We;ve been having freakish weather for over a week now. We've had so much rain our reservoir's are almost to overflowing and this morning I saw mold growing on a sidewalk curb. Folks, that is rare for New York. The heating pipes that run beneath the sidewalk make that impossible. Nevertheless, cooler temps combined with high humidity and lots of rain are to blame and from the Weatherman the news is there's no end in sight. Well at least through Monday.

As if all this rain wasn't enough, this afternoon we were visited by a category F1 Tornado a few miles from here. Of course I was so focused on work (and what's been going on in Germany today) that I was oblivioius to the weather. Bit at 90mph there was quite a bit of damage caused where the twister touched ground.

Well, I've not much more to say other than I've been insanely busy both at home and at work. At work it's review time, and so I've got all that work to do, plus last minute legislation to analyze that congress and various state houses are trying to push through at the 11th hour just before their labor day adjournment. I wish I could write about how these bleeding heart liberals are trying to penalize working people with lots more proposed taxes on the money they have carefully invested in the stock market and funds. I could go on a rant just about now but I'll save it for later. Right now I have to stay focused and positive for the things going on at home.

My home life is being challenged right now on 2 fronts: my son's health and on-going construction in my apartment (while I'm living there). My son is currently battling some minor things, but what's major is the adnoidectomy/tonsillectomy that he's going to undergo on Wednesday. At the same time, my contractors have once again missed the deadline for finishing some of the stuff they were doing at my apartment. This has been especially tough because I'm living in the apartment as the work's being done. So every night I come home to clean up stuff. And in some instances I've not liked the finished product and have donned overalls and used their tools to smooth out spackle and to do touch ups on other things.

So Wednesday, I'll be spending the day at the hospital keeping vigil over my son and hoping all will be finalized in the kitchen and bedroom by the time we get back home. Because my son has to remain home for a couple of weeks after surgery, I took advantage of a home depot sale and bought ceiling fans for the kitchen and livingroom to help lower the cost of cooling the entire apartment.

I have had a ceiling fan in the bedroom for years and it really helps keep the bedroom cool in the summer without the AC, and it keeps it warm in the winter longer without the heater being on all the time. Since it's worked so well in the bedroom, I can't wait for the other units to be installed in the other rooms. I'm not a fan of AC, so for me it's more than just conserving energy and money, it's feeling comfortable in an environment where Central Air is not possible. That's what happens when you live in a charming pre-war building that's not retro-fitted. So, if I can keep the entire apartment cool with just a couple of ceiling fans, without turning the AC while meeting my energy cost cutting goals, then by jove I'll do it!

Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to remove the protective plastic sheet off of my bed so I can lay down and get some decent sleep so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed for Carmini the Magician who will be visiting us tomorrow. Till then sweet dreams to you all.

Posted by: Michele at 11:26 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Congressional Quarterly Politics column reports this morning that the RNC brought in $8 million last month and began June with $43.7 million in the bank, while the DNC brought in $5 million and had $10.3 million in the bank.

In related news... in a speech yesterday at the National Press Club, John Edwards was testing the big themes on his road tour to the White House in 2008. The topics ranged from ”a call for eliminating poverty by 2036" to fixing social programs for seniors. [Methinks Edwards is either naive or delusional] A Quinnipiac poll out this morning shows that while 61% of New Yorkers think Rudy Giuliani would make a “great” or “good” president, only 49% of respondents thought Sen. Hillary Clinton would.

Posted by: Michele at 12:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This is why I love this team so much. The things these men can do with their legs is amazing!

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While interviewing Henry Kissinger (my 9th grade crush), Charlie Rose leaned slowly towards Kissinger while going through facial gyrations that ranged from serious to contemplative Journalist. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally asked:

"Do you think this country is too focused on democracy?"

I wanted to go through the tv set and slap him right out of his seat back into that hospital bed he crawled out of.

No Charlie, we should avert our political eyes and explore non-functioning, poverty inducing political systems that don't work and have only served to maintain their status as a developing nation! That's what we should do... right? Only then will we be a decent, fair and open-minded nation... is that it?

What a freakin' moron! Sorry, had to get that out of my system, otherwise I'd end up with a coronary. I'll go back to working & crunching numbers now.

Posted by: Michele at 10:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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You won't believe who took that title... at least I didn't. These researchers must have asked for directions from tourists instead of locals!

