Botanic Gardens sundial (Theme Day: Shadows)

The sundial in the Royal Botanical Garden sits in the middle of the Herb Garden (top). It is an armillary sphere sundail made of silicon bronze that weighs 1500kg and is 2.4m tall with a 1.5m internal ring diameter. It was designed specifically for the Herb Garden in 1994 by John Ward and Margaret Folkard and features herbs modelled in clay in high relief by Adelaide sculptor Karen Rumpf from drawings by Gardens’ illustrator Marion Westmacott. The sun shines on the central bar, which then casts a shadow onto the time marked, angled ring (left), indicating that these photos were taken at around about 1.40pm.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of this theme day

Driving off the Road

The last two weeks have been strange. I look at my calendar, and I think, busy day. Lots of things on the agenda, lots of projects bubbling. But somewhere around 11am I find, wait a minute, this day isn't so bad after all, I have tons of time.

I'm left a bit bewildered by it all -- it's like driving on a narrow road between two high cliffs and then suddenly coming around the corner and finding the cliffs have fallen away and you're face to face with an enormous expanse. And it's so wide open, you almost drive completely off the road.

So there's this sense of everything opening up. And then, come day's end I think to myself, Wow. I got so little done. Busy day.

Strange.

My Favorite Cat Video

I would never have predicted I would ever have a blog entry about cat videos. It probably says something about the state of my mind at present... Ranger, needs exercise, badly.

Hyde Park, Captain Cook statue

This statue of Captain James Cook in Hyde Park was sculpted by Thomas Woolner. It was unveiled by Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, on Tuesday 25th February 1879. The statue was erected to commemorate Captain Cook's discovery of the east coast of Australia in 1770.

Lessons in life..

1. Be patient all the time. This is something I have to teach myself. Everything that happens to me, tests my patience. However, I feel that it is very important to react to whatever injustice has been done to me.
Moral: When someone says something on your face, just act as if you are deaf, dumb and blind. But never forget that incident!

2. You are safe if people think that you can’t be trusted. You can have the company of everyone, yet don’t have to carry their secrets.

3. Misunderstanding is something, worst of its kind, which deprives people of peace and sleep.


4. Don’t pull any friends into your close circle of family.
Moral: Blood is thicker than water. Water makes blood dilute. Dont lose the thickness of blood by mixing water in it!!

5. Don’t underestimate or hate anyone. In the course of time, God does it in such a way that the person you hated and underestimated will eventually do your appraisals.

Moral: Just smile at people you hate. They know that you hate them, they will at least think that you have manners.

6.

7. Try and you can keep your secrets to yourself and with God. Disclose it, and you are either blackmailed or the info u passed is misused in some other way.
Moral: Self explanatory.

8. Just don’t give a damn about what people think about you, or say about you.
Moral: Let them say whatever they want, about you. They have no idea what you think about them!!

9. Don’t take revenge. If you do, you are no different from the rest of the world.
Moral: Someone does something bad to you. You lose peace of mind. Wait and plot a good idea.. give them a tit for tat. The tit for tat should be in such a way that, it makes that someone think that what they did was wrong. It should not be embarrassing.

10. Stay away from people who talk little and think more. They can’t be trusted. Be friends with chatter boxes. They are clear in their hearts.
But don’t disclose secrets to them!
Moral: I am a chatterbox. Please don’t say secrets to me. I am much happier that way.

11. Don’t distrust and have a bad perception about people who can’t keep secrets. They are either weak at heart and personality, or too innocent to keep one or they might be heavily dependent on others. Its not their fault. Just don’t say secrets to them!!

12. Don’t comment about anyone’s appearance. They are not responsible for it.
Look at the mirror again.

13. If you talk ill about someone’s family, that’s the worst kinda sin you can ever do. Wait for the judgment day.

14. Don’t keep saying and gossiping about the past of other people. You are certainly not going to like it if they say about yours
Moral: Would you? ;)

15. Don’t trust anyone in the world head to toe. There are no Gods around, only human beings.
Moral: I am a human being too!

16. Never ever speak about religion and politics. It’s a person’s fundamental right and strictly a personal choice.

17. Trust in God, always. Even if you think that He is being partial. He is NOT partial.

18. Don’t advice anyone!! Very important!! It is the first step to generate hatred. Advice someone in their love affair related issue, you are doomed.

Moral: I was once doomed for a similar case when I was in Std XI..

19.

20. When A complains about B and is in tears, console A saying that everything will be all right and problems wont last forever. But, if you also agree to the complains that A said about B, then A will feel happy.

AFTER 6 MONTHS – one fine morning.

