....
http://www.kare11.com/news/
This is truly sad that someone would take a bag of music out of a duffle bag. It's especially sad because I used to go listen to his band, the Jaztronauts, back about 10 years... however...
This isn't what I'd call a _great_ area of town. Just the opposite. It's, like, on the border of a serious ghetto of St. Paul.
So, how dumb can you be the leave a bag on the back seat of your car around Christmas time in a ghetto?
This is truly sad that someone would take a bag of music out of a duffle bag. It's especially sad because I used to go listen to his band, the Jaztronauts, back about 10 years... however...
This isn't what I'd call a _great_ area of town. Just the opposite. It's, like, on the border of a serious ghetto of St. Paul.
So, how dumb can you be the leave a bag on the back seat of your car around Christmas time in a ghetto?
Looking for a BA job
So, I'm continuing to look for a BA job, but one that's remote. By "remote", I don't mean "field work", which involves travel. "Remote" means "remote", like as in, not in an office, like working from home. Why is this difficult to understand?
And looking through all of the job postings...wow. It's like no one knows what a "BA" does. While we all might remember the A-Team, we're not talking about Mr. Barracus. We're talking Business Analysis. Some of us might like the thought of cutting an impressive figure, we're more critic than enforcer.
And looking through all of the job postings...wow. It's like no one knows what a "BA" does. While we all might remember the A-Team, we're not talking about Mr. Barracus. We're talking Business Analysis. Some of us might like the thought of cutting an impressive figure, we're more critic than enforcer.
So, what is a BA?
Business Analysts
are not new to the software industry, though the term definitely has become
more popular since the formation of the International Institute for Business
Analysts (IIBA). You might know them as "Analysts"
or just "Requirements Managers" from the days of old.
So, what does a BA
do?
I think that the
term "Business Analyst" has led to a lot of confusion in the work
place about what it is that a BA does. A
"Requirements Manager" seems so much more straightforward. Uhm, you manage requirements and the
gathering of requirements through the project.
But over the past 10 years, I have seen a "Business Analyst"
equated to:
A
Project Manager: where you're supposed
to manage people and make budgets and other
project management stuff;
A
Economic Analyst: where you're supposed to forecast sales and marketing
efficacy (I know a couple of these and we're DEFINITELY NOT economic analysts);
A
Programmer: yes, believe it or not, some
jobs actually group "write code" with Business Analysis;
An
Architect: this one is actually a very fine line and I'm more understanding of
it since diagramming out a series of web pages or the system falls into the
requirements camp, but it's really more UI and Architecture;
User
Interface designer: Uhm,
programmer??? This job is programming
the UI of the website;
User
Experience Designer: again, more
understanding because diagramming those screens and flows and how all the
requirements fit on the page;
A
Quality Analyst, where you're supposed to test the software (don't get me
started on this last one. While a lot of
us BAs started out in the Quality field, it was all Quality Control, not
Quality Analysis- but that's a topic for a different blog)
I guess after
looking at all of these jobs, it seems to me that:
- People don't know what a Business Analyst does, and
- People don't realize that a good BA is really, REALLY hard to find. We're talking about someone who can listen to some vague, flufffy, completely stream-of-consciousness dreams of what needs to be done on a project and write out a series of "project must have X", "project must have Y", "would be great if project included Z" statements so that the project can get done. (yes, this is the waterfall format- just let me finish). My point is that an ANALYST is a great listener and able to immediately respond with a plan of action for taking a business vision or set of fluffy goals and turn them into the actual product. The Business Analysts are the dream interpreters, if you will, between the business and the technology team.
So, what does that
mean?
It doesn't mean that
BAs program.
It doesn't mean that
BAs do project management of people or budgets.
It means that we
listen, REALLY listen, and hang on every word that our business owner/product
owner/whomever is paying for this project has to say about what they want to
see for end-state. It means that we're
constantly incorporating all of the input and weighing that input against what
we already know about the project: the
current state, the technology that the _ARCHITECT_ has selected, the timeline
that the business has already established with the _PROJECT MANAGER. We're constantly asking questions about who
is your user? What do you actually want
to accomplish? BAs are the ones that
take the requirements and ask the question, "Doesn't this new requirement
directly undo what we've already done?"
