Life with the Clarks

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June 28th, 2010
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Mom
Date: Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 4:09 PM
Subject: Fwd: Newspaper Advertisements
 
You just can't make this stuff up

 …………..and it is so hard to choose a favorite …..


And one for all of us to remember.

\

 

Posted via email from stafinois’s posterous

This weekend we will be taking a roadtrip with Syd to a family reunion. It’s roughly 5 hours by car each way. We do not have a DVD player for the car and don’t plan on getting one.

I don’t want to pack all of her toys, but I want her to be occupied. When you travel with toddlers, what are your essentials? What do you leave at home?

I need to start making a list. Input, please :)

I see all sorts of political things get passed around thanks to the wonders of social media. Some of them make you stop and think, some of them make you scratch your head, and some of them just rile you up for whatever reason.

There is a new one that I’ve seen being passed around lately with captions such as “Proof,” “I Knew it!” and “Scary!” It has me wanting to bang my head against the wall. Here you go…

Scary book! Everybody HIDE!!!

I mean, look at that title! It is clearly anti-American! I’ll bet that it’s all about how this fine nation will fall in a Jihad of Glory. You can tell by the author’s name. It’s totally a terrorist name. Obama reading this book can only mean one thing, he really IS an American Hating Muslim!

I wonder how many people that have passed this along have actually looked into what this book is about. Let’s take a look at one of the reviews listed here on the Amazon.com page for the book

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. When a book proclaims that it is not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else, readers might expect another diatribe about our dismal post-9/11 world. They are in for a pleasant surprise as Newsweek editor and popular pundit Zakaria (The Future of Freedom) delivers a stimulating, largely optimistic forecast of where the 21st century is heading. We are living in a peaceful era, he maintains; world violence peaked around 1990 and has plummeted to a record low. Burgeoning prosperity has spread to the developing world, raising standards of living in Brazil, India, China and Indonesia. Twenty years ago China discarded Soviet economics but not its politics, leading to a wildly effective, top-down, scorched-earth boom. Its political antithesis, India, also prospers while remaining a chaotic, inefficient democracy, as Indian elected officials are (generally) loathe to use the brutally efficient tactics that are the staple of Chinese governance. Paradoxically, India’s greatest asset is its relative stability in the region; its officials take an unruly population for granted, while dissent produces paranoia in Chinese leaders. Zakaria predicts that despite its record of recent blunders at home and abroad, America will stay strong, buoyed by a stellar educational system and the influx of young immigrants, who give the U.S. a more youthful demographic than Europe and much of Asia whose workers support an increasing population of unproductive elderly. A lucid, thought-provoking appraisal of world affairs, this book will engage readers on both sides of the political spectrum.

Scary stuff, huh? Oh, wait? It’s not a book about the fall of the United States? It’s actually positive and pro-America? This Fareed Zakaria guy is actually a well known Indian-American journalist, the editor of Newsweek International, a Newsweek and Washington Post columnist, weekly host for CNN, and a New York Times bestselling author, not somebody looking to kill Americans? Oh…

Perhaps this one in particular just rubbed me the wrong way as it was about a book. This book is being portrayed as something dark and sinister, and it is totally not true. There is nothing wrong with reading this book (or any book). Would there be these kind of posts going around if he were reading the latest by James Carville?

I can respect those with views dissimilar to mine, I really can. Don’t agree with his politics? That’s cool! The country needs both Yin and Yang to succeed. Some of my best friends and beloved family members are way on the other side of the political spectrum as me, and I love them anyway. I love getting into intelligent and jesting political debates. But really, if you are going to pass around shocking photos of reading material choices of your chosen hated politician, you might want to verify that it really is something shocking.

At the library, we use a flat panel TV to advertise various library programs. I make “posters” in Microsoft publisher, and then save them to a flash drive as a JPG. I plug the flash drive into the TV, and it displays the advertisements as a photo slideshow. Pretty awesome!

I just ran into a strange problem. I made a slide to advertise an upcoming Wii party featuring The Beatles Rock Band game. I used the photo from the album cover With The Beatles and found a Beatles type font. I kept it in b&w, and it came out pretty cool. Here it is…

The odd thing is that this slide will not display on the TV. I am baffled. I’ve tried saving it as various file types, and even then opening with another program and attempting to save. Nada. I only get errors. I finally tried saving a screen cap of it, and that will display. But, then it isn’t quite big enough to fill the screen due to low resolution. It comes out like this…

… instead of filling the screen like this…

I wonder if it is sensing something from the photo or font and not displaying it due to copyright issues? I am baffled. Any ideas on how to get it to display full size, or why the screen cap would work and not the original? The original is 2484 x 1397.

