What Happened Today?

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2009-07-20T23:54:00.001-04:00

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This poem, by my daughter, is so UH!! read it.

Jules the Cat

2009-03-09T16:27:00.002-04:00

Sunday March 8, 2009

Jules, a flamepoint or red point Siamese cat, ran away from home August 23, 2008. He left unintentionally. He had been hiding in the basement, and Joseph's band had a rehearsal, and band members left the basement doors open for a half hour. Jules saw his chance and ran outside.

Jules is declawed front and back. He had never been outside. He did not know where he was. I think he was in a panic from all the guys coming in the basement and making noise. He got outside and he just ran.

He did not mean to leave home.

Nobody missed him for at least 24 hours since he frequently disappeared within the house for long periods of time, hiding.

I assumed that since he was declawed, he was dead. I didn't even look for him for a couple of weeks. Then I did start looking, and posted signs in many places, including telephone poles on my street and on the streets on either side of my street, and at local animal hospitals and the Pound.

I looked for a few weeks then I gave up.

Meanwhile,

Jules found his way to Chetwood Place, which is about 5 blocks from my house. He hung around by a house with a dryer vent, which helped him keep warm. Somebody fed him from time to time. Also he stalked squirrels and probably ate bugs.

In the beginning of October 2008 I asked the Lord Arthur for magical help in finding Jules. So he did a spell that Jules will be found.

Cynthia F. was on that street, why I don't know, but she saw him and she trapped him around Halloween, mainly because she noticed he was shivering. She also worried that the Halloween revelers would frighten him.

After she captured him, she saw an ad on Petfinder describing a lost cat. The description matched Jules 100% except that the lost cat was in Bergen County.

Cynthia persuaded herself that the Bergen County cat could have hitched a ride to Union County and gotten lost. She contacted the ad poster and persuaded him - Tony - that she had his cat. Tony came down in person to pick up the cat.

When Jules saw Tony, he peed all over Cynthia's kitchen. Jules is afraid of men.
Cynthia had some misgivings and wondered privately if Tony abused Jules.
But, she let Tony have the cat.
Jules did not act pleased to see Tony. Instead he was afraid and traumatized.

Tony got Jules home to his palatial mansion in Washington Twp. and gave Jules his very own room, with queen size bed, toys, food and water and his private kitty litter box, and four windows with ledges.

Every time Tony tried to approach Jules, Jules would attack.

Inside of a week Tony knew Jules was not his cat and he wrote Cynthia and told her so.
Tony wanted to capture Jules and give him back to Cynthia. However, Jules would not hold still and Tony was unable to return Jules.

Then around the holidays, maybe January 1, 2009, the mailman came to Tony's house to make a delivery. The door was open. Jules dashed out the door and Tony never saw him again.

I don't think Tony looked for Jules.
Tony thinks Jules is mean.

We don't know anything about Jules in January 2009 other than that he was traveling east.

During February 2009 Jules took up residence by a house on Fern Street in Washington Twp., 2 miles from Tony's house and across the Garden State Parkway. These people fed Jules twice a day and gave him a little cat hut outside their front door. They basically left him alone and he felt comfy there. They KNEW he belonged to somebody and felt sure I would show up one day to claim him, and fed him faithfully.

Meanwhile,

At Wickked Faire on Feb. 21 or 22, Lord Arthur asked me how was my cat doing? Did I ever find him? I said No, I had never found him.

Then on Wednesday Feb. 25, Cynthia F. was at the Fanwood Animal Hospital. While there, she saw my sign about Jules being missing. As she looked at the picture of Jules she realized she had made a Big Mistake. She knew the cat in the picture was the cat she had trapped and delivered to Tony, 30 miles from home. The people at the Animal Hospital told her what an idiot she was.

Cynthia called me up and told me about my cat. She gave me contact information for Tony. I wrote Tony and he did not reply. I wrote his ex-girlfriend, who was very sure the cat Cynthia gave Tony was Tony's cat Elvis. She sent me a picture of Elvis but that cat did not look like Jules.

Meanwhile Cynthia sent me some pictures she had taken of Jules before she trapped him. These pictures looked just like Jules to me.

