New Blog

As many of you know, I took an interest in my family's history shortly after my mother became ill in 1996. I started my genealogical research to find out about our family's medical history, but that quickly became a side point as I got hooked on research.

I recently attended a family reunion at my aunt's home, and many of my cousins, who I either never met or haven't seen in years, were there. My brother also flew in from Seattle for the occasion, thank goodness, or we wouldn't have any pictures. :D

So I started a new blog dedicated to the Hapeman descendants and will be posting pictures liberally for all to see and share. Right now it is under construction, but here is the address:

http://tenhapemankids.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Stupidity

Another Judge Who Isn't Intellectually Viable

James Leon Holmes - appointed by Bush as a judge for the Arkansas Eastern District in July 2004 - once compared the pro-choice movement to Nazi propaganda, likened the issue of abortion to slavery, wrote that "a wife is to subordinate herself to her husband," and argued that all abortions should be banned because "conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami." Meanwhile, studies from 2000 and 2004 show that 25,000 to 32,000 pregnancies a year result from rape in the U.S.

-From my Bad President calendar, July 13, 2008, 191 days left.

As a woman, I cannot tell you how much viewpoints like this trouble me, especially when they are in our government. It's just another example of how our own government, like other governments and religous groups, treats women with dignity and respect.

Something to think about

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.

- La Rochefoucauld

Food Relief

The rising price of gas has forced the prices of just about everything to increase, and it is no small wonder that everyone is feeling the financial effects.

My friend Rick told me about Angel Food Ministries. They are a non-denominational, non-profit organization that arranges food relief for those in need. It is not income based, there are no forms to fill out, no qualifications to meet, no hoops to jump through. As they say,

"If you eat, you qualify."

For $30, they will provide approximately $65 worth of groceries. Other specials are also available with the purchase of the initial $30 package. For a sample menu, click here.

They feed over 500,000 each month over 35 states. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

Good luck.

The Election

The election time-of-year always drives me nuts. I always think that what it boils down to is whichever candidate's lies you feel you can live with, you vote for.

A helpful site to sort out all the lies is Fact Check. To quote the site,

"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

It's worth checking out, especially when we are being bombarded by political advertising. And as November approaches, it's not going to get any better. :D

Our Military Personnel

Everybody thinks of them at Christmas or during Memorial and Independence Day, but I cannot remember the last time I saw people getting together a care package to send over.

They're still over there, folks. Some of them no more than Kids, doing their jobs, facing death daily.

I see a whole lot of stupid yellow magnetic ribbons, which do absolutely nothing for our servicemen/women. And where did the profits for those ribbons go? Not to our troops, that's for sure.

When is the last time we did something for them? Think about it.

I am going to follow my brother's lead (Humanitarian Aid)and break one of my cardinal rules:

Be a Good Samaritan,

then Shut the Hell Up About It.

AnySoldier.com is a great website. Mail to the guys and gals overseas cannot simply be addressed to "any soldier", etc., so you can request an address of a soldier from this site to send the package to. The men and women overseas post what they need or want. You can select a branch of the service you like, or just browse the site to see what they are asking for.

I package things up in the flat rate USPS boxes. A special form needs to be attached which lists everything in the box, so I've found it is easier to make the list as I pack the box rather than seal it up and try to remember everything that's in there.

If you are in a hurry and just want to make a donation, that's doable. If you want to send a package and do not have the time to assemble one, they have started a service called Treat Any Soldier where, for a donation, they package and send for you.

Whether they're in Afghanistan or Iraq or some other far-flung place in the world, they need to be remembered. Whether you agree with the reasons they are there or not, they still need to be remembered.

Don't wait for Christmas.

Gas Prices and Behavior Modification

I was checking out Digg.com and found an interesting article on Mark Cuban and why he is such a great blogger.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/technology/personaltech/20basics.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=eta1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1213640039-Ex95gb2f18ouDcpc6ix1SQ

I don't know how I did it, so I apologize if I am not giving proper credit, but from there, I somehow ended up at a link to Tigerhawk's blog which discussed gas prices and behavior modification. http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2008/07/gasoline-prices-and-behavior.html

Great stuff there. I am thinking that the whole gas price/behavior thing is all about opportunity cost. (Yes, I actually did learn something in Microeconomics!)

Everybody who knows me knows I bought a bike, and (at this late date in life) learned to ride it, in an effort to save gas. When I first started biking, it took me an hour to go the 6 miles to work. As I have gotten stronger and accustomed to the trip, it now takes me 35 minutes, which is only 15 minutes longer than my drive. Add it up, and we get extra time consumed by biking of 2.5 hours per week.

Is that worth it to me? Yes! Not only am I saving a bit on gas, but I am also saving wear and tear on my 10-year-old car. I am getting a bit of 'quiet time', and the exercise is good for my health.

Additionally, my son and I bike everywhere we can. We will carry our empty backpacks to the grocery store, purchase only what we can carry, and bike home. We bike to his martial arts classes, his baseball games, his friends' homes for play-dates, his after-school program. Granted, biking with a 7-year-old takes even more time. Is that worth it to me? Absolutely! While we're biking, we're talking. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

The opportunity cost in the extra time spent biking compared to the money saved by biking is, to me, a worthy trade. I plan to keep biking as late into the season as I can. This being Western New York, my biking season may end in August, but we'll see! :D

Calvin and Hobbes

I love the Calvin & Hobbes comic strips. Mike and Jeff really hit the nail on the head when they started calling my son, 'Calvin'. This particular strip brought to mind something Ian did when he was about 4.

I came into the living room after he had been particularly quiet and asked how his jello ended up on the floor. My only child looked at me straight in the eye and without hesitation said, "My brother did it."

Bill Watterson was a genius.

Happy Fourth!

A beautiful day for a picnic

Stormy Skies

Biking

I found out something really cool about biking. You know all those exercise experts that say find something you enjoy and you'll stick with it?

They're right!

(For those of you just checking in, it's 12 miles round trip.)

When I don't bike, either because of lousy weather or some errand/appointment after work, I actually miss it! I guess the body really does crave exercise when you get into it!

Conversation Stopper

Mommy, I really wished I was a girl today.

Huh?

Yeah. They got to see Kungfu Panda.

(Apparently the daycare center takes the girls and boys different places on different days. Today was the girls' day to see a movie.)

JT said...
NNoooooooooooooo.......Calvin.... to ...Carla? This will not do. :)

Michael said...
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Serena said...
LOL! Yeah! My thoughts exactly!

JT said...
He is such a character. Tell him I said "Hi Mr.Pumpkinhead No.1". :)

Serena said...
And Calvin says, "Right back atcha!"