This picture shows President Bush with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, asking for higher oil output, and the King refused. He is allowed to say no. It’s their oil, and they can pump it if they want to. I have no problem with that.
This is just another in a list of mistakes Bush makes in my opinion. Bush should be on the television talking to the American people about this problem. If Bush wants to talk to someone, he should tell the American people, now paying about $4.00 a gallon, that the United States has 86 billion gallons of its own oil (according to FoxNews today), and cannot access it, thanks to regulations by environmentalists.
It’s embarrassing really, to see him beg to foreign Kings, when the debate on how to deal with this problem should begin right here at home. The last refinery built in America was in 1976. Just how "serious" are we about our energy "crisis"?
Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron, said there would be plenty of oil available to the United States if the oil companies were allowed to get it: “Eighty-five percent of offshore oil is off-limits.”
Responding to objections to offshore drilling by environmentalists and their allies in Congress, Robertson noted that some of the strongest pro-environment nations in Europe — he mentions Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom — lease offshore locations for oil exploration. The technology has become so good, he said, that during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, “one thousand offshore wells were destroyed (in the Gulf of Mexico), but not one leaked.” Australia, he said, has allowed offshore drilling for 40 years without any environmental damage.
According to the Department of Energy, U.S. oil production has fallen approximately 40 percent since 1985, while the consumption of oil has grown by more than 30 percent.
According to government estimates, there is enough oil in areas accessible to America — 112 billion barrels — to power more than 60 million cars for 60 years. The Outer Continental Shelf alone contains an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
And say, if the environmentalists are right, that ecology will suffer in the areas we could drill in, why not then appeal to the American people…award a fortune to the person, people, or company, who can invent another form of energy? We shouldn’t be beholden to a nation who can’t treat their own people right, that makes them untrustworthy at best. Untrustworthy means at any moment, our "friends and allies" could stop the oil to the U.S. any time they wanted to.
I thought would be good to sneak a peak inside the nest, as I figured eggs were there by now, and I’ve seen the robins sitting on it, (although, I don’t know how, with the little space they allowed for themselves!)
According to Yahoo Education News, these are the 10 top careers for 2008:
1. Marketing and Promotions Management
* Median Salary: $63,610
* Education: communications and/or marketing degree, personal experience
* Bottom Line: If you can tell a story that earns your company new customers, you’ll love the view from your new corner office.
2. Medical Assisting
* Median Salary: $24,610
* Education: medical assisting program completion
* Bottom Line: Explore a medical career while helping doctors manage busy practices.
3. Computer Networking Specialist
* Median Salary: $66,460
* Education: IT degree with industry certification
* Bottom Line: Get trained on Windows Vista or Mac OS X and become every IT manager’s best friend.
4. Teacher
* Median Salary: $41,400
* Education: bachelor’s degree and state-accredited teacher training program
* Bottom Line: Use your life skills to mentor a new generation of students.
5. Software Programmer
* Median Salary: $74,980
* Education: computer or software programming degree
* Bottom Line: Earn while you learn how to write solid code.
6. Educational Administrator
* Median Salary: $68,340
* Education: typically, a master’s degree in education administration
* Bottom Line: Add education courses to an existing business or retail career to serve a different kind of customer demand.
7. Graphic Designer
* Median Salary: $38,030
* Education: graphic design degree
* Bottom Line: Ride the wave of localism and embrace the artistic style of your region.
8. Paralegal
* Median Salary: $39,130
* Education: certificate, associate, or bachelor-level paralegal training
* Bottom Line: Put your passion for justice to work without having to pass the bar.
9. Nursing Administrator
* Median Salary: $52,330
* Education: nursing degree, especially BSN
* Bottom Line: Make the leap from RN to BSN for better schedules and long term stability.
10. Accountant / Bookkeeper
* Median Salary: $28,570
* Education: associate-level accounting degree or higher
* Bottom Line: Upholding the best practices of business can lead to a rewarding career.
Ever since Miranda made a mention of this on my Fluoride post, I have been curious about this subject.
Today on FoxNews it was reported that 5,000 families are suing the U.S., alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families will present three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.
Thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative) has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses.
The families say that their children were growing normally until they received the vaccines with thimerosal.
I came back from my trip to find presents and cards from Australia and Holland, as well as a card from my friend Myrna (a friend from as far back as before kindergarden!). Now that I was back at home, I got to celebrate the occasion with those near me. Thanks everyone. I love my presents and I love you!
Mother’s Day was a day of recovering from my trip and I spent it with my mom, together with my sister and her family.
For this mother’s day, I thought I would share this lovely photograph I took of Miranda and little Silas. I took this image as we hiked around Reflection Lake at Northland, in Wisconsin.
