Category: Daily Blog

This is my Daily Blog category.

Westboro is Planning to Protest a 9 Year Old Girls Funeral?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Click the image for the full article on the Washington Post website.

I just wanted you to see this screen shot to make sure you know I am not making this stuff up. Arizona had an emergency meeting so they could pass a bill to prevent hate groups like the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of a little 9-year-old girl who was recently murdered by nut job Jared Loughner.

This new ban will make it a misdemeanor for the Westboro church to protest a 9-year-old CHILD’s funeral 1 hour before and 1 hour after the service takes place. If they protest during and make it difficult for the family then they might go to jail and pay a fine. Hopefully!

It was reported on Gretta today on Fox News that there are thousands of people who are planning to attend the funeral but only as a buffer, to stand in these nut jobs way so they can’t do any damage.

Look, I don’t understand why these hate mongers want to protest this little innocent girls funeral. What did she do to the Westboro Baptist church? Nothing, not a gosh darn thing! The ticker on the bottom of the screen on Gretta said that the church said “Thank god for the shooter” which was a quote from the church. That is such a terrorist thing to say. Who says that about a 9-year-old child?

The only reason they were protesting the vets funerals as they got buried when they came home from Afghanistan is because they serve under a government who allows gay people in the military.  That is before and after the Don’t ask don’t tell repeal.  I definitely think that is wrong because what business is it of theirs who serves in the military?  What business is it of theirs if gay people want to die for their country?  And the vets funerals they protest have all been straight men and women who have children.  They aren’t gay so why should their family be humiliated and shamed at their own son or daughters funeral?

So what does this little girl have anything to do with anything? First of all she’s not gay and even if she were she’s NINE YEARS OLD! Second of all what the hell does she have to do with the government? She is NINE! She doesn’t pay taxes, she just exists. I don’t get why they have to butt their stinky noses where it doesn’t belong in this case.

The Westboro Baptist church members must not have a soul because no human being with a soul would protest a little 9-year-old girls funeral period, end of discussion. She has nothing to do with their moronic cause so they need to back off. Only a soulless ghoul would think about hurting the family who just lost their precious little daughters life. I can’t think of anyone who has an ounce of compassion doing this to a little child and her family.

The Westboro Baptist church say they are doing “God’s” work but I have a feeling that’s just their cover. They aren’t working for God, they are working for Satan because God wouldn’t allow them to do such a thing. Only Satan would commission this bad behavior. The God that I know doesn’t hate little girls who were murdered enough to send these idiots to protest her funeral, no, only a ghoul or a monster would do that.

They must be a cult because no Baptist church that I have ever been to or Baptist member that I have ever known has ever been this cowardice of a person to even think that this is a good thing to do.

The Westboro Baptist church has gone too far with this one and they need to have their church tax exempt status taken away because clearly they have too much money to be able to spend traveling the country to go to funerals to protest. That money should be going towards helping people, not hurting people.  So clearly they are backwards.

Someone needs to take a closer look into this group and do something about them because this clearly is not a healthy way for a church to behave.

I have a soul, my soul gives me emotions, enough emotions to feel sad for this little girl and her family, yes enough emotion to cry for her.  I never knew her or her family but I am crying because it is so sad how she died.  This church has no emotion, it’s obvious that only a monster would have the opposite reaction by protesting with hate and bigotry rather than feeling sad for this little girl and her family.

I believe in Karma and I believe that whatever you do to someone will come back to you 10 fold, in their case 100 fold. So keep going Westboro, keep ruining your karma and see how that goes for you in eternity.

DO NOT CALL!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

National Do Not Call Registry

Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.”

I’m very curious about this because despite my being on the Do Not Call registry since 2007 when they first announced it, I still get calls.

Recently it has been calls from a telemarketer trying to sell us diabetic supplies. First they ask for me by name then they ask how many people in the house are diabetic. The first time I talked to them I said there are 2 people who are in the house who are both taking pills to control their diabetes with diet and exercise and we don’t need any diabetic supplies. The guy I spoke to was satisfied with not getting a sale and hung up. But for some reason didn’t take me off of their list like I asked him to.