The ex-girlfriend got Tony's sister Sharon to write me. Sharon told me that Jules had escaped from Tony's house a couple months ago. Sharon told me exactly where to go look for Jules.

I went there on March 1, with some old Jules signs, and put the signs up, and handed out flyers to residents all around Tony's house. I skipped Tony's house deliberately.

Nobody had seen Jules.

I contacted the Lord Arthur and told him Jules was alive and could he please do another spell so I could find Jules. Arthur did a life reconstruction spell, which forces good things to happen in my life, especially bringing Jules back into it.

I printed out some new Jules flyers with an updated picture, and got 100 copies of it laminated on Friday. Then I took those posters and on Friday night March 6 I put them up on telephone poles on Wierimus Road, and also put fliers in every mailbox. I found a cat sanctuary pretty far down Wierimus Road, and hoped Jules had found it too, since they have heat lamps and they feed animals nightly. One of the people there suggested I put a tattoo on Jules for ID purposes. I plan to actually do this.

Toria did a spirit connection with Jules, probably on March 1. She connected to him spiritually and related to me what he was experiencing. It was a cold night and she said he was running around very cold. Toria predicted that I would go to Bergen County two more times and find Jules.

This prediction came true.

On Friday night March 6 I went there and put up all those posters.

Then on Saturday March 7 I went back and put up more posters, 8 hours worth of tramping around the area, five-block radius to the west of Tony's house.

When I got home, around 5 PM, there were messages waiting for me on my phone. Somebody, I think the sister, of the people that feed Jules, had driven along Wierimus and seen the poster and recognized the cat, and told the people and brought them my phone number. They called me and said they were 100% sure they had found my cat.

I immediately went up there, feeling like life is incredible and miracles are happening to me, and I saw Jules. It's him all right. He would not come to me. So I left, after talking to Jules for a while.

Last night Toria dreamed Jules is here in our house.

This morning, Cynthia and I went up there and arrived by 7 AM, Jules usual morning feeding time. He was around. I got there first. I went and talked to him. He closed his eyes at me, very tranquil, like he was saying I know you, I trust you. But, he would not approach.

Then Cynthia arrived. She had her dog in the car and her dog barked very loudly. Jules freaked out and ran away. Cynthia set up the three Have a Heart traps, baited them with tunafish, and then I persuaded her to leave - she had wanted to sit and wait, but I didn't think that was such a good idea.

I left too.

The people - who are extremely nice people - told me that around 12 or 1 PM, Jules walked into one of the traps, part of the way, ate some tuna, then backed out of the trap.

They have refreshed the bait. They are not feeding him anymore. They will call me when he gets caught. They have spoken to a veterinarian friend of theirs for tips on trapping him.

They are sure, and I am pretty confident, that he will get trapped soon. Wherever I am when I get the call, I will drop what I am doing and go get him.

During the day today, Tony wrote me a bunch of times. We had a regular correspondence. He sent me four pictures of his cat Elvis. His cat looks exactly like Jules. Exactly.

However, I was able to determine one difference between the two cats. Jules has a knob on the end of his tail. Elvis does not.

If it turns out the cat is Elvis - which I am sure it is not Elvis - I will deliver the cat to Tony.

Today I bought a cat harness and leash. My plan is to take Jules out from time to time, on the leash, and teach him where he lives. That way, if he runs away again, he will be able to find home.

Also, I plan to hold him every day, and asked Toria to do same. Jules is difficult because he has not been held enough.

Also, I will get him tattooed. I think my home phone number should be tattooed on him, either on his ear or on his inner thigh.

And of course once I get hold of him he is going to the vet to get a thorough checkup.

The suspense is killing me.....

I have really enjoyed the incredible delight of seeing magic at work in my world. Watching spells work out, prayers come to fruition, the reward of persistence - it has been wonderful.

Monday March 9, 2009

Denouement

Today I was up on time and all dressed and ready to go to work, ON TIME, so I figured that meant all hell will break loose today (god forbid I should ever get there on time!!)

