Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Earthquake!

A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck shortly after 8:00 p.m. tonight centered in the foothills east of San Jose and was felt by residents as far east as Sacramento and as far north as San Rafael, which is north of San Francisco.

Now for people like me who have lived in northern California their entire lives an earthquake is no big deal. We live about 90 miles from the area. I was working and suddenly everything in the room started moving and the floor felt like it was rolling like waves. No big -- been there, done that. I'm always curious though when an earthquake occurs as to how many people would be on the street. Well, on opening the front door the only neighbors I saw were the family living across the road from us, who had just moved to California a few months ago. The parents didn't know what it was and the three sons were asking "what was that?" and clinging to their parents. I told them it was no 9-1-1, just an earthquake, you get used to them.

Now for my son this was a big deal. When he asked what it was and I told him it was an earthquake he gave me a big hug and said, "My first earthquake and we shared it together!" Only my silly son could react this way. I've been lucky enough to witness all the major milestones so far in his life and this was another as far as he was concerned. His first earthquake, hot dog! Then like most northern California natives I went back to work and he returned to watching TV.

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Monday, October 29, 2007

Big Fat Kiss and Donkey Butt Awards!

In his own words Rick says I'm "nifty" and has bestowed upon me:



Thank you so much Rick -- you're a sweetheart in a strangely wonderful sense!

And I've passed them on to these the crazy guys at Fugetaboutit!!!, Davemania and McCafferty's Pub. I love these guys -- they always leave me laughing!

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Saturday, October 27, 2007

Thanks Dave!

I really have some generous readers and friends. ((BIG HUGS)) to Dave for sharin' the love!!!

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Save the World with PB&J














Could it be true? Was The Amazing Mumford on Sesame Street right about PB&J sandwiches being magical? He may have been wiser than we all thought!

Think about it and check out the PB&J Campaign. According to them a PB&J lowers your carbon footprint by 2.5 pounds of CO2. You can't beat that with a hamburger. If PB&J isn't your cup of tea, check out their recipe section for other low-impact alternatives.

Now I'm not a big PB&J eater, but when I told my son about this he was tickled (of course) and if it'll help save the world you better believe I'm going back to them. Besides it's quick and easy and it makes your kids happy! Another good reason to start munching them down!

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Monday, October 22, 2007

48 and Still Breathing!



I am now officially 48 years old. Yeah, I turned the big 48 this weekend. And I can say that with a smile - I'm still breathing and life is glorious!

Started my day actually with a mammogram (oh joy!) but believe me it got better after that. Actually this time it wasn't such a bad experience. The tech was a lovely person and we were so busy talking I didn't really pay attention when she actually did the study. But thankfully it's over for at least 6 months.

On Saturday my son and I attended the televised Bioneers conference at the local university. Now I know to some people this would not sound thrilling, but this was my first conference and it was actually very inspiring and got me thinking more as to what I really want to do when I get out of my present career. I've been a medical transcriptionist for too many years and quite frankly I'm looking forward to getting into something entirely different. I've gotten a lot of signals the last couple of weeks that my life needs to start down a new course and working with environmental issues may just be the ticket. I've always been a major Mother Earth girl and I would love to get involved in bettering the world. Topped off Saturday night with pizza and a movie, "Planet Terror," the one with the girl whose leg gets amputated and her boyfriend replaces it with a machine gun. Very gross movie but entertaining and I absolutely enjoyed it. Who figured I would be such a warped mom? Ah, the joys of parenthood . . . I love it!

Sunday my wonderful son took me out to lunch and then we spent the evening at my niece's birthday party (she's 5 going on 40, you know the ones), about 10 friends with 20 kids running around like a bunch of nuts just enjoying ourselves. I love parties but don't get to many, so it was a blast. Of course by the end of the night this lady was pooped and after another very interesting and enjoyable 3-1/2 hour phone call with my friend Tim in Tennessee, who is moving out here to California next month, I hit the hay with a thud!

Now I know this doesn't sound like a thrilling birthday weekend but it was. I spent time with some of the people I love most in the world, especially my son, and once again I'm thankful for every day I wake up. I can finally face the fact that I am middle-aged. But I guess I'm lucky, I like myself much more now than I ever have before. I'm not ready to "buy the farm" nor will I be "pushing up daisies' anytime soon, and although I've been told too much lately I'm not getting any younger I am certainly getting better.

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Sunday, October 21, 2007

Totally Fabulous Award!

My friend Julie, who I think is fabulous says I'm fabulous!



Thank you so much Julie, you're so sweet! And to these fabulous women I pass on the honor, because they never fail to make my day and I think they're all amazing women.

Rosei at Academia
Heidi at Virushead
Susan at Friday's Child
Ginger's Dish
MauiGirl's Meanderings

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Best Kept Secret Award

What a lovely day! I just received the



from another Gore Draft supporter Amy and have now passed the award on to three bloggers I thoroughly enjoy:

I am a Butterfly
Maui Girl's Meanderings
Fat Lady Sings

Thank you to all of you for always making my day!

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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

President Colbert?



"After nearly 15 minutes of soul searching, I have heard the call. Nation, I will seek the office of the President of the United States. I am doing it!" With those words Stephen Colbert, the Commander in Chief of the Colbert Nation, announced Tuesday night on his show that he is officially entering the 2008 Presidential race, adding he will be campaigning in one state only -- South Carolina, his home state.

And I say, why not? He's just as qualified as a lot of the announced candidates and much more entertaining! There are several websites dedicated to his candidacy and the paperwork is being pursued for him to try to run in both the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries in January 2008. And I can only imagine him involved in a Presidential debate, which believe me I would watch if he participated. Right on Stephen!