We dive into the nitty-gritty details that no one really wants to think
about (except the Architects) and makes sure that the requirements can be
organized and accomplished.
And, no, it's not
easy to maintain all of those requirements.
Some meetings- man- they treat you like you should be the world's
greatest search engine and be able to recall every requirement in a two year
project off the top of your head, along with the state and planned
timeline. It's not easy. But if you're really a BA, it's what you do.
So, I guess my
advice to everyone out there who's looking for a good BA is this: If you find someone who keeps pestering you
about some little detail of a project not being in alignment or being vague-
KEEP THIS PERSON. LISTEN TO THIS
PERSON. This is your star BA. This person belongs on you’re A-Team. They may not have the best people skills, but
they really will prevent you from burying yourself into a project graveyard.
Monday, November 19, 2012
..and...
No, Skyfall isn't a great Bond movie.
Daniel Craig is not good looking
and the rating system in the US needs a serious reboot.
Daniel Craig is not good looking
and the rating system in the US needs a serious reboot.
Movies
So, yesterday, my husband and I went to go see Skyfall. I'm not a Bond-a-phile, but I enjoy a good espionage film just like the rest (and let's face it, Sean Connery was just TOO divine, followed a close second by Mr. Brosnan...but I digress).
So, we go to the movies and it's Sunday morning- and it's packed! I was shocked. All of these people usually are in church. What gives!
Then I'm sitting through the previews and it was something like this:
War Movie
War Movie
War Movie
Vigilante
War Movie
Vigilante
War Movie
The Hobbit
First of all, seriously- how many previews do you need?!?
Second, this many war movies??? REALLY??? Is that ALL there is to talk about in the world? That's ALL that the screenwriters are selling to producers in Hollywood? SERIOUSLY!?! I'm sorry, but it all screams propaganda to me. Each one of those movies (and hence the previews) is sending the message to the American populace that you should live in fear, that the most interesting thing to do on a date is go see a movie about living in fear and blowing Sh!t up with big guns.
wow.
I weep for the American populace.
So, we go to the movies and it's Sunday morning- and it's packed! I was shocked. All of these people usually are in church. What gives!
Then I'm sitting through the previews and it was something like this:
War Movie
War Movie
War Movie
Vigilante
War Movie
Vigilante
War Movie
The Hobbit
First of all, seriously- how many previews do you need?!?
Second, this many war movies??? REALLY??? Is that ALL there is to talk about in the world? That's ALL that the screenwriters are selling to producers in Hollywood? SERIOUSLY!?! I'm sorry, but it all screams propaganda to me. Each one of those movies (and hence the previews) is sending the message to the American populace that you should live in fear, that the most interesting thing to do on a date is go see a movie about living in fear and blowing Sh!t up with big guns.
wow.
I weep for the American populace.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Employee-ism
So, I am currently an employee. I decided to take a position as an employee because I thought it would be more stable than continuing as a contract-by-contract consultant.
I thought it would be less stressful now that I have a baby.
I'm finding that all of that is wrong. This is the most stressful job I've ever had.
The company keeps assigning me work that I keep telling them I can't do. Sorry- I'm not a Project Manager. They don't seem to get it and when I don't do the job to their satisfaction, I get a lecture about how I didn't do a good job- like it's a shock that I don't excel at something that I said I don't do well.
What also upsets me about this job is that the boss is constantly badgering me to work outside of my set hours. I like to work the morning shifts. I find that most highly motivated people do work the morning shifts because they want to get in and get it done. They also don't take a lunch, I've noticed.
But I digress. I had a rather memorable conversation about what my work hours are with several members of the leadership team. It was very clear. It was made very clear because I just finished working on a project that I had to put in overtime. I was supposed to be paid for my overtime hours. But the company is now refusing to pay for those hours because they said that I didn't work overtime the whole project, so I don't get paid for my overtime. It amounts to nearly $10,000, not to mention the time away from my infant daughter. The very next day after our conversation about me not getting paid for time outside of my normal hours, the boss sends an email asking for a meeting a couple of hours after my shift ended.
Now, this request has several problems.
What is the matter with bosses? In ten years, even in two years, no one will remember this stupid project, much less care who got to attend an after hours meeting to talk about how we all feel about the outcome. In ten years, however, my daughter will remember, or at least be affected by my decisions about my time with her during her life.