Posted by: Michele at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, that's according to Dr. Legato's article in the NYT.

One choice quote:
"...from the moment of conception on, men are less likely to survive than women."

Read on and lets discuss. I'm feeling particularly feisty tonight!

Posted by: Michele at 05:06 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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It was an especially busy weekend for me. I had my first party since 9/11 and thought it went well, even if it was a little one-sided. I say one-sided because a lot more men than women showed up. But that had more to do with the fact that I work on a floor where the ratio of men to women is 28:1, rather than who chose to actually show up.

When my department first moved to the location IÂ’m in now, it was hard to get to know people because, we were put in the middle of geek land, and letÂ’s face it, geeks are not the most sociable creatures on the planet. So to break the ice and help us get acquainted with the IT division, I co-hosted a lunch pizza party with lots of fixinÂ’s and cake with ice cream for dessert. Those geeks love free food and sweets! That party really helped us get to know each other.

Over the next few months a few of the guys and I shared coffee and a few accidental lunches (when there was no place else to sit in the lunch room but at their table). They, like me, often eat alone and so sometimes, when weÂ’re pressed for time, we ask if we can join the other at their table. That resulted in some really great conversations and more lunch outings. In May, I started lunch group outings were we do fun stuff to engage our creative brain. On our first outing we went to a jazz club and listened to some great up and coming musicians/students perform for their final exam. Last week we went to a gallery opening and had an even bigger turnout, 23. On Monday, I ran into a large group of them that had gathered to watch the soccer match between USA & the Czechs. Somehow one of them suggested we should do something to organize a futbol party for the weekend. Somehow I got chosen for the task because out of all of us, I'm the only one that owns a big widescreen tv. (I may not watch tv but I LOVE MY MOVIES)!

Well, what initially was supposed to be a group of about 10-12 people, turned out being a group of over 30. It was actually the largest group of people I have ever hosted in my apartment. The good thing about hosting geeks is that theyÂ’re fun and they donÂ’t get crazy so everyone was comfortable. It was really neat, there were people from: Russia, India, Australia, London, Canada, US South & West, Spain, France & Germany, all gracing my living room. And the discussions before and after the game were all very fun and ran the range of topics from politics & economics to science and culture. Ironically, no discussion of technology.

Come to think of it, it felt very much like a grown ups party. There were 2 things that surprised me about myself: (1) I really hadnÂ’t lost my party planning skills, and as a result, 2) I never got nervous before or during the party. That makes a big difference for the guests, when you host a party.

I think a lot had to do with the fact that all the food came out perfect. In fact, IÂ’ve already had a couple of emails asking for my spicy bean dip and my guacamole recipes. I placed the furniture and food stations so that traffic and conversation would flow easily and people would move from one group to the next, rather than staying in one place (as geeks and wall flowers are known to do).

The nicest thing was that they all chipped in and got me a “fully loaded” Starbucks card as a belated birthday present. If they know me this well after 6 months, I wonder how well they will know me after 12? The thought frightens me!!!!

Anyway, the party was also a big success with the kids. I had enough fun activities and treats planned for them and they enjoyed themselves as well, with one notable exception. My son acted out a few times, which I didnÂ’t expect or like. But I finally got to the root of the problem today, he had been missing our private time and wanted my undivided attention. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until after a few timeouts and privileges had been taken away and a few tears had been shed.

Well, tonight IÂ’ll be paying for my planning and fun, because IÂ’m going to have to catch up on house work, job related work, parental work, so it will definitely be a late night for me.

I sign off hoping your weekend was also enjoyable, and for those who are dadÂ’s, I hope that you felt loved and honored!

Posted by: Michele at 08:26 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I'm just a *bit* jealous! I miss parties - hosting, especially. As I show the house, I find myself recanting to the perspective buyer how many fun and such parties my brother & I hosted here. As before, I think you lead the way on our recoveries. You've gotten to the point where social fun is returning. So my hope is that it will for me too.

Posted by: _Jon at June 19, 2006 11:01 AM (aHLPi)

2 Oh man... all these really great hostesses. I happen to be the ultimately worst hostess. Being geeky and being married to a guy who doesn't particularly like parties... I never have done it. I'm glad it turned out so well. Wish I could have been there. Sounds like it was a blast. As for your son - he'll be fine *grin*. Use it as an example of why he needs to learn to communicate. LOL. It won't work, but it's worth a try.