Sure enough, at 8 AM, the phone rang. It was the people in Bergen County - Jules had finally walked into the trap. They had put sardines in it rather than tuna, and they also put newspaper on the "floor" of the trap because kitties don't like the feel of metal.

That did the trick.

I took the day off from work, and went up to fetch him as fast as I could. Naturally today was a rainy day, so that made travel slow, plus I had to navigate rush hour morning traffic, which is always killer on the Parkway northbound. While I was on the way there, I called the animal hospital and made an appointment for Jules.

Picked him up from the people in Bergen County, tried to give them reward$$ but they would not let me give them money (hah! just wait til Christmas!!) They gave me the rest of the Meow Mix they had been feeding Jules with - they didn't need it, and since I feed feral cats twice a day, I can use it. I would not give Meow Mix to Jules or Mr. Snuggles (my other cat).

Took Jules home, brought him into the bathroom and shut the door, and let him out of the trap. He acclimated to me very fast and within a few minutes was sitting in my lap snoozing.

I felt on his tail - he has the knob or lump at the very end of it. Also he has a black dot on the tip end of his nose, very small black dot. Tony's ex-girlfriend had pointed out the dot to me as a distinguishing mark, I had never thought of it as such before but I do now. Elvis - Tony's cat - does not have a black dot on the tip end of his nose.

I put a collar and leash on him and we went around the house for a bit. My plan is to get him used to being collared and leashed, and I will take him for walks.

Took him to the vet to get him checked over. They found Nothing Wrong with him. He has gained 2 pounds. He has a worn off patch of fur on his throat; they checked for ringworm but the light did not turn green. However, on suspicion of ringworm, they gave me lotion to treat him with twice a day and I have to isolate him for 3 weeks til the culture they took of a few hairs from his throat is completed. If he has ringworm, he can infect Mr. Snuggles, and me, and Joe and Toe, and the whole house. So he stays isolated.

They also gave him rabies shot, distemper, feline leukemia shots, and they took blood and will check him for FIV and whatever else they check for. They gave him a flea pill, and they put flea stuff on the back of his neck - he has flea dirt on him but i have not seen any fleas.

They advised me to wash my hands frequently.

I have to bring in a stool sample asap so they can check for worms and parasites.

So then we went to Petco, he stayed in the car - I bought him a little cat bed, and a bowl, and a harness and a collar (got a leash yesterday). He is wearing the old red collar that I had laying around. He got used to it pretty fast. The leash kind of freaked him a little but not too bad.

I put the spare litter box in the upstairs bathroom, and the cat bed, and water bowl and food bowl, and opened the stepstool up, and put him in the upstairs bathroom. I sat with him for a while and he was very snuggly lap cat.

Speaking of snuggling, Mr. Snuggles, my other cat, is highly pissed off about Jules. He hissed at me probably because my hand smelled of Jules whom I had been patting. He put his catnip toy (Joseph's sock stuffed with catnip) in his food dish. I figured that was a form of protest. I threw out his toy. Joseph is going to need more socks -

Now I just have to wait, and keep patting the cat.

Election Day 2008

2008-11-04T08:08:00.002-05:00

At my house, we made sure to arrive at the Plainfield polling place by 6 AM. There were already 200 people in line ahead of us. I have NEVER seen so much interest in an election and I have been voting here for 23 years!!! Everyone was very friendly, the crowd was quietly excited to show up en masse. Most people voted for Obama.

I wish we would see crowds of voters like this at every election. Usually there are a couple of other voters on hand when I go to vote at any election. This was amazing.

Ron Paul is the Peoples Choice for President 2008

2007-05-16T08:42:00.000-04:00

Ron Paul won last night's Republican "debate". Two separate unrelated polls show him as the winner as of 8:30 AM today:

At vote.com,

and at msnbc.com:

It will be very interesting to see if the Powers That Be allow Ron to take his rightful place on the ballot, or if they make other arrangements.

How Nancy Pelosi Saved the World

2007-04-07T10:13:00.000-04:00

I've been watching the news the last few weeks. I noticed the piece about the Russian general who said that the Bushwhack was going to drop nukes on Iran on Good Friday about 4 AM. This had me so freaked out that I had difficulty going to work and acting like nothing is going to happen.