Let's see how hard this decision is for me...
I thought it would be less stressful now that I have a baby.
I'm finding that all of that is wrong. This is the most stressful job I've ever had.
The company keeps assigning me work that I keep telling them I can't do. Sorry- I'm not a Project Manager. They don't seem to get it and when I don't do the job to their satisfaction, I get a lecture about how I didn't do a good job- like it's a shock that I don't excel at something that I said I don't do well.
What also upsets me about this job is that the boss is constantly badgering me to work outside of my set hours. I like to work the morning shifts. I find that most highly motivated people do work the morning shifts because they want to get in and get it done. They also don't take a lunch, I've noticed.
But I digress. I had a rather memorable conversation about what my work hours are with several members of the leadership team. It was very clear. It was made very clear because I just finished working on a project that I had to put in overtime. I was supposed to be paid for my overtime hours. But the company is now refusing to pay for those hours because they said that I didn't work overtime the whole project, so I don't get paid for my overtime. It amounts to nearly $10,000, not to mention the time away from my infant daughter. The very next day after our conversation about me not getting paid for time outside of my normal hours, the boss sends an email asking for a meeting a couple of hours after my shift ended.
Now, this request has several problems.
- I have a daughter that has a nanny. If I "decide" to work outside of those coverage hours, I either get to bounce my baby daughter on my knee while I talk about this stupid project, OR
- I get to pay for late notice and overtime for the nanny....that's if she even would cover it at all, AND
- The boss has already made it quite clear that I won't get paid for my over time, so why would I want to just donate my time?
What is the matter with bosses? In ten years, even in two years, no one will remember this stupid project, much less care who got to attend an after hours meeting to talk about how we all feel about the outcome. In ten years, however, my daughter will remember, or at least be affected by my decisions about my time with her during her life.
Let's see how hard this decision is for me...
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Working in IT and Not Working In IT
So, it's true that we're now a two-income society. Unless you have someone bringing in well over 150K, there's just no way you can really afford to have a house, groceries, gas, or a child (let's face it, they're cute but expensive). Child care alone can eat up one parent's salary, which is the main reason that so many parents give for one parent quitting their job nowadays. And the parent that keeps their job has to be in IT or you'll never afford life. I've had friends of my husbands actually change jobs from low paying 3D animation to programming so that they can afford their families.
So as the parent who quit their job, what do you do when your kid doesn't need child care any more? You've quit your job and your resume is dusty- you have no contacts in the working world. S-tarting over would be ok for someone who had a baby in their 20s because they still have a long working life ahead of them. But what happens when you have a kid and you're almost 40? (gulp). You can't really give up the career that you've worked on for 10, maybe 20 years. You're at the Senior or Management level and you can't start over if you leave that. I have a sister who's in this track right now, but she hasn't realized that she's going to need to go back to work at some point.
It used to be that you could just get any old job if you had the skill set for that job, no matter how rusty your experience or perhaps you just knew how to answer phones, work a copier, and file papers. But nowadays, you can't even get a secretarial job without a certification in "Administrative Assistance".
Seriously
or should it be "Seriously!?!" I mean, if you've worked in a office for 20 years and you've had your own phone and haven't had a secretary running all over doing the work for you, you already know how to be a secretary- you've had 20 years of experience doing that. But you couldn't get a job as a secretary unless you have that stupid AA degree in knowing how to press the Copy button.
Now, don't get me wrong, secretaries (or administrative assists- whatever you have to call them), are very valuable and offices can't be run without them. But do you really need to mandate that someone has a degree? I can type at over 100 words a minute. I know how to file. I know how to multitask- I mean, being a secretary is usually akin to being the office Mommy.
so, why can't I get these jobs!?
Some of it, I blame my resume- it's just too IT heavy now and no one takes me seriously when my cover letter clearly says that I don't want an IT job anymore. I actually did manage to swing a part-time secretary interview with a local property management company and they wanted to know if I knew how to make copies after looking at my resume...my PAPER resume. Are you joking?
