Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sell Your Easy Bake Oven and Go To Jail

h/t Karen De Coster at LewRockwell.com

Don’t sell your child’s Easy Bake Oven at your garage sale. It’s a federal crime to do so under the fed’s new “Resale Roundup.”

Secondhand sellers now must keep abreast of recalls for thousands of products, some of them stretching back more than a decade, to stay within the bounds of the law.

Staffers for the federal agency are fanning out across the country to conduct training seminars on the regulations at dozens of thrift shops.


This is disturbing, especially because Easy Bake Oven was one of my favorite toys. Both of my my parents can attest to the fact that I made the worst baking creations in the entire history of that toy. I was destined, from a very young age, to avoid a career as a baker. Now here’s ObamaChange:

President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are crafting an appropriations bill that would boost the agency’s funding next year by more than 11.4 percent — to $117 million — and it’s already hiring new inspectors and other employees in anticipation of the funding infusion.

Make sure you entertain yourself with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Most Dangerous Recalled Products.”

“Those who re-sell recalled children’s products are not only breaking the law, they are putting children’s lives at risk,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “Resale stores should make safety their business and check for recalled products and hazards to children.”

The problem with Easy Bake Oven is that “young children can insert their hands into the overn’s front opening. and get their hands or fingers caught, posing entrapment and burn hazards.” A hooded drawstring sweatshirt was recalled because the “CSPC received one report of a death involving a 3-year-old boy in fresno, Calif. He was strangled when the drawstring on the hooded sweathsirt that he was wearing became stuck on a playground set.”

Oh the insanity of the Safety Busybody State.


Friday, August 28, 2009

Husband of the Year Awards

h/t: My Bride

The honorable mention goes to:
The United Kingdom


...followed closely by The United States of America


and then ................Poland


but 3rd Place must go to ........ Greece


it was very very close but the runner up prize was awarded to.................Serbia


but the winner of the husband of the year ......is ..........Ireland
Ya gotta love the Irish.


The Irish are true romantics. Look, he's even holding her hand.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

NAACP Marching in Support of Dog Killer Tonight

I’ve refrained from blogging about Michael Vick’s return to football after doing a few years in prison for running a dog fighting ring. Mainly I haven’t written about it because I’m so sick of the story. Plus I don’t really care if he plays again or not. He served his time and the league he plays for says he can come back and the Eagles signed him. So if they all are happy fine, I don’t care he’s not playing for my team.

But now this story comes out that the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Criminal People) is going to stage a protest at tonight’s preseason game in Philly

Philly NAACP plans protest to support Vick
WIRE REPORTS

J. Whyatt Mondesire of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP told The Associated Press that his group and the Black Clergy of Philadelphia were planning a march for tonight.

"We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society and deserves a second chance, and the animal-rights groups want to hold him hostage for the rest of his life," Mondesire said, according to ESPN.com.

"We think that's patently unfair," he said. "It denies Michael Vick's basic civil rights, denies him his ability to make a living."

No animal-rights organizations announced plans to protest at the stadium. Across town, the Pennsylvania SPCA plans to hold a tailgate gathering to launch its newest project: the Second Chance Dogs campaign.


I guess everything race-related is just perfect in Philly these days. No other real issues that the NAACP could march about? Well it is the city of brotherly love.

Let’s look at some of their comments, shall we?

"We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society and deserves a second chance…We think that's patently unfair," he said. "It denies Michael Vick's basic civil rights, denies him his ability to make a living."

It sure looks like he’s getting a second chance (actually it’s more like a 10th chance with everything he’s done). He’s signed by the Eagles and getting paid millions this year to be a backup quarterback. Sure doesn’t sound unfair to me and it looks like he’s getting a chance to make a living.

Nice publicity stunt fellows. You guys must be really hard-up for an issue to protest up there. The only thing missing are those worthless pieces of human flesh Al Sharpton and the “Reverend” Jesse James…I mean Jackson.

Maybe the Philly chapter of the NAACP is still ticked off that Rocky beat Apollo Creed in Rocky II.

I gotta admit that part of me would love to see a rumble between the NAACP and PETA

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Today's Workouts

Late in the day post. But an early morning run. 15.07 miles wearing my Saucony Tangent running shoes. Cooler temps and lower humidity plus sunny skies.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Today's Workouts

7 pleasant miles on the trails. Temps in the low 80's and lower humidity. Wore my new INOV8 Flyroc trail running shoes. They are working out ok so far. Also saw 9 deer today: 2 bucks, 3 fawns and 5 does.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Pet Peeve Phriday

It's back by popular demand - just go with it people.

