Presidential Address
*Still* playing around and making discoveries.
Describe how you’d spend $1,000
Why would I spend it? When I was a kid and someone like my aunt gave me $20 on an occasion, she’s ask, “What are you going to do with the money?”. I was confused by the question, even then. What “do”? I’d likely put the money in the bank to keep/have or use as needed for living. When financial security is a goal, that goal means having money. To me, it seems that some people are allergic to money and think money is to spend ASAP. My goal is to use/spend 50% or less of what comes in.
$1,000 is not a lot of money. It’s less than purchasing health insurance for this household for one month, which we don’t do and would be crazy to do. It is about the cost of rent, utilities, internet, cable and phones for a month.
If our needs were covered and we wanted some gadget, we’d consider about $300 of it spendable.
If I could tame a wild animal
I signed up at Plinky and have been using the prompts, though I am not necessarily very good at simply answering the question. I’m not going to pick a wild animal to keep as a pet today, but will make it a MaggieMae update. She has her wild moments, but at 13 years, she does show some signs of aging. She can’t jump very high, needs help to get in the car, and apparently her bladder has become weaker. She was developing the bad habit of peeing on the carpet during the night, and I was about ready to buy dog diapers. I have a nice carpet cleaner, but got tired of using it 3 times a week, so I did some research and found dog diapers and medications. The diapers would be another expense, but I would do that if I really had to. The medications, I found, can be deadly. And my friend who belongs to dog-lover groups said that there are actually people who “put down” their dogs when this happens. Not something I could imagine doing. This dog is a family member, and like a child.
I decided a couple of weeks ago to experiment with limiting her water intake, since she likes to drink it at night. At the same time, I wanted her to drink enough before the cut-off point, so I give her her FreshPet Select treat between 4:30 and 5:30 pm, which makes her thirsty. I pull the water at 6 pm. Last call for going outside is 10 pm. Then there was the problem that she was becoming accustomed to getting out of her bed in the bedroom at 2 am or so, going into the living room and peeing. I could hear her get out of bed, so I’d yell at her to get back into the bedroom lest she be put in the “den” - which is her airline carrier. She listened, obeyed and we’ve killed the habit. This combination has worked! Hooray! Sleeping in the den was an option as well, but I would rather not restrict her unnecessarily. So all’s well once again, and if the carpet is wet it is because I just shampooed it.
Adulthood reared its ugly head?
I think it was when I was no longer carded for buying alcohol, and that didn’t happen until I was over 30. It was frankly disappointing.
Be Prepared!
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”
— Henry Ford, American industrialist (1863-1947)
Joys of Software
The internet is so much more a pleasure without ads all over the pages, pop-up windows, and all the other marketing items. I’ve been free of them for years, but realize that many people accept the garbage as a part of the territory. It doesn’t have to be, if you use Opera, Firefox or SlimBrowser. If you take the time initially, you can control your experience. You can enhance your privacy by controlling your browser’s cookie handling, as well. In Opera, I do this by setting the cookies I want, and selecting to delete all new cookies after that fact. Firefox and SlimBrowser can prompt you for permission on each cookie that is trying to invade you. This prevents the cookies from ever intruding, once it is set.
Frugality Now in Fashion
Gas prices were the catalyst. There is always a consequence when there is exploitation, and it isn’t safe to assume that people will change their ways back to supporting the economy after they’ve been forced to cut back.
About Twitter
You probably know that I’m syllana at Twitter. But my earthy Virgo hubby is misterdondon there.
Xianity
It’s funny how much the idolatrous religion of Christianity has influenced the masses, even if they don’t identify as Christians. The Bible is not God, Jesus is an idol, and NOT GOD, yet those who would like to oppose religion and God use that religion as their target. Atheism is perhaps an invention of Christianity. As is Satanism.
VCRs Rule
Oh yeah, also, my VCR broke last week, which really sucks. I have to tape Days of Our Lives, because it is a total burden to have to watch TV when it is on. I looked at the cable company’s prices for DVR, and it is ridiculous, just like their other prices. So I paid $30 to fix my VCR. I’d have bought a new one, but nowadays VCRs do not come with tuners, which are necessary to tape shows. That sucks. But hopefully my *fixed* VCR will work tomorrow and for the next millenium. I had the same place fix my TV in around 1994, and it still works.
Rumor has it…
that the world will end in 2012. This is related to the Mayan calendar. And it is okay by me. I love life and don’t expect it to end, but this current system is the road to *apparent* destruction.
Saw this on the ‘net, and it looks like a version of my dream home - at least part of it.
