H1N1 “Swine Flu” hits Newbury Park HS

Even though “they” say the H1N1 “Swine Flu” is dissipating and moderate, you get an eerie feeling when it’s in your neighborhood.  Yesterday, Newbury Park High School was closed down for a single case of a student with a cold.  It was not confirmed that it was the Swine Flu virus, but the Principal was 95% certain.

I would not have known that it was so close to home except that I briefly surfed by Fox News at 10 and recognized a woman from Church who was giving an interview that caught my attention.

Most parents were relieved that the school closed for a week except that one parent though they were overly cautious without confirmation of the “Swine Flue” virus.

Newbury Park HS, closed until 5/12/2009 for the 5th reported H1N1 case in Ventura County, CA.

Scariest Ride at Disneyland

Without a doubt, the scariest ride at Disneyland is the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure escalator.  When you first step onto the escalator, you’re looking down a steep 5 stories starting at the Donald parking level.

If you’re afraid of heights, it’s a the point where you know if you fall, you’re going to split open like a watermelon and die.

The first time I rode the scariest ride at Disneyland, I had an uneasy feeling that if this escalator stopped suddenly, everyone would take a terrible tumble down to the bottom.

I had this same uneasy feeling as my wife and I started downwards to the waiting trams at noon on 3/20. Without warning, the terrifying feeling manifested when the escalator malfunctioned and jolted to a complete stop. Hundreds of passengers surged forward flying downward into the guest in front of them.

The screams of terror were deafening as I landed feet first on the next step below.  My one handed grip on the rail saved me from what would have ruined the near perfect day at Disneyland.

The scariest ride at Disney is indeed the Mickey & Friends Escalator.

Dachshunds | 3 Doxies

My trick to getting Chloe to eat and Odie healthy again…

We switched our dachshunds over to a new homemade pumpkin and chicken dog food recipe. Chloe – who is very finicky – just loves it.Dachshunds | 3 Doxies, Feb 2009

You should read the whole article.

QOTD – Have You Noticed the Price of Paper Towels?

Has anyone noticed that the price of paper towels have nearly doubled in the last 6 months?  I would buy 12 rolls at Costco for around $10, now they’re over $17.

Does Anyone Still Play CIV III?

CIV III is a really big time killer for me.  I just love the game and go through periods where I have to uninstall the game to get any work done.  I re-installed the game this morning and actually only played 30 minutes instead of the usual 2 or 3 hour stretch.

Does anyone out there still play CIV III?

Question of the Day: Can You Live Without SpongeBob?

Viacom and Time Warner Cable came to terms  for programming agreement that will continue bringing MTV, Comedy Central and SpongeBob to your tube.  Do you think Time Warner should have signed with Viacom?  That is could you live without SpongeBob SquarePants?

Question of the Day: Are You Long or Short in 2009?

Without a doubt, 2008 was a terrible year for investments.  Trillions of dollars evaporated into thin air if you were long like most investors.   Even if you were prudent, you may have lost money in your money market accounts like we did.

But if you were short, you made out like a bandit.

For 2009, which direction do you think the market is heading?

New Years Day Sales

Happy New Year!  January 1, 2009 is the start of the new years day sales that will go on for the rest of 2009 and well into 2010.

My resolution today is to buy only things on sale and the rest of the year.  If it’s full price, no deal.  Sorry, we’re in a credit crunch, a deflationary cycle, and your price just has to come down if you want me to buy it.

Plus, I’m tired of the overpriced useless garbage that we import only to get a short-term satisfaction that  ends piled up in corners of our three-car garage.

Yes we need a new years day sales to clear out the garbage in our life and focus what is most important to us: our family, friends and neighbors.

WordPress 2.7 Disables Add “Add new tag”

One of the gripes I had about older versions of WordPress is that when you added tags, you always ended up with the “Add new tag” tagged to your post.  All it took was a slip of the mouse and you got the Add new tag.

Now with WordPress 2.7, no matter how often you punch that little Add button without entering any text in the tag post box, you will not get the “Add new tag” tag.

It’s simply a great enhancement that now if you added the “Add new tag” tag, you don’t have to go back and delete the added “Add new tag” tag.

Sleepy Afternoon With My Dachshunds

Today I’m planning to be as lazy as possible — even to the point where I’m regretting writing this post.  But sometimes you just need to act like a lazy dog and take an afternoon nap.

So I’m taking advice from my dachshunds and getting a head start on them before three notice that I’m missing and gone upstairs to watch a movie or football game to catch a few winks.

Perhaps I’ll get a few minutes alone before Odie runs upstairs an hops on top of me to find his favorite resting point nestled between the legs.  I’m sure that the other two wiener dogs will follow taking up the remaining space on the king-sized bed which is simply too small for doxies.