Posted by: Teresa at June 20, 2006 02:28 PM (jgXyO)

3 "I placed the furniture and food stations so that traffic and conversation would flow easily and people would move from one group to the next, rather than staying in one place" If you have time, could you please do a detailed post on this topic? I think that it would be a handy guide for people who are planning blogmeets.

Posted by: Harvey at June 23, 2006 10:23 AM (L7a63)

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ItÂ’s been a busy week of 18 to 20 hr days of combined work and home responsibilities. I knew this week would be hell, and armed with my trusty Treo I was ready for anything that came my wayÂ… or so I thought.

Sitting in meeting after meeting, wearing my monkey suit and 3 1/2in heels, I kept my sanity by either working on silly posts on my cell phone, or composing bad poetry as commentary to my dear blog dadÂ’s posts. However, in all that writing, never in my wildest dreams did I expect a silly blog post about a little black make up bag to foreshadow real life events. The actual events ended with me actually saving several lives with my make-up bag. Never, in a million years could I have thought that would be possible. One yes, but several????? Never!

more...

Posted by: Michele at 01:58 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Then Come Out & Play! and experience the true meaning of MoSoSo as it converges art, culture, and technology into a dynamic social venture.

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The US men's soccer team got a huge reality CZECH yesterday! You can read about the travesty here.

Comments on this post are closed as I'm not up for a discussion on this topic.

Posted by: Michele at 12:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT CNET NEWS!

Updated on 6/13/06
Before opening your email program, client, or browser to check your email Please make sure you update your anti-virus software first so that you can catch this worm. Please note, If you're a yahoo messenger or music subscriber it's also attempting to come in through the launch applications in those programs. Luckily, I always update my anti-virus before surfing or opening up my email application. Although I've got the Yahoo email beta the worm still tried coming in through a friend's email who unkowingly had been infected, and through my Yahoo Music Launch program.

If you're viewing this please make sure you update your anti-virus before surfing any longer, because if you get it, you'll definitely pass it ON to everyone in your address list as this worm goes behind the scenes to copy contacts, without your awareness, by sending email messages out with cloned copies of your signature info as if they were from you.

So be a good friend/neighbor and clean yourself up before coming over and visiting, because if you do send me the virus, I will out you publicly even if I don't get infected. Hopefully the embarassment alone will help become more vigilant.

Thanks Harvey, for posting this major virus alert & links to Cnet, for his readers to see it & take action.!

Posted by: Michele at 04:27 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Dear Teresa,

I figured with this post I'll kill 4 birds with one stone: to let you & everyone know that the U.S. plays the Czech Republic today at 11:55am (which is being broadcast on ABC), to answer the remainder of your questions, to let you (and anyone else who might stop in) know how my technical setup is working for me, AND to opine on what the USÂ’ chances are in their up-coming matches.

To answer your question about my viewing: yes, IÂ’m a very lucky girl because IÂ’ve been able to alternate between viewing live feed online (with some problems) and watching them on tv. OtherÂ’s have not been so lucky as the demand on the the feed providers have been overwhelming: a million and a half on US servers alone.

Imagine that many people logging in simultaneously as a match begins in almost every country around the world. That's is what happened with the England vs Paraguay game. There were reports that servers were crashing everywhere across the globe. It seems the planners and broadcasters forgot that England is an empire, with subjects worldwide. I watched that game on TV and got to see Beckham play his legs off and go on to win 1-0. This surprised a lot of people as they expected the Brits to do much better. It didnÂ’t surprise me though because I knew the respective clubs had not released key players (including Beckham) in time to allow for enough practice sessions. I was able to see at times the lack of cohesion, hesitating briefly before a passing to make sure a mid-fielder or defender was in position. In essence, they were playing an individuals rather than as a team.

The most exciting game, which I was forced to give up watching on my pc and went in search of my tv (the live feed kept dropping), was Sweden and Trinidad. That was the 8th game on the schedule and the most exiting so far. 16th ranked Sweden thought that playing the 47th ranked Trinidad would be a piece of cake. After all, Sweden has had 6 World Cup appearances and this is TrinidadÂ’s first. Going into the game Sweden had a lot of advantages and were well prepared. So what happened? How could they not capitalize and score against a team that was 1 man down (from a penalty ejection) the entire 2nd half? A hefty combination of 2 things: over confidence and underestimation. In their minds Sweden had already handed themselves an easy win and even bragged about it. They had underestimated the hunger, drive, tenacity and experience of many of the players on the Trinidad team (which have trained in the US and elsewhere. A few of the Trinidadian players have also played in leagues in Europe and Africa.

