Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

The other night M & I were out and decided to stop for milk shakes. Thankfully the place with the thick and so good shakes is open til midnight since it was 11.30.

Anyway I pull up to the speaker and the guy says, "I'll be with you in a second, Sweetheart." I was amused but not surprised.

So we decide on our shakes, place our order and the guy says, "Pull on around, Sweetie." So I do, we pay and get our shakes. He says, "Have a good night, Ladies" and I say, "Thanks Hon" and drive away.

Ah, I love the south :)

M made me watch History of the World: Part 1 tonight/this morning. I believe M called it "the best movie ever". I'm not so sure I agree with that. It was ..okay.

I think it helped that I was playing that evil, evil game (I'm an addict I tell ya). It's possible I would've enjoyed it more, had I been paying attention. Or been drinking. Maybe.

I'm not one for the farce (stupid funny) type comedy and that's what this movie struck me as - the parts I heard/saw, that is. Perhaps it has more wit in it and I just missed it.

Speaking of the evil game, I got to level 39 today. Woohoo! Go Me!

Unrelatedly
Hockey games start in just over two months!! Huzzah!

Yeah so yahoo games are evil. Especially Ocean Express. Up til nearly dawn playing that game. Am at level 24 with six barges & a variety of objects (but not those dumb oranges!).

Obviously I spent my night wisely ;)

Kelp sent me the link below. Oh man, it's a riot. Yay Organic!!

Store Wars

Bush Executive Order: Criminalizing the Antiwar Movement

By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky --
Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:49:00

The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US led war.

A presidential Executive Order issued on July 17th, repeals with the stroke of a pen the right to dissent and to oppose the Pentagon's military agenda in Iraq.

The Executive Order entitled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" provides the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of "certain persons" who oppose the US led war in Iraq:

"I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people."

In substance, under this executive order, opposing the war becomes an illegal act.

The Executive Order criminalizes the antiwar movement. It is intended to "blocking property" of US citizens and organizations actively involved in the peace movement. It targets those "Certain Persons" in America who oppose the Bush Administration's "peace and stability" program in Iraq, characterized, in plain English, by an illegal occupation and the continued killing of innocent civilians.

The Executive Order also targets those "Certain Persons" who are "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction", or who, again in plain English, are opposed to the confiscation and privatization of Iraq's oil resources, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants.

The order is also intended for anybody who opposes Bush's program of "political reform in Iraq", in other words, who questions the legitimacy of an Iraqi "government" installed by the occupation forces.

Moreover, those persons or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), who provide bona fide humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians, and who are not approved by the US Military or its lackeys in the US sponsored Iraqi puppet government are also liable to have their financial assets confiscated.

The executive order violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution. It repeals one of the fundamental tenets of US democracy, which is the right to free expression and dissent. The order has not been the object of discussion in the US Congress. Sofar, it has not been addressed by the US antiwar movement, in terms of a formal statement.

Apart from a bland Associated Press wire report, which presents the executive order as "an authority to use financial sanctions", there has been no media coverage or commentary of a presidential decision which strikes at the heart of the US Constitution.

Read the rest of the article.
Study theExecutive Order.
View this article & others.

Interloper/Intruder cat isn't that bright. She eats plastic. Well, plastic bags. Doesn't matter if they're the kind you get at grocery and mega stores or trash bags. Heck she even gnaws on the cellophane in envelope windows and plastic bags that cover food (think fortune cookie wrappers). Yeah, she's a smart one.

M & I were watching a movie when we hear this buzzing/humming noise. Then we hear much rustling & scrabbling. We look over & discover that Intruder (visiting cat) has struck again. Only this time she has brought in a big, freaky looking beetle.

If a cockroach could fly, this is what it would look like. I'd guess it was two inches long (at least) so it was prolly closer to 1.5 inches as having it fly at your face can tend to distort the size.

Intruder is playing with it as she did the lizard, without the biting. She paws at it & pounces. Leaps in the air, climbs the wall, runs behind & under chairs. It'd be cute if the bug wasn't so large, creepy & flying at us. Then the inevitable happens. Intruder loses interest in the beetle because it's been injured (missing a leg).

However, it is moving much too much for either M or I to catch it (even if we weren't totally squeamish & freaked by it). I did what any self respecting person would do. I grabbed a spray bottle of eye glass cleaner (before you mock me, it has isopropanol in it) and began drenching the beetle. It wasn't slowing it down fast enough. So M went to the laundry room & grabbed a spray bottle of Clorox. After drenching the beetle (and the boxes & papers beneath it), the beetle began slowing down & stumbling about. Since it had opportunity to fly and didn't, I scooped it up (figured I wouldn't get a face full of flying beetle) with a box lid & tossed it outside. Blech.

Yes, Intruder is still looking for the beetle despite it being tossed out a good 30 mins ago. And, more importantly, the cat door has been blocked off and will remain so while it is dark outside so as to prevent any more bug issues. Thankfully Intruder is leaving on Monday - I hope!

Mindy Pregel
April 14, 1976 - July 16, 2007

Had some killer storms come through tonight. Lots of 'em too. Hadn't had a spiffy storm since last week, so I was in withdrawals ;) Hail, lightning, cable flickering.. Ahhhh puts me in a happy place.

Been playing Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst on Yahoo Games tonight with M. Totally addictive games. It's sort of like Highlights For Kids. If yall are old enough (or young enough) to remember that magazine. Often found at doctor's offices. My bit of advice for yall when playing this game is is in today's title. And yes, M understood me.

Unrelatedly
I have a jagged cut on the palm of my hand acquired while trying to open a bottle. Am I talented or what?