Today's pet peeve is grocery store shopping carts that don't work correctly....you know the one's with the wheel that broken and makes a clacking sound while you are trying to push it...not that you can steer it with the front-end all out of alignment anyways. Or how about the front produce part area, where a kid would sit, that won't fold up or down properly.

Why don't stores have the cart-return boys put ones that are broken out of service until fixed? Or if they don't want to fix them then maybe they could donate them to bag-ladies. I feel bad when I see them lugging all their junk in shopping bags. Or give them to my kids, they would love to use them for shopping cart races.

And how about the huge carts that have the front-end of a Little Tykes toy car? (full disclosure - I've used those before) What are stores thinking? The aisles of the stores we shop at aren't wide enough for shopping carts the size of VW Beetle.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Today's Workouts

28.69 sweaty and stinky miles running early this morning in my Asics DS Trainers running shoes. Up at 3:50am and out the door about a half-hour later. Nice pre-run breakfast of coffee, water, pb&j sammie and a piece of zucchini bread.

I pretty much felt and looked like this guy when finished.

New Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Flavor

In honor of the 44th President of the United States , Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has introduced a new flavor: " Barocky Road ."

Barocky Road is a blend of half-vanilla, half-chocolate, surrounded by nuts and flakes.

The vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient.

The nuts and flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow.

The cost is $100.00 per scoop.

When purchased, it will be presented to you in a large, beautiful cone; but, then, the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you.

You are left with an empty wallet and no change, holding an empty cone with no hope of getting any ice cream.

Are you stimulated?

Happy Birthday Lizzie


Today is Elizabeth's (Lizzie or Lizard-Breath if you prefer) 15th birthday. I remember well when she was born. She was our 4th child in 4 years - yikes!

She was Sam's first summer pregnancy. Sam looked so beautiful that summer (this summer too). Tan and healthy. (not that she's a dog the rest of the time).

The 15th birthday is a big deal in our house in that the b-day kid gets their first cell-phone - ENv3 in Slate Blue in this case.

Lizzie is our sweet and nice girl. She's the one who will help you out when you ask. She's the one you want to babysit your kids. When you get home the house will be clean and the kids in bed.

Although I often worry that she is a closet Mean Girl. Is she going to get my axe out of the shed one night and go all Lizzie Borden on us?




We love you sweet girl. Happy Birthday!


Btw - Lizzie is the white chick in the pic

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Today's Workouts

Holy Smokes its bad out there. I almost died on my 14 mile trail run. I checked weather.com when I finished the run and it was 94 out with a 'feels like' of 100.

Ran my 7 mile loop twice and stopped at the car between loops to get more fluid and change shoes. The first loop I brought a 20 ounce bottle of sports drink with me and it was gone by mile 4. Had 2 semi-frozen bottles in the car so for the second loop I brought a 20 ounce and a 24 ounce bottle. Finished BOTH of those by mile 4 of the second loop and started getting a bit worried since I was still sweating like a dog in a Chinese restaurant. At mile 5 I passed some ball fields that had a picnic area and rest rooms so I ran over to those and while there was no water fountain the rest rooms did have a sink so I refilled both bottles and finished those off during the final two miles. So the best I can figure is that I took in 132 ounce of fluids during the run and I had one 24 ounce bottle of Recovery Drink in the car and drank that when I got back. So 156 ounces all together. Came back to office and took a cold shower, had some coffee and 2 hamburgers and I almost feel human again.

Wildlife count - 2 deer, 1 very cool hawk and a box turtle that I almost tripped over.

Shoe Review. Wore the new INOVA8 Flyroc's (see pic below) for the first loop to break them in. They felt pretty good. Very comfortable. The sole is a bit thinner so I could feel the rocks and roots more so that could be an issue.

Today's Workouts

7 super humid and sweaty miles on the trails today at lunch wearing my Asics Trail Attack running shoes. My stinkiness even offend me. I did see 4 deer including the twin fawns that I keep running into.

Finally a Book on Marriage that Makes Sense

How To Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It

Forget everything you've heard about frankness, sharing your feelings, getting him to express his. Research into the functions of the male mind makes it clear that discussion may be the fastest way to shut down communication. (Oh, you noticed that, have you?)

By Barbara Graham from "O, The Oprah Magazine"

When I first heard about the book, I thought it was a gimmick. How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It sounded like a title somebody's prankster husband dreamed up after a rocky couples' therapy session. When I mentioned it to Hugh, my own husband — who in 22 years of marriage has never once said, "Honey, we need to talk" — his face lit up like the Fourth of July. Needless to say, I was suspicious. What about the vast repertoire of communication skills women have spent decades perfecting? Were Patricia Love and Steven Stosny, the psychotherapists who coauthored the book, advising us to forget everything we've learned and rethink how we relate to our partners?

