"…because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough…and doggone it people like me…!!!" 

LOLOL!!!  OMG hilarious!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28495674

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvgMIerTXl4

That's all, just happy new year to ALL of you!!! Stay safe and healthy!

CAN'T IT JUST BE OVER

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia09187.ht ml

You should click the link to get the FULL effect!!!

OK, I wanna know what did ya get for the BIG DAY!!??

I got my Verizon Blackberry Storm phone, and it's the COOLEST THING!!!  I just gotta figure the dang thing out!!!  LOL!!!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/sendables/202809/2008_year_in_review #/teaser/202809

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/gBWo2pmW4S5i4HLs/UgNPjZgENouX vOfGYhdNaK9O

the second one is us, LOL!!!

that's it, just wanted to wish you a good one!!!

remember "d*ck in the box"?  well one of the guys (Sat. night live) from that is in this video and this video is HIL-AR-IOUS!!!!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I5XXFqOUyA

I actually saw a clip on itunes and found the entire video for free on youtube!

Since Christmas is just around the corner I though I would ask my fellow peevers what kind of holiday traditions they had.

 My family didn't really have any traditions when I was a child, so I don't have any favorite holiday memories. So my husband and I have tried to make sure we have some traditions for our kids to remember fondly.

For Thanksgiving we cook a big meal and invite people we know don't have family to spend the day with. We also invite any enlisted people we know that didn't get to go home. We ave always had a pretty good turn-out.

Every other year we drive to the mountains just east of SanDiego to play in the snow (since we don't get snow) on Christmas day. In warm years where there wasn't snow, we play in the sprinklers in the yard.

On December 23rd we drive around to look at all the Christmas lights (there is too much traffic on Christmas eve).

We also leave carrots out for Santa's reindeer and a tamale for Santa. Afterall by time he reaches Arizona he probably has cookies coming out his ear.

I would love to hear your favorite traditions/memories.

WOW, WHAT'S UP WITH THE BRIGHT MOON TONIGHT??

and finally some snow pics I took…

the first was at work, the second was at a fire station near work and the third is my truck!

Gambler sues casino over $900 million binge

CANBERRA (Reuters) – An Australian gambler who lost millions in a A$1.4 billion ($909 million) gaming spree is suing one of the country's largest casinos, claiming he was targeted by managers despite a known gambling addiction.

In a case which lawyers say could have implications stretching to China, gambling addict Harry Kakavas is suing Crown Casino in Melbourne for A$50 million damages after a mammoth 14-month baccarat binge in which he lost A$37 million.

At the time in 2007, property developer Kakavas had been barred from every casino in Australia.

But the Supreme Court in Victoria state was told that Crown's management did not "give a monkey's" about a prohibition in place since 2004, the Age newspaper said.

Supreme Court documents said Kakavas wore a concealed recorder that captured Crown managers allegedly attempting to lure him back to its riverside baccarat tables.

Crown is owned by Australian billionaire James Packer, who also operates Crown Macau and is developing a second casino project, The City of Dreams, in the Chinese territory. Last year the company reported profits of A$370 million.

"We have no intention of responding to the allegations made publicly. We are defending the action vigorously," Crown spokesman Gary O'Neill told Reuters.

Crown Chief Executive Rowen Craigie and Chief Operating Officer John Williams face accusations of unconscionable conduct while in charge of Crown, which this month reported revenue from table games and gaming machines up 4 percent as Packer looks to expand in Macau.

Court documents in Melbourne alleged that emails detailed a Crown plan to lure back Kakavas after managers discovered he had lost millions of dollars gambling in Las Vegas.

If found guilty, Crown could be judged to have breached Australia's Trade Practices Act, state gambling regulations and special laws covering the high-profile casino's operation.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; editing by Roger Crabb)

Man sprays 'toilet-papering' teens with fox urine

WILLMAR, Minn. – A 50-year-old man who told authorities he was fed up with teens toilet-papering his house decided to defend his property — with a squirt gun filled with fox urine. Now, Scott Wagar is in trouble with the law.

Wagar pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Kandiyohi County District Court to misdemeanor assault and other charges. He was released on personal recognizance.

According to police, Wagar was on his property Sept. 16 when he used night vision goggles to see 15-20 people running toward his place. He told police that he told them to leave, swore at them and sprayed them with the fox urine. He also allegedly struggled with one of the teens.

A phone message left at a home listing for a Scott Wagar was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.

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http://moneycentral.msn.com/quiz/driving-skills-quiz/home.aspx

how well do you know the answers?

Honest woman finds $97K in restroom, returns it

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A Murfreesboro woman says she returned $97,000 she claims to have found in a Cracker Barrel restroom, but police said Tuesday they have no report of the find. Billie Watts, 75, told The Daily News Journal that she discovered the money inside a tapestry bag hanging from a hook on a stall door last Thursday.

But five days later, the money and its anonymous owner remain something of a mystery in the community, where police said that they have no report of the find.

While digging through the bag to figure out its owner, Watts says she found a bundle of neatly stacked $1,000 bills.

Watts said she and her husband took the money home, but later called the restaurant back and asked if there was a lost-and-found department. She was told yes, and left her number.

A woman called about 15 minutes later and verified she was the owner by identifying pictures left in the bag. Watts returned the bag to the owner, whom she described as an elderly woman, but said she does not have the woman's last name or phone number.

Watts said the woman told her that the money came from selling her home and her belongings and that she was going to start a new life in Florida with her son. Watts says the woman offered to pay her $1,000, but Watts refused it.

A manager of the Cracker Barrel restaurant, Bill Shupp, said no employees actually saw the money or the elderly owner.

Yes, some of you already have seen this one, I posted it last year plus it IS making the rounds again in the email rounds. . .