A and B are in love. They get married. A says that you are passing rumours about B to spoil their relationship!!

Moral: When A or B is crying, console them, but shut your mouth!!! (This actually happened to me. A and B are happily married, and I am the bitch).

21. University exam at college. You study hard day and night the prev day. You write the exam. You pass with a 70+. The girl next room fails. She tells.. Oh.. you know Anita? The girl next room? Oh she is always reading archies, sketching away cartoons or sleeping.. she passes just out of ‘luck’ !! And the masala: ‘ You know what…when I asked Anita a doubt , she dint know it!! Then how did she even pass? Leave alone 70 !!’
All your batchmates are convinced. They look at you like they look at criminals. They smirk. They talk behind your back.
Moral: They like to believe it that way. Let them J . Rumours are not going to the university level to reduce your rightly deserved marks.
More to come..!!!

Stop spam to save the planet.

Like you, I too stopped to read the headline again.
"Stop spam to save the planet. "

Spam emails endangering the ecology of the earth? What is this? How a non-physical thing can do such harm?

But a recent study has revealed that spam is the main cause that harms the planet earth as it produces greenhouse gases.

The true findings:
"According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, the research shows all those unsolicited messages, 62 trillion of them last year, generate greenhouse gases equivalent to driving a car around the planet 1.6 million times.-Times of India

Like many Indians, I too never took the spam emails that I receive (who doesn't?) daily. I just delete the emails as innocuous.

But here is the interesting fact:
There is lot of energy in sending, storing and sorting the unsolicited email messages. Do you know that 33 billion kilowatt-hours of power is wasted in this process?

The added statistics is, more than 80% of the emails that are sent daily is Spam.

Here is a shocking truth:

When McColo, the noted spammer cum web hosting service provider was closed by its Internet service provider last November, worldwide spam fell by 70% overnight.

I burrowed deep into the news report and was literally sat upright when I came to know that
most of the spam is generated from botnets and that makes it very hard to identify where it’s coming from.

Please visit the link above to learn more about Spam and ecology.

Kurnell, Captain Cook Memorial Obelisk

The Captain Cook Memorial Obelisk sits behind Silver Beach in the Botany Bay National Park at Kurnell. Captain James Cook was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer whose expedition became the first recorded European one to navigate and map the eastern coastline of Australia. On the 29th of April 1770, his crew arrived in Botany Bay on the Endeavour and made their first landing on Australian soil at what is now known as Kurnell, claiming Australia for the British Crown.

How does your garden grow???

We have planted seeds or started them indoors now. And they are growing yeah!

Onions ~ Annual Bunching

• they are about 2" in height already

Cucumbers ~ Earliest Mincu

• they are now 4" to 5" tall and we have 40 plants up so far
• the leaves are 1" to 2"

Tomatoes ~ Golden Queen, Sweet Cherry, Roma, Christmas Grape, Beefsteak

• on average they are 1" to 2" tall now
• with two leaves showing and a third one coming in.
  

I plan to take some pictures of them later today and I will post them with this so you can all see what is happening.

This is our gardening project but also helps with our science unit for homeschooling.

I am looking into doing my first herb garden and my husband wants to plant some grapes.

You walk; I follow.

The habit of walking on the beach sand daily is the main cause for me not feeling comfortable wearing formal women's shoes. Also, I never had the necessity o wear formal women’s shoes.

Now there is reason for my decision to visit shoe-store.net, my favorite online shoe mall. For my upcoming overseas travel, I need formal shoes. I have purchased over 20 times, shoes and sandals from this online shoe store. They sell a big range of women’s shoes manufactured by every leading brand in the world.

You should visit the site at least once to know what I am talking about. Over hundred brands and 15 styles of footwear are available at the site.

My favorite shoe color is olive but my son ridiculed me when I told him I will buy olive colored formal shoes. He was actually shocked at my choice of color.

I yielded to his manly advice. After all, men walk and women follow-right?

Chifley, war memorial

There aren't many landmarks in the small eastern suburb of Chifley, except for this war memorial flanked by a couple of cannons and a flag pole. The Bob Clarke Memorial Reserve, sits between the carriageways of the divided Anzac Parade, which was once a tramway.

On (and Off) the Hook

Midtown Starbucks, 3:30pm, Monday.

Businesswoman: Well, I wanted to tell you, we were very impressed with your resume. You've got a really excellent set of credentials and some fantastic experience.

Candidate: Thank you.

Businesswoman: You're welcome. We were all very impressed.

Candidate: Thanks. That's great. I'm glad.

Businesswoman: No, we were! And we thought you had so many strengths in so many areas, all of the skills we need, except for one area, and that is actual management. Working with the unions, working with customers who have questions.