Then there was Shaka Hislop, the goal keeper, the Howard University graduate who trained extensively during his college years in NJ. And a player that has always been amazing to watch. He really stunned the Swedish team by anticipating and blocking every shot with unbelievable effectiveness. In fact, for every goal shot Trinidad attempted, Sweden made 3 times the number of attempts. So why couldnÂ’t they get the ball in between the goal posts? Answer: Hislop. He and he alone kept Sweden from advancing and in so doing, kept the hopes and dreams of a million and a half Trinidadians from dying a premature death. It was simply an unbelievably hard fought game. I believe it will go down as one of the most memorable of this Cup.

As for the U.S., if truth be told, when I saw the World Cup rankings, I was shocked. FIFA had The Netherlands with a ranking #3 and the U.S. as #5 in the world. Yes, I know the U.S. has beaten major teams in high profile matches (like Mexico, who won yesterday against Iran 3-1 – Yeay!). But they’ve also lost to teams so unbelievably in-experienced and of lesser skill that it’s too embarrassing to even mention here (winning 1-0 over 70th Ranked Latvia does NOT inspire confidence).

On the other hand, having watched the US Soccer Federation support and nuture women's and men's soccer for the past 20 years coming from nowhere to achieve the rankings they have today (USA Women are ranked #2) is amazing. This is our 5th straight World Cup qualification and our toughest games yet.

As for the players, all eyes are on the veterans: Landon Donovan, Brian McBride (both of which scored 2 goals in the last world Cup), Eddie Pope, Ed Johnson, John O'Brien and Claudio Reyna, the rebel from NJ, who has been chomping at the bit to get out more and garnered a few snippets of illicit press coverage while partying in Germany. Having watched (Brooklyn-born) Bruce Arena coach the US Men's soccer team to 99 wins out of 127 international matches inspires much confidence and fills me with great hope. Arena, has kept all the playerÂ’s focused by keeping them secluded and out of the pressÂ’ sight. But overall, the team has finally been able to come together in the last week and they do seem like a cohesive group. This was evident during the team's press conference where players were even finishing each other's sentences. Bruce is a phenomenal coach and I know (fingers and toes crossed) that he's prepared them well for this game. It's going to be a heart breaker for me as I've got to attend a F#$%&*@# meeting at work which I've been trying to get out of. On top of all that our division head will be working from our offices. AHHHHHHHHH! I should have taken the day off like some of my work colleagues.

BTW, some of the playersÂ’ impressions, etc. are being blogged by the staff on the teamÂ’s web log. Here's a link to the US Men's Soccer Team's stats and history.

The US matches are:

06/12/2006
11:55 AM/ET U.S. Men vs. Czech Republic Live on ESPN2 and Univision

06/17/2006
2:30 PM/ET U.S. Men vs. Italy Live on ABC and Univision

06/22/2006
9:55 AM/ET U.S. Men vs. Ghana Live on ESPN and Univision

How they do in the first 2 matches will determine their fate: they either win or tie to get the 4 points to move on or they go home. I'm hoping they reach the semi's because otherwise it'll be the first time out of their last 4 World Cup that they don't make it. A very sad thought indeed!

Well, it's almost 2:00am so I best sign off now. I do hope you watch the game, who else will I have to compare notes with if you don't (are you feeling the pressure?).

Hug,
m/

P. S. BTW, did you see Markos of Daily Kos being interviewed on Meet the Press re: his convention in Las Vegas and the upcoming elections in 2008?

Posted by: Michele at 12:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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LIVE from Germany it's World Cup '06. Can't be in Germany rooting for your favorite country? Then sit in front of your PC . Yes, the madness, the intensity, the passion of World Cup games can be seen up close and personnal by watching live streaming video into your home.

I've been carefully planning my technical needs for this event for the last 4 months, just so that I could hook up my new laptop to my widescreen tv and WATCH THE MATCHES I WANT, WHEN I WANT TO, AND HOW I CHOOSE TO and not the matches ESPN signs up for and decides to broadcast.

