Tampa Gets Ready for the Super Bowl

I took these pictures a couple of nights ago. You won't be able to get any where near the stadium or downtown this weekend.

Art being projected on the side of a parking garage....


One Bucaneer Place next to Raymond James Stadium....












Over our house earlier today...

MEME Favorites

Stolen from Tina at Tina-cious.com


These are a few of my favorite things ...

Entertainment

Movie: The Long Long Trailer, Send Me No Flowers, Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Comedy: The Folks

Romantic Comedy: Three Weddings and a Funeral

Children's Movie: The Incredible Mr. Limpet

Movie Musical: Bye Bye Birdie

Disney Animated Movie: Peter Pan

Disney-Pixar Movie: Finding Nemo

Actor: Nicolas Cage

Actress: Jodie Foster

Child Star: was Kristy McNichol but she grew up.

Book: No one favorite

Author: Varied. I prefer autobiographies

Television Show: of all time, I love Lucy; currently on the air, NOTHING

Video Game: Wii Fit Games

Computer Game: Majohnng Toy Chest

Musical: Mama Mia!

Play: Phantom of the Opera

Band: Weezer

Song: Rainy Night in Georgia

Concert Attended: Santana

Food

Food: Italian

Meal to Cook: Chicken Carbonera

Dessert: Key Lime Pie

Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Mandarin Orange Tea

Alcoholic Beverage: don't do

Restaurant: Boma's in Orlando (African cuisine)

Fast-Food Restaurant: Boston Market

Pizza Topping: any combination but leave out bacon, anchovies, and pork

Hamburger Topping: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo and steak sauce,

Hot Dog Topping: ketchup, brown mustard, relish,chopped onions (sometimes sauerkraut)

Ice Cream Topping: chocolate sauce, marschino cherry

Shopping

Store: Hollister Co

Item of Clothing: shirts

Pair of Shoes: Nike

Brand of Toothpaste: Mentadent

Brand of Soap: Suave Ocean Breeze

Brand of Shampoo: Suave RefreshingTangerine (Use to be Vidal Sassoon but can't find it)

Brand of Laundry Detergent: Cheer Free and Gentle Liquid

Brand of Dish Soap: Dawn Orange Antibacterial

Dust Bunnies

This is going to be a long blog, so if you don't have time to read it, you might want to check back later.
I was thinking about how this election and election before it really polarized this nation. A lot of gays and lesbians lost friends and family back in 2004 for sure when Bush was reelected. If the polls could be believed, it was like a slap in the face and put you on one side of the issues and them on another. It was a bitter pill but, we swallowed. Now it looks like there may be hope at the end of the tunnel. Someone who will rebuild that foundation of support we lost....or so it seems. Someone who will unite and not divide this country. Someone who will help end a lot of the prejudices and sterotypes we hear every day. Little did I realize that so many on that Bush wall would be so bitter. And bitter believe you me, they are.

I had a friend; eh, ex coworker rather, that constantly peppered me with email forwards that were chaulked full of; English is the language spoken in America, Live by our rules or get out, Marriage is between one man and one woman, Obama is a Muslim, Obama isn't really a US citizen, etc., The kind of ignorant rambling convoluted emails you would expect from a teenager or a person with a low IQ trying to show what they think is political savy. I asked her in a joking manner to not send them because they were well, stupid, inaccurate and a waste of time to track down, correct and send back to her in an attempt to point out the obvious to her. I did for a while just hit delete but, it seemed like if I didn't comment, even more came. I even tried being blunt and saying, listen please don't send me this stuff. Always the same whiny excuse that they were "for entertainment purposes" only and not to be taken literally and that I should get out more (whatever that meant) came back to me as if I were the one with the 'problem' not her. Well, who's entertainment? Certainly not mine. This finally came to a head last Friday and I want to share this with you. I along with several others in her address book received the following forwarded email:

Prime Minister John Howard Australia:
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.
Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.
Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians'.

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'. 'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriat e to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LA ND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,

'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the
same truths.

If you agree, please SEND THIS ON.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I I responded with,

Xxxxxxxxx,
"It is a real shame that people who forward this rubbish, don't have the backbone or the God given deceny to hit delete instead of forwarding them to propagate intolarance and hate. I would suggest that given the tone of this last election, a great many people in this country are moving forward not backward in their desire to learn to live and work with people of all religions, cultures, creeds, and nationalities. Many of us have grown tired of self professed Christians who spew hatred from their lips as they wave American flags and have their wives press their white KKK robes for future wear.