Candidate: Right. OK.

Businesswoman: And you know, a lot of things you can learn on the job. You've certainly had a lot of experience in everything else. But you would need to learn. Because, what do you do if someone comes and we're all sold out but they have a reservation? Which things need to be addressed by unions, which don't? You could definitely learn it all, there's no question of that, but you don't have that experience right now.

Candidate: No, you're right, I don't.

Businesswoman: And other candidates have experience in this. But they don't have some of the experience you have in other areas.

Candidate: Hmm.

Businesswoman: So Jamie and Curtis and I had to really talk about this. We really worked hard and struggled with this.

Candidate: Ok.

Businesswoman: And we've decided that we don't think you have the qualifications for the job.

Candidate: Ah.

Businesswoman: Not that you couldn't have the qualifications, because you totally could. But the thing is, you don't right now. You have all sorts of other parts that we are actually looking for, but you don't have this.
And I wanted to tell you in person because we were really impressed with you. If you had a little experience in this one area, you would be an ideal candidate.

Candidate:....

Businesswoman: And personally, I don't believe in form letters or calls on answering machine messages. I feel like people are so much better happier -- I mean, I know, you're not thrilled, you're probably not psyched that I'm telling you you didn't get the job, you're probably like God, this really sucks. But when we can sit down and talk, and I can be like, you are really great, but you need help with this one area, I think that's helpful.

Candidate: Hmm. Well...thank you. I ... understand. I do want to say, I have worked for a number of start-ups, and that work always involves having to learn new things very quickly, doing in-depth research. I feel very confident at this point in doing that.

Businesswoman: Mm-hmm. Yeah. But you don't have that experience right now. You could have it, you so could, but you don't, not yet, and so what if we hire you and then what happens if someone is locked out? Or there's a problem in the kitchen. How do you handle that? Could you figure it out -- of course you could. But you don't know right now.

Candidate: Hmm. Uh, Ok. Well...

Businesswoman: But I just want to say, your resume is really, really impressive. Seriously. (laughs) I'm not laughing at you, I'm just really impressed.

Swine Flu, Anyone?

As the world worries about outbreaks of swine flu (it's even in Australia, if you can believe that), did you know that there was great fear of a Swine Flu Epidemic in the 1970s? A number of public service announcements were done as television commercials. And thanks to the glory that is Youtube, here they are, straight from the 1970s, for us to enjoy!



Is that second one disturbing, or what? How could people dress like that?

Natal Anjo

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mara Silveira <silvepor@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/9/18
Subject: {Amigas_do_Crochê} Contribuição - Natal Anjo
To: Amigas do Croche <amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com>

Anjo

Material:
Fio Cléa Círculo 125 m, 1 novelo na cor 8001, Fio Rubi n. 2406 ( azul ) e 1 par de agulhas n. 2 mm.
Pontos Empregados: corr. ( correntinha ), p.b. ( ponto baixo ), p.a. ( ponto alto ).
Execução:
1 Carr.: 20 corr., mais uma para virar;
2 Carr.: 20 p.a.;
3 Carr.: 22 p.a.;
4 Carr.: 22 p.a., contando com as tres corr. iniciais;
5 Carr.: Faça o ponto fantasia (ponto cruzado - pula um p.a., faz um p.a. no p.a. seguinte 1 p.a. no p.a que pulou. seguir assim até o final );
6 Carr.: 24 p.a;
7 Carr.: ponto. fantasia;
8 Carr. 26 p.a.;

Roupa:

Com o fio Rubi faca o acabamento da roupa com 3 corr. 2 p.a. e prenda com um p.b. dando um pequeno espaço.
Repetir por toda a volta.

Cabeça:

Faça um anel com 5 corr. 15 p.b., 22 p.b. por 7 carr.seguidas.Inicie então as diminuições p/ 18 p.b., 14 p.b., até fechar, não esquecendo de encher com manta acrílica. Faça a boca com o fio rosa claro, use fio marrom claro para fazer os olhos e com fio branco nariz em rococó.

Gola :

Faça a gola da roupa com 5 corr. prossiga com 18 p.a. + 10 = 28 p.a. E um acabamento de 3 corr., 1 p.b., por duas carr.. Arremate e prenda então com a agulha de mão na cabeça e ao mesmo tempo na roupa.

Asas :

Faça duas vezes como a seguir: 8 corr., 6 p.a., 8 p.a., 10 p.a., 14 p.a. e arremate. Faça o acabamento igual ao da
roupa e prenda atrás desta. Finalmente prenda um anel dourado na cabeça do anjo e um cordão para pendurar na árvore.
Passe termolina leitosa na roupa e nas asas do anjo para que fique bem armadinho, utilizando um pincel.

