Month: March 2009

Credit Card Theft

On By Michel McDonaldIn ScamsLeave a comment

I wasn’t going to blog about this because I had resolved it with the bank so it was a non issue.  But I did a search on it and find that it is a huge issue.

This company who goes by many different names, or maybe, possibly there are many companies doing the same thing.  One of the names is MyLiberia.com, another is Digismarket.  The name on my statement is Electronic Business Res.  They charge you $4.95 for services that are never rendered.  They are an online bookstore or so they say they are, selling e-books but you never get an e-book.  You don’t even get an email telling you that they are ripping you off but in the bank statement it gives me a transaction number and a phone number which is out of service.

As I said I wasn’t going to blog about this but I feel that it’s something that people really need to know about.  Make sure you check your bank statement or credit card statement often to make sure it’s not there.  Or better yet, call the credit card company or your bank and just request a new card so you can have a new credit card number just in case.

Good luck

My Most Embarrassing Moment in History

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, HumorLeave a comment

I know that every time something embarrassing happens to me I always say that it is the most embarrassing moment in my life but I have to say that those don’t even compare to what happened to me today.

Ok so we went to Albertson’s this morning before Darrin dropped me off at the doctors off before he went to work.  He bought some toothpaste because we were out and he also grabbed a 1 liter bottle of flavored water for himself and 1 for me too.  So he drops me off at the doctor’s office and I go in, sign in, sit down and am watching TV and waiting patiently to be called.  Then tragedy struck.

You know when you have a room temperature bottle of sparkling water or soda or something and you unscrew the cap and it starts to fizz up so you have to open then close the lid over and over because if you don’t it explodes all over the place?  I had already done that and taken a sip or 2 out of the water.  Well, I was sitting there just watching TV and I opened the lid and all was fine, no fizzing occurred.  I put the bottle up to my mouth and it just exploded all over me.  OMG!

My whole front was completely soaking wet.  At first I thought it was a dream, I must be sleeping still at home.  I’m asleep and the people in the waiting room don’t even acknowledge my existence here.  Unfortunately, the realization came over me that I was indeed awake and there were other people in the waiting room staring at me.  The only thing that I could say was “that did not just happen to me”.

When it happened it was just so fast, so all of a sudden.  I wasn’t expecting that to happen, although I guess nobody does really.  I tried stopping it by pressing my lips around the bottle but the pressure built up in my mouth and I had to let go so I put my finger in the bottle as if I were a little dutch boy trying to stop the flow of water in the hole in a dam.

So desperately I went over to the door and started knocking on it and I heard Donna say hang on and I’m like ok, this is sort of an emergency, I need someone to please assist in my suicide lol.  So she opens the door and I walk in and she had this look on her face like OMG what happened.  I said my water exploded all over me.  She said it looks like I peed then threw up all over my shirt (as if I had a liquid lunch lol there were no chunks, just water).  I went to the bathroom and blotted as much as I could but no matter how many paper towels I used, I wouldn’t come out of it dry.

So then I went back to the door to the waiting room and said please don’t make me go back out there.  Then Jennifer comes along and sees me and I thought it would be funny to tell her “I’m really nervous today” at which point her jaw hit the ground.  She knows that I would never piss my pants and she saw the water bottle so she started laughing.  I told her my best course of action is to just pour the rest of it down the front of my shorts to even it out lol.

But luckily it started drying fast and by the time I left the doctor’s office my shorts were completely dry.  So at least I didn’t have to ride the bus with wet shorts on.  I guess this is my karma for talking trash about the Jonas Brothers the other night.  But in my defense I did delete it before anyone could see what a jerk I was.  Then again I’m sure a few people saw it in the 2 minutes it took me to decide to delete it, but I doubt it.

Deadly Pet Toys

On By Michel McDonaldIn PetsLeave a comment

We got our Toy Chihuahua last year so we’ve had her for maybe a year and 2 months.  When we first got her we went to PetSmart and bought her this little toy that is a green frog with a squeaker inside of it.  She loves that frog.  She’s always playing with it and her favorite thing is to bite down on the squeaker to make it squeak.