Then there was the Iranian hostages thing, where the Iranians captured the British sailors and held them for a couple weeks, treating them well (not at all the way that Americans treat Iraqi captives), and then releasing them a couple days prior to Good Friday.

Interesting timing!

But THEN, during this Good Friday week, Nancy Pelosi got up and went off to the Middle East. She was trying to open up diplomatic channels between Syria and Israel. On Thursday or Friday I was at lunch at work watching CNN in the cafeteria and the news report sounded like peace was threatening to break out in the Middle East, due to her efforts.

Meanwhile back home, Cheney and Bushwhack criticized Pelosi savagely in the press, calling her Foolish, and her efforts Illegal.

Here I am the day after Good Friday.

No attack happened.

It just occurred to me that the real reason she went to the Middle East, was that there is no way Bushwhack was going to start a Nuclear War on Iran while the Speaker of the House was over there.

She made herself a human shield.

She didn't mention this to anyone.

But that's the effect.

I AM SO IMPRESSED!

I had thought she was just another Israel ass-kissing whore politician, but what she actually did was stop the next war!!!!

WAY TO GO, PELOSI!

Which Way I will Vote in November 2006

2006-10-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

I happen to be a registered Republican.

I also happen to be an elected Republican official - a member of the Republican City Committee in my town. One write-in vote got me elected.

In November I am voting Democratic.

I do not like the Democratic candidates. Menendez in particular disgusts me.

However, I cannot, in good conscience, support the party of the Bush administration. I just cannot do it.

I do not like the Democrats - but I completely abhor the Republicans. It seems absolutely necessary to make sure the Republicans do not win.

I cannot help Bush destroy the world.

So I am voting Democratic in November.

Why Republicans are Losers in Union County

2006-06-26T14:47:00.000-04:00

I went to the Republican County Committee meeting on Tuesday June 13. It was too hot to wear my rifle club jacket, so I wore my Camp Crucible t-shirt instead. It has a skull and crossbones on it. Nobody seemed to have noticed though.

I observed political hardball at the meeting. They were electing the Chairman of the County Committee and opened the floor for nominations. The incumbent got nominated and they promptly started to close nominations, but somebody else spoke up and nominated a guy from Elizabeth. So then they took a vote. But before the vote, they did NOT allow the nominees to address the crowd. Consequently, I had no idea what either of them stood for. I asked one of the guys from my city about the nominees and he told me the incumbent was a good guy, had attended Plainfield meetings a bunch of times and took an active interest, so, I voted for him. Wondered how come no speeches at all.

After the votes were tallied up, they announced that the incumbent won, 150-56 or something like that.

THEN the second nominee stood up and started talking. He was out of order, so the Chair was telling him to stop talking. He ignored that and kept talking. He was mad that he had not been allowed to speak prior to the vote. Some people asked him how come he didn't move to speak Prior to the vote? He ignored that too. He made his points; then all 50± of his group got up and dramatically walked out of the meeting.

So then things settled down and the meeting continued.

After the meeting, I talked to George Gore, also a Plainfield guy, and he explained to me what happened. He said the second nominee had an agenda; that the Chair of the meeting knew that; that the Chair had deliberately not allowed the second nominee to speak, because he did not want us to Think about what the guy would say.
So I asked George what was it the guy was going to say??

He explained:

in Union County, registered voters are 57% urban and 43% suburban.

What is the urban agenda? - we have none.

The second nominee was from Elizabeth; that's urban.

He wanted to challenge the sitting Chair with considering an urban agenda.

For whatever reason, the Chair did not want to do that and did not want us thinking about it.

Now this is me thinking:

This all strikes me as pretty dumb - Republicans are the losers in Union County; if they want to win, they ought to have an urban agenda of Some kind!

Thus, they are following a recipe for losing.

So... since they knew what the second nominee wanted to discuss, and suppressed any attempt at discussing it, is it possible that they deliberately want to lose?

Seems like a crazy idea.