Mangas:
1 Carr.: 6 corr.,
2 Carr.: 6 p.a.,
3 Carr.: 3 p.a.,
4 Carr.: 12 p.a.,
5 Carr.: Picô ( 3 corr. 1 p.b. ).
Cabelo: Cortar fios de lã e colar na cabeça.

--

Mara
http://silvepor.blogspot.com

I-30 Speedway

Saturday night I was introduced to the I-30 speedway. Very interesting. Very muddy. VERY redneck, but they were wealthy rednecks(you have to be to afford these cars!). One of Kent's friends, Rick, used to race late-model cars so he invited Kent and I because we had never been before. Rick described it as the very beginning stage for Nascar drivers. My favorite part was when they crashed and had to be towed off the track. Very exciting.

We had fun and I would definatley recommend going at least once. Just once.

Proof!

The University of Arkansas has a five-mile "senior walk," where over 100000 graduates' names have been etched into the sidewalks. Therefore, I PROUDLY present to you...... KENT S McCLURE!

Megan (McConnell) Swann found her name last weekend in Fayetteville and guess who is right below her?!?! He wants everyone to know that he really finished in 2006, but took one summer class which bumps you to the 2007 grouping of names.

Katy (Nelson) Schmidt found me in 2007 also. Thanks friend!

NATAL - Centro de mesa de estrelas

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Maria Cristina Aguiar <aguiar.mariacristina@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/10/20
Subject: {Amigas_do_Crochê} NATAL - Centro de mesa de estrelas 2 imagens para você
To: Amigas do crochê <amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com>, partilhando-croche-com-prazer <partilhando-croche-com-prazer@googlegroups.com>, recanto-do-croche@googlegroups.com, sorevistas1@googlegroups.com


Você recebeu 2 imagens.


natal-005.jpg
natal-006a.jpg

Ponto X - Artesanato natal: Centro de mesa

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: dimarinhaAF <dimarinhaaf@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/10/30
Subject: {Amigas_do_Crochê} contrib - ponto X - Artesanato natal: Centro de mesa
To: Amigas do croche <amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com>

 

 

Enviado para você por dimarinhaAF através do Google Reader:

 

 

Artesanato natal: Centro de mesa

via Artesanato de Artesanato em 21/10/08

Fonte: Artesanato Natal

 

 

Coisas que você pode fazer a partir daqui:

• Inscrever-se no Artesanato usando o Google Reader
• Comece a usar o Google Reader para manter-se facilmente atualizado com todos os seus sites favoritos

 

  --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
- EDITE o campo ASSUNTO do email e APAGUE os endereços dos seus amigos
- LEIA sempre os emails da Gerência do grupo.
- MANTENHA OS CRÉDITOS sempre que souber quem os fez.

SÓCIO INATIVO POR 30 DIAS É EXCLUÍDO. NOVOS SÓCIOS TEM PRAZO DE 1 semana PARA APRESENTAR-SE AO GRUPO E COMEÇAR A PARTICIPAR.
Para enviar mensagens ao grupo, envie um Email para amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com
Para mais opções, visite este grupo em http://groups.google.com.br/group/amigas_do_croche

Você recebeu esta mensagem porque está inscrito no Grupo "amigas_do_croche" no Grupos do Google
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

Centro de mesa de natal

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lúcia Helena Ribau <luciahrt@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/11/16
Subject: {Amigas_do_Crochê} centro de mesa de natal
To: partilhando-croche-com-prazer@googlegroups.com, artesanato-e-solidariedade@googlegroups.com, "amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com" <amigas_do_croche@googlegroups.com>


Foram-lhe enviadas 2 imagens.


toalhalindona.jpg
toalhalindona1.jpg

New Puppy

Here is our new puppy. Kent's co-worker could not keep her anymore, so we gladly took her in so that Captain Jack could have a friend to play with while we are at work all day.

She is six months old and a little skinny right now, but that will change soon!
Captain Jack LOVES her!

Target-Crosley Musical Jewelry Box Cherry

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Christmas - Giving Is A Blessing

Christmas brings a new life to the believers. Much before Christmas comes, the mood around the world changes. It is the anticipation of lovely days ahead of giving joy, meeting friends and family and feeling the spirit in the air that changes the most negative person to positive moods. Chistmas makes a person different. The same man, who you never see smiling, laughs during Christmas. That is the festive spirit of Christmas and that is why it is a lovely festival. Read More>>

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Sexy Girl Charmi 16 Days Movie Mp3 Songs Free Download

Cast : Charmi, Arvind, Kota Srinivasa Rao,...
Direction : Prabhu Salmon
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Padstow, war memorial

The Padstow war memorial,  sits in a prominent position along Memorial Drive, in the south western suburb of Padstow. The curved stone wall featuring a large cross in the centre, dedicated in 1967, is located beside the railway station.