But the salary of $12 an hour was what made the whole conversation ludicrous. I mean, in IT, you shouldn't be getting anything less than $45/hour for a senior, permanent position- if you're a contracting consultant, you can easily go $20/hour higher. There isn't a middle layer type of job where I could make, say $20 per hour and still bring my vast amounts of office experience to the job?
So far, I haven't found it. If you know of one, please let me know.
So as the parent who quit their job, what do you do when your kid doesn't need child care any more? You've quit your job and your resume is dusty- you have no contacts in the working world. S-tarting over would be ok for someone who had a baby in their 20s because they still have a long working life ahead of them. But what happens when you have a kid and you're almost 40? (gulp). You can't really give up the career that you've worked on for 10, maybe 20 years. You're at the Senior or Management level and you can't start over if you leave that. I have a sister who's in this track right now, but she hasn't realized that she's going to need to go back to work at some point.
It used to be that you could just get any old job if you had the skill set for that job, no matter how rusty your experience or perhaps you just knew how to answer phones, work a copier, and file papers. But nowadays, you can't even get a secretarial job without a certification in "Administrative Assistance".
Seriously
or should it be "Seriously!?!" I mean, if you've worked in a office for 20 years and you've had your own phone and haven't had a secretary running all over doing the work for you, you already know how to be a secretary- you've had 20 years of experience doing that. But you couldn't get a job as a secretary unless you have that stupid AA degree in knowing how to press the Copy button.
Now, don't get me wrong, secretaries (or administrative assists- whatever you have to call them), are very valuable and offices can't be run without them. But do you really need to mandate that someone has a degree? I can type at over 100 words a minute. I know how to file. I know how to multitask- I mean, being a secretary is usually akin to being the office Mommy.
so, why can't I get these jobs!?
Some of it, I blame my resume- it's just too IT heavy now and no one takes me seriously when my cover letter clearly says that I don't want an IT job anymore. I actually did manage to swing a part-time secretary interview with a local property management company and they wanted to know if I knew how to make copies after looking at my resume...my PAPER resume. Are you joking?
But the salary of $12 an hour was what made the whole conversation ludicrous. I mean, in IT, you shouldn't be getting anything less than $45/hour for a senior, permanent position- if you're a contracting consultant, you can easily go $20/hour higher. There isn't a middle layer type of job where I could make, say $20 per hour and still bring my vast amounts of office experience to the job?
So far, I haven't found it. If you know of one, please let me know.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Kinderlieb
You know, there are countries in Europe that actually pay their citizens to have children? They get paid to stay home and raise them for the first phases of life, too.
It's freaking amazing.
Some of these countries include German, Norway, Sweden, Austria, just to name a few. In Germany, it's called "Kinderlieb"
What I find interesting is that these countries also have:
1. A better standard of living,
2. A better Quality of Life,
3. Children are more educated than Americans in all subjects,
4. SIGNIFICANTLY fewer infant mortalities (in fact, the US is ahead Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia- SAD!)
I'm just going to throw this out there, but there seems to be a correlation between countries that actually care about sustaining their cultures and populations and the family care that is provided by the state. And it isn't that there is a dramatic difference in the birth rate that would explain this DRAMATIC difference:
What is painfully obvious to me is that Americans don't really care about their children as a country. They don't see that there is a problem with both parents going to work and dumping their child off at some internment camp called a day care where they are sat in front of the television or given appeasement toys all day.
Wouldn't it be great if we had a country that really cared about the next generations?
In the meantime, don't tell me what a great country America is when we don't even support the raising of our children (even when it turns out its in our best interest).
What I find interesting is that these countries also have:
1. A better standard of living,
2. A better Quality of Life,
3. Children are more educated than Americans in all subjects,
I'm just going to throw this out there, but there seems to be a correlation between countries that actually care about sustaining their cultures and populations and the family care that is provided by the state. And it isn't that there is a dramatic difference in the birth rate that would explain this DRAMATIC difference:
What is painfully obvious to me is that Americans don't really care about their children as a country. They don't see that there is a problem with both parents going to work and dumping their child off at some internment camp called a day care where they are sat in front of the television or given appeasement toys all day.
Wouldn't it be great if we had a country that really cared about the next generations?
In the meantime, don't tell me what a great country America is when we don't even support the raising of our children (even when it turns out its in our best interest).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)