She’s chewed the hell out of that frog and she’s even torn the fabric so that she was able to access the squeaker and she chewed the tip of it off.  This was like 6 months or so ago.  I took the squeaker out and threw it away when I realized what she had one.

About a month ago I found the spare squeaker that came with the frog and there is an access in the back of the frog with Velcro so you can remove the one inside and replace it.  Well, even though she chewed the hell out of the stomach it didn’t occur to me that she might try to chew the spare squeaker the same way.  I don’t know why.  I forgot that she did it to the first one so it didn’t really occur to me to not put the second one in there.

Today Darrin was laying on the couch talking to his brother on the phone and our dog Flower was laying next to his feet just going to town on this frog.  I saw how passionate she was chewing on this thing and it didn’t occur to me that she might have been chewing the tip of the squeaker.

Darrin got off the phone and I noticed that she was clawing at her face.  I went over to her and picked up the frog and she didn’t try to get it back, she was still clawing at her face.  She had this look of horror in her eyes.  I could tell she was in trouble but I didn’t know what to do.  I looked at the squeaker and the tip was gone.  The part that makes the squeaking sound was laying on the couch where she was laying all by itself next to the frog and I realized she was choking on something.

I put my finger in her mouth and I could feel it in her throat but I couldn’t get at it.  I accidentally pushed it in her throat and she was struggling still.  I knew she couldn’t breathe at all.  I told Darrin to blow inside her mouth to help her out but he didn’t know what I meant.  He put his lips up to her mouth and blew on them, I grabbed her and put her entire snout into my mouth and just blew and then chip squeezed her chest and you could hear a popping sound, the plastic piece shot out of her mouth and fell onto the floor.

OMFG!!!  I was in total panic mode, I didn’t know what to do.  I didn’t know what I was doing when I blew in her mouth, I thought I was helping her but at the same time I would’ve been hurting her.  If it weren’t for Darrin squeezing her chest she would’ve been dead.

I immediately threw the frog away and took a picture of the squeaker.  You can see in the picture the piece that she had stuck in her throat, it’s the thing that the arrow is pointing to.

squeeker

I can only imagine what might have happened if we weren’t home to see this happening, what we might have walked in on one day.  I might have been on my bike ride and come home to find a dead toy chihuahua laying on the living room floor or on the couch.  Or we might come home from the movies or from going out to dinner.  I will never ever buy another toy with one of these things in it ever again.  And if I find a toy that has one, I’m going to take it out first.

My aunt Louise takes them out.  When I went to visit her for Christmas in Texas someone bought her dogs some toys and she took the squeakers out but I didn’t know why, now I know.  They are killers.  But her dogs are a lot bigger than mine, like Golden Retriever sized dogs.  Our dog is smaller than a cat.  Like half the size of a cat.  I never even imagined this would happen but now I do and I’ve learned from it.

Go Phones

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cell PhoneLeave a comment

I’ve been doing a little research today trying to find a good cell phone plan for the both of us but can’t really find something that has a good price.  I mean, they are all expensive and I can’t justify spending $100 just to be able to call each other for free when he’s at work or when he goes on his breaks.

The only reason we need these cell phones are so when I’m riding my bike or I’m at the store or at the mall then he can call me and I’ll be able to answer the phone.  I think I might have found a solution to the problem.

AT&T has the Go Phone that is a Nokia 2610 for $30 and it’s a prepaid cell phone so you pay $25 for the phone card and they basically charge you $1 for every day that you use your phone plus .10 cents per minute.  So it wouldn’t be very good for using every day if you are strapped for cash.  But it does have free unlimited mobile to mobile calling which is what we are looking for.  Now, I don’t know if that means that we still have to pay $1 per day with the unlimited mobile to mobile, I’m sure it does.  But that’s ok, it’s only $25 a month each phone.