Not To Be Read While Eating

So, in researching the whole "technicolor load" phenomenon, I came across two other tidbits.

First, have you ever wondered why animals sometimes eat their own feces? It turns out, it's not because they're too stupid to know better. Rather, doing so has certain health benefits. Rabbits and certain other animals are actually unable to completely digest their food the first time around (so to speak). They need to "double dip" in order to get all the nutrients. It's like cows chewing cud... just nastier.

Other animals, such as dogs, eat poop because it has vitamins and protein in it. In fact, if you've ever seen your dog chewing on your cat's poop, this is because cat poop is actually very high in protein.

Tastes like chicken.  

And speaking of eating feces (how's that for a transition?), second, pretty much all of us do. Not like a sandwich, I mean, but in very small amounts, usually in our sleep. Most human beings have pinworms, which are tiny little creatures that live in your intestines, largely minding their own business, and emerging only to lay eggs right on the outskirts of the anus. 

(Like I said, this is not a blog entry to be reading over sloppy joes.)  

Their egg laying makes us itch, and that's intentional -- momma pinworm wants us to scratch the area, thereby scooping up some of her microscopic eggs under our fingernails. And then, the next time those fingers come to our mouths -- which often enough happens while we continue to sleep -- those eggs end up on their way down our digestive track, where they need to be to hatch and continue the species. (It's like an ant farm in your intestines.)

If you want to know for sure whether you have pinworms, there is a test you can do, but you'll have to Google it yourself. Even I have my limits.

Hi! I live in your colon!

For more on poop.

A little bit of scary experience.

I usually take doctor’s word to be true and I believe them. But for the first time, I showed reluctance when I was prepared by the nurse for a catheter insertion to relieve me from some urinary tract infection.

Then, the gynecologist who also happened to be my close relative assured me foley catheter insertion is pretty smooth and won’t cause any discomfort due to foreign body presence.

Then she showed me few pictures, explained why a foley catheter is used in this instance, what is a drain bag etc.

I think she sensed that I am not appeased but she went about her job clinically ignoring my apprehension professionally.

Now, please don’t ask me to recount my feelings about foley catheter and my experience (?). I want to forget all about that. You better go to Allegromedical.com and find out yourself.

Cronulla, war memorial

The Cronulla war memorial sits in the middle of Munro Park, in the southern suburb of Cronulla. It is an obelisk with a paved sandstone base, a sandstone block mid-section and a polished granite top section. It features a 1914-1919 Honour Roll.

Sumanth's Boni Movie Mp3 Songs Free Download

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Seasons in the sun...

Here are lyrics of one of my most fav songs,'Seasons in the sun' by westlife..
Those out there who havent heard this song yet..please do..

Goodbye to you my trusted friend
We've known each other since we were nine or ten
Together we've climbed hills and trees
Learned of love and ABC's
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees
Goodbye my friend it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I'll be there

We had joy, we had fun
we had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed
Were just seasons out of time

Goodbye Papa please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along
Goodbye Papa it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them, I'll be there

We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone
We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone

Goodbye Michelle my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
And every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground
Goodbye Michelle it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there

Randwick, war memorial, Anzac Day

The Randwick war memorial is a sandstone cenotaph located in High Cross Reserve, in the eastern suburb of Randwick. It was dedicated in 1922 and contains within the structure the names of over four thousand World War One veterans, inscribed on a parchment roll. Today is Anzac Day, a public holiday which commemorates one of Australia's most important national days, when Australians remember those who have served and died in wars. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the date marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Anzac forces during the First World War at Gallipoli, Turkey.

Look 30 years younger in 10 weeks.

I wanted to live by the fine examples set by mu husband but no, I just could not exorcise the female vanity. I have been trying to set the age clock back to 30 years even since I crossed 45.

Quite a futile effort-eh?

But I know, it is futile but still I am at it like a typical female. Even I bought an ebook titled, "The Five Secret Rituals". It is about simple but precise body movements. They were discovered back in the 1930's - inside a remote Tibetan monastery, high up in the Himalayas.

I am living very away from Himalayas. I really had no intention of following a monk's discovery. So I gifted the book off to someone I don't even remember.

The secrets were brought back to the West by a retired British army colonel - who began workshops, helping people to look THIRTY years younger, in just TEN short weeks.