Thanks for any input!

He will be 14 in December and is doing well! My mom had him over for a
visit today and took these pics for me. I miss the old guy :’(

Posted via email from stafinois’s posterous

A friend called me this morning. She and her husband live in the country, and were coming home late last night. They saw a truck near their place, and were surprised to see what they thought was a fawn running alongside it. They soon realized that it was a tall, thin dog. They wondered if it was somebody running their dog. We see people do that around here and it scares the crap out of me. The truck stopped and they thought that they were going to let the dog back in, when they tossed another dog out of the car and ran it over. The truck then sped away. It happened so fast that they didn’t get the license plate number, but they did get a description of the truck. But, I doubt that will lead to anything.

They called the county sheriff’s department, and they sent out a deputy. The deputy told them that there was nothing that they could do with either of the dogs, and was just going to shoot them. The injured dog probably had a broken back and needed to be euthanized, but there was nothing wrong with the first dog. My friends took the dog home with them, but they had to drag him away crying from his friend.

He spent the night with them, and actually climbed into bed with their 14-year-old daughter. He didn’t like their younger son touching his feet, but was otherwise very good with him. They have three ACDs and a Beagle, plus cats and ducks, and really couldn’t keep another dog, so they called asking what to do with him. Our only shelters in the area are pretty limited intake, but I told her to call them just in case, and be sure to tell the story. It’s not like she was somebody just looking to dump a dog. One of the shelters was willing to take him. It’s one that is very low-kill that works with the dogs, and places them unless they are quite dangerous. He’s cute, and I am sure that he will get adopted.

So if you are in the NW Iowa area and are thinking of adopting a cute dog, here’s the cutie that should soon be hitting the adoption floor at the Humane Society of NW Iowa.

I need a home!

I’d like to think that the person who did this could be caught, but I doubt it will ever happen :(

a child’s perspective

May 17th, 2010
———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Mon, May 17, 2010 at 3:14 PM
Subject: a child’s perspective
To:

  Why do we love children?
  1) NUDITY
  I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a
  woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark
  naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from
  the back seat, ‘Mom, that lady isn’t wearing a seat belt!’

  2) OPINIONS
  On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from
  his mother. The note read, ‘The opinions expressed by this child are not
  necessarily those of his parents.’

  3) KETCHUP
  A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her
  struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer
  the phone. ‘Mommy can’t come to the phone to talk to you right now. She’s
  hitting the bottle.’

  4) MORE NUDITY
  A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women’s locker
  room.. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies
  grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in
  amazement and then asked, ‘What’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen a
  little boy before?’

  5) POLICE # 1
  While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was
  interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my
  uniform, she asked, ‘Are you a cop?’ ‘Yes,’ I answered and continued
  writing the report. My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the
  police. Is that right?’ ‘Yes, that’s right,’ I told her. ‘Well, then,’
  she said as she extended her foot toward me, ‘would you please tie my
  shoe?’

  6) POLICE # 2
  It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the
  station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking,
  and I saw a little boy staring in at me. ‘Is that a dog you got back
  there?’ he asked.
  ‘It sure is,’ I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards
  the back of the van. Finally he said, ‘What’d he do?’

  7) ELDERLY
  While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly
  shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds.
  She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age,
  particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her
  staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself
  for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered,
  ‘The tooth fairy will never believe this!’

  8) DRESS-UP
  A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw
  her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, ‘Daddy, you shouldn’t wear that
  suit.’
  ‘And why not, darling?’
  ‘You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.’

  9) DEATH
  While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister
  heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt.
  Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin.
  Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small
  box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal
  of the deceased.
  The minister’s son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with
  sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always
  said: ‘Glory be unto the Father, and unto the Son, and into the hole he
  goes.’ (I want this line used at my funeral!)

  10) SCHOOL
  A little girl had just finished her first week of school. ‘I’m just
  wasting my time,’ she said to her mother. ‘I can’t read, I can’t write,
  and they won’t let me talk!’

  11) BIBLE
  A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he
  fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the
  Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old
  leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
  ‘Mama, look what I found,’ the boy called out.
  ‘What have you got there, dear?’
  With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered, ‘I think it’s
  Adam’s underwear!’

  NOW IF THIS DIDN’T BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY, GO BACK TO BED AND FORGET IT!

Posted via email from stafinois’s posterous

May 1st, 2010

From my blog on the Daily Reporter Website.

Grant, Baby Sydney, and Harry want to know... Are you a responsible pet owner?