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Friday, October 12, 2007

Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize











OSLO (AP) — Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for fighting it.

Gore, who won an Academy Award earlier this year for his film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, had been widely tipped to win the prize. The win is also likely add further fuel to a burgeoning movement in the United States for Gore to run for president in 2008, which he has so far said he does not plan to do.

"His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change," the citation said. "He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted."

Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the prize committee, said the award should not be seen as singling out the administration of President Bush for criticism.

But, in a nod to the 2008 elections, he said "I am very much in support for all who support changes."

"Al Gore has fought the environment battle even as vice president," Mjoes said. "Many did not listen ... but he carried on."

Gore, who was in San Francisco as Friday dawned, issued a statement through his office that said, in part:

"I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. ... We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

"My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100% of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis."

The last American to win the prize, or share it, was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who won it 2002.

In its citation, the committee said that Gore "has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians" and cited his awareness at an early stage "of the climatic challenges the world is facing.

The committee cited the IPCC for its two decades of scientific reports that have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over 100 countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming."

It went on to say that because of the panel's efforts, global warming has been increasingly recognized. In the 1980s it "seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent."

"It was a surprise," said Carola Traverso Saibante, spokeswoman for the IPCC. "We would have been happy even if (Gore) had received it alone because it is a recognition of the importance of this issue."

The prize decision was greeted with skepticism in some circles, however.

"Awarding it to Al Gore cannot be seen as anything other than a political statement. Awarding it to the IPCC is well-founded," said Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist.

He criticized Gore's film as having "some very obvious mistakes, like the argument that we're going to see six meters of sea-level rise," he said.

"They (Nobel committee) have a unique platform in getting people's attention on this issue, and I regret they have used it to make a political statement."

This year, climate change has been at the top of the world agenda. The U.N. climate panel has been releasing its reports; talks on a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate are set to resume; and on Europe's northern fringe, where the awards committee works, concern about the melting Arctic has been underscored by this being the International Polar Year.

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said the prize would help to continue the globally growing awareness of climate change.

"Their contributions to the prevention of climate change have raised awareness all over the world. Their work has been an inspiration for politicians and citizens alike," he said in a statement.

In recent years, the Norwegian committee has broadened its interpretation of peacemaking and disarmament efforts outlined by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in creating the prize with his 1895 will. The prize now often also recognizes human rights, democracy, elimination of poverty, sharing resources and the environment.

"We believe that the Nobel Committee has shown great courage by so clearly connecting the climate problems with peace," said Truls Gulowsen, head of environmental group Greenpeace Norway.

The Nobel Prizes each bestow a gold medal, a diploma and a $1.5 million cash prize on the winner.

On Thursday, Doris Lessing, author of dozens of works from short stories to science fiction, including the classic The Golden Notebook, won the Nobel Prize for literature.

On Wednesday, Gerhard Ertl of Germany won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for studies of chemical reactions on solid surfaces. On Tuesday, France's Albert Fert and German Peter Gruenberg won the physics award for discovering a phenomenon that lets computers and digital music players store reams of data on ever-shrinking hard disks.

Americans Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, and Briton Sir Martin Evans, won the medicine prize Monday for groundbreaking discoveries that led to a powerful technique for manipulating mouse genes.

The prize for economics will be announced Monday.

GORE'S STATEMENT

"I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis -- a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis."


Find this article at USA TODAY

Draft Gore Statement on Al Gore
Winning the Nobel Peace Prize


We are gratified by the awarding of this prestigious award to Al Gore. It confirms our judgment of the man, his principles, vision, experience, efforts -- as well as promise. He is in a unique position not only to lead our country, but to make America once again an agent for peace in the world.

This award will only add to the tremendous tidal wave of support for Al Gore and the growing demands that he become a candidate for President in 2008. He is in a unique position to make a difference in the world on the one issue he believes to be the most important of our times. We believe that under these circumstances he has no choice but to take the one step left to have the greatest impact in changing policy on global warming -- run for President.


Me, the big talker, went to bed at 11:00 and didn't get up until 6:00. No I didn't stay up waiting for the announcement - I had no doubt he would win, no one deserves it more, so why lose sleep over a sure thing?
CONGRATS MR. GORE!!!

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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Why Al Gore Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize



Gore's epic effort to focus attention on the perils of climate change supports the goal of preventing wars.

By Carl Pope

Oct. 11, 2007 | What's world peace got to do with global warming? Perhaps everything. Or it will if things don't change fast -- if, in 10 or 20 or 40 years devastating floods and droughts displace millions of refugees and spur nations and tribes to desperate bloodletting. At which point, no one will have the slightest doubt why members of the renowned Scandinavian foundation thought former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was an obvious choice for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Speculation has been growing that Gore will be chosen for the prize on Friday. Regardless of the outcome, Gore is, quite simply, the indispensable player in the drama of mankind's encounter with the possibility of destroying the climatic balance within which our civilization emerged and developed.

For the rest of this excellent article check out http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/10/11/gore/

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Happy Birthday John!


















My fave pic of John


~ IMAGINE ~

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


I wonder if you knew when you wrote these beautiful words how much they would impact our world, giving us hope and encouragement to bring about universal peace and love for all the world, for all mankind. Today more than ever these words bring new hope to people throughout the world. Forever grateful to you Dear John. I for one miss you but know your spirit shines eternal.


Yoko Ono unveils the Imagine Peace Tower in memory of John Lennon. You can read about it here.

Visit Imagine Peace for more info about this wonderful memorial.

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