Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Deflating the ol' Hoosier Dome

it's all over the news about how tomorrow is the big day - they're finally deflating the Hoosier Dome, that ancient piece of history where the Indianapolis Colts once played (and won) their games. and i'm reminded of a bit from Eddie Izzard's Dress To Kill:

Yes, and I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from. Oh, yeah. You tear your history down, man! "30 years old, let's smash it to the floor and put a car park here!" I have seen it in stories. I saw something in a program on something in Miami, and they were saying, "We've redecorated this building to how it looked over 50 years ago!" And people were going, "No, surely not, no. No one was alive then!"

the damned Hoosier Dome was only around twenty-some years!!

wonder if we'll be doing something similar in 2028, with news stories about the demolition of Lucas Oil Stadium? how long will it be a part of the city's skyline? we don't keep our history around too long...

cool artist - Sandy Smith

in an unrelated story, someone on Fark mentioned a work of art by Sandy Smith - checking out the guy's website, i'm very impressed...the computer structures remind me of Nam June Paik's work...

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Robitussin @ Walgreens - a Slick Deal!

haven't posted to the ol' blog in a long time, but i just had to brag a bit about the shopping trips i made this week at Walgreens. found out through slickdeals.net about a coupon for $3 off a bottle of Robitussin that could be printed out via the robitussin maker website...meanwhile, walgreens is having a sale on robitussin - $3.99 a bottle. they also had a deal that if you bought 3 bottles in one transaction, the coupon printer spit out a "Register Rewards" coupon for $10 off your next purchase. there were a few things that made this tricky: buying more than 3 wouldn't get you a larger coupon, and you couldn't use a coupon from a previous purchase to get a new coupon - so i had to buy them in batches of three at a time. otherwise, no problems. so, i printed out a bunch of coupons, and off to walgreens i went...

>> FFwd a few days >>

so, i end up with 114 bottles of Robitussin, done in 38 separate transactions. each 3 bottle batch of robitussin costs $3.81 with tax. Final Damage:

$144.78 = total sale cost of 114 bottles of Robitussin

$380.00 = total amount of "register rewards" given

$235.22 = PROFIT

not bad for a few hours of work and annoying the hell out of a couple of cashiers. i don't think i annoyed them too much, i let them know about the deal and even printed out extra coupons so they could get in on the goodies as well.

the "Register rewards" coupons state they can't be used for gift cards, but i found one cashier that let me use them to buy walgreens gift cards with them, so my out of pocket cost was actually only about 75 bucks.

meanwhile, on friday and saturday, walgreens had emailed out a coupon for $10 off a $40 purchase - schwing! they'd also had in their sale advert the vitamins i'm supposed to be taking, so i got all stocked up on those, as well as the lutein the eye doc recommends...got heidi a new doggie bed and some treats, and now i've got to figure out how to use the last few register rewards coupons i've got...

as for the Robitussin - if ya need any, give me a holler. but do it soon...what doesn't go out to friends and family is getting donated to the Julian Center for their women & children's shelter needs - they love it when i roll in with my bargains...it's usually not 100+ bottles of cough medicine, but i'm sure they'll take it!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Canine Blood Donor Program

scheduled an appointment for thursday to take Heidi to meet with someone from the Indianapolis Veterinary Emergency Center (IVEC) to see if she's a good candidate for their Canine Blood Donor Program. i figure it's good karma for her, and getting free vaccinations and other stuff on the cheap is a nice bonus. if i could still donate blood, i'd do it (for HUMANS, not dogs, smart ass!) but medical issues have stopped my donations.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Flying Spaghetti Monster takes up residence at TN county courthouse

http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/homepage/local_story_084161126.html

By Gary Nelson / gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com

Among the county's historic directional sign post, farm equipment and gazebo stand several monuments and expressions of free speech. The displays include an Iraq and Afghanistan Soldier's Memorial, Statue of Liberty, chainsaw-carved monkeys and bears, Jesus carrying a cross, and the most recent display added — a Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Several onlookers and tourists have stopped to take pictures of the sculptures.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the latest display to a slew of others that have been erected on the lawn over the past year. Several marches and demonstrations have also taken place on the courthouse grounds.

A free speech zone?

Cumberland County Buildings and Grounds Committee Chaiman Harry Sabine explained the committee has deferred all decisions on displays and handling of the courthouse grounds to County Mayor Brock Hill.

"I think at some point this may become ridiculous. I'm not so sure if now is the point or not. My concern is about what could or may go up there ... I mean the committee could ultimately decide to remove all displays, but at this point we haven't. I think a time limit on the displays may need to be enacted, though. I do think that too many of these displays tend to detract from the beauty of our courthouse lawn. I think our courthouse lawn is among the prettiest in the state. I hate to see that sacrificed," 1st District Commissioner Harry Sabine said.