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. ~Titus 2:7
In a pregraduation service at Northland, they acknowledged the spouses of the graduates with towels and a single rose. This seemed so right to me. Enric had a few obstacles and as many do, and faced a few hardships along the journey. How much easier was it with the support and love of his wife, Miranda.
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. ~Isaiah 42:16
My son graduated from Northland Baptist Bible College today. He has worked hard for this moment. I was indeed blessed to go to Wisconsin and see him graduate.
I am blogging for the first time, away from home, at my hotel in Michigan.
This is fun!
Our trip went without any incident.
Here is Laura and Anna at BWI waiting for our flight with Midwest:
Flying over Lake Michigan is always exciting:
Miranda stopped to feed the baby on our way from Green Bay to Northland.
So, Laura and I investigated this old building from 1881 in Stiles, Wisconsin.
Then we got to see this fella with the dreamiest blue eyes ever….
Tomorrow is a big day. Enric, our graduate, has invited us to Northland’s spring concert and some other events all day!
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” — Lao Tzu
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
“There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” — Charles Dudley Warner
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” — Susan Heller
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” — Lao Tzu
“Two of the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings.” –- Hodding Carter
“He who would travel happily must travel light.” — Antoine de St. Exupery
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” — James Michener
“Let your memory be your travel bag.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” — Fitzhugh Mullan
If I ever wondered why my thyroid doesn’t work properly, the mystery seems to be solved with the fluoride pills my dentist insisted to my mom that I take as a child, since we were using well water, and not fluoride treated city water.
In Port Huron, Mich., officials are considering a halt to fluoridation that began in 1974, as residents have argued the treatment poses health risks to newborns and infants, those with thyroid conditions and others. Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Fisher said: “Fluoride is cumulative in your body. … There’s a fairly large body of scientists that believe it’s not good for your health.”
In England, where most public drinking is not artificially fluoridated, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is pushing the practice by municipalities such as Southampton. Pushing back, however, is a strong effort by the country’s Green Party, which says adding the chemical to water supplies removes the people’s freedom to choose. Eric Hyland of the party said: “Fluoride is toxic waste. It is more toxic than lead and marginally less so than arsenic. This is what the government wants to put in your drinking water. It is illegal under the Poisons Act to administer poisonous or noxious substances to anyone, and the Green Party will continue to campaign against it.”
The anti-fluoride activists make their case effectively by telling consumers to read the U.S. government’s own warnings regarding toothpastes and mouthwashes containing fluoride. They include:
“Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age.”
“If you swallow more than used for brushing, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”
“If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Centre right away.”
“Never give fluoridated mouthwash or mouth rinses to children under six years of age, as they may swallow it.”
“Use non-fluoridated toothpaste or no toothpaste for young children.”
While few would argue that topical application of minute amounts of fluoride on teeth would reduce cavities, deliberately ingesting it – even in trace amounts – is risky.
I think that when in doubt, DON’T is a safe rule here till this is solved, don’t you?
I have in my desk a jar of Vegemite.
Now, why some people would want to eat the stuff, I have no idea.
I couldn’t get it past my nose.
I keep it for sentimental reasons.
However, in Australia, they do eat it, some like it, and there does seem to be some health benefits for those who like it.
To be fair now, I wonder if this rule only applies to Australians, based on the U.S. plans to take their own food. I can see this to be a problem, Australians and Americans are used to liberties. Being able to eat one’s steroid free food shouldn’t be a non option.
This makes me think about how different the upcoming Olympics are going to be, even if it [Tibet, their political prisoners, issues of control, pollution, and lets not forget tainted food they send us] mostly stays in the background.
I, for one, am less and less enchanted with the upcoming games. Articles of their hidden nuclear submarines base, how they treat their own people, and now, how they push their control onto other nations, is to wonder if the games are nothing compared to a global security?
Some of my regular visitors noticed that my blog was having issues, it was posting double. So once people would click on the comment link, they would go to a page where the blog post appeared twice, and there were two comment forms as well.
After searching forums and Wordpress expert pages, turning off all plug-ins, and changing the template with no results, I finally took the plunge and upgraded my Wordpress Blog.
Now to some, that doesn’t sound like something hard to do, but this was my first time trying it. I was afraid I would make a mistake and lose everything, so after practicing (with John’s OK) on Boz and Oz, my first step was to download all the contents of my blog folder. Next I looked for a way to download my database files, (a tad harder to understand how to do), and finally, following the short version of how to upgrade your wordpress blog, it was done.
The newest version of Wordpress sure has a different looking dashboard. It has taken some getting used to, but only around a short week since updating it, I love it.
So if you have a Wordpress blog, and you are having issues with posts showing up twice, try upgrading your Wordpress.
My grandmom used to feed the squirrels peanuts straight from her hand. I remember as a child watching with wonder as she would reach out and they would just come up to her and reach for the peanut.
I used to fuss at the squirrels always eating my bird food. I have decided not to fight them anymore.
