Mamograms

I actually kept my mammogram appointment. I've never had one, but every thing I've heard about them lead me to believe this was going to be a nightmare...

I was met with, "Hi! I'm Belinda!" This perky clipboard carrier smiled from ear to ear, tilted her head to one side and crooned, "All I need you to do is step into this room right hereee, strip to the waist, thennnn slip on this gown. Everything clearrrr?"

I'm thinking, "Belinda ... try decaf. This ain't rocket science."

Belinda skipped away to prepare the chamber of horrors.

Call me crazy, but I suspect a man invented this machine. It takes a perfectly healthy cup size of 38-C to a size 42-LONG in less than 60 seconds. Apparently us girls aren't made of sugar and spice and everything nice....it's Spandex. We can be stretched, pulled and twisted over a cold 4-inch piece of square glass and still pop back into shape. (Look how well we do at childbirth!)

With the right side finished, Belinda flipped me (literally) to the left and said, "Hmmmm. Can you stand on your tippy toes and lean in a tad so we can get everything?"

Fine, I answered. I was freezing, bruised, and out of air, so why not use the remaining circulation in my legs and neck and finish me off?

My body was in a holding pattern that defied gravity (with my other boob wedged between those two 4" pieces of square glass) when we heard, then felt a zap! Complete darkness and the power went off!

"What?" I yelled.

"Oh, maintenance is working. Bet they hit a snag." Belinda headed for the door.

"Excuse me! You're not leaving me in this vise alone, are you?" I shouted.

Belinda kept going and said, "Oh, you fussy puppy ... the door's wide open so you'll have the emergency hall lights. I'll be righttttt backkkk."

Before I could shout "NOOO!" she disappeared. And that's exactly how Bubba and Earl, maintenance men extraordinaire, found me, half-naked and part of me dangling from the Jaws of Life and the other part smashed between glass! After exchanging polite "Hi, how's it going" type greetings, Bubba (or possibly Earl) asked, to my utter disbelief, if I knew the power was off.

Trying to disguise my hysteria, I replied with as much calmness as possible. "Uh, yes, yes I did thanks."

"You bet, take care" Bubba replied and waved good-bye as though I'd been standing in the line at the grocery store.

Two hours later, Belinda breezes in wearing a sheepish grin and making no attempt to suppress her amusement, she said. "Oh I am soooo sorry! The power came back on and I totally forgot about you! And silly me, I went to lunch. Are we upset?"

And that, Your Honor, is exactly how her head ended up between the clamps........

FLOODS!

Woohoo Just in time for the hurricains! That's right... get the ground nice and soggy wet so when the winds come the trees don't break, they just fall over roots and all!

That's what happened when Floyed came, we had lots and lots of rain prior to it and then when Floyed hit, we flooded and huge trees (including 2 of my 60 foot pecan trees) fell over - roots and all.

Always fun.

Makes me laugh every time I read it.

Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5 year old girl and some construction workers that makes you believe that we CAN make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time...

A young family moved into a house, next door to a vacant lot. One day a construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot. The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more or less adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important. At the end of the first week they even presented her with a pay envelope containing a couple of dollars.

The little girl took this home to her mother who said all the appropriate words of admiration and suggested that they take the two dollar "pay" she had received to the bank the next day to start a savings account. When they got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age.

The little girl proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew building the house next door to us."
My goodness gracious," said the teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
The little girl replied, "I will if those assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the fucking sheet rock..."


Kind of brings a tear to the eye.

What The Hell Does It All Mean?

So I'm listening to CNN News this morning and hear that the Supreme Court of the United States of America (You know the one) has decided that we will take out all things doing with GOD where our judicial system is concerned.

Hmmm...

What's that suppose to mean?

Will we change our money? Will we change our pledge of allegiance? Will we tear down buildings that have been standing for about 100 years or more because there are statues and freezes of biblical implications engraved in said buildings?

And if we do all this will it change who we are? Us as Americans... you know, the folks who TRIED to make a country that took in refugees of all denominations or lack of... all races... even those FORCED to move here and become slaves for a time in this countries history.

I'm not of any one denomination, if you were to break down my beliefs you'd probably call me a druid, yet I'm not fully that because of other factors as well, but one thing I do know - taking the word GOD out of the picture, as well as removing anything to do with the bible will still not make EVERYONE happy. I don't want other peoples beliefs shoved down my throat, but I also do not want the history of America wiped clean as if it was never there.

