SheSue Experience

Is it any surprise that scammers are working on cashing in on everyone’s confusion. For most people, the switch over to digital TV will be as easy as pie. No action is needed for most sets sold since 2004 which already have digital ready tuners. However, an estimated 20 million own an older analog TV set that receive signals from an outside antenna or rabbit ears. These folks will need to purchase a digital-to-analog converter box.

Help from the government can be found at www.dtv2009.gov where you can get a coupon worth $40 towards a converter box. The boxes sell for $50-$70.00. These coupons can be redeemed at Best Buy, Walmart and Sears. The steps it takes to get the converter box can be confusing for some, which brings in scam artists. Here are some of the scams:

Find answers to your questions about the DTV switch at http://bulletin.aarp.org/digitaltv. Or visit www.dtv2009.gov. Or call 1-888-388-2009.

I can’t remember this much snow since living in Eastern Oregon. 2 Weeks of it. I know that some of you are used to it, but we aren’t here in Portland. In fact, we hit 15 inches of snow, the most since 1968. There were records all over the state for snowfall and cold temperatures. Included here are some photos taken around my house in the past couple of weeks.

I had 3 days off work because the roads were so bad I didn’t want to risk driving. I took the bus a couple of days the first week of snow, but even the bus quit coming out this far during the 2nd week. I tried to go into work last Monday, but after nearly going off the road twice, I turned around and went back home. I did stop off at the store on the way home. It snowed an inch of snow while I was in the store. I was looking for board games to play over Christmas vacation, but the trucks hadn’t been able to get into the store, so my choices were pretty slim.

The next day I wanted to go get my daughter so I could have her home for Christmas. My son volunteered to drive. It was an adventure. Freeways were closed, so traffic was backed up all over. By this time there was 8 inches of snow, a 3/4 inch layer of ice, then another 6 or 7 inches of snow. Ruts were formed on major roads. My son said it was like driving on railroad tracks. His goal was to NOT drive in the ruts.

My daughter’s condo has a parking lot like a bowl. To get out of it, you have to drive up a hill and out onto a highway. We’d drive up the hill, then there would be a car coming and we’d have to back down to get another run at the hill. No plowing had been done in the parking lot. Finally my son-in-law stood up at the top of the hill and told us when no cars were coming. We shot up the hill and right onto the highway without stopping. My son-in-law raced across the highway and jumped into the car while it was still moving. Regular James Bond!

We lost a tree about a week ago. We heard a noise in the night, but didn’t see anything when it was still dark out. When I got up the next morning I looked out the window and thought that the tree looked a lot closer than usual. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it had uprooted. We were very lucky that it didn’t do any damage.

How was your Christmas?

I haven’t posted in several days now. One might think it was because of Christmas or was it due to the snow storm I’ve been dealing with for the past 2 weeks. But no, it’s the fabulous Wordpress 2.7 so called ‘Up’grade I installed and have had a ton of issues with. And when I go to seek help in forums, I see that I am far from the only one having issues. Lots of issues. And yet, similar to Microsoft, we seem to be at the mercy of wordpress for our blogging pleasure. Sometimes I think a cat figure out my computer easier than I.

I wish I could say that I figured out the problems. Unfortunately most of the forums are led by geeks (spoken fondly as my son is a geek) and the discussions are all in geek-ese. There is talk of tinymice and javascript and looking at wordpress files of which I cannot locate. Alas, I have sought out the help of my son-in-law. While my son is a geek of hardware nature (he can build a computer and fix it); my son-in-law is more of a geek of software nature (he can find the tinymice and javascript).

While my son-in-law attempts to figure out all the issues with Wordpress, my posts may look a little different. Like the huge size of the pictures. Even though every cat deserves a huge picture.

I do not drink by choice. I did my thing in my late teens up until I was around 22 or 23. I grew tired of getting sick and waking up to intense headaches. The final straw was when I drank before going to a concert. I was drunk enough to forget half the concert. I also didn’t like the feeling of not being in control of my actions. But alas, the season is upon us and many partake in drinking at parties. So I dug up some facts about alcohol consumption.

Does Alcohol Kill Brain Cells?

The good news is, no. It can kill off human cells, but a person cannot drink enough to kill of brain cells. However, long term alcohol abuse can cause long term damage. Most of the damage is to message carrying dendrites, the brain’s structure responsible for learning and motor coordination. Alcoholics also tend to ignore their health and diet which puts them at risk for memory damage.and Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome.

Do Women get Drunk Faster than Men?

Sorry ladies, but this is true. Because women’s bodies have a lower percentage of water overall, they reach a higher blood alcohol concentration after a single drink than men do. Woman also have half the enzymes that break down alcohol than men. Women just aren’t very efficient at digesting alcohol.