You see, somehow the book found the way back to me. Yes, I received the book as a gift from again a person that I don't remember to have met in my life thus far.

Let me see, there must a God's intention that I read the book "The Five Rituals". May be I can look like Britney Spears(see image). What a hope!

Lidcombe, war memorial

This Lidcombe war memorial sits in the middle of Wellington Park, in the western suburb of Lidcombe. The memorial is topped with a statue of an Australian soldier in a solemn stance, resting on his rifle. Four columns form the plinth for the statue with gilt name plates for both World Wars mounted on the flat internal faces.Anzac Day is commemorated in Australia and New Zealand tomorrow.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday

TMI: Part 2 -- Color My World

So, yesterday I mentioned that my evacuations are emerald. As you might imagine, I wondered about that, after a few days, and so I've done some research on what we might call dookie hues.

As you might expect, the dye of one's droppings has a lot to do with what's in it. For instance -- have you ever eaten lots of food that has food coloring in it (for instance, at a Star Trek party where the cook decided to make all the food look like it's from Klingon)? If so, you know that the food coloring doesn't quit "on entry".

So, too, certain foods in and of themselves can affect the coloration of one's ... . Beets turn poop red. Lots of lettuce can actually turn poop green. (Not exactly my problem.)

But the main ingredient in the hue of one's helping is blood. Bilirubin is a pigment created through the breakdown of red blood cells in the liver and bone marrow. It's part of the material expunged after eating. And it gives poop its natural shade.

Blood has a lot to do with poop's other shades, too. Black bowel movements are usually a sign of partially digested blood -- not a good sign. Red release usually means bleeding -- also not a good sign. And in adults yellow can means there's less bilirubin in it, or that you have a giardia parasite infection, which has to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control, and so is definitely not a good sign.

But what about bird poop, you ask? It's white. Well, I'm glad you mentioned it. Bird poop is actually a little bit different. The waste products from the kidneys of birds don’t come out as urine but as uric acid, which is a white paste. So, when you're sitting on a park bench and you get nailed by a high-flying pigeon, they didn't crap on you, they peed on you. Or they did both -- bird "pee" actually emits from the same place as their poop.

So, green -- yes, it can come from lots of leafy vegetables. It can also come from having a lot of iron in your diet -- meat, fish, greens. And apparently that's the current situation for me. It's not dangerous, just ...well, veridian.

Monday, one more set of thoughts to share on this. Be prepared...

Susan Boyle Fans Take Note

From my new post on America's In All Things Blog:

Everywhere I look this week, all I hear about is Susan Boyle, the British woman who wowed the judges of "Britian's Got Talent" with her performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. She's got a great voice, a nice story and a wonderfully pleasant, funny personality.

But that's not why we're talking about her. There are lots of great singers with great stories on these sorts of shows. No, we're talking about her because her performance revealed our prejudice, namely that ordinary or unattractive people have nothing to offer. Ms. Boyle, as we all know by know, is not your normal talent/reality show contestant; she's not 20 with pre-whitened teeth, porcelain skin and perfect hair. She is 47 and very ordinary -- like most of us, really. And when we first saw her we assumed she was a joke.

Click here for the rest...

TMI: Part 1

My bowel movements currently look like something from the Wizard of Oz or the Incredible Hulk. If I went to the bathroom at an investment bank, it might well be the only thing green the bankers there would have seen in almost a year.

I know, I know, I am actually writing about human excrement. I'm actually nervous to do so -- will I offend?

And that's sort of interesting -- just the mention of terms like "poop", "excrement", "toilet" or "fecal matter" -- and we get uncomfortable. Even revolted. Yet every day we poop (well, most of us) and sometimes frequently (oy vey); it is as natural as breathing, and not doing it is just as deadly as not breathing, too. Every living creature in the world does it, in one way or another. In fact, if you think about it, our world is probably filled with microscopic dookies. Filled. (Those wonderful dust motes you see gently wafting through the sunlight? Probably poop. The dust you wipe off your desktop? Poop. The unseen layer on top of your ice cream? Dead skin cells and poop.)

Maybe it's the smell that causes the very mention of the term to so freak us out. (And the people say, ya think?) It certain is... fragrant. Its scent, I have discovered in trying to research the possible causes of my own verdant vacuations, actually comes from the active bacteria in it. Poop consists of water (3/4ths of poop is water, in fact); dead bacteria who die in the digestive process; fiber (i.e. stuff we can't digest); protein, dead cells and live bacteria. Apparently some of those live bacteria, produce that smell. (One guy I found online wondered whether we couldn't create a food additive that would make our poop smell better. It's probably just a matter of time. Of course, it will make us sterile, but if we're smelling like roses, really, who cares?)

