a little music

Just downloaded a $9.99 cd from iTunes.

It reduces stress by the second, and I am GREATLY enjoying it.

Bet you won't guess what it is.

"The Best of Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong"

Didn't see that coming, did ya?

Friday smile

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The True 2007 Stella Awards

Many stories circulate on the internet about the Stella Awards, referring to frivolous lawsuits. Some of these emails are true; some are false. But these are the true ones - because this is directly from the guy that publishes them. Enjoy!

The 2007 True Stella Awards
Issued February 2008
(Click here to confirm these are legitimate.)

#3: Sentry Insurance Company. The company provided worker's compensation insurance for a Wisconsin "Meals on Wheels" program. Delivering a meal, a MoW volunteer (who was allegedly not even wearing boots) slipped and fell on a participant's driveway that had been cleared of snow, and Sentry had to pay to care for her resulting injuries. Sentry wanted its money back, so it sued the 81-year-old homeowner getting the Meals on Wheels service. It could have simply filed for "subrogation" from her homeowner's insurance company, but by naming her in the action, it dragged an old lady into court, reinforcing the image of insurance companies as concerned only about the bottom line, not "protecting" policyholders from loss.

#2: The family of Robert Hornbeck. Hornbeck volunteered for the Army and served a stint in Iraq. After getting home, he got drunk, wandered into a hotel's service area (passing "DANGER" warning signs), crawled into an air conditioning unit, and was severely cut when the machinery activated. Unable to care for himself due to his drunkenness, he bled to death. A tragedy, to be sure, but one solely caused by a supposedly responsible adult with military training. Despite his irresponsible behavior -- and his perhaps criminal trespassing -- Hornbeck's family sued the hotel for $10 million, as if it's reasonably foreseeable that some drunk fool would ignore warning signs and climb into its heavy duty machinery to sleep off his bender.

But those pale compared to...

The winner of the 2007 True Stella Award: Roy L. Pearson Jr. The 57-year-old Administrative Law Judge from Washington DC claims that a dry cleaner lost a pair of his pants, so he sued the mom-and-pop business for $65,462,500. That's right: more than $65 million for one pair of pants. Representing himself, Judge Pearson cried in court over the loss of his pants, whining that there certainly isn't a more compelling case in the District archives. But the Superior Court judge wasn't moved: he called the case "vexatious litigation", scolded Judge Pearson for his "bad faith", and awarded damages to the dry cleaners. But Pearson didn't take no for an answer: he's appealing the decision. And he has plenty of time on his hands, since he was dismissed from his job. Last we heard, Pearson's appeal is still pending.

©2007 by Randy Cassingham, StellaAwards.com. Reprinted with permission.

presentation is NOT everything

(changing layouts and colours and templates, just for fun!)

This post is dedicated to Bob's colleague, who is taking a cake-decorating course, and is making tremendously scrumptious and gorgeous cakes on a weekly basis.

I thought, just in case she has any moments of insecurity, this might boost her ego.

Because on Monday, I baked a German Chocolate Cake for my Dad's birthday. It's his favourite kind. It tasted great. But I don't think it would win any presentation-is-everything ribbons....

good news

You will be pleased to know that Blogger is now offering the option of blogging in Hebrew. My Hebrew is a little rusty, but I'm willing to try if you are!

Also pictures of Spike and my B-I-L's accomplishments in our living room yesterday.

Nice, right? Yay!

a variety of things

It is soooo sunny out today! I'll bet it's freezing cold (haven't been out yet) - but I am LOVING the sun streaming in the windows.

Any online crossword players out there? I LOVE this site, if you're looking for a way to spend a free 20 minutes.

If you are in a more thoughtful mood, and haven't yet read Butterfly's Girl's January 29 post, "Paths," it is definitely worth the read.

Or you can participate in this meme with me. (What's a meme? I'm still not sure, but here's an explanation that may or may not help.)