Newcomers to America... either accept us as we are, be happy we are taking you in or GET THE FUCK OUT! And Atheists... DEAL WITH IT! Quit your fucking wining about this bullshit and deal with the fact that you are going to have to SEE the damn 10 commandments if you break the law and have to go to the courthouse.

THE FACT IS... THIS COUNTRY WAS BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD. LIKE IT OR NOT THAT IS JUST THE WAY IT IS AND I AM SICK AND TIRED OF US HAVING TO MAKE EVERYONE FUCKING HAPPY. HAVENT THESE JUDGES EVER HAD MORE THAN ONE CHILD? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE EVERYONE SO DON'T TRY!

Have a good day.

*Deep Voice* OH YEAH

A letter from the "Move On. Org" folks:

In an unexpected move yesterday afternoon, the House of Representatives approved a measure to restore $100 million of funding for NPR, PBS and local public stations.1 Republican leaders were proposing to slash $200 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but you helped stop them.

Everyone said it was impossible to reverse any of the House cuts with Republicans in control. Yesterday's Washington Post described the divide between Democrats and Republicans like this:


"[O]n Capitol Hill, it's hard to find a Republican with anything nice to say about National Public Radio or the Public Broadcasting Service. Instead, they denounce them as liberal and elitist, when they bother to talk about them at all."2

Public broadcasting shouldn't divide Republicans and Democrats. More Americans trust NPR and PBS for balanced news and children's programming than any commercial network.3 Yet many Republicans have been intent on either gagging or starving public broadcasting.

So why did 87 Republicans break with the majority of their party and vote to restore the funding? In large part, because over 1 million of you signed the petition calling on Congress to reverse course. And over 40,000 of you made phone calls to your elected representatives. There was a surge of public outrage that couldn't be ignored. This victory was possible because we were joined by Free Press, Common Cause and strong allies in the House—Representatives Markey, Obey, Lowey, Dingell, Hinchey, Watson, Schakowsky, Blumenauer, Eshoo, Slaughter, and Leach, a brave Republican.

Despite this incredible progress, the House Republicans did manage to cut over $100 million, including funding for children's programming like "Sesame Street." We'll take our fight to the Senate when it considers the budget later this summer. But yesterday's vote makes it much more likely we can restore every last cent for NPR and PBS by acting together.

Yesterday also brought darker news in the fight for public broadcasting. The Republican-dominated board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) hired a former Republican National Committee chair as the next president, injecting partisanship into the very organization designed to shield public broadcasting from political meddling.4 This is only the latest effort by White House ally and CPB board chair Kenneth Tomlinson to remake public broadcasting as a partisan mouthpiece. To save NPR and PBS, we'll need to take on Tomlinson, but today we showed that the public can and will defend public broadcasting from partisan attack.

For now, we have a lot to be thankful for. Our kids can keep learning from PBS' children's programming. We can keep enjoying public broadcasting's in-depth, trustworthy news and cultural offerings. Most of all, we can be thankful for the ability of ordinary people to band together and do extraordinary things.

Thank you, for all you do,

–Noah, Joan, Marika, Wes and the MoveOn.org Team
Friday, June 24th, 2005

P.S. Your Congressman, Rep. McIntyre, voted the right way on NPR and PBS funding.5 You can call to thank him at 202-225-2731.

Please let us know if you call at:

http://www.moveon.org/call?tg=FHNC_07&cp_id=42&id=5703-4172888-tjNx137jH56_A0mWxY81_A

Sources:
1. "House votes to keep most PBS funding intact," USA Today, June 23, 2005

2. "Opponents On Different Wavelengths," Washington Post, June 23, 2005

3. "CPB's 'Secrets and Lies': Why the CPB Board Hid its Polls Revealing Broad Public Support for PBS and NPR," Center for Digital Democracy, April 27, 2005

4. "Public Broadcasting Chief Is Named, Raising Concerns," New York Times, June 24, 2005

5. Roll Call Vote in House of Representatives (An "aye" vote is the right vote.)

It's Smiling!

It's smiling!
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

I really hate spiders... like an arachnophobia type of dislike. But I find viewing them through the lens is somewhat easier.

I don't know what kind of spider this one is, but I have allot of them around the outside, building webs. They are rather small, it was hard to get a shot of this one because my camera seriously couldn't get a strong focus on it most of the time. Once I found a position the lens could see it, then I just shot as many as I could in focus and picked out the best shots to display.

