Have You Decorated For The Holidays Yet?
Have you put up your holiday decorations yet? We haven’t yet at my house, and I’m kind of glad because I have been reading a lot about the benefits of LED holiday lights.
The old type of lights that I have are the incandescent ones, which are pretty but they use more energy than LED Christmas lights . The LED mini lights consume 80-99 percent less energy than the traditional lights. They last a lot longer too, so when I replace my lights this time I won’t have to worry too much about bulb replacements for quite a while.
One of the most important things to me though, is that the LED bulbs don’t get hot. I have a toddler and pets in the house so this one cinched the deal for me. Lights that won’t burn anyone and aren’t a fire hazard are a true plus. Another thing about the LED Christmas tree lights are that the bulbs are inside a tough epoxy shell, so they don’t break like glass bulbs. That’s another very important safety feature.
So what’s not to love about LED holiday lights? They are eco-friendly because they use less energy than the lights I have used in the past, they are safe for my family because they don’t get hot and are not easily broken plus I will save money in the long run because they last so much longer.
Have you tried these yet? They are definitely on my Christmas decoration list for this year.
Date Rape Aqua Dots
Kids in Australia, Canada and the US have been hospitalized after playing with and ingesting the hot new award winning toy, Aqua Dots. The little beads in the toy were coated with a substance that converted into GHB, the date rape drug, when ingested.
Are there any toys that are safe? Good Lord! I have seen these Aqua Dots advertised nearly non-stop on tv and almost even considered buying them because Walter likes activities like that. In case you didn't see one of the commercials, the Aqua Dots were little beads that kids could arrange into patterns and then spray with water and it like glued them together.
So guess what? Now kids are trying to buy black market Aqua Dots in order to try the drug.
All of the Aqua Dots, also marketed as Bindeez, have been pulled from store shelves, of course. But what other toys are there on the store shelves that are ticking time bombs. With Christmas coming up, parents should be really concerned. I am.
An American Badass
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Stop Hunger, Give Free Rice
This is fun and free and for a great cause.
No one, and I mean no one, should have to go hungry. This is an online game that will help you improve yoru vocabulary. My mom, sister and I just sat here and played together until we had donated 300 grains of rice. We like word games, it was togetherness and we got to help someone get something to eat. We all win!
So go here: http://www.freerice.com/
You can play the game and help yourself while you help someone get a bite to eat today. I can already tell that this game is addictive and we'll be back.
Chester Sought In Child Molestation Tape Case
The only mildly amusing thing about this is that the "person of interest" that the police want to put his nuts in a vice talk to about this child porn tape supposedly found in the desert is that his name actually is Chester.
I was watching Nancy Grace last night with my mom and I had to have her turn it off because the whole show was about this case and it honestly was making me ill.
Here's the short version. This guy, Darren Tuck, says he found a tape in the desert while out riding his dirt bike. He went home and watched it and realized that it was a tape of a 4 to 5 year old little girl being sexually abused. He kept the tape for 5 months and reportedly showed it to other people before turning it over to police. He was arrested for promoting child pornography and being in possession of child pornography. He was later released without bail.
Police are seeking Chester Arthur Stiles, a fugitive, in connection with the tape. If I am not mistaken, he may be the man seen on the tape sexually assaulting the child. He is wanted on unrealted warrants on charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a minor under the age of 14.
RIP Alex, You Were Amazing
I am incredibly sad to read and to share this piece of news.
Alex, an incredibly smart African Grey Parrot, has died. He was 31 years old. Alex was the subject of an experiment by Dr. Irene Pepperberg who is a a comparative psychologist at Brandeis University and Harvard. Dr. Pepperberg worked with Alex and studied his behavior for most of his life after buying him at a pet store in 1977. She published reports of Alex's learning abilities and his progress in scientific journals.
A number of years ago I remember seeing Alex on television and once I saw him, I just couldn't ever forget him. He knew how to count, colors and shapes and over 150 words, but he was far more amazing than that. It seemed that he had the ability to reason and problem solve as well. When Dr. Pepperberg would hand him an object, he would feel it, look at it, sometimes taste it and he could tell her what color it was, what shape it was and what material it was made from. One of the cutest words I remember him saying was "wool". He was smart and adorable. It was said that he was as intelligent as an average 5 year old human child.
Some people have said that Alex's understanding and communication of language was more impressive than that of other primates who have been studied and I believe it.
Alex was working on harder to pronounce and compound words last week before he died. Thursday night when he was being put in his cage he looked at Dr. Pepperberg and told her “You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you.â€
He was found dead in his cage the next morning. It is said that he died of natural causes. I know that Alex was very well taken care of, but it just seems too soon for him to die. African Grey parrots in good health are said to have a lifespan of 50-65 years. It was way too soon for Alex to go. I am so sad.
RIP Alex, you were absolutely amazing and very loved and you will be truly missed.
Tastes Like Chick-Fil-A
A friend of mine is really into scouting out free samples and such online and she found a really good one. Free Chick-Fil-A and Coke!
Here's the link:Â http://www.freechickenandcoke.com/
Hurry before all the coupons are gone.
I signed up for this and haven't had time to get the coupon in the mail yet, but I can tell you I did NOT get any spam as a result of signing up.
Mother of Maddie McCann Offered Plea Deal
In Portugal today there have been some shocking new developments in the disapearance of Maddie McCann.
I've always thought that it was strange that the parents left their three children alone while they went out to dinner, and no one seemed to bat an eyelash about it. I can tell you I don't even go outside to walk my dog across the street when Walter is inside sleeping. I don't leave the house, period. Call me paranoid, whatever. I've never been particularly worried that someone could abduct him from our home, but anything can happen if you choose to leave a child alone.
But the McCanns say that they went to dinner and left their little girl and her younger twin siblings sleeping in the hotel room. Reportedly, Maddie was kidnapped but the little twins were left behind, unharmed. That has never made sense to me. However, who really wants to criticise parents who are seemingly desperate to find their little girl? It's a tough situation.
I remember Susan Smith.
There's another story in the news now about a mother who left her two kids in the bathtub and the baby died. The mom was in the den making a drug deal. But that's really off topic.
The thing is, today they have said that Madeleine McCann's parents are suspects in the little girl's disappearance. Most recently, a family member has confirmed that a plea deal has been offered to Maddie's mother. Apparently they found blood in a rental car that the McCann's used and want Mrs. McCann to plead guilty to her accidental death in exchange for 2 years jail time.
I'll let you know more when I know more.
Miss South Carolina, of course
I am humiliated to be from this state! :no:
Put a mic and camera in front of someone from South Carolina and you always seem to get something that goes a little something like this:
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Did that make your head hurt? Yeah, mine too.
Please don't miss the irony that she was given an obvious opening to talk about EDUCATION. :crazy:
Now Miss "West" Carolina chimes in about maps.
You knew the spoofs were comin' ya'll:
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It Snowed Last Night In Colorado
In what can only be described as a move to make me jealous as I sit here in sweltering South Carolina, Colorado reports that they had snow in the mountains last night.
National weather reports say it's not unusual for the Colorado mountains to get a dusting of snow in August. It was grainy snow.. so no snowmen are expected.