I bought the cell phone that I have now in 2002 when I first started visiting my aunt in Simi Valley because Darrin would call me and it was irritating her.  So I bought a pre-paid cell phone through T-Mobile and it has served it’s purpose but it’s time to let it go.  The phone got so old that it would just die all of a sudden.  I’d charge the battery fully but the phone would still die.  I ended up buying another one to replace it last year at the swap meet but this one is shutting off while Darrin uses it now too.  It’s the same model so maybe I should have upgraded lol.  So it’s time for new cell phone(s).

The Go Phone just seems like the better plan for us right now.  At least it has a color screen and you can download ringtones that aren’t midi.  I hate those old ringtones lol.

Everyone’s a Critic

On By Michel McDonaldIn TVLeave a comment

I have my own taste in what I watch on TV.  But what I hate is when people tell me stuff like “don’t waste your time on that show” or “OMG that is so lame, you are such a pussy for watching that”.  You know what.  Screw that.  I don’t give a crap what people have to tell me about how they feel about the shows I like.  I don’t go around telling people that they shouldn’t be watching the stuff they watch.  Jeez dude, mind your own business.

I’ll give you an example.  OK, I like shows like Buffy and Charmed but a lot of people will say that those shows are targeted for girls.  No they’re not!  They are targeted to anyone who likes that world.  I just so happen to be that type of person.  I don’t care if it’s all men burping and farting, as long as they are casting spells and vanquishing demons or slaying vampires, that’s all I care about.

Some people will say “oh well that’s not very educational now is it?  I just watch the home decorating shows and you know, educational programming like the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel (TLC) and the History Channel.  You know, you could be a little more educated if you stop watching those TV shows of yours”.  You know what, let me tell you something about education.  Shove your education up your pie hole =)) I watch those things too.  I watch the History channel and Discovery once in a while, if it’s interesting to me.  I don’t base my whole existence on that crap because they aren’t fantasy.  I would much rather live in the fantasy world because it’s more interesting.

Listen, I have ADD, you know what that means?  It means if I don’t give a crap about something then I’m not going to pay any attention and I’m not going to remember 1 thing you told me about any of it.  I may be sitting there, staring at the screen for an hour but I can guarantee you that I won’t hear 1 word being said.  And at the very end you can quiz me on it and I’ll tell you the same thing everyone time.  “Huh?  What?  Oh I’m sorry, I wasn’t even paying attention.”

If you ask me anything about Smallville, Supernatural, Heroes, Buffy, Charmed or any of the other many shows that I watch, I will have so much information that you will be like omg I can’t believe you remembered that but yet you can’t remember anything that you just saw in the last hour that I made you watch on the History channel.

Sorry, it’s how I roll.

Primeval

On By Michel McDonaldIn TVLeave a comment

Last year I watched this show on BBC America called Primeval.  I thought it was a very good show.  They only have about 6 or 7 episodes for each season but that’s because it cost so much money to make with all the dinosaurs and special effects.  The story is pretty good and I highly recommend it.

Here is a synopsis from scifi.com:

World-renowned evolutionary scientist Professor Nick Cutter and his team are recruited by the British Government to investigate a series of dinosaur sightings. From a Gorgonopsid rampaging through the Forest of Dean to a swarm of giant spiders in the tunnels of the London Underground, they find themselves doing the “Monster Mash” with some seriously beastly opponents.

The seemingly impossible becomes a terrifying reality as long-extinct creatures rip through human territory. Meanwhile Cutter and his research assistant, Stephen Hart, struggle to find answers. Enlisting the help of zoologist Abby Maitland and student palaeontologist Connor Temple, the four work to uncover the secrets of the temporal anomalies. Yet it soon becomes clear that all traditional methods of research are extinct.

The team is abetted by shadowy government officials James Lester and Claudia Brown, who instruct them to keep the danger secret from the public. Yet inevitably, the past threatens to invade the present and destroy the future. And Cutter’s crew faces a life and death race against time.

