MindBlog Archives
September 1 - 30, 2006

When abnormal is normal
09.30.06 - 10:19 pm (CT)
"What is normal?" is a very good question for someone who has lived with abnormal for so long that they are no longer sure what normal is. Sometimes you just have to forget about what you know and go with what you see, which is what I have been doing since my divorce became final. I am looking at relationships that I think are good, loving ones… normal ones, ones that have more than stood the test of time and wishing that I could have had that. However, since I didn't, I am hoping that sometime in the future I can have that and more with a good man, a godly man, who loves and wants only me… and that's a glass-half-full view any way I look at it.

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Pretty much just watching the pool
09.27.06 - 8:45 am (CT)
I spent the summer pretty much just watching the pool, because I was too tired at the end of the day to drag myself in for a nap. Plus, I had other things to do like laundry, etc. Anyway, I've given up on getting any more pool time this year, so it's now Pool Watch 2007.

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Accepting and then adapting to change
09.19.06 - 6:37 pm (CT)
When I got the call from the doctor's office the week before last he said he is as sure as he can be that I have Rheumatoid Arthritis (there are other diseases that mimic it, such as Lupus and I forget what else). I had an aunt who had RA, so I already had some idea of what his diagnosis meant, which is why I spent the first two days after the doctor's initial call ranting about having it. However, I have since sort of come to terms with what the rest of my life may be like and yes, my glass is still half-full.

"…those who accept and adapt to the changes usually end up having a decent life. As for those who don't, well, they are generally miserable people living miserable lives…"

BTW, besides my aunt, I also have a good friend who has RA and unless she tells you that she has it, you would never know that anything was wrong with her. Sure, both of their lives changed with their diagnoses, but life has a habit of doing that and those who accept and adapt to the changes usually end up having a decent life. As for those who don't, well, they are generally miserable people living miserable lives… and I refuse for me to be one of the miserable ones that no one else can stand to be around.

I have pretty much lived my life with the philosophy that I should always try to treat others, especially my family, as if they are the ones who will be taking care of me in my old age. Also, I tried to impart that same notion in my kids as they were growing up, that "when push comes to shove, nip comes to tuck, all you may have left is your family, so treat them right". Because of that (and being a darn good Mom) I know that not only did I raise three good men, but also know that, should it ever become necessary, any one of them will take care of me.

However, until then (and maybe after as well) I plan on living what I had already decided will be my epitaph, "She lived until she died." Put another way… and I've said this before, but it's worth repeating because it's my general outlook on life:

Gee, if I end up in a wheel chair, maybe I'll have son #3 hop it up for me, so I can move at my usual fast clip… maybe I'll even have him add a horn and turn signals to my wheels.

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Suspending spammers
09.14.06 - 8:09 am (CT)
Another well, well, well, because after reading my blog last night about the spammer, DONOTMAIL.COM, being blocked by my hosting company, I received an email from my delightful hosting company saying that not only had they blocked all email coming from the spam server that DONOTMAIL.COM uses, but since they are also the registrar of record for the spamming DONOTMAIL.COM domain name, they suspended the domain name itself for violating its "Terms of Service".

So, what does that mean for the masses? It means that no one, not nowhere, not no how will be receiving spam from DONOTMAIL.COM, because the registrar has removed their domain from the public record. It would appear that the owner of the spamming DONOTMAIL.COM domain name, GRYPHONNETWORKS.COM, now owns a domain name that, well, cannot be used for much of anything… oh well, they played and they lost, which means the rest of us win big time! You're welcome and have a nice day.

(Note: I purposefully did not give out (or use) any other names of those involved in this feat, because to mention their names in close physical proximity to the perpetrators and the perps' spamming might make their names show up in search engine results with the spammers. See my "anecdotal evidence of how search engine optimization works" to see in real life how this works. Anyway, at a later date I will give out the name(s) of those who put a stop to the spammers, but it will be a blog that only mentions stopping spam at the source, so as to not have their names associated with the spammers.)

(Another note: I purposefully did not link to the spammers websites, because to do so would have increased their page rank with the search engines… and we wouldn't want to do that now, would we?)

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Blocking spam any way you can
09.13.06 - 9:45 pm (CT)
Well, well, well, DONOTMAIL.COM can no longer spam any of my email addresses, because the Web hosting company I use for all of my sites has decided to block all email that comes from the server that DONOTMAIL.COM uses to serve their spam. Gee, I'd like to take credit for getting this done, but with the amount of spamvertising that DONOTMAIL.COM spammed me with, I'd say the list of complainants is rather long, so maybe it was me and maybe I was just one of many complaining about DONOTMAIL.COM being a spammer. Oh well, that is neither here or nor there… because I'm here and they're there. TA DA!!!

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Keeping my glass half-full
09.09.06 - 11:55 pm (CT)
Some days it's harder than others to keep my glass half-full, take yesterday for example when I got a call from a doctor's office with what may be crippling news. The call came when I was at work, so I had to hold the ranting until I got home hours later, which I did and then ranted while getting ready to go somewhere and on the way to and from somewhere. After getting home I ranted for I have no idea how long, but I carried on with myself until I was "ranted out", went to bed, got a few hours sleep, woke up way too early, and ranted some more before heading off to work again… on my day off no less.