I was so pissed off during the last world cup with both cable and tv coverage, that I decided to cut their cord permanently. My sporting independence begins today!

more...

Posted by: Michele at 08:00 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Update: The Microsoft IE update/patch I write about below is only for those running off 64 bit apps. If your pc is running Win32 you're good.

Microsoft has made some significant changes to the way Internet Explorer handles controls (ActiveX) within Web pages as a result of the Eolas v. Microsoft patent case. After months of testing and running it in pilot phases, this update will be implemented globally on June 9th. So make sure you update your browser application as soon as possible if you don't want to encounter issues/errors when you visit your favorite sites.

Some examples of ActiveX controlled programs include:

Adobe Reader
Apple QuickTime Player
Macromedia Flash Player
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Real Networks RealPlayer
Sun Java Virtual Machine
Placeware Slide Uploader [usually a Corporate Application]
and possibly some VOIP online TelCo software

When Internet Explorer encounters a web page with ActiveX controls (such as a media player or an interactive animation site), the control may require a single mouse click to activate. For example, when viewing a streaming video clip in the RealPlayer you may need to 'click once' before being able to adjust the sound volume.

To date, only 30% of websites have incorporated this update to their servers and made the necessary adjustmets on their sites. Be aware when you surf to less popular or technically supported web sites you may encouter usability errors as a result. There is nothing for you to do once your IE has been updated. If you encounter error on a site it just might mean their webmaster hasn't gotten around to doing the relevant updates on their back end.

Since I manage 3 sites what this means for me is lots of solitary, quiet busy work for this weekend. I'm realy looking forward to that as I have not been in the mood to deal with people and unfortunately that's exactly what I've been forced to do all week.

Teresa, I have been envying you this week. Have you been feeling it?

Posted by: Michele at 12:12 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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On this quiet and reflective day, when I'm missing the hugs, cheers and voices of my loved ones, the announcement of 'Zarqawi's death is welcome news.

The death of the murderer who murdered my friends is justice long overdue.

Posted by: Michele at 01:26 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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The angry little man in the disheveled clothing, yelling for the past few minutes, was trying to furiously channel his inner Napoleon. As he yelled, saliva slowly foamed at the corners of his mouth, making him look more like a rabid, tiny lap dog rather than the imperious man he tried to be.

I sat there, holding my tongue, as my left toe tapped incessantly on the heel of my right shoe. I was channeling my frustration at having to be delayed instead of getting on with my dinner. I was starving, and had already waited too long to eat. My blood's temperature was rising fast and reaching my boiling point.

As the angry little man reached his verbal climax, he stood to say, “This is the worst f@#$%&* building ever!"

I couldnÂ’t help but glare at him. Not only was he wasting our time, he was doing it with a futile and pointless effort. Before us was a fully grown, short little man, in a full-blown temper tantrum. His face turned beet-red as he screamed a few more obscenities and then, in a bizarre and dumbfounding move, he balled up his sweaty handkerchief and threw it at me. Barely shifting in my seat, I let the handkerchief slowly sail past me to hit the sweet older gentleman sitting next to me. I had reached my boiling point!

I exploded by slamming down my hand on the table as I stood up and yelled “Enough”. I waited for the shock of speaking so forcefully, to wear off everyone. Having silenced "little man", I continued speaking in a calm, slow and deliberate voice directly at him, glowering and inwardly salivating at what was about to happen. “You are either going to conduct yourself as an adult, waiting for your turn to speak in a calm normal tone, without cursing, or you will be escorted out of this room”. Knowing him full well I added, “this is your only warning.”

After taking my seat slowly, allowing for everyone's temperature to chill, I then recapped for everyoneÂ’s benefit how I suggested the meeting might proceed. When everyone was in agreement, I asked Tony, the building manager, to lead the meeting. After all, I couldnÂ’t be lead and hunter at the same time. I was too busy psychologically batting my prey about and positioning the others at the right angles to prevent his escape to lead the meeting. I wanted to play the cat and mouse game a little longer before fully pouncing on him.