Onto other matters:
One of my photo groups has been talking about the recent banning of UAE from flickr.com Flickr didn't ban them, their government did. Mainly (and to make a long story short) it was because of this one person nicknamed 'Thursday' who made the complaint to the officials that flickr.com was basically a porn site because some photos show women's bare backs, bare legs etc... So the people within UAE can no longer access the site and a few others as well. I should also mention this guy 'Thursday' doesn't even live within the UAE... he lives in London. What an ass.

So anyway... I expressed my thoughts that I find it painful, and a bit shocking that countries that have internet access, educated people, the arts, etc would still feel necessary to treat it's citizen like children. I meant no disrespect, nor was it a put down. It's simply that if/when my government denies me anything, they do it in such a way that I don't even know it's being done (which is just as bad I suppose) but to do it so blatantly open within America would surely cause us to rise up and say FUCK YOU to the government don't you think? (Now I did not say this on the group forum, I actually said Freedom of choice!

No one should have their choices denied to them... and I guess it's hard for me to understand that it happens. It seriously boggles the brain to think a Government out there in the world... in 2005... still thinks to treat it's citizens like children as if they cannot decide for themselves right from wrong...and of course a Government that also makes up the religious rules is also something very foreign to me.

I mean no ill feelings by this - I am simply blown away to see art, education, or personal freedoms taken away.
" And what the other person said was this: "NCWench, I have a horrid feeling that your post was absolutely serious and not ironic. There are many many Governments out there doing EXACTLY what you say (including your own and my own). The UAE approach may simply be more transparent than ours.") Excuse me for sounding naive, I'm not. What I am is innocent. Mainly because I've lived such a protected life of freedom here in the US that I find it appalling when people in other countries are denied those same freedoms.

The jist of it all is this... Someone's nose got bent out of shape because I would say anything at all. If no one said anything would the problem go away? If no one said anything does that make it better?

What makes my country great, and that person's country great is this... I can say what I said, where I said it, and he can say what he said where he said it, both of us do not have to look over our shoulders in fear of not only what we said but where, without fear that our ip's will be traced back to our personal homes and us arrested for being at a site we weren't suppose to be at, and for expressing our anger at our government on said site.

So excuse me if I sound naive... but I will fight to keep my freedoms and a government wanting to take them away can kiss my rebel ass! I do not need another country to come in and fight for my rights, I will fight for them myself. Because freedom is not free, you have to stand up and fight for it to earn it.

(But here's a question for you... out of 18 posts... and everyone of us are just as outraged or appalled as each others - why'd he pick mine?! If your in a group of people and something goes wrong each time everyone will look at the redhead first I swear it! And yes... there is a picture of a redhead next to my nickname). LOL!

The Full Moon Rising

The Full Moon Rising 15
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

I love a full moon. Makes everything look different in it's light.

This time, it's for real: Save NPR and PBS

Hi ya'all,

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)

Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

The House of Representatives is about to vote on whether to slash funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow" and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

The cuts would eliminate more than $200 million for NPR, PBS and local stations immediately, with more cuts likely in the future. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.

The House will vote on the cuts as soon as Tuesday. Can you help us reach 1 million signatures calling on Congress to save NPR and PBS?

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the New York Times story on the threat to NPR and PBS at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=753

Closer

Closer
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

The echinacea has been the most fun to take pictures of. The colors are so vibrant and the semetry of each little seed pod in the center is so awesome when looked at up close.

People who don't get into flowers and nature probably won't enjoy the pictures, but I think that the powers that be must be fantastic mathmeticians, when you compare the center of a flower with the univers itself - there is a striking similarity!

Sod it All!

Herb Side Back Yard
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

Ok so I figured I better show a photo of the grass... it's in, but we ran short and had to order 2 more pallets, so only half the back yard is finished.

If you'd like to see the rest of the photos go here. My Sod it All Set

Oh and the NC Wild Life folks came out on Thursday while my new lawn was being put in, and we located 2 more nests to the RCW family... She's going to try to see about saving this lot next door because too many trees surounding it have been removed, and these woodpeckers need all the help they can get to survive. Did you know only 3% of it's population is in existance now? They were just discovered in 1806 and are now almost wiped out. Man kind is so smart...

Saving The RCW'S Set

.HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY.WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING.

TEMPS WILL RISE TO THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S THIS AFTERNOON. COMBINING THE HOT TEMPS WITH THE MOIST AIR IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA.HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RANGE FROM 105 TO 110 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON.