Is it Really Bad to Drink on an Empty Stomach?

Common sense dictates that drinking on an empty stomach will lead to intoxication more quickly. According to studies, whenever a person consumes alcohol, the body starts to break it down immediately. Having food in the stomach slows that absorption process. Things that speed it up are carbonated mixers such soda and high temperatures. Just remember that it takes 7 hours after drinking alcohol before your system returns to a sober state.

Does Mixing Different Types of Alcohol Make you Sick?

Simply said, mixing has nothing to do with it. It’s the amount. One tends to start with beer, than move on to liquor. Since they drink the liquor last, they think that’s what makes them sick. In reality, it’s simply the amount that causes the nausea.

So if you do indulge during the holidays, just remember to take it easy. Too much to drink will cause nausea and can lead to long term damage.

It’s just a week before Christmas.  Yesterday I spent the day running errands, gathering gifts, shopping for the non-perishable  part of my Christmas dinner ingredient list.  I spent a good part of the afternoon today wrapping gifts.  That was in between cleaning house.   Uninspired to write anything, I discovered the following story in my email today and wanted to pass it along.  Everyone needs a good laugh, especially at stressful times.  Hope you enjoy it.

Get Out of the Car!

(This is supposedly a true account recorded in the Police log of Sarasota, Florida.)

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, “I have a gun and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!”

The four men didn’t wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition.  She tried and tried, and then she realized why. It was for the same reason she had wondered why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat.

A few minutes later she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn’t stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair and carrying a large handgun.

No charges were filed. Moral of the story? If you’re going to have a senior moment… make it memorable.

Lo. sifted through the winds that blow, Down comes the soft and silent snow, White petals from the flowers that grow In the cold atmosphere.
Author: George W. Bungay

What is it about snow that draws us to the windows. No matter how much we hate to drive in it, no matter how much we don’t like it to be cold, no matter how much we long for sunny skies, we all love the snow. We’ve been dealing with the snow for several days here in the Pacific Northwest and the weather prediction says it’ll be around for another week. We all grumble, yet those tiny white flakes always bring a smile. I drive to work on snowy roads, the world white around me. The trees are laced with white, there is a hush all about you and you feel insulated from all the troubles of the world.  I love to see the white flakes against my black coat and I love to hear the crunch under my feet when I step on it.

Here are some facts about snow from a website called All About Snow.

Is it ever too cold to snow?

No, it can snow even at incredibly cold temperatures as long as there is some source of moisture and some way to lift or cool the air. It is true, however, that most heavy snowfalls occur with relatively warm air temperatures near the ground – typically 15°F or warmer since air can hold more water vapor at warmer temperatures.

When is it too warm to snow?  How does snow form if the ground temperature is above freezing?

Snow forms when the atmospheric temperature is at or below freezing (0 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit) and there is a minimum amount of moisture in the air.

Why is snow a good insulator?

Fresh, undisturbed snow is composed of a high percentage of air trapped among the lattice structure of the accumulated snow crystals. Since the air can barely move, heat transfer is greatly reduced. Fresh, uncompacted snow typically is 90-95 percent trapped air.

Why do weather forecasters seem to have so much trouble forecasting snow?

Snow forecasts are better than they used to be and they continue to improve, but snow forecasting remains one of the more difficult challenges for meteorologists. One reason is that for many of the more intense snows, the heaviest snow amounts fall in surprisingly narrow bands that are on a smaller scale than observing networks and forecast zones. Also, extremely small temperature differences that define the boundary line between rain and snow make night-and-day differences in snow forecasts. This is part of the fun and frustration that makes snow forecasting so interesting.

Does snow change how sound waves travel?

Yes, when the ground has a thick layer of fresh, fluffy snow, sound waves are readily absorbed at the surface of the snow. However, the snow surface can become smooth and hard as it ages or if there have been strong winds. Then the snow surface will actually help reflect sound waves. Sounds may seem clearer and travel farther under these circumstances.

Why does snow crunch when you step on it? At what temperature does it crunch?

A layer of snow is simply composed of ice grains with air in between the ice grains. Because the snow layer is mostly empty air space, when you step on a layer of snow you compress that layer—a little or a lot, depending on how old the snow is. As the snow compresses, the ice grains rub against each other. This creates friction or resistance; the colder the temperature, the greater the friction between the grains of ice. The sudden squashing of the snow at lower temperatures produces the familiar creaking or crunching sound. At warmer temperatures, closer to melting, this friction is reduced to the point where the sliding of the grains against each other produces little or no noise. It’s difficult to say at what temperature the snow starts to crunch, but the colder the snow, the louder the crunch.