From everyone’s body language “little man” could tell he was in the lion’s den and about to be eaten alive. There was nothing left for him to do but sit there, anticipating the moment it would happen. Yes he tried in vain to escape our grasp, but it was useless. For every anticipated move on his part there was a deliberate and even more powerful swatting, that left him speechless. Yes, in the end he was eaten alive with one big bite and barely a swallow. For violating the building’s bylaws, and for carrying on as he did, the board fined him mightily and heavily. The total damage: $450 payable in full within 30 days. An additional penalty of 10%/month was imposed for any outstanding balance not paid to the board by the deadline each month. If the balance was not fully paid within 3 months legal action would be taken against him.

Afterwards, we were all home licking our paws with great satisfaction. IÂ’m still walking around with a self-satisfied grin on my face thatÂ’s causing people to stop and look twice. ThatÂ’s how I like my prey, feisty until theyÂ’re finally vanquished!

Posted by: Michele at 12:57 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Do you have Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia? Just in case you don't know, that is the fear of the number 6 6 6.

Now relax, let me hypnotize you to end that silly fear. Relax and get comfy in front of the screen. If you need to loosen your clothing. Take a deeeep breath and hold it for at least ten seconds exhaling slowly as you reach ten. Take an even deeeeeeeeper breath and repeat the same pattern. As you exhale on your third breath close your eyes. Say to yourself, there's nothing to be afraid of. Imagine yourself floating down into a nice warm room and sitting in a comfy chair. That's right, just let yourself relax with me. Smile and repeat again to yourself, there's nothing to be afraid of. Take another 2 deeeeeep breaths. Now say to yourself that you'll let go of your Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia on the count of three and look forward to the rapture and beauty of another day.

Ready? 1, 2, 3, now you're wide awake and feeling great!

See? It's easy, you don't have to sell your soul to feel better, just get the surrender yourself and your credit card to me and I'll help you get through it! You'll see, or your money back, I guarantee!

Posted by: Michele at 12:00 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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My blog sis Teresa and my blog bro _Jon have expanded on the suggestions and discussion of preparedness. My thanks to them for their contributions.

I just have one more item inspired by Teresa's post. To make sure that all the perishable items in my Go Bag are consumable at any given time, I enter each item;s expiration date in my PDA as I purchase it. I then set the alarm on the entry 2 weeks ahead of the expiration date to give me plenty of time to purchase a replacement. It's the simplest way I can keep my bag up to date without any fuss or major inconvenience.

Also, in talking with a pharmaceutical engineer neighbor of mine he indicated that 99.9% of meds are still consumable for a little over 6 months beyond the expiration date. So if there's an emergency and that's all you've got, then give it a shot. He said the worse that can happen is that they don't work.

Posted by: Michele at 04:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Not to long ago, during my sonÂ’s Pediatric ENT consult, the doctor asked my son what kinds of things he was reading lately. My son quickly rattled off the last 5 books he read (3 of which were in the Captain Underpants series).

The doc then asked my son if he read any newspapers. “ No” was the answer. The doc in disbelief asked him if maybe he read them occasionally. “Nope” he said “my mommy doesn’t let me.” The doctor turned to me with a surprised look on his face. I looked at him without saying a word waiting to see if he would question me on it. He continued asking us health related questions instead.

By the end of the visit, his curiosity was piqued enough and he returned to the topic of my son not reading newspapers. So after confirming what my son said was true, he finally asked me why.

“What good will come from my son reading about rapes, robberies, murders and titillating gossip at the tender age of 6?”

“What about sports?” the doctor countered.

I smiled and said “We subscribe to Kids Soccer magazine and Children’s Sports Illustrated.”

He nodded and paused for a long moment, mulling over my answer. When he finally looked up, he had a broad smile and a glint in his eye. “How will he ever learn about important developing news events.”

I smiled knowingly back, and said to him, “Go ahead, ask him about any current event you want. So he turned and asked my son what he thought about the controversial initiative being contemplated by our City Council, letting first offenders of misdemeanors go through a speedy court process, and if found guilty, receiving lenient sentences or just probation with no time served.

My son quickly responded by saying: “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard! How are people going to learn not to do bad things if you give them a free pass the first time they do something wrong.”

The doctor then proceeded to give the example of a hungry kid stealing food from a store for his poor brothers and sisters.

