I keep whittling down my Facebook "friends" list as time goes by.  I realized that I really do not enjoy hearing/seeing/knowing every detail of every moment of every person's life that I haven't seen in thirty years.  For the most part I use Facebook as a way to keep in touch with family members that I don't see very often.  And if truth be told I have hidden over 80% of my friends on Facebook.  That means their status updates and things they post don't show up for me.  I'm fine with that.  I have a few local friends I keep up with (TXMomtoJami!) and my kids and I harass each other online but other than that....

I have spent more time the past two days typing out replies to snarky posts or pictures and then hitting delete rather than posting them.  I keep thinking... "is this said in love?"  nope.  then delete.  But I think yesterday pushed me over the edge with the lady yelling at me over the phone.  Then today an old friend from 4-H days posts this picture.

Okay I do this.  I fully support this.  Buy locally.  I do that.  In fact I go out of my way to do that.  I avoid online shopping.  I avoid Amazon.  I try to go into the little mom and pop stores.  I buy produce from the guy down the road that started out with a roadside stand and now has a greenhouse full of produce.  I believe in this concept.

So why did it bug me.

I am not a real person.

If you work for a multi-national company you are not a real person and therefore not as deserving of receiving your paycheck.  Yes, it may be a hold over from yesterday but seriously?  I don't think people understand how corporations work.  Yes I agree, buy locally.  But you know buying at Kroger supports some local person just like buying at the local fruit stand.  Maybe not to the same degree but it does.  And they are all real people.  Yes, I'm just tender and feeling sorry for myself.  Let me wallow. 

So back to Facebook.  My sister recently said she was leaving facebook due to the amount of anger and words being thrown about, I am assuming about an election issue.  We all said, stay stay!  We will miss you.  Well I'm thinking that if I keep whittling and hiding that I'll be as good as gone from Facebook.  I won't leave because my kids need some place to bug me lol, and I play word games with friends there but if I keep having to delete my comments before I post them it's probably a wise thing that I limit my usage of it.  I might get in real trouble. 

Can non-real people get in trouble?

Letter from a physician

Although I am not a physician I have witnessed this behavior in Emergency Rooms but I relate to this on a whole different level.  He says,
 

"This woman, however, would reach into my pocket and take my hard-earned money while tapping impatiently on my watch to give her more of my immediate time and attention when others need it more, still claiming I am a cold-blooded heartless rich guy intent on robbing her of all the government assistance that is her due while simultaneously stiffing the hospital for what she considers an unconscionable medical bill. I am not cold-blooded or heartless, just tired and beat from the work I do and proud and gratified that I can do it. The same is possible for anyone here in the land of opportunity."

How did this letter apply to me, a non-medical person?  Today I felt emotionally beat up when accused of "not caring and being selfish" when I said no to contributing to a charitable cause.  The cause was one I do not support because I did my research and although they say it is for "widows and children" over 80% of the money goes to administration costs and advertising  If I am going to give it will be to a worthy and trustworthy cause or directly to the widow and children themselves.  The attack that came afterwards was quite unexpected.  Usually I just get a second plea and a hang up.  Today I am a "rich selfish b**ch because I just don't care about anyone but the others in the 1%".  Is this what the election has brought about?  You vs. Me?

This week I have received over 30 solicitations by mail asking for money from various organizations.  THIRTY!  and the week isn't even over.  We have given away more money that we have paid in taxes yet it's still not enough for people.  They want it all.  I'm feeling like a Sugar Daddy (would that be Sugar Mama?) and about at the point of breaking.  I'm about to the point where I give my 10% tithe and call it good because even when you give liberally if you have any money left in the bank you are evil.  If you work hard for what you have and make good choices. You. Are. Evil.

