I was watching TV when Aine let out a holler from the floor in front of my chair. I looked down and realized it was a hunting cry. The ring from a milk bottle was her intended target. I paused my TV show and spent the next several minutes watching her attack it, until she finally picked it up in her mouth and ran off with it.
My heart is smiling.
I hated coloring in maps with colored pencils when I was in grade school. I thought it was tedious and a waste of time. However, it did make me stare at the map long enough to get the chore done that things soaked in, which was probably the point of the exercise.
Is that still being done? This map of the southern United States posted in a recent national newscast surely doesn’t make it appear so. Don’t let the “bing” label fool you. The state abbreviations were added by the company running the broadcast.
If you don’t see a problem with this image, please go to your local library and pull out an Atlas to figure out why it is wrong. If you are unwilling to do that, here’s a website that will give you the same information.
(Despite comments on another site, while the label for Austin is showing way out in west Texas, the DOT is actually in the right place.)
Thanks to Ms Juanita Jean and the girls at The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. for bringing this to my attention.
Many museum venues in Austin will be open free of charge on Sunday, September 23, for Austin Museum Day. For a complete list of activities, please visit this press release.
Below is the press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety (the original had cool pictures which I’ll try to add later). Many people don’t realize we have a museum on our campus. It will be open for Austin Museum Day.
September 17, 2012 NEWS RELEASE
DPS to Showcase Past and Present Resources at Austin Museum Day
Exhibits to include patrol boat and cars, helicopter, motorcycles, SWAT and crime lab vehicles
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will showcase its history as well as its current law enforcement capabilities on Sunday, Sept. 23, as part of Austin Museum Day, which features free exhibitions and activities at participating Austin-area museums and cultural sites. The DPS Historical Museum and Research Center is sponsoring the event at DPS Headquarters (5805 N. Lamar Blvd., Building A, Austin, TX 78752) from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday, which will be free and open to the public.
The DPS Historical Museum and Research Center event will highlight the department’s rich history, displaying a vintage patrol car and motorcycle, along with vintage uniforms. Additionally, equipment currently being used by the department will be showcased, including a 34-foot shallow water interceptor. These new patrol vessels, equipped with multiple .30 caliber machine guns and three 300 horsepower engines, are assigned to patrol the Texas Coast and Rio Grande River.
Other DPS displays will include the:
DPS is one of many museum venues around Austin that will open their doors free of charge for Austin Museum Day on Sunday. For a complete list of activities, please visit: http://www.austinmuseums.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/AMD2012PressRelease_Sept13.pdf.
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I always check my spam folder to be sure I’m not getting comments shunted there. Occasionally I come across something amusing. Here’s one I got in Latin:
Morbi lectus quam pretium id varius nec feugiat. Donec arcu justo dictum ligula volutpat quis adipiscing mi malesuada.
According to Google Translate (love that site) it reads:
More than the price of a bed that’s not here. Until environmental impact statement just bow my storage needs.
Now that’s just plain silly.
The Texas Secretary of State has just released letters to nearly 77,000 Texas voters asking them to prove they are alive. If they don’t answer within 30 days, they are removed from the voting rolls. [Source: Austin American-Statesman, 9/13/2012, p. B-1] The letters are being sent out much later than usual, only two months before the election. The Secretary of State’s office is blaming the delay on the redistricting battle. Since voter registration is done by the county voter registrar, I really don’t see why they had to delay.
Having a nasty suspicious mind, I’d love to see party affiliation of the recipients of these letters and see if the percentages line up with the counties to which the letters are sent.
I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant last weekend that featured pictures of scenes from New York City and famous people from there. There were several pictures of the NYC skyline, and they were all taken prior to 9-11-2001. I spent some time looking at the World Trade Center towers and remembering, realizing the anniversary was close at hand.