The phone number that called was 682-227-6805 and the caller ID said the name was “Texas” but now I’m getting calls from 302-752-1422 where it says Unknown Name. The last time that “Texas” called us was on Sunday 12/12/2010 at 7:36pm. First of all, that’s so not cool to call on a Sunday. Second of all, they have called us for months, sometimes as late as 10 or 11pm.

The other phone number I think we’ve gotten twice already. Darrin chewed them out on the phone, I think last night. It’s his day off, he doesn’t want to get these calls on his day off.

Ok so I Googled the phone number and it shows me this website 800notes.com where you can look up a phone number and you can read what other people had to say about this phone number calling you. The 2nd phone number (302-752-1422) has 17 pages of people complaining about that phone number (see link).

Well, besides complaining about these phone numbers on the 800notes.com website and in here, I will file a complaint with the FCC website. I already went there and started filling out the form but they want to know the last 3 times they called. I can only give them one time because I didn’t log their calls. So in order for me to know this information to give a proper complaint, I’m going to have to type out the date and time they call until I have 3 or 4 times to complain about. Not just on the 302 number but the Texas one too.

It’s already a hassle having them call me, now I gotta log every time they call? Sheesh! I shouldn’t have to do this, you know? I shouldn’t be getting these calls in the first place if I’m on the do not frigging call list! But I will do it because it is my duty to let the FCC know they are harassing people with their constant phone calls.

New Blog Banner

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog, HolidaysLeave a comment

I am not a graphics designer but I do try to make all of my own graphics because I really can’t afford to pay a graphics designer to do it for me. I usually like to have a whole new banner image for the holidays and I think I’ve finally gotten my banner the way I want it.

I’m using GIMP as my Photoshop program and I’m using brushes for all of my other graphics like the Christmas decorations and snow from Obsidian Dawn.

I’m not very good at it yet but I think it’s fun working with brushes. The only issue I had with these particular brushes is that when you click the brush pattern onto the image, it’s very light. You can’t even see it unless you click it several times and even then it loses all of the details and texture in the image. What I have figured out is that if I make it white then click it on the image about 10 times, it gives me a base, that way I can use a color and click it down again and you can see it better.

Take the Snowman for example. I created a layer for the snowman then I used white and I created my base then I erased the arms.  I created another layer but moved that layer down under the white layer and I used a dark brown color then stamped the snowman back down about 10 times. That way you can see the arms but not the dark brown snowman because that was all hidden behind my white base. Then to give it texture I just stamped it down (still with the brown) on top of itself on the base layer. The only issue is that in the Obsidian Dawn website when they show the snowman in the image for all the brushes, he has a red scarf. I really don’t care about his scarf but it would be nice to be able to just stamp it once and have all the details like the red scarf.

I did the same thing with the Christmas tree (although it may be a little bit overkill), all the decorations, the presents and the Santa hat on my head in the picture of me when I was 16. Then I added the snowflakes and then the snow but I didn’t click many times, I only clicked once for the snowflakes and the snow because I didn’t want it to overpower the image.

You can go to the Obsidian Dawn website and download some brushes for your own graphics. They have tutorials for using these brushes in Photoshop and Gimp but they are mostly for Photoshop which is why I’m still clueless. Maybe they work better in Photoshop than they do in Gimp so you don’t have to go that extra mile that I have to go. Who knows. Actually tell me if you know so I can beat my head against the wall if I’m doing it the hard way lol.

I hope that some day I might get better at using GIMP because I really love creating my own graphics. Maybe some day I might be so good that I can start making desktop themes to add to my downloads page. Probably not so don’t hold your breath on that one.

Target Commercials with Maria Bamford

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog, JokeLeave a comment

wwwvh.youtube.com/watch?v=NCLyOdoBcE0

Ever wonder who this lady is in the new Target commercials?  She is comedian Maria Bamford.  I think I’ve seen all of her stand up specials on Comedy Central over the years, although she hasn’t had one in a long time.

What I love about her is her voices.  Her “normal” voice is like a little child, or at least that’s the voice she uses as her regular voice but we all know that it’s part of the joke.  She does these other voices that I’m pretty sure is her real normal voice.  I think she’s hilarious and I’m glad she’sworking at least even if it is for Target.

It’s COLD Brrr

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Daily Blog, HolidaysLeave a comment

Last year our central heating stopped working and the estimate was thousands of dollars to repair so we went out and got some space heaters. I don’t mind space heaters because I can’t really afford to heat a whole house when I’m going to be in my bedroom all day long.