I will always give my tithe to God and give generously to my family (if that is greedy so be it) but as for everyone else...... In January our taxes go up and thanks to Obamacare we lose a lot of important things, like the pre-tax medical spending accounts and in 2014 the full list of over 100 taxes will be implemented through that bill.  Plus the appraisal district sent out an appraiser and Harris county will be raising all the property taxes in our area next year.  We will have a choice to make.  Unfortunately the government may be making that choice for us. 

As to the election:  I saw a good man who had good family values be destroyed time and time again because he had money and had made money through hard work.  He lost to a man who does not value life.  A man who voted against a bill that would require providing life saving treatment to children born alive ALIVE! in an abortion process because in his words... it might mean declaring that fetus a person, which would destroy abortion rights.  So children (yes it is documented) have been left to die in buckets that have been born alive because they aren't "people."  That is the choice people had.  This election didn't come down just pro-life vs. pro-death for me but the difference between the two men concerning life is an overwhelming snapshot of their characters.   The man chosen to lead our country fails in the character department.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and made note of some prices.  I also noted the price of fuel on the way home.  I took some details down from the internet about the market and unemployment.  I then decided that I will track these things over time and see if we really are better off.  Then I came upon this cartoon today. 

So here are my own personal figures to track:

DOW - 12,932.72

APPL - $573.84

KMP - $82.55

KMI - $34.16

ACI - $7.50

I chose the stocks I did because Apple seems to be the hottest stock in the tech world and we'll see how it fares with it's overseas production etc.  KMP and KMI is the paycheck provider.  ACI is the second largest coal company in the US.  I decided to track it to see how the "We're gonna put coal out of business" attitude of this administration affects it.

Unleaded gas (an average of the three closest stations to me) - $3.07/gallon

Diesel - $3.79/gallon

Cost of electricity (on a fixed rate with TXU, no contract) - 9.3¢/kwh

Bread (Mrs Bairds 16 oz. whole wheat) - $2.49

Milk (Kroger brand whole milk) - $3.58

Kellogg's Corn Flakes (12 oz box) - $2.99

Bananas (From the Honduras) - 49¢/lb.

Cheerios (18 oz. box) - $4.35

Folgers Classic Roast Coffee (34.5 oz can) - $9.99

Starbucks Whole Bean Coffee (Breakfast Blend Med Roast 12 oz) - $8.99

Land O Lakes Butter (unsalted) - $3.89/lb

All the meat I priced is celo-wrapped in the store.  Not from the butcher's case (more expensive) and unless noted is just the generic "offered by the store" brand

All Natural Strip Steak (not organic but "natural" Nolan Ryan Beef) - $11.99/lb

Round Steak (family pack) - $4.49/lb

80% lean Kroger tube packed ground beef (5 lb. tube) - $2.73/lb

Center-cut pork chops - $3.99/lb

Pilgrim Whole Chicken - $1.49/lb

Bounty paper towels (single roll) - $1.99

Charmin toilet paper (4 double rolls 176 sheets per roll) - $3.99

National Debt. $16,200,000,000,000.  That would be $16.2 Trillion dollars and climbing rapidly.  Which bring each citizen's share of the debt to approximately $51,686.60 (via National Debt Clock)

Unemployment Avg. for the month of October was 8.1

I chose to use October's average because the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Nov. weekly figure was not accurate due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the recovery there. 

As far as predictions I have only one definite.  I can guarantee that nothing, NOTHING bad will ever be Obama's fault and anything good that happens will always be because of him.

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Dollar Falls as Obama Win Paves Way for Monetary Easing

edit: This is the current results from Harris county, TX as of 9:00 am.  I find it really interesting since Harris county has always been a VERY strong Democrat stronghold in Texas.  I think Obama won it with about 75% of the vote in 2008.  This certainly shows how the local economy and outlook is.  Energy is definitely under attack and Houston knows it.  Anyway, with only 9 precincts left to report there are just TWO votes difference between Obama and Romney.  Definitely an indication of the Houston pulse.