In the future, should you receive similar hate spewed versions of the same message, please leave me off the list of forwards as I will hit delete for sure. "

With that, I hit reply to all. I figure one of them surely has to either feel as I do or they were like her. Either way, I wanted everyone on the list to know I didn't agree with this. Which I'm pretty sure looking back, I accomplished. Within a matter of minutes I received the following:

I have no Idea who Xxxxxxx Xxxxx is but she comes across as a very intolerant person. 47% of the people in America rejected Obama and we have a right to any opinion we want as guaranteed by the Constitution. 90% of American's profess a believe in God so where are you going with this anti-christian burst. Anyway I totally agree with the Australian Prime Minister and have the same opinion for any one wanting to live in America. Live by our rules or stay home.
XXXXXXXXX's Father Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
From the Boonies

Alright, that totally enraged me. I have never been called intolerant in my life plus here he is writing this like I've committed blasephemy. So, thinking I know who this guy is because I thought I knew who he wasn't. (as my ex coworker had not to long ago, cried to me about her father dying and how she had been torn for days and couldn't stop crying) and also wanting whomever this was to understand my position. I responded:

Mr Xxxxxxx,
I know who you are and last I heard, Xxxxxxxxx's father was dead. However, I assure you I am not the intolerant one here. You might want to check your facts. You certainly have a right to any opinion you so choose but, you don't have to email it to me and that is why I asked not to receive these emails. You also might want to try researching some of it before you send it as that whole speech by the Austrailian prime minister was written out of context. Bottom line is, I can't reconcile prejudice and hate with Christianity no matter how I try. Obviously you can and good luck to you and your 47% sir because the 53% of the people that voted for Obama don't think the same way.
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx

Apparently I hit a lot of nerves. Turns out that she was adopted and this was her adopted father. Ooopps, my bad. Still, the tone wasn't set by me and I really don't feel I said anything all that hideous to receive the following response from her. His response was brief and with none of the poision of his first msg so I can only surmise that he was saving it for her.

First his response
I adopted Xx a very long time ago
Then hers:
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx is my father in every sense of the word. The person that died in April of 2008 was my donor. I will never send you any emails. you are just full of hate. Emails that I forward to me are nothing but entertainment not for anyone to take out of context.
Thank you and it sure was nice knowing you.


Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx

Now, normally I would be upset and try to arrive at some understanding because I was out of line to say I knew who the man was when in fact I was mistaken. But, it was so obvious from even the way that was worded, that she was determined to try to inflict some type of gaping wound in my psyche and was confirming that she was not interested in what anyone thinks of her source of reading material as long as it is entertaining to her. It made me think back to all the insults and arrows that had been thrown my way when Bush was elected in 2000 and all the emails I was bombed with after the 2004 election. I began to see just how far wide and deep the gaping wounds in this country really are. Like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and others who called us unpatriotic, and not worthy enough to have the same rights as they have. People who said they were our friends but then supported people that caused us harm and wished us ill. People like that are not my friends. Granted they shouldn't be my enemies either. And so I pondered on that and finally I had an epiphany. What I should have said and done in the first place was to treat them like you would a dust bunny. And so I emailed:

Whatever Xxxxxxxxx. They won't be missed.

And then I deleted her email address, her myspace link and went out to dinner.

Jullian

I have my Grandson for the day!! We went down to 'Grannie's (my mother) house and picked up all her grapefruit and oranges. Thank goodness he didn't get them confused with the German Shepard droppings. Before that, we danced and played and looked at books and for a little while and in between we watched some of his favorite programs. Now he is taking a nap. Sounds like a wondrful idea, doesn't it?

OMG! PB & J ?

I stole the following from Jess I am who stole it from her pal Val and so it began; the Tale of the Peanut Butter. And remarkably accurate! I'll never look down my nose at a peanut butter sandwich again!

Your PB and J Says You're Adventurous and Accepting

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you're going back for seconds... no matter how full you are! You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren't exactly your downfall. Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next. You're a self loathing middle class person. You act a lot classier than you are, and you secretly feel like a fraud. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

FROM GOTHAM CITY TO TAMPA-WHAT A MISTAKE

On Saturday, the Tampa Tribune outlined 19 unsolved homicides in the Tampa Bay area.*
Yet the police seem more concerned with trying to arrest the Dynamic Dual who promote The Castle down in the Ybor nightclub district for violating a state law that forbids wearing a mask on the public right of way. {A statute written in the 1950's apparently aimed at the hooded Ku Klux Klan.) After they arrested Batman in Oct they went to great pains to slander both he and the Boy Wonder in the Tampa Tribune by prejudicially placing an article titled "Superpower Aliases" showing mugshots of crooks NOT dressed in costume but simply giving false names to law enforcement officers. The article quoted police spokeswoman Andrea Davis as saying, "You have to wonder why someone would choose to conceal his face."

If I had to respond to such an asinine statement, I'd go with; a) it's partof the costume for that character, b) it's entertaining for themselves and the crowds they are hoping to attract.