This year I decided that I’m not going to turn my heater on at all unless it gets really bad and I absolutely need it. Well, I absolutely need it now.

It’s been in the 30′s lately early in the morning and late at night. It’s in the 50′s outside right now but it’s still in the 30′s inside the house. My bedroom is nice and toasty because of my space heater which is actually a radiator.

I always say in the summer time that you can bundle up in the winter, add more clothing and you’re warm but when it’s as hot as it is in the summer time (usually when it’s 100+°F) you can be totally naked and still be miserable. Well, there is no amount of bundling up inside the house that is going to be good enough, we need the heater on lol.

One other reason I need the heater on is because of my hands. I have carpel tunnel syndrome and it gets really bad this time of year. Both my hands start pinching in the palms and then they get numb with pins and needles. During the hot months or even the nice months my hands are fine. It’s when it’s cold out (and in) that my hands really start to hurt.

I still have to finish embroidering a Christmas stocking and I have less than 1 month to do it so I hope that my hands will allow me to do it. Now is the time that I wish that I had just finished it when I was working on it instead of giving up on it. I gave up on it because I was getting burned out on embroidering. I’ll get it finished, I just need the motivation to start it up again that’s all. Unfortunately, I think that with my hands being in the pain that they are in that I won’t be able to finish it but I have to try. I’ve already announced that they are coming this Christmas and I can’t go back on that.

Well, I’m so glad that Winter is almost here but now that it is here I kind of miss the heat of summer lol.

Noisy Neighbors

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

UGH! My neighbor has been cutting all the branches off of his tree right outside my bedroom window which makes it 100% impossible for me to concentrate on anything today. He’s been at it for the last 2 hours and he’s only maybe halfway done, he has 2 trees and one of them so far is just a stub now lol. It only has a few branches on it and it looks so funny. Darrin says that your supposed to do that to that type of tree this time of year. So far 1 down 1 to go.

So since I can’t read I thought maybe I might watch a movie, I rented Cirque du Freak from the Red Box at the grocery store so I’ll be enjoying that for now. I wanted to wait until I’ve readall the books first but since I can’t read right now and I kind of want my fix, I’m going to watch it.

I think watching it will help me put a voice to all the names in the book because when I first started reading the first book yesterday, when it came to the vampire, I had a typical Transylvanian Dracula voice in my head complete with accent. As if all vampires talk like him. I remembered who played that role so then I pictured him as the vampire but I kind of forgot his voice so I made one up to what I think I remember how he sounds.

Anyway, he’s starting his machine up again so I’m going to start mine… my DVD machine that is.  Volume cranked all the way up to drown out his noise.

Nurse Discovers Patient Is Her Long-Lost Father

On By Michel McDonaldIn Amplify, Daily Blog, NewsLeave a comment

This is such a happy and sad story. I didn’t include all of the text so you’ll have to click the AOL News link below. This story has touched me only because I don’t know my father either. It took her all these years to find her father and he has cancer and their reunion may be cut short but at least they were able to meet each other before his fateful day comes.

I am so happy for the two of them and wish the best for their families.

Amplify’d from www.aolnews.com

Nurse Discovers Patient Is Her Long-Lost Father

(Sept. 3) — What are the odds?

Wanda Rodriguez, a 41-year-old assistant head nurse at New York’s Calvary Hospital, had not seen her father since she was a baby.

Raised by her mother in the Bronx after her parents broke up when she was less than a year old, Rodriguez didn’t know much more of her father than his name, Victor Peraza, and hermother’s recollection that Rodriguez looked a lot like him.

But as fate would have it, on Aug. 25 a new cancer patient was admitted to Calvary, a hospital that administers care to the terminally ill. When Rodriguez learned his name while discussing his case with a colleague, she froze up.

“I thought, if he’s my complexion, if he has green eyes, he could be my dad,” Rodriguez told ABC News. Read more at www.aolnews.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/cskp

Albertson’s 1 Penny Cookware

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog, Products I LikeLeave a comment

About a month or so ago, Albertson’s our local grocery store started this new campaign.  Cookware for a penny. It’s as close to free as it gets. Collect stickers & redeem in-store for your pots and pans.