On her Web site, www.itlovesyou.blogspot.com, a blog explaining the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Crossville artist Ariel Safdie states, "We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County’s residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people’s lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group’s fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community."

Although it may seem silly to some, Safdie adds, "The Flying Spaghetti Monster is a pile of noodles and meatballs, but it is meant to open up discussion and provoke thought. Being able to put up a statue is a celebration of our freedom as Americans; a freedom to be different, to express those differences, and to do it amongst neighbors — even if it is in a noodley way."

Safdie was not available for comment at press-time.

County Mayor Brock Hill said, "We are basically operating it as a freedom of speech venue. We don't deny the constitutional rights of anyone, but we certainly don't endorse all the displays. I feel the Flying Spaghetti Monster is an effort on the part of non-Christians to try and minimize Christianity and the images that have been placed there. I'll go as far as to say that I think it's an attempt to minimize and ridicule the good intentions of Christians in Cumberland County, but I don't deny their right."

Hill said there have been some requests for displays which have been turned down and each request is looked at on the merit of the display.

On Good Friday a chainsaw-carved statue of Jesus carrying the cross was placed on the lawn, along with the Flying Spaghetti Monster and a play of the Stations of the Cross was acted out by the Cumberland Countians for Peace and Justice.

"This is a group of various denominations brought together to bring awareness to the injustices of today," said Joe Gittings.

Gittings said the group also hosts peace displays or demonstrations at the courthouse each Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m.

Gittings said he appreciates the opportunity the county is allowing.

Anyone wishing to erect a display is required to go to the county mayor's office and fill out a building and grounds committee application for use of the courthouse grounds. The applicant must be a Cumberland County resident. The application is reviewed and then either approved or rejected by the county mayor.

"We decided to do it this way because it seemed silly to have to meet all the time in order to approve these applications. The committee does have the right, though, to ultimately reject all of them if it decides," Sabine said.

Over the past year, a chainsaw-carved nativity scene has been there as well as a massive carving of the Last Supper.

The free speech zone began in 2006 after the American Civil Liberties Union in Nashville sent the county a letter asking if the display of a Moses statue meant the county was creating a free speech zone.

The displays by various people and organizations have continued since. Hill said unless the situation gets out of hand, he feels the current policy will continue.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

drugs...don't flush em

today the Indiana Poison Center, Marion County Health Department, Clarian and Marsh are teaming up to have a "Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinets" day, to get people to safely dispose of unused and/or expired medications. i wish they would do this more often, because people don't think of the ramifications of just flushing their extra pills.

recently a story hit the media, "Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S.", and while it may be a bit sensationalistic in that these are very minute amounts in the water supply, they're still there and it's something that we need to be aware of before it becomes more of an issue.

i must say, i wonder what happens to those pills that get dropped off - how do they "safely dispose" of this stuff?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

lol

adam sent me this, made me laugh:

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Thursday, February 14, 2008

rough week...

got into an accident on Monday - feeling weird behind the wheel, i stopped the car...but i wasn't aware enough to pull up the emergency brake, and rolled into a car that was behind me. neurologist thinks it was triggered by low blood sugar. now i'm dealing with the joy of insurance and repair shops and all those festivities...whoo hoo!

Friday, January 25, 2008

being sick sucks...

especially when this is a month that i'm trying to refrain from going to the doctor because of that god-awful spend-down. sniffling, coughing, hacking up nasty stuff - not fun.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Munching Apples: The First "Apples To Apples" Fan Site

cool find - Munching Apples: The First "Apples To Apples" Fan Site

Apples To Apples is, hands-down, my favorite party game...stumbling upon this page (and the Wiki page for Apples to Apples) makes me wanna have another games night sometime in the near future...we'll see...

Saturday, January 19, 2008

freaking out...

up at an ungodly hour - spent the last couple tossing and turning in bed...not sure what woke me up, but then i got medicaid on the brain and it's been freakout ever since. this spend-down thing's got me really freaked out - how the hell am i supposed to live on what social security gives me MINUS FORTY PERCENT? six hundred a month is gonna be ROUGH. so i'm trying to think of all these ways to milk the system - doc visits and med refills at the beginning and end of one month, then none the next month - to save money and it's just causing a freaking anxiety attack. and that's just presuming i can keep it together enough to contain my expenditures to every other month - we know i have a tendency to have things pop up, be they seizures or strange mental things...

the New Year's Resolution i made @ Douglas & Dan's party to ring in 2008 was to be more positive - right now it's not feeling too attainable, i'm feeling really negative...grrr...

i wish the extra xanax i just took would kick in - i just wanna go back to sleep...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

No change...

just heard from my medicaid caseworker - that $385 spend-down is not gonna change. she also informed me that i would've had a spend-down before, but that my previous caseworker didn't submit the proper information. thankfully, i'm not gonna be penalized for that. this system is all sorts of screwed up.