Bottom line, go catch some dangerous criminals and save the spokeswoman for when you solve a real crime.

I found Computer Hell and it is lonely

Well, I made it back to square one here. I know it has been a while since I posted. I've been having computer issues. Anyone who knows me knows I know very little about computers. Lori who has her A+ certification, Net plus certification and Microsoft certified professional, etc.,and knows even less. My son on the other hand seems to know everything about everything and I always turn to him when the going gets out of control.

In a nut shell, my Antivirus program needed to be updated. To do that I needed to install service packs that I couldn't because I had a bootleg copy of Windows XP so, I had a new XP but never had put it on. Well, after much screaming and crying....by Lori....because I don't want her near my computer, I mentioned it to Daniel and he came over to do it. The reason being, Lori has a way of doing things at times that makes me want to cut my wrists and bleed all over the carpet. I don't know of any nice way of putting it. I love her dearly but, when it comes to my computer our relationship takes a dive straight to hell with lots of cursing and crying and gnaching of teeth. Let me give you give you a pretend scenario of a burned out light to illustrate what I go through with this Mensa member.

I ask: How do you change the bulb on this new kitchen fixture?
Lori: Well it is has a red and black wire running from the electrical box which allows it to utilize 110 watts of power. It comes in on x wire and retuns on y and is hooked here to this circuit breaker. When the switch is on, the power travels through the cord behind this block and past the phone line ......

Okay, at that point, I've moved on. I don't care if the light ever comes on because I've adapted to the dark.

Now there is Daniel....
I ask: How do you change the bulb on this new kitchen fixture?
Daniel: You unscrew it in the back, take off the lid and then screw in a bulb.

SWEET! You see the difference? So when I tell you we can't talk about computers you can kind of see why. Something simple......takes hours! Something a little more serious can take days and if it is really a mess, it could be WEEKS! Or in poor Dane's case with his laptop, she took two months and he wound up getting it back and heading to the GEEK squad at Best Buy. Nuff said.

So today, my son Daniel came and wiped out one of my harddrives. I had two; C and D. Loriinstalled a 2nd one and told me to use it for backup. Oh how these words haunt me. To make sure I didn't get confused as I have a tendency to do, it was even labeled D Drive [Backup]

He wiped out the one hard drive and put the disc in for the new XP. To shorten this nightmare, I will tell you that Lori got this disc from Dell for Dane's laptop. He had a virus and she called them and they sent him the disc so that he could reinstall the program once he got it back from the GEEK squad. Turns out,contrary to what she said they told her, you can't put an XP disc on more than one computer. You need the key and it is only good for ONE (say it with me) ONE computer. SOOOO, we had this worthless disc and had to spend $150. for another key so Daniel could continue this whole update situation. But before I go to far, let me start with a few weeks ago when I made the decision to do this. I started copying things I wanted to keep. I did everything but the photos and music...

All was well until I looked in my backup drive which is.............PHUCKING EMPTY!!!! He thinks it is because it contained shortcuts and when the original files were deleted, the shortcuts went bye bye. Now what is the point of a backup?? I thought to copy files you wanted to save...but, I'm an idiot.

Bottom line is I have lost so many pictures I could cry. Most I can never ever get back. No copies no nothing. My music files??? Gone. Can't find them. I finally found a program disc I use to have and installed that. It asked if I wanted it to search for my music and I said yes. A miracle happened in that it pulled up a huge library. However, none of th great CD's of Dane's that he copied for me are on there. None of his music or videos are on there. I am just heartsick. I don't dare mention this to Lori. Not that she would have been able to save anything but, she will blame Dan and it isn't his fault. I asked her how to copy my pictures onto a disc before Christmas. Finally today, she spent over 45 mins trying to show me. Not that I'm stupid but, she wasn't doing it right and kept stopping. Finally I said nevermind. I called Daniel. He told me what to do and I did maybe two discs and that is all I had time to do before he arrived. He said not to worry if it was on my backup. Famous last words.

Jump ahead. All my addresses are gone too but, I had printed out a copy so, I'm hoping everyone is on there. If not, I will have to wait till you email me to have it again. ::Sheesh:::

I am so upset about my photos. I feel like I've had a fire all over again. I mean, I had baby photos of Jullian that I downloaded from my digital camera before I wiped the memory card clean. Gone. Just plain gone. I will never store photos on here again. NEVER. I will never save anything to this computer that can't be put on a disc or a floppy at the time I do it. I'm so done.

Anyway, now I get to install a bucket load of drivers and pray everything works. SO far at least all my favorites and my blogs are all up. Of course I saved them on other servers. But then, I'm an idiot for not asking sooner how to use this program I have for writing CD's and getting it done. Still it makes me physically ill.

I hope to never have to do this again. Sheesh! Like I have any say so in it.