I know yall are eager to see what squirrelly witticism I have for yall today. Yeah, I've got nothing. So sorry. Have a good Tuesday everybody :)

At my new place there is a cat (yay). Currently however there are two cats here. The one is visiting (I'll call her Interloper) and really needs to go home.

On Sunday Interloper caught a skink on the balcony and brought it Inside to play with. She proceeded to let it go, pounce on it, let it go, pounce, let it go, pounce, etc. Mr. Skink made it behind some boxes (none of which are mine, thankyouverymuch) and hid out there.

He'd tried hiding behind other boxes before but Interloper managed to reach a paw or face in and get him. When he found a place that Interloper couldn't get to him, he just stayed. First Resident cat wandered away (she was mostly supervising the skink hunt anyway) then Interloper cat went back outside (there is a cat door) to hunt up a new toy.

This is when I got involved. I so do not want a lizard in the house. I don't care if it isn't poisonous. Lizards are outdoor critters. I find Mr. Skink & lure Interloper back in to flush him out. She gets him & then proceeds to take him further into the house. I was having none of that.

I grab the litter box scooper & corner Interloper. She drops Mr. Skink on Resident cat. Resident cat growls & smacks Interloper & I manage to scoop up Mr. Skink and toss him onto the balcony, where he proceeds to just sit there. Perhaps it's because he's bleeding from his tail (there was more missing from his tail than what there should've been had Mr. Skink just dropped his tail of his own free will) or maybe it was shock from having been in the mouth of Interloper cat multiple times. Either way I shoo him to the edge of the balcony & he scurries over and down.

Interloper is still prowling the place looking for Mr. Skink. I've told her that lizards are Not toys and especially not indoor toys! I'm pretty sure she didn't listen to anything I said. Mostly because she hasn't listened to my lectures that flying bugs are outside toys not indoor toys. Yet every night she brings in several to play with.

A friend sent me the link to an article about Green Musings. I was amused. I highly recommend reading The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Yeah, yeah I know. Not surprising.

Anyway, Happy Friday the 13th, all. Avoid black cats and ladders. Just to be safe....

Hockey
Ron Francis is getting inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 12th. Yay Ronnie!

What's that? Old news, you say? Bite me. I report what I want, when I want. Now, go walk under a ladder while admiring that black cat walking in front of you.

Things that are still MIA from the move:

birkenstocks
digital camera
gift card

Happy News!
The NHL schedules were released. WooooHooooo!!!! Hockey!! Canes opening night is Oct. 3rd! Oh and there's a home game on my birthday too. Yay hockey hockey Hockey!!

Saw the new Harry Potter movie. From the debate in the car on the way home, there are several differences from the book. Lots of stuff left out. I'm told this is the norm for the HP movies. Shocker. What movie has ever been true to a book?

This is why I see the movies first, then read the books. Admittedly I've only read the first two HP books. Perhaps this summer, I'll read through book five.

Anywho, I liked the movie. Hated that lady in pink tho. Oy!

Today is Tai Shan's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday cutie pie!!!

Sadly he's not getting a baby brother or sister for his birthday. Maybe next year..

WooHoo Live Earth! Tho the music was, at times, squirrelly at best. Those ladies all in yellow in Tokyo, yeah that was odd but nifty. I did get tired of seeing the same short films over & over though.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I should've turned off the tv & done something productive with my day. Eh. I did watch some of le Tour de France. That's totally productive (and addictive). I admit it, I'm a cycling junkie. I can't help it. Maybe it's hockey withdrawal...

And yes, by "some" I do mean all of the Prologue & Stage 1 footage that VS was showing. Possibly even some of the repeats. I did say that I was addicted.

Unrelatedly
You can use diaper rash cream on new tattoos to keep them from drying out. Who knew? And the cream smells like baby powder. Nifty, eh?

Okay people, don't forget about the Live Earth concert this Saturday. Even if you're not in a city where a concert is, you can listen online or watch on tv. Maybe yall can even plant a tree while you're rockin away.

Unrelatedly
Knut has had over a million visitors. Plus he's still as cute as ever, possibly more so. Still not quite up to Tai Shan's level of cute tho.

Before I forget, Happy 4th of July :) I spent the evening with some friends and after coaxing Willow to eat (she's a white german shepherd who is pretty sick), us three humans went in search of food. First place we tried wasn't open. Second place closed at 9.30 & it was currently 9.33. Third place we tried closed at 10 and it was 9.45 when we go there & they weren't seating any new people. So we parked & tried to order a pizza.

First we were told that they weren't doing any pick ups/carry outs - delivery only. What's up with that??? So we say fine and order a pizza. Guy then tells us it'll be at least an hour, more like an hour and a half before they can deliver it. WHAT??? Good grief!!

Needless to say, we canceled our order. Then we proceeded to ponder what other places there were to eat, that might be open And seating people. None came to mind. Then we look across the street and see our salvation. Wendy's. We had a fast food for our dinner on the 4th. Can't really get more American than that, right? Wrong! We each had to pay with a credit card. Now if that isn't celebrating what it means to be American, I don't know what is.

I was playing trivia earlier tonight. Did pretty well too. Had some good spicy, yet sweet, boneless wings. Are yall thrilled to know that? I thought you would be. Now, I'm off to the pool.

Or maybe not. I've been settling into my new place this past weekend. Last night, while situating my plastic mat at my desk (the kind with grippy pointy things on the bottom to keep it from moving on carpet), I gave myself a fat lip. That's right folks, I managed to hit myself in the mouth with my floor mat. Now that's talent. I know yall are jealous.

I firmly believe it was the carpet having a laugh. Why else would it let go just when I'm bending in such a way that I'd get clobbered with the edge of the mat & the bottom grippy things? It's not like it was the first yank on the carpet. I know a taunting when I encounter one.

Squirrelly carpet.