Pets are a big part of our family’s life. We current share our home with three: Grant the American Staffordshire Terrier, Harry the Belgian Malinois, and Kit the big tabby cat. All three are neutered, and Kit is an indoor only cat.

A few weeks ago I was letting Grant and Harry out our back door that opens into our fenced yard to do their business. I was following behind when I heard a scuffle by the bushes. I was shocked to see Harry climbing into the bushes, and I thought was a shaggy black dog standing behind them. I ran towards them wondering how this dog got into my fenced yard. Then I realized that it was an enormous cat wearing a red collar. My yelling distracted Harry into turning his attention towards me, and the cat escaped under the gate, dashing across the very busy street.

This could have ended very badly. Would my dogs have hurt the cat had they caught him if I wasn’t standing there? Would the cat have caused damage to my dogs? Scratched eyes can be a very painful injury for a dog, and can also be very expensive to treat medically. Is this cat vaccinated for rabies? Fortunately, my dogs are. What if the cat wanders into another yard with a dog more determined to hurt it? What if the cat gets hit by a car? What if the cat contracts a fatal communicable disease? The cat has an owner that must love it, as he looked well fed and was wearing a collar. But, why were they allowing their cat to be in situations where he could be injured or killed, or where he could injure or damage the property of other citizens?

But, my pet isn’t hurting anything!

This is what people seem to think. But the reality is that pets can spread potentially dangerous diseases and parasites to humans, children in particular. Loose dogs and cats deposit feces in areas that children play, potentially causing illness. Free-roaming cats also effect the environment. Research has shown that cats may have impacted the extinctions of bird species more than anything short of habitat destruction. Cats also outnumber and compete with natural predators, potentially causing an upset of the delicate balance of nature. Free roaming cats and dogs can injure humans, other pets, and property, as well.

How can I be a responsible pet owner?

The most obvious solution is to always supervise your pet. Don’t allow them to be a nuisance. Keep your pets restrained on your property not only for their own protection, but also to avoid having them damage the belongings of other people, fight with other pets, or be struck by vehicles. Don’t allow your dog to invade the space of other dogs being walked by their owners, as not every dog wants tosay hi.” Have your pets spayed or neutered, and kept up to date on appropriate vaccines for your pet’s lifestyle. And don’t forget to feed a quality diet and exercise your pet’s body and mind.

Pets are an awesome addition to a family. The companionship and unconditional love that they provide is unmatched. But, pets can also become a nuisance if they are allowed to do so. Do what is best for your pets and your neighborhood by being a responsible pet owner.

Blue Pits for Sale

April 7th, 2010

A local classified ad…

2 Purebred Blue Pits $300 OBO
(712) XXX-XXXX
XXXXX@hotmail.com
StartDate: 3/24/2010
EndDate: 4/24/2010

Almost 8 months old. Both males had first round of shots. One is all white with tan on his head Other is all tan with a blackish nose and a little skinnier. Friendly but scared a little bit just need good owner.

Hi, I have a black Lab! He’s yellow.

I find it so hysterical that so many idiots with Pit Bulls don’t realize that a “Blue Pit” is a Pit Bull that is blue in color. I wonder if this phenomenon happens in other breeds as well.

Obama: Son of a Jackal?

March 25th, 2010

Pardon the reference to The Omen, but it won’t shock me if people start believing that the movie was the true story of President Obama’s childhood. I mean, Damien wasn’t born in the US, either!

Yesterday a Harris Poll was released showing some very concerning and just plain creepy & insane views in regards to our President.

John Avalon, the author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America (both Glenn Beck & Keith Olbermann are on the cover), wrote in an article for The Daily Beast

Obama Derangement Syndrome—pathological hatred of the president posing as patriotism—has infected the Republican Party. Here’s new data to prove it:

67 percent of Republicans (and 40 percent of Americans overall) believe that Obama is a socialist.

The belief that Obama is a “domestic enemy” is widely held—a sign of trouble yet to come.

57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was “not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president” 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is “doing many of the things that Hitler did” Scariest of all, 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama “may be the Antichrist.”

I really hope that they found all of these people hiding under rocks somewhere, but I am sure that they walk among us. The Antichrist? Seriously?? Please, somebody tell me that this poll is a joke (along with the documentation to prove it).

There have been multiple threats and vandalism attacks on Democrats over the health care vote. Do people really think that this is the way to be heard? Do they think that anybody is going to take them seriously.

I am ashamed of many of my fellow Americans right now, including my own Representative in the House. Is this intelligent, mature behavior? Come on, folks! Grow up!!!

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