The answer is yes — and they're not kidding.

"The number one myth about relationships is that talking helps. The truth is, more often than not, it makes things worse," says Love, a tall, lean redhead with a down-home Texas twang and a generous smile. She is cofounder of the Austin Family Institute, and leads workshops around the country when she isn't making television appearances or cowriting books, including the best-selling Hot Monogamy.

"Talking about feelings, which is soothing to women, makes men physically uncomfortable," says Stosny, the Maryland-based author of You Don't Have to Take It Anymore and an expert on male aggression. "There's literally more blood flow to their muscles. They get fidgety, and women think they're not listening."

We're relaxing in the sunroom of my house in Washington, D.C., on a golden autumn morning. I learn that it was Stosny's research into the core emotional differences between the sexes that radically altered his thinking, as well as the way he works with clients. When he shared his findings with his friend and colleague Pat Love, they rang true to her, even though they flew in the face of the verbal problem-solving approach she'd been using for 30 years.

According to Stosny's analysis of several hundred human and animal studies, male and female responses to stress are distinct from birth. "When a baby girl hears a loud noise or gets anxious, she wants to make eye contact with someone, but a baby boy will react to the same sound by looking around, in a fight-or-flight response," he says. What's more, while newborn girls are much more easily frightened, boys have five times as many "startle" reactions, which are emotionally neutral but pump up adrenaline. Boys need to intermittently withdraw into themselves to keep from becoming overstimulated. These differences hold true for most social animals and correlate with our biological roles: The female's fear response is an early warning system that serves to detect threats and alert the males of the pack to danger.

As girls grow, they go beyond needing eye contact and refine a coping strategy identified by UCLA psychologists as "tend and befriend." If there's a conflict, girls and women want to talk about it. Boys and men, however, need to pull away. A man's greatest suffering, Stosny says, comes from the shame he feels when he doesn't measure up—which is why discussing relationship problems (i.e., what he's doing wrong) offers about as much comfort as sleeping on a bed of nails.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Being Home Alone

Doesn't always have to end like a slasher-movie

Today's Workouts

13.22 mile run this morning in my Saucony Tangent 3 running shoes. Summer is truly here. Hot and muggy at 7am. I haven't been this wet after a workout since I got rid of my Richard Simmons' "Sweating to the Oldies" beta-max tapes.

Monday, August 17, 2009

RIP Gibson

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - Gibson, the California dog dubbed the tallest in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, has died after a battle with bone cancer.

The 7-year-old harlequin Great Dane from Grass Valley measured 7 feet, 1 inch when standing on its hinds legs.

He was diagnosed with the disease in April and had his front right leg amputated to prevent its spread. He also underwent chemotherapy as a precaution.

Gibson's owner, Sandy Hall, learned last week the cancer had spread to his lungs and spine and that no treatment that could save him. Hall decided to euthanize Gibson on Friday.

Gibson appeared on "The Tonight Show," "The Oprah Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," and on Japanese television in 2006 after being named the world's tallest dog.

Two Views of the "Health" Care "Debate"

I nicely done commercial against the "Chosen One's" "Health" care plan.


An incredibly cheesy one in support of the Regime and its Messiah. Not surprisingly this one is paid for by the big pharmaceutical companies who will make billions more

Today's Workouts

7 very very very steamy miles on the trails through the woods wearing my Asics Trail Attack running shoes. Managed to kill 2 horseflies without sustaining a bite. Also saw 5 deer. 1 momma venison with twin baby venisones (venisoni?) and two large bucks that I've been seeing a lot lately hanging out together. They have me a bit worried. I think they are stalking me. In case I don't return from a trail run, here are their descriptions to give to the proper authorities. One of the deer's is large with brown fur, antlers, four legs and a white tail. The other is, well, pretty much the same.

Happy 2nd Birthday Eric

Ok so I'm a few days late - sue me. Eric turned 2 this past Saturday. He had dinner and presents Saturday night and then a pool party with crabs on Sunday. Here are a few pics.

Opening a few presents




Swimming with the prettiest momma of 12 you will ever see


When you are #11 you tend to get a lame birthday cake and candles


Beating the snot out of a crab is good times

Today's Workouts

A week in review - since it was my best week of running ever I thought I'd boast a bit and post the whole week.

mon - 8 miles trail run
tue - 14.54 miles on the road
wed - 8 mile trail run
thu - 30.13 road miles
fri - 15 miles on the trails
sat - 7.02 miles on the roads
sun - 7.31 road miles

90 even for the week. which is a new high by 5 miles - i think.
and yes it's even cause on Saturday night i added up what i had so far for the week and saw that i needed 7.31 to get to 90, so instead of running 4 or so like i usually do on Sunday i went 7.31