A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPS IS EXPECTED. THE HOT TEMPS & HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS.STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM.STAY OUT OF THE SUN.& CHECK UP ON RELATIVES & NEIGHBORS. ENSURE THAT PETS HAVE PLENTY OF WATER TO DRINK & HAVE A SHADY PLACE TO REST.

That said... My bf has a job that doesn't allow him to be inside & bosses that sit inside an airconditioned office talking on the radio, telling them "It's not hot outside".

Ok... something else

I HATE WHEN PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE A FREAKIN CONVERSATION WITH ME WHEN I'M TRYING TO TYPE!

*Deep Breath*

My lawn is being put in tomorrow finally... all last week it rained, mother nature watered my sand. Next week it won't rain a drop and I'll have to water the sod so I won't loose it. But at least and at last I will have GRASS!!!!!!!

Political Cows

DEMOCRAT You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?

SOCIALIST You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORP You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 26 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Russian Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature' private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION You have two cows. They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION You have one cow. The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegals. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

My Guy.

3 Station Fire Cinema Scope
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

When asked what he's feeling emotionally when he's about to fight a fire he says: On this particular fire I was dreading it. It was 87 degrees and about 100% humidity and I have to wear this turnout gear that doesn't let you breath and enter a building filled with more heat and work with a bunch of guys I don't normally work with. So yeah, I feel dread.

'Queer Eye' for the Baseball Guys

'Queer Eye' for the Baseball Guys: "Baseball, while tolerating great diversity of drug choice, has remained a miserably homophobic universe. Which accounts for why there is not a single openly gay player in the Major Leagues (nor are there any, to be fair, in the NFL or NBA either). And why a superstar would feel the need to hold a press conference just to deny rumors that he was gay."

This article was great... I won't tell you any more about it, just go read it, it "should" make you smile.

Echinacea

Echinacea
Originally uploaded by NCWench.

I think this is my most favorite picture. I am really happy with how clear it came out!

Mars

A friend sent me information about Mars that I think is pretty interesting, if anyone knows more, please let me know!

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification

By August 27, Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a. m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Now I don't exactly know what an arc or an azimuth is but can you imagine... NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN! I may just have to go sit on the beach for this one!

New Element Discovered

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium." Governmentium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 11 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass." When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as the Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons

And this would explain why I'm having so much trouble getting help for my little feathered friends in the lot next door.

I can't breath!

Summer is here... and so is the humidity. I sure as hell never miss that each winter. But without it we wouldn't get great t-storms so I guess I won't complain

YET

I've got a question maybe someone can answer... Why are they wanting to make the old Pope a saint? Did he perform any miracles I was unaware of when they occured? Or are they trying to feed us some BS that he did perform some miracles but just didn't tell us about them. No matter what they feed us I'm an unbelieveer. He was just a man.

Locally:
Behind my house and also one lot next to it are solid woods, or were until this builder bought the lots and started clearing them to build. Not just taking out a few trees to make room for the house/garage and septic tank, oh hell no, this ASSHOLE has removed every single tree on the lots! (Thank GOD not the one right next door - yet) Well I've been taking photos of the red cockated woodpecker that lives with his family in a long leaf pine tree next door and they are on the state and federal endangered list. So I have begun a campaign to save the trees. So far I've only been able to build up my long distance phone calls because the wild life biologist that represents our area has not returned my calls. I'll do my best to keep it all posted here - provided my computer cooperates.

The reason I hardly post anymore is due to my lazy ass computer. No matter how many pop-up stoppers, nortons, and spyware doctors I have, I get so overwhelmed with websites that pop up and wont go away when I come here that I just crinj at the thought! So I only come post when I have allot of patience.

Other than that how is everyone? LOL

I'm still looking for a job and no I have not re-applied to Wallyworld yet. That's my last resort. I did put in for a job on Bald Head Island with the Conservancy. I think that would be a cool job. I'd have to take the ferry to and from work and traffic would be bad durring dolphin and turtle seasons, but as long as I bring my camera along I think I could tolerate the wait. LOL Damn that would be a cool job. I probably won't get it just because I want it.

I have a house full of teens this week. Schools out and I live at the beach - that makes me more popular than their dad's place. Unfortunatly for them it's been a solid rainy week. Hot - but wet. A thunderstorm woke me at 2;30 this morning, so I sat on the porch and watched that for a while.

Well toodles for now.
;>