"…I wasted some pretty darn good rantings over a 'rantless' situation."

Well, I'm done ranting — for now anyway — and hope to spend tomorrow getting some much needed stuff done around here, which will hopefully keep my mind off what I have been ranting about. If not, then maybe I'll chat with a certain nurse I know about the cause for my rantings to see if she thinks that I wasted some pretty darn good rantings over a "rantless" situation. Aw, she'll probably tell me my glass is still half-full, that if I'd quit ranting long enough to take a good look at it, I would see it that way, too… gee whiz, Jeane, knock it off.

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The president is stepping down
09.08.06 - 6:27 am (CT)
I've been the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce for the last two years. I never aspired to be the president, in fact I didn't aspire to even be on the board, but kind of just ended up on it after helping at a recurring monthly event… maybe one too many times. Well, after a two-year stint as chamber president, next month this president will be stepping down not only from the presidency, but from the board also.

However, I will still be around, as I'll be helping with a new effort in the chamber to assist new (and current) members to get (better) acquainted with other members. We're starting an "Ambassador Club" within the chamber that is comprised of members that go out of their way at whatever event to introduce new members to other members. It's kind of like a Welcome Wagon that will jumpstart their membership by getting the ball rolling with their networking within the chamber and the community.

So, like other past presidents that never really go away, I'm not leaving, I'm just stepping down from one position and will immediately step up to another — one that keeps me involved, but no longer in charge… yes!!!

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Anecdotal evidence of how search engine optimization works
09.04.06 - 1:12 am (CT)
Let me see, I first wrote about spam from DONOTMAIL.COM and their owner GRYPHONNETWORKS.COM on August 29, 2006 and then again on August 31, 2006. Well, as of yesterday morning, which was September 3, 2006, if you put either name into the top search engine up pops my blogs about DONOTMAIL.COM and GRYPHONNETWORKS.COM being spammers right there at or near the top of the search results. It came in at number one or seven for DONOTMAIL.COM and number four or six for GRYPHONNETWORKS.COM depending on whether you include the dotcom in the search for either. And lo and behold, there is the word "spam" in one form or another right there along with their names… me oh my, I'm shocked, just shocked… yeah, right. Logic wins again.

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Sudoku for the fun of it
09.02.06 - 10:24 am (CT)
I ran across a what-was-new-to-me kind of puzzle in the print version of an area newspaper, The Daily Journal, and found the logic of it entertaining enough to go online in search of more of the same. The newspaper's site did not have any more puzzles on it, at least that I could find, so I Googled the odd name of the puzzle, Sudoku, to find more puzzles online.

My search led me to Web Sudoku where they say they have "billions of free Sudoku puzzles to play online" and at four levels of play — easy, medium, hard, and evil. Their brief description of the puzzle is that "Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square."

Both Google and Web Sudoku pointed to a page at Wikipedia for a more detailed explanation of the Sudoku puzzle and how to solve it using "patience and logical ability". I already have the logical ability, but as for the patience, on some days it is stretched too thin to do the timed online version. So, on those days I don't bother and use what little patience I have left for something else… like work or, better yet, life.

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A book in me
09.01.06 - 11:45 pm (CT)
I mentioned last month that I plan on writing a number of books on various subjects, but what I didn't say was where I got the idea in the first place. Originally, I joked with a few select people about how I should write a book on how to catch your husband cheating. After all, I didn't use a private detective and, other than buying a voice-activated tape recorder to use in a variety of ways, I don't think I spent any money to catch the lowlife slumming for the cheap w---e* of his dreams. I had (and have) so much incriminating evidence on him (and others) that if I ever used any of it, well…

"…the only one who benefits in an abusive relationship is the abuser…"

Anyway, at some point I quit joking and became serious about it, because I know what it's like to be the last to know and how it feels before you know the real reason behind the mind games and abuse. I want others to be able to find out on their own and sooner rather than later… maybe in time to save their marriage and if not, then to get out in time to have a decent life for them and their children. It may sound whatever, but the only one who benefits in an abusive relationship is the abuser and you can bet that they aren't just abusing one person, it extends to just about anyone who crosses them and their path.

Well, about the same time I started getting serious about writing, I came across an online article that as luck would have it, is still online right where I found it. It's about bloggers being a new source for literary agents who are looking to represent the author of the next best seller — that if you are a blogger who does more than report in on what you are doing at that particular moment in time, there might just be A Book in You (by Daniel Radosh, The New Yorker, 5/24/04). Yes, there is a book in me, and if my sister was right when she said at the time I sent her the article, "You've got more than one in you!" then I hope to one day be on numerous best seller lists for books one through however many I end up writing… before March 11, 2083.

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* Note: MindBlog is rated by the ICRA for general audiences, so I had to leave out the "happy oh really".