Could the Republican County chair have been paid off by the Democrats in charge of elected offices in the County?

But the Chair talked about all the corruption and waste being done by the incumbent Democrats and how he wants to put a stop to it.

Makes ya wonder.

Blogthings

2006-01-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

My daughter showed me a new website, Blogthings. What a lot of fun. Below are some of the results I got from fooling around at this extremely sticky website.

Your Hidden Talent

You are a great communicator. You have a real way with words.

You're never at a loss to explain what you mean or how you feel.

People find it easy to empathize with you, no matter what your situation.

When you're up, you make everyone happy. But when you're down, everyone suffers.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker

Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm"

You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone...

Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-)

You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear.

Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing.

The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person.

Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life.

You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face.

Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life*

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Your Seduction Style: The Coquette

You are a pro at playing the age old game of hard to get.

Your flirting style runs hot and cold, giving just enough to keep them chasing you.

Independent and self-sufficient, you don't need any one person to make you compelte.

And that independence is exactly what makes people pursue you.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Your Heart Is Red

You're a passionate lover - you always have a huge fire in your heart.

Too bad it's hard for you to be passionate about just one person!

Your flirting style: Outgoing and sexy

Your lucky first date: Drinks and dancing

Your dream lover: Is both stable and intense

What you bring to relationships: Honesty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

You are a Self-Discoverer

You're not religious, but you've created your own kind of spirituality.

Introspective and thoughtful, you tend to look inward for the divine.

You are distrusting of all forms of organized religion.

You especially dislike religious gurus and leaders, who you feel are charlatans.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

Your Personality Is

Guardian (SJ)

You are sensible, down to earth, and goal oriented.

Bottom line, you are good at playing by the rules.

You tend to be dominant - and you are a natural leader.

You are interested in rules and order. Morals are important to you.

A hard worker, you give your all at whatever you do.

You're very serious, and people often tell you to lighten up.

In love, you tend to take things carefully and slowly.

At work, you are suited to almost any career - but you excel in leadership positions.

With others, you tend to be polite and formal.

As far as looks go, you are traditionally attractive. You take good care of yourself.

On weekends, you tend to like to do organized activities. In fact, you often organize them!

The Three Question Personality Test

Your Ideal Relationship is Polyamory

You want to have your cake... and everyone else's.

Which isn't a bad thing, if everyone else gets to eat too!

You're too much of a free spirit to be tied down by a traditional relationship.

You think relationships should be open and free, with few restrictions.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant.

Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle.

You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs.

For you, comfort and calm are very important.

You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection.

You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things.

Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life.

You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation.

You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon.

Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall.

You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others.

At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults.

Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion.

A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are confident and ready to tackle life.

You are pretty vain and happy with your physical appearance.

You are born to be the center of attention, and you're unhappy on the sidelines.

You're always up for trying something new - in and out of bed!

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

Lots of these comments ring true for me though some don't...

Sears Practices False Advertising

2005-08-26T15:55:00.000-04:00

Sears.com is advertising an air pump, Sears item #02875114000 Mfr. model #75114, regular price $29.99 but it is on sale til August 27 at $19.99. This air pump has been advertised on the Sears site this way for at least two weeks now. When I get to the particular item page and attempt to buy it, I get this message: The item is out of stock.

This item has been out of stock, while being advertised as part of a special sale, for two weeks that I know of.

I called up Sears and spoke to supervisor Sidney and asked about this false advertising. She said there is nothing she can do, and she does not have an opinion about it either.

I told her Sears ought to take this item down off their website since it constitutes false advertising.

She basically gave me the I am just a Robot answer again.

Can you tell I am Not Happy about this?

I'm Not Hot

2005-08-24T15:11:00.000-04:00

I just got a portable Geiger counter from GammaScout and have checked my house and car. We are good. No radioactivity.

My plan is to check everyplace that I go to see if it is radioactive, and to post here in this blog addresses of any places I find that are Hot.

Reinventing Myself

2005-08-03T13:48:00.000-04:00

I am So Bored today. It's another day at work with nothing to do. I told my boss yesterday that I need work to do. So far, nothing.

