About Time For The Year's Best And Worst

We'll be hearing about the biggest story of the year, the biggest movie, CD, etc., very soon.

I saw on TV today that Taylor Swift's "Fearless" CD is the biggest seller of the year. I haven't got it. I've seen her on TV and she seems very pleasant. I wouldn't mind having it, but, really, I have to cut back somewhere.

A couple days ago I saw what the biggest one-hit wonder song of the decade is. It's "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. Somehow he didn't come up with a follow-up. And I heard that CD a few times and thought it was pretty good. He would have the talent to write a couple more hits, I'd guess. But that was a big one, "Bad Day." A good one too.

(It's more hits than I've ever had, so he can be proud of it.)

What was the biggest news story of the year? I can't think of what it might be. Obama's inauguration? Balloon boy?

Sarah Palin Might Debate Al Gore

That'd be good. She's such a halfwit.

Of course she's begging off the suggestion that they debate. So she apparently does have at least one lick of sense somewhere in that thick skull of hers.

It's easier just making potshots from the sidelines. That way you don't have to answer for your ignorance. We all know that.

I'm Still Snowed In

Our snow removal guy hasn't come. This after a full day and night of snow yesterday. So there's massive drifts where we drive our car to get out.

I called and got the wife (or secretary) and she said they were out working. So what can you say? Nothing. OK.

I hope he's here tomorrow. It's stupid to be snowed in when all the neighbors are already dug out.

Another Stain To Go With My Old Book

The other day I wrote about an old book I have, "The Soul of Lilith," which is over 100 years old. The copy I have has a name and 1906 written inside the front cover. The book also has some very old stains, maybe coffee stains at the page edges.

Well, unfortunately, today it got a brand new stain. One of my cats puked on it. What are the odds out of all the books I own? I've worried about the cats doing something like this, and I even worried about this book in particular, something happening to it thanks to the cats. And today it happened.

I was in a different room and heard a cat retching. It seems like they do a lot of it. I went running because sometimes I can catch them in time and get a paper under them. But this time no such luck. I got there and it was already done.

I noticed that first, and second I noticed a spot on the book at the top front cover, spilling over on to the top page edges. Right where a major part of the century old coffee stain also is. I immediately wiped it off with something but it's still stained. Although not as bad as if I would've come home an hour later and discovered it.

It was also on a few other books but not as bad. Bad enough! So I wiped everything up.

I said the stains gave the book character. Now, unfortunately, it has a little more.

Walking My Dog In The Snow

It's hard to believe we used to have dogs who lived outdoors. In the winter and everything. Except we brought them in if it was bitterly cold, and they stayed in the basement. That was over 40 years ago.

Now we have an inside dog, and I have to take her out, and she gets cold when it's around 20 degrees. She starts moving her feet like they're uncomfortable, and I suppose they are. Well, do your business and we can get in faster.

The last few years I've been carrying her quite a bit of the time. Then we find a spot and I set her down. Still, she doesn't exactly hurry to get it out. She still takes her time sometimes, meaning she's going to get cold.

But I love my dog. I want to keep her as comfortable as possible. So I usually carry her home afterward.

I've tried dog booties. They don't work with my dog. One pair we had was too little. One pair was too stiff. We tried baby socks with Velcro fasteners, but it takes too long to get them on, then they tend to fall off in the snow and it's a mess.

I need to take her out for a quickie before getting ready for bed. I'd love to be in bed in a half hour.

Rearranging My Room

Since I got a new computer a couple days ago, that meant everything had to shift. In the room.

My old computer, I'm still going to need for various things. But it needed to go somewhere besides on this one desk, because this particular desk is more the right height for the new computer. Since it's a laptop, the keyboard is clear up here somewhere, with this big section at the bottom. To type on it with any quickness I need to hit it at a particular angle, and even then it's kind of annoying.

But already I've doubled my typing speed just by changing the height of the keyboard.

To get to this position means shifting, as I said. But shifting of computers that have been in place for years is not an easy task. Plus there was lots of other junk stacked up all over the desk, including old candy papers, and even some candy! There was one piece of melted candy stuck to my desk, and about an inch of dust all over everything. What a mess. Lots of scraps of paper, crap from ages ago.

Then there's the whole matter of cords, tangled up, hooked up around other things, like spaghetti. To do this is an enormous commitment. But it won't do it by itself. So I got it going, scooping off everything into a big basket. I found a couple CDs I hadn't seen for a couple years. I wondered where they went!

The very last thing, the desk is a little uneven, apparently, because I had to put a quarter under one corner of the computer to keep it stable. I'll have to come up with a more permanent thing there. A piece of cardboard taped down probably. Or part of a CD case. I don't know.

Facebook And The Looming Death Of Friends

It's been a long time since I was in high school. Most of the time since then, of course, we didn't have the computers, the internet -- and certainly we didn't have the current social media sites. The one I'm thinking of is Facebook.

So, being there, we've been touching base again with old high school friends, and some who weren't exactly friends, but the times are different decades later. There they are, a bunch of old folks. I check the yearbook once in a while to see who I'm dealing with, because, to a certain extent, they look like that still in my mind.

There's been a bunch of classmates die. Not ones I've known on Facebook though. But at the class reunion, the last one, we had a moment of silence for a whole list of people.

Now I know someone on Facebook from my class who could very well die. She's got enough wrong with her, serious cancer issues. The thing here, though, is that I'm not friends with her personally on Facebook, but I know a couple of people who are friends, who say what's going on.

It's weird on lots of levels. Maybe the weirdest is that I know anything about it at all. Let's say technology had been different. No Facebook. And she dies. She would've been just like the others on the list at the reunion. I didn't know any of them were sick and dying till I got to the reunion. And I wouldn't have known about this woman.

So we're all getting in touch with each other just in time to watch each other die.

Serious Question About Congress

Can President Obama do or suggest anything and have the Democratic Congress automatically on board?

It doesn't seem like is to me. Where did they get all this fight, after years of rolling over for George Bush?

A Fan Of Verizon

I saw at Facebook someone is a "fan" of Verizon.

LOL. Why?

I Won't Be Sneaking In

The couple who sneaked into the White House dinner and got away with it probably wishes they hadn't. Their lives have been turned upside down. On the other hand, I've read enough articles that suggest if there's a buck to be made off it, they'll make it.

I'd hate to be famous. That's true. But I'd hate to be infamous even more. And this is what they're known for now -- for now and all eternity. When they die, that's the first thing that will be mentioned about them. The picture of the woman in her red dress. Yuck. I'd rather be unknown for nothing and just die.

I've always thought I'd have a good knack for sneaking in places. But it's hard. Because they have state of the art (and good state of the art) surveillance equipment these days. Everything you do is on tape or digitally recorded. Even the Mission Impossible guys would have a tough time with things these days.

But believe me, when it comes to any kind of presidential function, I won't be sneaking in. Not after what these idiotic people are getting thrown at them. Plus, you'd have to think it'd be bad. It's not like sneaking into the state fair, which is probably also bad if you get caught. This is something very very major.