Volunteering at Hunger, Inc.

on today's agenda: my shift for volunteering at Hunger, Inc. - a food pantry down here on the south side of Indy. not sure what sort of crowd to expect today, with the snow we've had, and the fact that it's the middle of the month, the numbers may be down - the end of the month is usually the busiest time of the month. i actually prefer it when it's busier - the time goes faster and it's not as easy to dwell on how depressing can get at times.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Can you at least pay for the lube, Medicaid?

the new year brings a reaming from Medicaid. the annual cost-of-living increase in my Social Security Disability by $24.00 means that i now must pay $385.00 PER MONTH of my healthcare expenses before Medicaid will pay for anything (it's called a "spend-down"). the magic number is $1022.00 - make under that, NO spend-down - last year i made $1014.00. the new year came and Social Security gave me an increase to $1038.00 - now i make $16.00 more than the limit so i have a spend-down. what i don't understand is how that extra sixteen bucks makes it so that close to FORTY PERCENT of my disability check has to go to healthcare now.

i'm sending some paperwork to my caseworker to hopefully try to lower the spend-down, but she warned me that we're taking a chance - it could actually increase...but that's a chance i guess i have to take

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

restarting the ol' blog...

i think it's time to get back into the blogosphere...this area under construction...

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Which Lolcat Are You? Test


My score on The Which Lolcat Are You? Test:


Cheezburger cat

(65% Affectionate, 53% Excitable, 62% Hungry)



Sure, you deserve one. You helped popularized lolcats from a running gag to an online sensation. Now mainstream media writes asinine columns on this 'phenomenon', students write theses on the topic, programming languages adopt the grammar, and losers write tests about them on dating sites. Now take your cheezburger and never touch the internets again.

To see all possible results, checka &dis.


Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test
(OkCupid Free Online Dating)


Monday, July 09, 2007

What Brady Are You?

You Are Jan Brady

Brainy and a little introverted, you tend to think life is a lot worse than it actually is.
And while you may think you're a little goofy looking, most people consider you to be a major babe.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

What Donut Are You?

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.
You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.
You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Heidi....HO!

so, Heidi's all moved in and things are going well - i'm really on the fence about crating her though. her wimpering just makes my heart ache, and she doesn't counter surf or anything, so i guess i don't see the need for it. adam says i should do it though, and he's got lots more basset experience than me. *shrug*

Sunday, June 24, 2007

getting ready for the roomie!

that's right - i'm gonna have a roommate. she's probably gonna move in next weekend. her name's Heidi, she's tri-racial (black, brown, and white) and has four feet. yeah, she's a doggie! a Basset Hound, to be more specific. i'm so excited!! more info to come...

pink!

that's the color of my hair now! used manic panic's Wildfire after bleaching my hair out...came out pink, with a few blondish streaks...so we used some more red - this time it was Pillarbox Red - still pink, but it's pink consistently. i like it. i'm dye-ing (har har) to get to a place with blacklight, cuz it supposedly glows in blacklight.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Wii!

i've now joined the section of the human race that owns a video game system - this weekend i managed to get my hands on a Nintendo Wii. playing with Adam's while i was doggy-sitting made me want one, and i finally managed to see one in the Target ad and get there early enough to get one before they ran out - whoo hoo!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

learning about my condo

the woman who owns the condo across from mine gave me a bit of info that i didn't know...mine was the first one moved in to - she was #2. the guy that moved in here was single and when he found a woman, they moved off to a house on the northside. then Lori moved in - the previous Lori, the one whose death was the reason for the sale of the place...

granted, this isn't majorly interesting stuff, but this is a building built in 2004, not 1904 like some buildings in the city...it's slowly building a history...

Monday, May 28, 2007

time to restart the ol blog...

seems like i've been using twitter more lately as a blog, so i ought to just start blogging again.

right now i'm doggy sitting for adam while he's at the detroit electronic music festival - madison's my bitch, she just loves the hell outta me. milwaukee likes me okay enough - especially when i'm filling her food bowl. i'm supposedly cat sitting as well, but i have yet to see the things since adam and codi have moved into this house, so i'm beginning to wonder if they even exist - they could be playing an evil trick on me to see if i'll continue to feed the cats even tho they're no longer around.

this weekend was lots of fun - aunt joan was in town, so there was lots of fun stuff planned - friday night we went to indiana downs to check out the horse races - didn't win anything, but it was still fun. then it was a family picnic on saturday that we weren't sure about happening because of rain and the fact that we hadn't reserved a shelter at any of the local parks, but it all worked out - the rain went away, the sun came out, and we had a good time. yesterday was a trip to the casino with joan, joanie, george and ashley. this being ashley's first trip now that she's a 21 year old, it was quite a trip - lost some $$, but still had a lot of fun.

been a very busy holiday weekend!!!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

the most wonderful godson in the world...

sorry to all you other Fairy Godmothers out there, but I have the cutest godson in the world. Dominic and his brother and sisters and parents went to my cousin's house and we had a little early Christmas celebration. I gave Domi his very first tricycle - he preferred riding it Fred Flintstone-style, avoiding using the pedals and trying to use his feet. Also got him his very first cell phone (okay, not a REAL phone, but one that allowed me to record a message to him telling him i love him) and some clothes. he's such a cutie!