Adding to the chaos, Cutter is also struggling with a private dilemma. After disappearing for eight years, his wife, Helen, mysteriously returns with possible answers to help halt the invasion of prehistoric creatures. But is she willing to share the secrets? And if not, then why has she returned?

Combining dazzling special effects of Walking With Dinosaurs and Jurassic Park style, action and thrills, plus a haunting love story, Primeval asks a horrifying question — has mankind come to the end of the evolutionary road?

Primeval is coming to Sci-Fi channel starting on Friday April 10th at 10/9C.  Catch it if you can.  Set your TiVo’s or whatever DVR’s you have or your old dinosaur VCR’s (pun intended). and make sure you don’t miss this show.

Bubble On The Sun

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Yesterday I was thrown into a total panic.  Just before Darrin went to work he told me about this story he saw on the news about this bubble that is on the sun and that by 2012 there will be a solar flare that will knock out all the satellites and will end all life as we know it.

Now, when you hear this what comes to mind?  I’ve watched the Nostradamus specials on the history channel and the discovery channel all telling that he stopped writing about what will happen in the future so they think that since there is nothing after November 2012 that it will be the end of the world.  Basically judgment day right?  Well, when Darrin told me that the sun will “end life as we know it” it put me into a total panic.

I was thinking all day that you know, there’s nothing we can do about it.  There is no way we can fill up a spaceship and board it with all the humans and animals and leave because we don’t have one yet.  Stargate SG-1 is just a TV show, not a reality.  The government can’t just start gathering people and animals and take them to Colorado and bring them to the Stargate and put them on another planet.  It’s not real.

The government might have some contacts with aliens from other worlds and contact them and ask for their assistance to find us a new planet and come beam us up Scotti and take us to our new planet.  But I highly doubt they know any aliens and if they did they’d probably want to eat us.

Darrin calls on his lunch break and by then my world is in complete chaos.  In my head people are running in the streets looting stores and turning over cars.  Digging underground bunkers which would do no good if the earth blew up.  I asked him what he was talking about.

He said that the ozone layer wouldn’t be enough to protect the satellites and they would basically turn off or be disrupted or something.  That the electrical grids would probably shut off too and we would be thrown back in time by 100 years, not literally but as far as our technology.  The earth is not doomed to destruction and Jesus is not coming to claim the souls lol.

WHEW!  Basically we wouldn’t have satellite TV or radio and they would have to find a way of repairing the satellites and/or replacing them and they would have to work on fixing the electric grids to turn our power back on.  We probably wouldn’t have cell communication or email or tv or whatever.  We would have to start reading again and the stores would have to use their brains to sell things instead of a cash register because no electricity and all…  And all the food would go bad because they need power to keep cold.

But, time will tell what will happen.  Perhaps they will have it all figured out by then and they will have Solar panels more in play than they do now for grocery stores and any other business.  People will be able to afford solar panels for their houses.  I need that because of my bipap machine.  If I have no electricity then I’m going to die because I have to sleep with a mask pushing air into my lungs, no air = no life.  I die.  So this isn’t good for me.  Unless I can lose 75lbs in the next 4 years I’m pretty much screwed.  That is if the fat is what is causing sleep apnea.  I don’t know that it is or it isn’t.

At any rate, now is a good time as any to start taking this diet seriously.  I mean, dead seriously if you know what I mean.  Maybe if I can lose all this weight then I won’t need the bipap machine anymore.  That’s 1 less dependant.

As far as my electronics are concerned.  I have a little solar charger that I can plug into my electronics to charge their batteries.  They also sell backpacks that have a solar charger on them so you can charge things so while I’m riding my bike I can be charging things like my mp3 player, PSP and Kindle (if I have one by then).  If the cell phones don’t work then it won’t matter if my cell phone is charged up or not.