So I'm thinking about my personal life. In my personal life, I am in the process of reinventing myself from being a sub, to being a Dominant Woman. Plenty of people believe in the New Me. Actually a number of those people persuaded me over the years that I am really a Domme and not a sub. So now that I'm trying it out, I am having quite a blast.

I have an endless supply of submissive men applying to be my Slave (look up LaDominaRoque on http://www.collarme.com). I eliminate quite a few of them off the bat because they are unable to follow instructions, thus showing no aptitude for obedience. This aptitude is absolutely critical.

I have also tried out topping people and discovered (a) I'm good at it (b) it's fun (c) people watching think I'm good at it (d) people I've topped keep coming back for more.

I want a power exchange type of slave, where I dominate and he submits. Haven't found one yet, but there are some good candidates. These words are so inadequate. Here is what I mean: I will tell slave what to eat, what not to eat, how often to work out; to shave his head; what to wear; how to behave; what to say; what not to say; and the slave will obey. That's what I want. Total control.

I am leaving a lot unsaid, which is good. Some things should live inside my mind.

I am very pleased to be bringing Charlie along on this. All is being done out in the open, nothing is hidden. This is the only way it will work.

Plainfield PMUA Sucks

2005-02-19T10:48:00.000-05:00

Plainfield NJ used to have garbage collection done by private companies that had to compete with each other. Garbage collection cost about $30 a month.

A few years ago Plainfield kicked out all the garbage collection companies and instituted the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA). All Plainfield residents are forced, by law, to use the PMUA for their garbage collection. Now instead of paying $30 a month, we pay $240 every 3 months.

This wouldn't be so incredibly bad if they provided good service.

Over the Christmas holidays, they didn't bother to pick up garbage on the Friday before Christmas, and on the Friday before New Years. So garbage pickup happened once a week for two weeks rather than twice a week.

This type of scheduling shows no regard for public health issues.

Yesterday was garbage pickup day. My garbage can was at the curb on time. They came. They took one bag of garbage out of my can. They left the other bag of garbage in the can.

For this kind of service I am paying more than double what a competitive private company used to charge me.

I am SO impressed!!!

Blast in Lebanon

2005-02-15T23:29:00.000-05:00

There was an assassination by car bombing in Beirut today.

People tried to blame Syria.

But it was obvious from the first moment I heard about it that those to blame are either Israel or the US.

What I don't understand is why doesn't everyone see that.

Lebanon can't possibly fall for this and blame Syria now can they? Please tell me they aren't that stupid. Or corrupt.

Tart Warmers

2005-02-11T22:57:00.000-05:00

We went out shopping for a present for Chloe since her birthday is coming up and we are going to a party for her tomorrow night.

We arrived at a candle shop. I wanted a sculptured fantasy figure candle. But didn't find one.
However, I did discover Tart Warmers. These are charming smelly things that you put on a special candle burning thing with a tea light underneath. The tea light melts the tart which gives off a pleasant scent.

Having bought some for her, I wanted some for me so bought me some too.

Got it home, fired it up. All seemed well. I lit up two of them in two different tart warmer things.

After a while though one of them appeared to be giving off smoke.

That didn't seem quite right.

I touched the side of the tart warmer. Hmm, hot!!

So then I tried to blow it out. It wouldn't blow.

I went and got a butter knife and tapped it out.

The other tart warmer seems happy. It's bigger and the biggerness makes it work safer and better.

I need to get another bigger tart warmer so I can burn two at a time....

Every time I light up a candle I imagine my house burning down.

Taxes

2005-02-10T08:09:00.000-05:00

While I'm on the topic of Taxes... I don't understand why people are willing to e-file their taxes. When you file electronically, you lose all control over what is being sent out to the federal government about you. You don't know what Taxcut or whatever is sending out. You are taking it on faith that they are sending what they say they are sending.

Give me a paper printout any day. Now I can actually see and hold and touch and proofread what is being revealed to the fed gov about me. I have control.

And another thing. Why would people be willing to give the IRS their bank account information? They have to for Direct Deposit. I am not willing to expose my naked bleeding heart to the cold uncaring eye of the IRS. They can just mail me a check.