Now, I have a few squirrels that come to my ledge of my bedroom window to get peanuts and eat on the bird food. These squirrels have been great fun to watch and “play” with. They especially make me laugh when I am not expecting to see them, peeking in, ever curious, or asking for food.
I think I knew it was going to be difficult, but neither Laura nor I knew how involved homemade ravioli could be.
First you have to make the sauce, nearly 5 hours it took to cook!
Next was the homemade noodles, (the pasta around the filled ravioli). Then to cook the pasta with the filling.
It was a stressful meal, but in the end, it was a good dish with a great sauce (worth all 5 hours!)
Here is the recipe:
Ravioli
Tomato Meat Sauce (below)
3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 T Chopped Parsley
2 eggs, well beaten
1 T. grated parmesean cheese
salt
pepper
Basic Noodle dough (Below)
7 quarts water
2 T. Salt
Grated Parmesean or Romano Cheese
1. Prepare Tomato Meat Sauce (below)
2. Mix ricotta, parsley, eggs, 1 T Parmesean, salt, and pepper.
3. Prepare noodle dough (below). Divide dough in fourths. Lightly roll each forth 1/8 inch think to form a rectangle. Cut dough lengthwise with pastry cutter into strips 5 inches wide. Put 2 teaspoons filling 1-1/2 inchs from narrow end in center of each strip. Continuing along strip, put 2 teaspoons filling at 3-1/2 inch intervals.
4. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, covering mounds of filling. To seal, press the edges together with the tines of a fork. Press gently between mounds to form rectangles about 3-1/2 inches long. Cut apart with pastry cutter and press cut edges of rectangles with tines of fork to seal.
5. Bring water to boiling in large saucepot. Add 2 T. of salt. Add ravioli gradually. Boil uncovered, about 20 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain. Put on a warm platter and top with tomato meat sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN RAVIOLI Tomato Meat Sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 pound beef chuck
1/2 pound pork shoulder
7 cups canned tomatoes with liquid, sieved
1 T salt
1 bay leaf
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1. Heat olive oil and add onion and cook until lightly browned. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Stir in tomatoes snd salt. Add bay leaf. Cover and simmer about 2 1/2 hours.
2. Stir in tomato paste into sauce. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 2 more hours.
3. Remove bay leaf.
Basic Noodle Dough
4 cups silfted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
6 T. cold water
1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl; make a well in center. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing slightly after each addition. Add water gradually, mixing to make a stiff dough.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Only a short while ago, mom noticed a birds nest being built on the front porch light of our house…
It’s been fun watching how the robins have added to the nest.
Now we get to see Mommy Robin sitting on it, both the parents tending to it, keeping watch and fussing at us as we leave through our front door.
Here, one of the parents sits on a nearby tree branch, keeping a sharp watch.
Stay, little cheerful Robin! stay,
And at my easement sing,
Though it should prove a farewell lay
And this our parting spring.
. . . .
Then, little Bird, this boon confer,
Come, and my requiem sing,
Nor fail to be the harbinger
Of everlasting spring. - William Wordsworth
I was behind a lady in a line of cars at BJ’s the other day, we were at the gas pump. I looked at her as she was filling her car, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she looked close to crying. Watching the numbers roll around and accumulate was obviously adding to her stress level. I didn’t even have to TRY to imagine what had her so upset. I wondered what she couldn’t buy, so she could fuel her car with gas.
I tell this story as I read the headlines:
BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry.
Revenue at BP jumped 44 percent to $89.2 billion (57.1 billion euros), while sales at Shell soared 55 percent to $114 billion (72.95 billion euros).
In a recent survey, gas prices top the typical american’s lists of concerns:
About 44 percent of survey participants said paying for gasoline was a “serious problem” for them. Across all income levels, the cost of gas was the most frequently cited economic concern. The price of gas nationally averaged $3.60 a gallon on Monday, according to the Energy Department.
More than a quarter of households earning more than $75,000 a year described paying for gasoline as a serious problem. For those with incomes of less than $30,000, about 63 percent felt that way.
In a distant second and third place among participants’ economic concerns were: getting a good-paying job or raise, 29 percent; and paying for health care and health insurance, 28 percent.
Following in fourth place was difficulty paying rent or mortgage, 19 percent.
Now if I were a total optimist, I would be tempted to think that perhaps a solution to this mess was around the corner, and these oil companies was able to see the writing on the wall, and want to get their money now while they can.
However, I am a realist. I see it for what it is…greed.
With that thought, there is some projections that oil could hit $200 a barrel, pushing gas to $10.00 a gallon.
With the exception of Maryland winters, a bike is looking better all the time.
This picture shows President Bush with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, asking for higher oil output, and the King refused. He is allowed to say no. It’s their oil, and they can pump it if they want to. I have no problem with that.
I have in my desk a jar of Vegemite.