DomiUnwrapping.JPG is uploaded at imgplace.net

Monday, December 11, 2006

Xmas with dad...

so dad came to visit early for christmas this year - a plane ticket that's $750 during xmas week was $325 last week. he spent a few nights here, coming back this afternoon so we can go to the cemetery with adam before he heads back to Utah tomorrow.

matt and paige and adam and codi were here saturday, we did the xmas with dad thing...i can't believe how grown up my brother and sister are, but i should - it's easy to do the math, after all. matt's 18 now, duh, he's not gonna look like the 10 year old that's stuck in my brain. got the goatee action goin on, playing guitar, working at Home Depot...the typical 18 year old type stuff. paige is her same self - i talk to her a lot more cuz she's always online and we IM each other. things got a bit tense for a while because matt brought up the fact that paige doesn't have her cell phone anymore because she ran up a $900 phone bill from sending text messages! holy crap! i know we all do stupid stuff as kids, but my farkups weren't that expensive!

all in all, a nice visit.

long time no type....

no posts in a long time - not sure if that's a good sign or not - sometimes when the depression lifts, i don't write as much. or perhaps i'm depressed and feeling lazy. probably a combination of the two - get depressed, don't write....feel better, don't write...

so i've pondered closing down the ol' blog, but i just don't know...

Monday, November 20, 2006

Wikipedia Brown, Boy Detective

an interesting combination of those Encyclopedia Brown books of my childhood, and Wikipedia - it's Wikipedia Brown, Boy Detective

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

somehow, i don't think she'll be able to serve...

i'm still receiving mom's mail, although it should certainly ease up once her estate is closed next month.

today, she recieved a card from the clerk of the marion circuit court - my mother's being summoned for jury duty! errr, sorry folks, she's been dead for almost a year now!! actually, the first day she's supposed to call is the anniversary of her death - how friggin weird.

Monday, October 02, 2006

up at 3:30 for no apparent reason...

perhaps it's the sniffles i'm starting to get - coming down with a cold, perhaps?

saturday's birthday was very nice - joanie, george & brandon came over with a cake...i answered numerous calls and emails from people with birthday wishes...had dinner with kat & john...then on sunday i went to spend some time with dominic - i have the cutest godson in the world, that's all there is to it.

saturday morning, i was filled with a sense of dread - this being my first birthday without mom, i figured everyone would forget and i'd be stuck spending the day alone. nope, not happening - which made me feel very good. i guess people actually DO like me.

reckon i ought to try to go back to sleep now...

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Angie Dickinson, Eric Stoltz, Jenna Elfman, Fran Drescher...

they've all got something in common with me - a September 30th birthday!!

granted, they're all older than me (i'm 34 now) but we're all Libras...woo hoo!

trying not to get too sad about the fact that this is my first b-day without mom, but it's hard - last year's birthday sucked because it was shortly after her cancer diagnosis and we were in the midst of chemo and all sorts of crap. *sigh* i miss her so much.

but i know she wouldn't want me dwelling on it, she'd want me to have a good day today, so i'm gonna give it a concerted effort to do so. happy birthday me!

Friday, September 29, 2006

comment of the day...

TotalFark had a discussion titled "Post your favourite saying you say too much. Finer than frog hair split six ways, doesn't count"

i think my fave comment was from sweettoothbear:

"I'm so broke that I have to jack off the dog... just to feed the cat."

that's pretty damned broke.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Bingo!

Kat & i went to play bingo last night...it's been a loooong time since i've done bingo - college, perhaps? - but i managed to watch over 12 cards with ease (for the most part) i won $30 in one of the early birds, and i won a door prize - a Halloween decoration of a purple kitty in a witch's hat - that i promptly gave to Kat. the only major problem is the smoke from all the smokers - i wonder how well a non-smoking bingo hall would do? but we had a good time and will probably go back...

maybe i could make some $$...

perhaps i could sell descriptions of my latest dreams to Rozerem and they would put them on tv - last night involved King Kong in a Hawaiian shirt at the dealership that sold me my car. (i must say, i find the Rozerem commercial with Abe Lincoln and a beaver playing chess to be rather amusing)