The instructions are:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open it at page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence/ phrase.
4. Blog the next four sentences/ phrases together with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig your shelves for that very special or intellectual book.
6. Pass it forward to six friends.

I'm not passing it forward - do it if you want, on your blog - but I'll do the first 5 instructions. Hey, I wonder if anyone can guess what the book is?! (Check here for the title; it would appear that no one else likes this book - there's not even an image! No reviews. Only a title. So sad.)

OK...opening to page 123...

Finding the fifth sentence...

And the next four sentences are ...

"Apparent confirmation that there was no intention of a wedding in Berlin came when on Sunday, September 23, Michael and Natasha left the Esplanade and, repeating the pattern of the year before, took the train once more to Bad Kissingen. The Okhrana duly followed and at the end of that first week in Bad Kissingen Bint reported that Natasha had been admitted for treatment at Dr Apolant's sanatorium. Michael went with her, drinking the water and taking baths as he jovially noted on a postcard to his brother. It was three weeks later before the bored Okhrana needed to stir themselves again, when they discovered that Natasha had been discharged by the sanatorium and that the Grand Duke was on the move once more."

Wow. Taken out of context like that, it sounds like a paparazzi style tracking of Britney Spears or something. I assure you, it is not!!

Hey - Have a great day, my friends!

saturday

I went to bed last night at 8:50 PM.

Seriously.

Didn't fall asleep right away, just laid in the dark. Very restful. (Very odd for me, not to go to bed early, but to happily lay awake.)

Woke up at 5:55 AM, after a GREAT night's sleep - how nice is that?

When Jeff got up, we went for breakfast at Breezy Corners, in Freelton. Mmmmm.

Then we went into Terra Greenhouses. Didn't buy anything - it's just a nice place to go in the winter. It smells like spring in there. I got all excited about seeds. I still have to plan my garden though, for the spring, so I exercised self-control. Plan first, purchase later.

Reading the Spec is next on my list; maybe some crosswords. It's a great day!

Hey, I wonder how Christine is doing in Guatemala?

creative writing

Signs often amuse me. This one was on the outside of a hospital that I was going by today. Funny, right?

I ask you - why the necessity for this sign? What is the story behind this stranglehold-on-the-obvious instruction?

Imagine - fire breaks out in the OR. "Code red" comes over the speaker system. Doctors, nurses, orderlies, rushing everywhere in a controlled manner; no one is panicking, but patients are being wheeled out of the building from every exit. Sirens are wailing as fire trucks come screeching up to the front of the building. Smoke is pouring out of a window somewhere.

And in the middle of this scenario, a delivery truck pulls up. The driver hops out, opens the back, pulls out a dolly and loads it up with two or three cases of ... say ... hospital gowns. Or cotton swabs. He deftly wheels the dolly around the patient beds lining the sidewalk, and heads toward the delivery ramp, turning up his iPod as he goes, so he can hear the music over the alarms and sirens.

His only hesitation comes as he reaches the door, and looks around for someone to sign for the delivery. But no one pays any attention to him at all, and he becomes quite irritable as he considers the arrogance of these know-it-all doctors who think it is beneath them to talk to a delivery driver. He doesn't have time for this - there are other deliveries waiting to be made (not to mention that he's parked in a fire zone). Grabbing someone firmly by the sleeve, he brandishes his clipboard and demands that he be acknowledged, that his delivery be received.....

Thank goodness they can point to a sign on the wall!

a wow and a chuckle

Wow - I think Joe's peregrine falcon was in our yard on Friday night! I looked out the window, and there he was, just a few feet away, tearing away at something he was eating. He was there for several minutes, but not long enough for me to get my camera. Quite something to see.

Chuckle - Our street is small, with parking on both sides. Snow plows shun us in a storm until the last possible minute. Seriously. Last night, just before 6 pm, a plow went through, clearing one swipe on our street. Minutes later, on the 6:00 news, it was reported that Hamilton's streets and side streets have all been officially and fully cleared. Are we ACTUALLY the last street to be plowed? Do they call it in when they get to the end of our street?