Today, I went to do a search on Google. They didn’t have a widget today. Under the search box was a tiny black ribbon, the kind people with a cause would pin to a lapel. You might not pay much attention to it, it’s so subtle. If you put the cursor over it, a popup box says, “Remembering September 11th.” Simple. Elegant. And it is not a link to another page.
I like it.
News release from the Department of Public Safety for Commercial Drivers (first-time applicants only)
August 31, 2012 NEWS RELEASE
DPS Announces New Residency Requirements for First-Time CDL Applicants
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has announced that it will begin implementing the new proof of residency (domicile) requirement for obtaining a commercial driver license (CDL) effective September 4, 2012. The requirements, which only apply to first-time CDL applicants, are the result of legislation approved by the Texas Legislature and comply with federal regulations.
First-time CDL applicants are required to establish domicile in Texas to be eligible for a CDL. Domicile is defined as a true, fixed and permanent home and principal residence.
All new CDL applicants will be required to present two acceptable documents containing the applicant’s name and address to establish proof of domicile in the state of Texas. The two documents must be issued by two different companies or agencies. Under certain circumstances, applicants who are unable to provide two acceptable documents proving domicile may be eligible to complete a Texas Residency Affidavit.
For a complete list of acceptable proof of domicile documents and additional details, please visit http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/domicileReq.htm.
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I’m getting around much better. Part of that is due to my good friend, Star, who has loaned me her car, which has an automatic transmission. We’ve swapped for the duration of my injury, since the boot on the left foot and a manual transmission with clutch are pretty much contraindicated. Today, I made it into the office for the first time since I got injured. I’ve been working from home.
I’ve been in no pain, which is a blessing. I am very careful not to take that for granted, since it didn’t really hurt the night I got injured, except when I tried to walk or when the medical professionals poked at it. I wear the boot most of the time, taking it off to ice the leg and for a couple of hours at night to let the leg (and boot) air out and let me sleep better.
I’ve stopped using the cane. I’ve gotten used to my balance, especially since I got the new shoe(s) that matches the boot in height, making walking a much more even proposition. Thanks to a saleslady at DSW, I now have a glitzy thong sandal that has a sole exactly the right thickness, at the ball of the foot and at the heel, to wear with the boot.
I get tired easily. No surprise there; healing is hard work. Walking in the boot is no picnic either. I wonder how much it weighs? That leg is going to be stronger for carrying the weight. I’m walking a lot more naturally in it, but the stride is still short and I’m slow because of it. My back is not happy, though a lot happier since I got the new shoe.
Back to the friends. Star is also the one who picked me up from the ER on Sunday and got me home. She took me to church later that morning and to lunch on Monday (when we also bought the shoes) and so many other things. Wanda helped with driving, too, and checked in to make sure I didn’t need things. Dev, a coworker, made sure I didn’t need help.
My mother once said, “Susan, you might not have much money, but you are so rich in friends!” She is so right.
Internal jukebox: I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
It was a completely fluke accident, but it’s left me with a torn left calf muscle. I’ll be wearing a boot for at least 4 weeks.
It was a chore I do almost every night, leaning over my bed to turn on the light on my headboard. While the foot was flexed, the doctor says I must have twisted. He said it wouldn’t take much and I might not even notice doing it.
Fortunately, it doesn’t hurt while in the boot. Unfortunately, I don’t own any shoes as tall as the boot, so I’m walking with a short leg. My back is not happy. I’m tempted to go buy some of those stupid platform thong sandals to even things up.
Instructions from the ER doc were “walking as tolerated.” I’m using a cane outside the house for balance, but I’m not having any problems inside. Except that my stride is much shorter.
Pray for a quick and complete recovery. I’ll pray that the gods of chaos get lost on their way to do you mischief.
Internal Jukebox: Rise Up, O King Eternal
Too appalled to comment, but mine workers in Ohio were told attending Romney’s August 14 event was both mandatory and unpaid. From the mine’s CFO, managers “communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend.”
Thanks to Ms Juanita Jean and the girls at The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. for bringing this to my attention.
