Our grocery/everything store is hosting a reusable bag design contest and I submitted my entry last night. If you would be so kind as to vote for it here (http://www.designareusablebag.com/vote-for-designs/bag.aspx?BagId=42512&banner=fredmeyer), I would REALLY appreciate it. The grand prize is a $1000 gift card to that store (Fred Meyer, which is owned by Kroger). My dear friend Andi told me about the contest, so let me plug her design as well! (http://www.designareusablebag.com/vote-for-designs/bag.aspx?BagId=24239&sr=1)
I thought I might enter another design that was less girly, but I don't know. I am guessing the judges will be mostly men, but the people who would buy reusable bags would mostly be women? I don't know. The birdy design was originally a Blogger theme I was working on but gave up on. Here he has breathed new life as an Earth advocate. :)
At any rate, the contest ends May 15th, but you can* vote every day between now and then. The top vote-getter doesn't automatically win. As I mentioned before, there will be judges who choose the eventual winners.
(*and should! Just sayin'.)
Caleb drew a really great picture of his dad, the policeman. It was so good, I scanned it in and it's on his blog. Check it out here.
So as you can see, I was able to restore the images for this blogger theme. Apparently the creator has them on photobucket, where they were presumably being used by multiple bloggers. The bandwidth limits were exceeded, which kindly causes their images to turn to ugly banners for photobucket. Well... I was able to shift these images to a new account and hopefully we won't be exceeding the limit. :)
Yeah, I know... The images used on this template were hosted by the creator at Photobucket and apparently they've exceeded their bandwidth. I'll get it fixed asap.
Thanks to Gina for the tip!
I set up my own radio station, which I can customize as I listen to it by banning songs or artists, or adding new artists. As I add artists, it adds similar artists' songs to the playlist. We listened to it last night as we were setting up Caleb's new bed (post on that later), and Bryan discovered a new band he likes! It's a really cool concept! Check it out or Create your own Slacker Station now
We're having some big flooding in our area due to the freakishly long-lasting snow now melting in endless rain. My sister in law is trapped at her house due to a mud slide blocking the only highway into town. The (same) highway that I take (in a different location) to get to church had water going over it (the first I've ever seen that happen) already, and there is still more rain to come and more snow to melt.
School is canceled for tomorrow for the entire district. Thank goodness for the internet age, there is a website that lists over 70 school districts in Washington and any cancellations and delays for each district. Check it out if you have kids in school here, or if you soon will it might be a good thing to bookmark for the future: http://www.schoolreport.org/
(If you live outside of Washington, there may be a similar website that serves your area. Google It!)
from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
(from http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080722.html:)
Explanation: What are these humans doing? Dancing. Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling.
...featuring your favorite Monkey Brothers and moi, along with other die-hard downhere fans!
The ORIGINAL Internet Political Quiz
Take the Quiz now and find out where you fit on the political map!
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is...
CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.
Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,
tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what
they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.
1. What time did you get up this morning?
8:00am
2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the theater?
Wall-E
4. What is your favorite TV show?
CSI, House, Cold Case Files, COPS
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Sadly, usually nothing.
6. What is your middle name?
Sofia
7. Favourite food?
Sushi, ceviche, and right now, Paneton
8. What foods do you dislike?
Cooked green vegetables
9. What is your favorite chip flavor?
Tim's Cascade Steak & Onion, but it's discontinued now
10. What is your favorite song at the moment?
Something Heavenly by downhere (and the rest of the Ending is Beginning album)
11. What kind of car do you drive?
Subaru Forester, red
12. Favorite sandwich?
Grilled panini from Ristretto
13. What characteristics do you despise?
Dishonesty
14. Favorite item or outfit?
Tall brown boots. New winter coat. Thanks hun!
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where?
Europe (vague, I know) but when it's warm
16. What color is your bathroom?
White, in theory
17. Favorite brand of clothing?
I don't really care about brands
18. Where would you retire to?
Close to here, I guess, to be close to fam.
19. Favorite sport to watch?
Baseball, if I had to.
20. Furthest place you are sending this?
Google/Blogger servers.
21. Goal you have for yourself?
Become a sonographer
22. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?
Everybody, since I'm not emailing it
23. Person you expect to send it back first?
Nobody, see above
24. When is your birthday?
Nov 3
25. Favorite flowers?
Gerbera daisies, Lily of the Valley, Plumeria
26. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Well if it weren't for the fact that i have to get up for work, I'd be a night person.
27. What did you want to be when you were little?
A teacher or children's author.
28. How are you today?
Sick. ;( Wah.
29. What is a date on your calendar you are looking forward to?
March 6 - Bryan's grad date from the academy.
The latest post on Lav's Blog turned me to the blog of Jason Gray, labelmate of my favorite band in the whole universe, downhere. He posted a blog about an experience they had last night on the Bethlehem Skyline tour. I had the pleasure of hearing Jason Gray's story and music, and then meeting him while he was in town with downhere and Shawn McDonald earlier this year and I have to say I am not surprised at his response to an uncomfortable (to say the least) situation. Some of the members of the band downhere were also involved, and this also just makes me love them more! What an amazing example of godly men standing together.
Read here: http://blog.myspace.com/jasongraymusic
New! Get The Reach Church blog widget for your myspace, facebook, blogger, typepad, wordpress, livejournal, or iGoogle page! (Or pretty much any other page!)
I wish I knew how to play an instrument so I could use this link!
Lavs Blog: Downhere Chords
I do have my bass sitting in the barn at my mom's house, but I haven't had the time/$$ to take lessons. Someday!
Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System
from Along for the Ride
The past few nights, after the boys are finally sleeping, I have been working on The Reach's new website. We had a "Christian" web host before but I really actually hated it. It was very limiting from a web design standpoint and terribly difficult to use with its outdated UI*. So we finally made the move over to another host (for 1/8th the cost per month) where we have the freedom to make our website however we like.
The only downside of that is that I had never installed a Content Management System (CMS) before and there are a TON of open-source (read: free) CMS programs out there. Once I found one that I liked really well, I downloaded it and proceeded to try to install it on our server. This was almost a month ago. I failed miserably, since I had no idea what I was doing. Finally after finding some help on the forums and asking in IRC (internet relay chat) for some more help, and trying and failing and trying and finally getting it, the website is finally real. :)
So here it is, although it's not quite done, it's finally at a stage where it can be unveiled, like the Boeing 787... Pretty but note entirely assembled. Actually proportionately, we're farther along than the 787 was at its unveiling. Anyway, back to internet stuff...
We are using Lunarpages. They offer an excellent price on a great basic hosting package. They are out of New Zealand, I believe, but their web support is pretty quick at replying and ready to help. Plus nice, so that's a bonus.
The CMS we are using now is called Silverstripe. I'd only really used WordPress on a server, which was good for a blog but had to be modified so much to use it as a CMS substitute. Also they had upgrades like every five days. But it was a lot more easy to install and upgrade without much modification by hand at all.
Silverstripe is a lot more user friendly after it's set up, but the setup was a killer. I gave up twice, but I'm worse at quitting than I am at failing, so now it works. Which is good because there may be others using it to post contect to the website that are not nearly as patient and persistent as I am when it comes to webthings.
So if you know a thing or two about PHP (I don't really, so that's probably why it took so long) and FTP, I recommend Silverstripe for you. And I really recommend Lunarpages too.
...We now return you to your regular programming...
*user interface
I have the Weather Channel widget on my iGoogle home page. It tells me the current temperature and conditions, displays the three-day forecast and weather radar, and notifies me if there is a "Severe Weather Alert" for my area.
It's always made me chuckle, though, that the Weather Channel considers rain "severe weather". Maybe it's because I have lived most of my life in Washington, where rain is no big deal. It pretty much has to hail or thunder for a long-time Washingtonian to even notice. We have a few really bad storms where streets flood and trees blow over, and that's what we call a storm.
But in California, it seems, a day that's below the average temperature accompanied by more than 30 minutes of rain is considered stormy. Today's Severe Weather is (and I quote) "COOLER AND WET WEATHER ON TAP THIS WEEK". Whoa. Call out the National Guard.
Oh, and by cooler, they mean highs in the mid 50's to mid 60's. Really, get out your mukluks.
Just updated the look and posted some entries that somehow didn't make it out of the "draft" stage. Seems like this update makes the entries easier to read.
I just got yet another email forward about a woman who supposedly died, allegedly from her birth control, the type that allows you to menstruate only four times a year. The email asserts that her use of the pill caused a gigantic blood clot that formed at her neck. Doctors sprang into action but apparently it continued to "spread" to her head before anything could be done about it.
If the original author truly believes this is not clear. That's the way it is with email forwards. I probably get more hoaxes than real emails. I always check with Snopes.com to be sure. But I especially despise forwards of the medical variety. I mean, how could I ever know if the person was not just making things up? And if they weren't purely fabricating SPAM, how could I know they know the slightest thing about medicine? And if they do know a bit about medicine, why would I trust them (whomever they may be) over my own reading, doctor, and instinct?
Surely you wouldn't get your medical advice from just anybody randomly picked off the street. Why does it being typed and in my inbox make it something I should believe? That's about as random as you can get. I do get emails saying I'll be more popular if I take Viagra. Should I then click the link and buy some from who knows who and who knows where?
So if you're looking at your inbox and seeing an email forward from your dear friend, whom you generally trust and respect, ask yourselves these questions:
1. Is my dear friend, whom I love so dearly, a medical professional?
If your answer is yes, give the email one point.
If your answer is no, give the email a sideways glance.
2. Does the email in question contradict long-standing common knowledge?
(such as: you can die from using shampoo)
If your answer is no, give the email one point.
If your answer is yes, say "Hmmmmmmmm" suspiciously.
3. Does the email in question use vague references or little details?
(such as: "a coworker", "last week", or "Main St."?)
If your answer is no, give the email one point.
If your answer is yes, move your mouse closer to the delete button.
The second step is to check Snopes.com. They are the ultimate authority on all things forwarded. Use just one or two key words from the body of the email. They have received every email that will grace your computer monitor. They fact-check so you don't have to. Often they don't even need to. Many hoaxers and spammers will copy the text of an old hoax and just change a few brand names or cities to create a new wave of spam to decorate your inbox.
But you can find a lot of good medical information by just looking in the right places. Of course this is not personalized for you, it's general information and you should still always consult your doctor or call 911 if you think you are having a life threatening emergency.
Signs and symptoms of blood clots
The symptoms of a blood clot depend on where the blood clot is located in the body, as shown below:
Severe abdominal pain, vomiting and/or diarrhea. from http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/blood-clots.html
In the case of the email I got, you can read what the good folks at Snopes have to say:
The possibility of side effects and serious health risksSo what have we learned? Maybe it's cliché, but DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ IN YOUR INBOX! Secondly, don't forward everything you read, either. Unless you're sure it's true! Don't be responsible for misinformation.
(including blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks)
accompanies the use of any hormonal contraceptive product,
so patients are advised to use them in regular consultation
with their health care providers.
________________________________________________
Websites to bookmark:
- Snopes.com
- WebMD.com
- My Blog :)
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