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON 1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas! 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission. 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog. 7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again. 8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ? 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!" Have a great holiday season Author Unknown

I haven't seen the link on the home page for rant of the week, nor have I seen a post for any.  Is the last one about opening packages going to be acknowledged? It's the only one I ever posted on and it was a darn good one. Is it no more? Who won? Has it been discontinued? Can our hero be saved? Tune in next week for the next episode of…sorry. Got carried away! 

NY public toilets feature TVs, tuxedoed attendants

NEW YORK – What a relief! The free public restrooms operated by the Charmin toilet paper company in Times Square during the holidays are being rolled out for another year.

It's the third straight year for the 20 deluxe stalls.

The plush potties feature flat-screen televisions, attendants dressed in tuxedos and plenty of Charmin.

The loos are so luxurious that Charmin promises Times Square tourists will feel like kings sitting on their thrones before making their royal flushes.

The toilets are being inaugurated Monday with a ceremonial first flush by pop singer and Broadway star Joey Fatone (fuh-TOHN').

They'll be open every day through the end of the year except Christmas Day. For the first time they'll be open on New Year's Eve for the crowd watching the 2009 ball drop.

No really, any of you understand this and will ADMIT it???

Cell phone in man's chest pocket stops bullet

COVINGTON, La. – A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn — hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.

The 68-year-old man was bruised. He said doctors told him two things prevented worse injury, maybe even death: the phone, and the fact that the bullet came in at an angle rather than head-on.

Reports of pocket Bibles saving their owners' lives pop up every so often. Richard says he's sure that God told him to put the phone in his overalls chest pocket rather than a pants pocket as usual. He said that Saturday's incident increased his faith.

He figured the bullet was fired by a hunter in woods near his 5-acre property.

___

Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.timespicayune.com

Information from: WWL-TV, http://www.wwltv.com

Information from: WDSU-TV, http://www.wdsu.com

Mass. cops puzzled by butcher-quality meat chunks

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Police are trying to figure out who keeps leaving chunks of meat on the town common, and why. Police said residents have been finding butcher-quality cuts of meat on the common for about five weeks. In the most recent incident, a resident discovered a large piece of raw, unwrapped meat, along with what appeared to be a liver and some bones on Tuesday.

Police Lt. Paul Shastany said someone may be trying to poison animals, so the meat has been sent for testing.

___

Information from: MetroWest Daily News, http://www.metrowestdailynews.com

Vulcan, I am looking in YOUR direction!!!

Undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A North Carolina sheriff's official has apologized for plunging a funeral into chaos when undercover agents tried to arrest the dead man's son — and used a Taser on him in the process.

It happened as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest pallbearer Gladwyn Taft Russ III, The Star-News of Wilmington reported Wednesday.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before Tasering him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

Russ' sister, Taffy Gause, said when she got out of the car a deputy "was waving a gun at me and my mom and yelling to get back or he was going to shoot." She said some mourners went home instead of going to the cemetery.

Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife who lives in another state, officials said. Following his father's death Nov. 11, Russ agreed to surrender after the funeral.

When deputies approached Russ during the Saturday funeral, he "went wild" and spat on the officers, said New Hanover County sheriff's chief deputy Ed McMahon.

McMahon said the officers should have waited until after the cemetery service.

"It was never my intention to create any more problems for the family, and I am truly sorry and apologize for that," he said.

McMahon said the officers pointed Tasers at people because the crowd was moving toward them.

Russ was charged with assault on a government official, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and felony malicious conduct by a prisoner.

"Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, a pallbearer and Russ' brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

Driver loses control after sneeze, hits river

BOSTON – An untimely sneeze nearly cost Andrew Hanson his life. The 42-year-old Weymouth man told authorities that a sneeze caused him to lose control of his pickup on Soldiers Field Road and plunge into Boston's Charles River on Tuesday.

Hanson was able to wade to shore after escaping from the truck, which was partially submerged in 4 feet of water. He was not seriously injured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Lawrence Callahan of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation said Hanson told him that after he sneezed, "the next thing he knew he was in the river."

I just wish I KNEW what this guy went through on that fateful day!!!

Ky. inmate who escaped jail returns on own

PADUCAH, Ky. – Chad Toy's escape from jail wasn't what shocked his jailers; it was his plea to be let back in. "When I rang the bell at the jail and told them who I was, they were surprised," Toy told The Paducah (Ky.) Sun newspaper. "I guess they haven't seen that before."

Toy, 21, was in the McCracken County Regional Jail in western Kentucky awaiting trial on charges stemming from a July home invasion. He's also serving a four-year sentence for theft.

Officials said he escaped early Monday while on a cleanup detail in the lobby. He bolted after a guard unlocked the front doors to clean trash from a breezeway.

But Toy returned that afternoon, wet and covered with grime. He told authorities his sister had persuaded him to surrender because his family feared for his safety.

Jailer Bill Adams said he doubts Toy's account. He thinks the escapee spent his brief liberty hiding beside the Tennessee River.

Adams said it was the first time in his 14 years as a deputy and jailer that he's seen an escaped convict willingly return.

Toy told the newspaper, "It was a spur of the moment decision. I saw an open door and just ran through it."

He added, "I am sorry about what I did. If I had it to do over again, I would have never run out the door."

I mean it DID take three HOURS to figure out!!!

my six yr old asked this question to me…out of the blue, don't know why…

"How do people build tunnels underwater?"

yes, she's SIX…and I did NOT have an answer for her…LOL!!

Better than a Flu Shot!

This one takes the CAKE!!!

Obama won…I knew it, I never said it out loud but I knew.

I was NEVER as vocal as Ed, but deep down I knew, I think we all knew.