My son stood up, arms akimbo, and said: "I donÂ’t care why that boy stole the food, stealing is wrong and he needs to be punished for it. How else will he learn not to do it again? Besides, if his whole family is that hungry whatÂ’s one loaf of bread going to do? He'll have to keep on stealing in order to feed them. And whoÂ’s going to protect and take care of the store owner? Why donÂ’t you care more about him instead of the boy whoÂ’s being a crimina?"

Out of the mouth of babes.... thatÂ’s my boy!

Posted by: Michele at 08:31 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Several of my neighbors are contemplating taking my upstairs neighbor to court. I've taken him to court by myself before and unless he does something criminal, all civil courts can do is impose piddly fines that waste my time. I already told my neighbors that I will only join the lawsuit if they hire a bonafide killer shark with a trail of dead bodies behind him.

I'm normally a nice kind, sweet person, but these people are the neighbors from hell who have worked my last nerve and exhausted my patience and that of 2 of my Japanese neighbors.

I'm so at my rope's end, that the only reason I haven't gone for their throat myself is due to my ever evolving revenge fantasies. It's the only thing that's kept my rage in check. Believe it or not it's a technique I learned in therapy many years ago so I wouldn't let people keep walking over me. These aren't your amateur, run of the mill kind of revenge plots, like the kind people in NY do, like ordering 20 pizzas to be paid on delivery by the person they despise. That's too lame. Mine are worse. Much worse! They begin with one thing, and it's one bad thing happening after another until something gives.

Like writing to the IRS and State Tax Dept. to let them know these people have been using a fake social security number for the wife and she has undeclared income in the thousands. I of course would provide the wife's employer's name and address.

Then I would call the Workmen's compensation board to report that his back injury is a fake and he too is working off the books when he's not boozing it up, and somehow copy the IRS. Oh, and I'd help them out by providing photographic and video-taped evidence as he's lifting items. That's just for starters.

Oh there's lots more where those came from! The only reason I haven't acted on them till now is because I believe in Karma. I have seen how the evil deeds of others alwyou come back to haunt them.

In this case, though, I am very close to doing it because it's all true, they are breaking many laws and have defrauded both state and federal governments of public funds. The question is, in order to gain a peaceful quiet surrounding, do I engage in tattling, thereby playing Karmic roulette with my inner peace?

So instead of taking action I wait and pray. I pray for some sort of awareness or change in them. I pray for patience and inner peace in me. I also pray for my neighbors to successfully sue the pants off of them (and their home) and then hopefully they'll learn something, though I doubt it. In reality, they're the type that always complain how the world is against them, how everything bad always happens to them, blah, blah, blah. Always thinking of themselves as victims and never looking at their selfish, self-absorbed stupidity as the root cause of their problems.

Nope, that takes too much self-awareness and unfortunately these people are only interested in having enough money to have a good time. Their inner spirit comes only in bottled form, there's nothing beyond that.

Posted by: Michele at 08:40 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Do they actually have any assets against which one could execute on a judgment?

Posted by: RP at June 05, 2006 10:20 AM (LlPKh)

2 Regarding the Karma angle: - Do cops suffer bad Karma for enforcing the law? - Do DA's suffer bad Karma for trying criminals? - Do judges suffer bad Karma for sentancing them? Perhaps you could look at it this way: = If you do something that is morally wrong, then your Soul (or God, depending upon your religion) will attach a retributive Karma to your action. = But if something you do is morally right, then your Soul (or God, depending upon your religion) will attach a rewarding Karma to your action. We all get the rewards we deserve. Do these people deserve the just reward you would serve unto them? If so, then you are doing your duty as a member of society, and many will thank you for that.

Posted by: _Jon at June 05, 2006 11:54 AM (aHLPi)

3 Michele, I too have neighbors from hell. I believe they are from the lower bowels of hell. They have over 100 pit bull dogs that they breed and sell to dog fighters. They harass and slander us, among a slew of other things. The fear of attack by an escaped pit bull is always there and I carry a pistol in my own yard. They also defraud the government. After they harassed us one too many times and threatened to turn in my husband (who is truly disabled and on heavy narcotics daily for pain) everytime they saw him do ANYTHING outside, I did report them to every agency I know of that they defraud. Three in all. Who knows what might happen now but as far as I'm concerned they invoked the "People In Glass Houses" rule. I think even Karma can use a little help sometimes!

Posted by: Peg at June 15, 2006 02:36 PM (trTlr)

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