Or maybe it's the way it looks. It certainly does revolt us to look at it, doesn't it? But if you dug a hole and watered it, and then scooped up a pile of warm, wet mud, it might not look that different, but we wouldn't freak. Or if I made an Angelfood cake and shaped it like poop -- yeah, disgusting in theory, but would its looks actually horrify us? I don't think so.

Or it could be the fact that it has all those germs in it. If you eat your own poop, you could get very sick. But since when are we talking about eating our own poop? And if we want to go there, the thing is -- put your fork down now -- we are eating our own poop. Really. We just don't know about it. Wait until we talk about pinworms....

Probably it's some of the above and social convention. We're taught it's disgusting from the first moments of our lives, and so we go through our lives reacting to it like it's some combination of toxic waste and the Hunta virus. When in fact it's the normal stuff that comes out of us after every meal.

I know, it's a strange perspective. But when your poop comes in technicolor, well, it opens your eyes. Pardon me for saying so, but I shit you not.

More later.

Burwood, war memorial

The Burwood war memorial arch featuring an impressive sandstone archway, is located at the entrance to Burwood Park, in the inner west suburb of Burwood. The Memorial was dedicated on 11th November 1922 and unveiled on Anzac Day 1923. We're coming up to Anzac Day on Saturday, the day that Australians remember those who served and died in wars, so I'll feature a few memorials around Sydney over the next few days.

Burwood Park

Burwood Park, in the inner west suburb of Burwood, features a lake and a row of palm trees on the eastern border beside Burwood Road.

Click here to view all participants of Watery Wednesday

Warning: Long Decorating Post

Like I said before, we got a LOT done this weekend. I finally found an ottoman I love. Here it is! It is giraffe, which is the "wildest" I will ever get, but the brown and tan still goes with everything in the living room, but adds a little "umph!" Kent said he wasn't sure if he should put his feet on it or shoot it. It doesn't matter though, I love it and it has grown on him already!

New ottoman on new carpet!

Spring table setting. See the adorable little bird on the saucer?!?!

Kent hung my 3 stars in the emty space that seperates the rooms. It REALLY adds a lot because your eyes travel upward and shows how high the ceiling is.

Window panes unite! Between the fabulous yellow shutters. Not bad, huh?

I finally bought flowers (they're expensive!), so Captain Jack and I played in the dirt on Sunday!

Pretty? There are a lot more flowers, but I don't want to bore you right now with an even longer post... maybe later :)

Spring Clean (ing)

This past weekend Kent and I got SO much done: cleaned out the garage and SCRUBBED the floor! Cleaned and organized my closet, the extra bedroom and several other closets. We took 8 huge trash bags to the dump. Thanks to Kent being a little obessive compulsive about things being clean and organized, our house stays pretty neat!

Here is Kent cleaning the garage! It smells SO good now!

Now that it is nice out....

It is time to think about saving on laundry. I know hanging out laundry in the middle of a Canadian winter is not pleasing to anyone but now that the nicer weather is here why not take full advantage of it. I know for us it has made a huge difference in our monthly electrical bill. So now with the temperatures that have decided to bless us this pass weekend and the temperatures coming my laundry will be making it's way to the clothesline. We are a family of 6 mainly teens and adults and one little girl who LOVES to change her clothes whenever the mood strikes here despite our request not to.

Only a monthly basis we are probably saving $25 to $30/month.

I would love to have the clothesline with the cemented in posts like my mom used to have when I was a child but alas no room at our house and we don't have that kind of money sitting around so an umbrella clothesline it is. We use ours hard and I think this year I have to replace the cord to put on it as last year it was getting a bit warn. It does have to last through some pretty intense Canadian winters.

If you don't have money for an umbrella clothesline what about just picking up the nylon line and getting creative by using trees to hang it on or whatever you have in your backyard will work.

Here are a few tips for hanging your clothes outside:

• hang your clothes inside out to avoid fading.
• remember to give your a snap before hanging as it will reduce wrinkles
• Hanging matches together like socks and corresponding tops and bottoms easier when you take it off the line.
• hang shirts on hangers it takes one step away when taking it off the line it can go right into your closet
• be sure not to hang things but their collar as you don't want the collar to stretch out

Big hopes for IT professionals.

Gloomy and bleak atmosphere certainly left behind a toll on thousands of IT professionals. But there are still hopes for them. Nothing in this world is permanent. Life is a cycle; it will keep moving forward only.