If the TVs don’t let us see TV anymore then we can all start talking to each other again and read books and maybe the kids can go outside and play and get skinny again.  Perhaps this would be good for humanity to shed all these pounds of fat.  If the kids can’t play with their PlayStation 6 anymore because there is no electricity then they can go play Basketball 2.0.  I mean, that’s why people have back yards right?

Maybe the bike trails will be packed with people and they will have to turn it into a 4 lane bike trail instead of it’s 2 lane bike trail.  Who knows.

All I know is that 4 years isn’t too far off.  Yeah it might seem like it is to some people but I’m 38, going on 39 in a couple of months.  These last 4 decades have gone by too fast so 4 years is nothing to me.  4 years can come in the blink of an eye so be prepared for it.

Is 17 Mature Enough for Plan-B?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Health, NewsLeave a comment

There is a new debate about the age limit being lowered from 18 to 17 for buying the Plan B pill without a prescription.  They are asking if age 17 is mature enough to buy this new drug.  This drug “Plan B” is meant to prevent a pregnancy within the first 72 hours.  It is not an abortion pill but merely a preventative measure against pregnancy.

I think that if a 17-year-old is mature enough to spread her legs and have unprotected sex with a boy, whether it be consensual or non-consensual, then she is mature enough to buy this over the counter and not need to go to the doctor’s office and have to get her parents permission.  I mean come on, by the time it takes you to get the courage enough to tell your parents that you had sex then you have to wait for the appointment (that is if you don’t go in as a walk-in) a week will have gone by and by then it’s too late.  You can only take this within the first 72 hours for it to work.

Do you really want there to be more 17-year-old mothers in the world?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  I mean, come on, Maury Povich has cornered the market on finding out who the baby daddy is when it comes to girls who are 12 years old all the way to adulthood.  If a 12-year-old is mature enough to get pregnant I think she should be allowed to buy this too so I think that 17 is way mature enough.

The debate shouldn’t be is a 17-year-old mature enough but instead it should be how can we make sure all teenagers who are old enough to have sex get this pill?

Gothic Kittens

On By Michel McDonaldIn Animals, PetsLeave a comment

I saw this story in the National Enquirer magazine but looked it up and this is the text from that story from MSNBC but is from Associated Press:

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Humane officers said a Pennsylvania woman marketed “gothic kittens” with ear, neck and tail piercings over the Internet. Officers with the SPCA of Luzerne County removed three kittens and a cat from a home outside Wilkes-Barre.

Officer Carol Morrison said the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the home on Wednesday after getting a tip that the woman was selling the pierced kittens on eBay.

“It’s unbelievable anybody would do this to kittens,” Morrison said.

Charges are likely against the homeowner, whose name was not released.

Morrison said the woman has a pet grooming business in the basement of the home.

That is such a shame that this woman would do such a thing to these poor defenseless kittens.  She was arrested and she should never be allowed to come in contact with any animals unless they are dinner.

gothic-kittengothic-kittens

Video Calls

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cell PhoneLeave a comment

I’ve seen in tv shows where people are using an iPhone and they are talking to each other and they can also see each other. Like in Knight Rider for example. I’m curious if that really is possible. Maybe someone call respond to this question.

Since Darrin has a job now we’re both going to get a cell phone plan and new cell phones. He’s been taking our only cell phone to work but it’s a pre-paid cell phone which means for $25 he gets 2 1/2 hours to talk. He’s calling me all the time and he’s calling other places and I just have a bad feeling about it. He’s going to need a cell phone plan with an unlimited calling feature, GPS and internet. I figured that we could both have them so we can call each other for free.

I’m going to need one too because as soon as I get a new bike wheel I’m going to be riding my bike again and when he calls me I’d like to be on video phone chatting so he can see what the bike path looks like. I think that would be cool.

Anyway, please, if someone can respond to let me know which cell phone has that feature. I’d like to get blackberries but iphones will be cool too. I just need to know which phone is best for video calls. Thanks