Kiplinger Taxcut Bugs

2005-02-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

I have used Kiplinger Taxcut software to do my taxes for oh, maybe ten years now? And never had a problem.

I am used to getting about a $2,000 tax refund.

This year I filled out all the forms for 2004 and noticed that my refund was around $189. Hmm, that's not good.

Then when I got to the tuition deduction, the software only asked about my schooling. It didn't ask about my two kids. That was funny!

When I was all done, and clicked on the Final Error Check button, the errors found told me that my kids were not my kids, and furthermore they were not American citizens!

I had imported the information from last year's Taxcut into this year's version. In all previous years this worked smoothly and my kids were always recognized as my kids. Not this time!

Even after I updated the software to the February 2005 release, Taxcut didn't think my kids were my kids.

I had to go into the Dependent Worksheet and tell the software that not only were they my kids, one is my son and the other is my daughter. I had to do this several times before I was able to persuade Taxcut that they really are my babies.

I also had to tell Taxcut multiple times that they are American citizens. Taxcut didn't want to believe me but after I selected American Citizen about five times it stopped warning me that they aren't.

So then my refund was around $2700 where it should be.

But this experience left me feeling uncertain about Taxcut. If they could fuck up something as basic as my children and their dependent relationship to me, their mother, what else did Taxcut fuck up? Are they carrying my W-2 values through to all forms correctly? Are they dropping something else that I input?

I'm thinking about switching to some other tax software next year.

Hawks

2005-02-09T20:37:00.000-05:00

Hawks are beautiful creatures. I saw a Cooper Hawk up close today. It was on Charlie's pigeon coop's landing board, eyeing all those fat pigeons he keeps.

Charlie said he wants to kill the Cooper Hawk.

I didn't like that idea and I went home soon after he said that.

He called me up later and we chatted and he said You seemed upset when you left. What's wrong?

So I told him I didn't like him wanting to kill the hawk.

We discussed what he can do about it threatening his pigeons in a nonlethal way.
He can trap it, and take it 100 miles away and let it go.
He can put up a mirror which might scare it off.
He can make a robot owl that moves every now and then - like a scarecrow.
He can get an Eagle Owl and move it in and hopefully the Eagle Owl will make the Cooper Hawk go away. I sent him a link where he can buy one.

I'm glad I told him what was bothering me. Now he knows not to kill the hawk or he will upset me. My opinion matters to him.

Laura Antoniou

2005-02-09T08:08:00.000-05:00

I'm planning to attend TES tonight and Laura Antoniou will be the featured speaker. In preparation for going to see her, and hoping to persuade myself to actually take the train to NYC - a long haul and it may rain or snow tonight, so I needed convincing - I visited her blog at http://lantoniou.blogspot.com/.

I discovered that Laura Antoniou enjoys using the computer but doesn't really know what she's doing on a PC. How do I know this? Well, she posted her Feb. 7, 2005 entry twice. OK I thought, maybe that was just a mistake. But scrolling down her page, I saw that her very next entry was also botched. That one goes "Somehow I Knew This". She wanted to have an image but instead she has a broken gif which exposes the naked img code.

So I saw that she doesn't know what she's doing.

However, she seems like an interesting person, and I went to the website for which she botched the image tag, and I had fun there. I found out that I am an amazon.com website personality. People go to me for things. Yeah.

Beginning

2005-02-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

I need to do something to stop playing that First Class Solitaire game at www.pogo.com, so I decided to start a Blog. This is actually my second blog. My first one dates back to 2000. I had one of the very first blogs. That makes me an early adopter i guess.

So... what happened today? Well, for starters, on my way to work I took the ramp from Route 287 South to the Parkway South and the first thing that happened was I hit a horrendous pothole. I thought for sure my tire or wheel broke. So I have been driving scared all day since then. I reported the pothole to the Parkway tolltaker at the Driscoll Bridge. I wonder how long it will take them to fix that hole. I am pleased to note that my car appears to still be working OK. It is a 2003 Chrysler Sebring with whatever tires came with it, standard. Good stuff.