Final tally in around 3 pm today shows Obama squeaking in a win in Harris county by 1400 votes. Out of 1.2 million votes cast that isn't very many.

I seriously debated digging out my Goldwater pin but it doesn't get the same reaction as Tricky Dicky.  What is funny is that they have even let me wear it into the polling place.  Said since he isn't a current candidate and it doesn't have a party affiliation on it they didn't see the problem.  They thought it was quite funny.  Of course the people under age 45 didn't really get it.....

I collect buttons and have quite a few political buttons.  I even "bit the bullet" and signed up on a Move On email list in 2008 so I could get a free Obama button.  I wasn't about to pay for one and they offered a free one.  I just had to endure the process of getting off their mailing list once I'd received the button. 

I have quite a few buttons.  More than 500 at least.  I've never bothered to count.  I have political buttons, a lot of agriculturally based buttons, odd sayings, boy scouts and girl scout buttons, one-call and pipeline associated buttons and even the old school mascot button.  I think my oldest button is from a county fair in Colorado from the 1930s.  I have them in a couple of display boxes on a bookshelf.  The boxes are stuffed full and you can only see the top layer of buttons.  Once in a while I'll rearrange them but it always seems like too much work for nobody really noticing.  More people notice the cow trophy next to the buttons (actually trophy for top beef carcass).  lol   My kids and in-laws bring me buttons every once in a while.  Always appreciated.  It is kind of fun to do.

There is this one forum (chatboard) that I go to once in a while that is "up in arms" about this one poster's  avatar, or image.  They've started a poll to get him banned from the site if he doesn't change his picture.    It is this one:

Seems that I'm not the only person that has fallen for his roaming bug.  lol  The first time I saw it on my screen I spent a minute trying to mash the little bugger.

I have found it hilarious and have looked for other spots where I can use this little gif and drive all those I know crazy.....

AmeliaJake... I think this gif is right up your alley. 

My son-in-law Vladimir told us this joke at dinner the other night:

A man took his wife to the movies.  It was a horror flick and at one point a very scary lady appeared on the screen.

His wife cried out in fright, "Oh mama!"

and her husband turned to her and said,

"oh, you recognized her!"

Good thing I like my son-in-law! 

Yesterday I went diving.  In 69 degree water.  5 mm wetsuit made it doable and I had a lot of fun.  We did video stuff and search and recovery.  We played hide and seek with our instructor and found him.  His girlfriend on shore was glad we didn't lose him.  He had the car keys. 

I came home and unloaded my kiln.  It's always like Christmas when I open the kiln from a glaze firing.  Here are some of my results.

Now to get busy with the rest of my Christmas gifts.  It's mug time!

Being married to an engineer I sometimes have had to decipher certain terminology.  I came upon this handy list for quick reference.

********************

Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter: Eskimo Pi

2000 pounds of Chinese soup: Won ton

1 millionth of a mouthwash: 1 microscope

Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement: 1 bananosecond

Weight an evangelist carries with God: 1 billigram

Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour: Knot-furlong

365.25 days of drinking low-calorie beer because it's less filling: 1 lite year

16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone: 1 Rod Serling

Half of a large intestine: 1 semicolon

1000 aches: 1 kilohurtz

Basic unit of laryngitis: 1 hoarsepower

Shortest distance between two jokes: A straight line.
(think about it for a moment)

453.6 graham crackers: 1 pound cake

1 million microphones: 1 megaphone

1 million bicycles: 2 megacycles

2000 mockingbirds: two kilomockingbirds (work on it....)

10 cards: 1 decacards

1 kilogram of falling figs: 1 Fig Newton

1000 cubic centimeters of wet socks: 1 literhosen

1 millionth of a fish: 1 microfiche

1 trillion pins: 1 terrapin

10 rations: 1 decoration

100 rations: 1 C-ration

2 monograms: 1 diagram

8 nickels: 2 paradigms

3 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital: 1 I.V. League

100 Senators: Not 1 decision