The problem is, you only get 1 sticker for every $10 you spend. If you spend $15 you still get 1 sticker and what sucks even more is if you spend $19.99 you still only get 1 sticker. That number has to go up to $20 before you can get a 2nd sticker. So I guess when you are at the store buying groceries, keep in mind how much moneys worth of groceries you have in your cart so that you either don’t go over or under a $10 increment. Even if it means buying a candy bar or a bag of M&M’s or a bottle of water or package of cookies at the check stand.

7.8″ Non-stick fry pan. It’s 1¢ with 50 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $5.49 with 25 reward stickers. Retail price is $29.99
10.2″ Non-stick fry pan. It’s 1¢ with 60 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $8.99 with 30 reward stickers. Retail price is $39.99
7.8″ Casserole with Lid. It’s 1¢ with 70 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $9.99 with 35 reward stickers. Retail price is $44.99
9.4″ Saute Pan with Lid. It’s 1¢ with 80 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $11.99 with 40 reward stickers. Retail price is $49.99
10.6″ Square Grill Pan. It’s 1¢ with 80 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $11.99 with 40 reward stickers. Retail price is $49.99
9.4″ Dutch Oven with Lid. It’s 1¢ with 90 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $12.99 with 45 reward stickers. Retail price is $54.99
11″ Non-stick stir fry pan with Lid. It’s 1¢ with 90 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $12.99 with 45 reward stickers. Retail price is $54.99
13.7″ X 10.1″ Roasting Pan with Rack. It’s 1¢ with 110 reward stickers or you can purchase it for $19.99 with 55 reward stickers. Retail price is $89.99

I will be saving up for the 9.4″ Saute Pan with lid but I’m going to go the easier route by turning in 40 stickers and buying the rest with $11.99. I may also save up for the first 2 pans, the 7.8″ and 10.2″ frypans using the same deal with half the stickers and paying for the rest.

The little pan is great for omelette’s and the biggest one with the lid is great for hamburger helper or something like that which needs a lid. I’m not sure if I will have the stickers for all of these things by the deadline which is the end of January but one could hope.

Update 2011-01-24: We ended up getting the 9.4″ Saute Pan with Lid and the 9.4″ Dutch Oven with Lid.  We really didn’t need all of these and I’m very satisfied to have the 2 pots and pans we ended up with.

Wrote Another Chapter

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, Daily Blog, eBookLeave a comment

I’ve been having trouble writing this book of mine because I have all these memories that are scattered throughout my whole life. I don’t know where to begin. I wrote the first chapter which covers conception until my two’s but I was at a loss for what happened next.

Last night during my shows it occurred to me that I don’t have to type it out in chronological order.  I just have to type out what time periods I remember then fill in the blanks.

After my shows were finished I started typing out from when we moved in with my Aunt until she kicked us out.  That was a lot of information, about 13 pages.  My chapters probably won’t all be big but there will be many chapters of my life to include.  I actually only wrote 9 pages last night but today I added 4 more.

Tonight after my shows are over I’m going to continue where I left off for the next chapter.  It’s a lot of information to process, I hope I can do it.

Evan Williams Explains New Twitter Interface

On By Michel McDonaldIn Amplify, Daily BlogLeave a comment

I am definitely not part of the 1% of people who woke up today to a brand new Twitter but even if I was, I wouldn’t have known it considering I only ever go to the Twitter website to click my list of followers to follow people back. For the rest of the day I have TweetDeck running on my screen at all times.

Even if I were part of the 1% of Twitter users who woke up with a brand new interface it wouldn’t do me any good because TweetDeck gives me way more than Twitter.com ever did and even with a new UI it still won’t do me as much good as TweetDeck does.

Watch the video below to see how CEO and co-founder of Twitter Evan Williams explains the new Twitter interface…

Amplify’d from www.youtube.com

Evan Williams Explains New Twitter Interface

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjPi31ANzIA

For the 1 percent of users who woke up to a different Twitter experience Wednesday morning, it was probably the biggest change they have ever seen to the real-time information service. Twitter has approximately 160 million users and there are nearly 90 million tweets sent every day.

Tech Crunch has a good walk-through of the new look. Mashable thinks it will put developers on the platform out of business. We asked Evan Williams, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter about what motivated the changes. Take a look:

Read more at www.youtube.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/b6vk