Some of my husband’s words brought back color on the faces of a few IT graduates who came to attend a pep talk given by my husband. They all came looking to explore the possibilities of earning online through blogging.

They are all very young and fresh graduates. My husband gave them plenty of hopes by directing them first to find out their strength. He informed them jobs in IT field have not dried out yet completely.

Tecgcareers.com has a lot to offer for IT professionals. This online IT job portal is big with resources and information.

Job seekers can create their online profile and make them available to prospective employers. Employers also post their employees requirements in Techcareers.com

IT job seekers can search jobs by location and by keywords too.

My husband learnt that many IT professionals and IT companies are not yet aware of techcareers.com Please spread the word and help the sagging morale of IT graduates.

America's Anniversary

Last weekend America Magazine celebrated its 100th anniversary. The first issue was dated April 17, 1909, and I am told -- though it's probably impossible to verify -- in the years in between there has never been an interruption of service. Today the magazine is perhaps the 4th oldest periodical in the country. It's also the largest Catholic weekly in the United States -- in fact, it's pretty much the only Catholic weekly that remains.

Photos of our 50th anniversary show a packed house of religious and donors at a black tie dinner in Manhattan. There were so many people, they didn't all fit in the photo. In the congregation at St. Ignatius Church on Saturday I'd say we had about 300, most of whom stayed for a wonderful drinks and hors d'veours reception afterwards in the church hall.

And as I sat looking out on that congregation during the liturgy, a funny question bubbled to mind -- what exactly are we presiding over? Certainly a mass of thanksgiving: the magazine has been through tough times on many occasions; in the first year the editor-in-chief blew through a hundred thousand dollars (over a million dollars in today's terms), and when he exited at the end of that year there was about $50 in the bank. Most of the editors-in-chief over the magazine's history have likewise been removed, sometimes because it's time for them to go and they don't want to, other times because they can't balance the books or they really, really don't play well with others. And sometimes all of the above.

But still the magazine has continued, and even thrived. Editors have been consulted by presidents. They've written in all the major newspapers and magazines, and on many television networks, too. And in certain eras the magazine has had enormous influence over Catholic culture, even leading the course of discussion. As Catholics we don't believe that happens on its own, or simply by luck. It says something about the graciousness of God.

At the same time, I wondered if we weren't presiding over an ending of some kind, too. Not that America is closing up shop anytime soon. In fact, even as other publications are really hemorrhaging subscriptions, our own remain pretty steady.
But will there be an America Magazine in another 100 years? Or even in 10 years? It's hard to say. The world is changing rapidly, and as we adapt, the purposes of old things fade. The very notion of a print publication may soon be like dial phones or the post-up boards we used to use to make the pages before the dawn of Quark, a distant memory.

Our celebration was anything but funereal; but if we were marking among other things an ending of some kind, it seemed like the best kind of ending, a Christian kind, one with some further, as-of-now unimaginable act yet to come.

Rockdale, Macedonian Orthodox Churches

The Resurrection of Christ Macedonian Orthodox Church at Rockdale (left) is located on Frederick Street and was formerly a Uniting Church. Not far away, St Petka Macedonian Orthodox Church (right) on Railway Parade is a newer building. You don't usually have two churches of the same denomination in the same suburb in Sydney but in this case there has been some sort of dispute within the church which has resulted in a split.

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Menu Planning Monday April 20th

Big hello from Southwestern Ontario Canada. Hope all is well where you are.

Be sure to check out orgjunkie.com for more menu plan ideas!

My menu plan for the upcoming week:

Monday ~ Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Tuesday ~ Pork Chops, Rice, Veggies

Wednesday ~ Beef Stew, Homemade buns

Thursday ~ Chicken Noodle Bake, Garden Salad

Friday ~ Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, Broccoli

Saturday ~ Grilled Hamburgers, Grilled Veggies, Salad

Sunday ~ Easy meal (make Spinach Salad for birthday party)

Bangalore has changed a lot.

Bangalore has changed a lot and it changed my opinion too. I was under firm impression that Madras is bigger than Bangalore. But how mistaken I was!

My God, Bangalore is so big and vast! Other changes in Bangalore were the weather and the food.

It is hot now than I had experienced earlier. And the food is definite turned towards non-vegetarian.

Vegetarian food has become scare. I mean, the choice is very limited to vegetarians.

The one thing that has not changed at all is the language. Tamil is still the more widely spoken language. Even when my husband opened the conversation in local Kannada, the other person preferred to talk in Tamil.

Also, the city has expanded beyond expectations. Mostly I may also migrate to Bangalore by next academic year and be with my son. I miss him a lot.

Bangalore Place image via Wikipedia

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