Born on Krypton, he came to this country with the promise of Hope – the symbol he bears on his chest. Many of our families also have a history of immigration. We share Superman’s hope and we continue his fight for truth, justice and the American Way.
Eros will have naked bodies; friendship naked personalities. ~ C.S. Lewis
What man doesn’t love panties. The lingerie industry is a huge money maker for retailers. Think of Victoria Secret for example.
Playful underwear is my fav, especially if there is a superhero motif.
But the best panties are just naughty, very naughty. <smile>
This is the finale for today’s post:
How many of you have checked your email today? How about finances? Today, this hour, this month? How many of you know what your energy usage is this week?
TED Video by Alex Laskey: How behavioral science can lower your energy bill
What’s a proven way to lower your energy costs? Would you believe: learning what your neighbor pays. Alex Laskey shows how a quirk of human behavior can make us all better, wiser energy users, with lower bills to prove it.
Alex Laskey helps power companies to help their customers cut down — using data analysis, marketing and a pinch of psychology. Full bio »
The gods too are fond of a joke. ~ Aristotle
A 72 year old guy was fishing, something he loves to do, when suddenly he hears a voice say, “Pick me up.”
He looked around and can’t see anyone. Thinking he was dreaming, he heard the voice say again, “Pick me up.” He looked in the water and there, floating next to his boat, was a frog.
The old geezer said, “Are you talking to me?” The frog said, “Yes, I’m talking to you. Pick me up, then kiss me. I’ll then turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous, because I will be your bride!”
The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully and placed it in his shirt pocket. The frog said, “What, are you nuts? Didn’t you hear what I said? I said, Kiss me, and I will be your beautiful bride.”
He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, “Nah, at my age, I’d rather have a talking frog.”
Picture from Flickr.com by Dezz.
“Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Washington’s wine industry is huge, second in the nation behind California. Most of what you want to know about Washington state wines can be found at sites like this.
The wine industry in Washington is credited to a few “early” pioneers, primarily the Figgins family (Leonetti wine) and Woodward Canyon. The best of the Washington wine can hold its own with any wine in the world (Quilceda Creek in Snohomish County has received perfect scores from Robert Parker), but come at a premium price (although still a bargain compared to the top California wines (where prices have been driven up by the nouveau riche tech crowd) and the French wines (driven up in price by the Chinese)).
Washington also has a very large “affordable” wine industry, led by Ascentia, a wine conglomerate which includes Columbia Winery, and Ste. Michelle winery. The majority of the wineries are boutique wineries offering medium-priced wines ($30-$40 per bottle) although I would guess by volume the low-end is by far the largest.
For the most part, the grapes (particularly the red varietals) are grown in the eastern part of the state. The soil there is rocky with good drainage and plenty of low, rolling hills. During the summer the temperatures in the eastern part of the state (east of the Cascades) can get over 100 degrees, and in the winter it regularly gets below freezing. The growers have to take extra precautions in the winter to protect their plants. During the growing season the biggest issues is when they get rain and how much.
Although many areas in the state are now investing in wine tourism, the two main areas are Walla Walla in the southeast part of the state and Woodinville, outside of Seattle. For the latter, grapes are brought in from the eastern side of the Cascades during the fall “crush” season. In western Washington, workers work Tuesday through Sunday during the crush, because the predominately Hispanic workforce picking the grapes tends to be Catholic so they don’t work Sundays. As the grapes are trucked over the Cascades in the cool of the night, there are no grapes on Mondays as there would be no picking on Sundays.
As far as recommendations, it depends on the price range. For very affordable but good wines I would recommend Columbia Crest (regularly picked as a best buy by Wine Spectator), Columbia, and Ste. Michelle. For higher priced wines, I would recommend Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole, or DeLille.
Cap tip to one of my wine knowledgeable sibs for this piece. I wanted to place in in a place where I could find it again and share it with some friends who really know their wines.
“Meet Frenchman Philippe Dubost, whose Amazon-style CV has taken the internet by storm, with over one million hits in eight days. And he’s not even a marketing specialist!” ~ BusinessBecause
You might not have the success of this candidate, but there are ways that you can expand your network to get that next great job. Recently (Oct 2011) I went through the job search gauntlet. I was given an opportunity to attend classes to find my next job, paid for my previous employer.
I wrote this post Post Your Resumé on LinkedIn.com before I lost my job. I thought I was a savvy counselor for friends and family looking from work, but I had a lot of “a ha” moments during the training this time. Here are some of the things I learned:
I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
You might ask, did my LinkedIn profile get me my current job? Actually, I was surfing on Facebook, kinda feeling guilty about not sending out that “one more resume”, when I came across a discussion amongst friends about an open tech writer position. I jumped at the chance, even though I was warned that it would be a step down from what I was doing at my last job. Networking works.
“If you burn your neighbors house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”
~ Lou Holtz
Overheard: Our next-door neighbors have had some new porch lights fitted in various places round the house. These are the brightest bulbs I’ve ever seen in my life; they produce a very harsh blue-white light and are probably equivalent in output to a small airport. They are even difficult to look at in broad daylight, and at night the glare comes right through our blinds and produces an effect similar to a car with full headlights on – shining right into our bedroom.
I will of course – when I next see them – politely ask if they will replace the bulbs with something a bit less extreme, but in the event that they refuse or don’t actually follow through, are there any precedents for this sort of situation? Are light pollution laws and restrictions common?
Me: I *always* plant cypress trees, which in Washington state grow like weeds. I plant them on either side of my house, even if I only have a neighbor on one side. And I plant them across the back. I like the privacy it offers.
Legal: But it you would rather, there are legal recourses you can explore. For Example
Exterior Lights shall be shielded and directed away from residentially zoned lots. The Director may require that the intensity of illumination be limited and that the location of the lighting be changed.
The home occupation shall be conducted so that noise, odor, smoke, dust, light and glare, and electrical interference and other similar impacts are not detectable by sensory perception at or beyond the property line of the lot where the home occupation is located.
Since I am not a lawyer and the laws where you live might be different from where I live, you might want to consult legal services.
Granddaughter Amber is at the house this week and we are doing piano lessons, making singing videos, but mostly she is out and about running the street with her friends. Here is a shot of her on the piano:
I have also been working hard on the yard. Last year we did some extensive planting of 40 some trees, including the ones I put in the common area, 30 some bushes, blueberries, apple trees, and more flowers (bulbs) than I have kept track of. The yard is coming along too, having started as a desert when we arrived in Fall of 2011.
Here is a shot of the tree house the neighbor kids have created. They are so proud of the tree house, offering to show it to anyone who will listen. The tree is huge. I , for one, am glad they found a solution that didn’t involve climbing up in the tree.
Amber’s parents, Josie and Jim, will be visiting this afternoon for a BBQ. Grandson Nick, now 17 will be doing chores for allowance. He usually has his girl friend in tow too. Here’s hoping you get to spend some time with your family and friends.
If this is coffee, then please-bring me some tea. But if this is tea, please bring me some coffee. ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
So many things to like here, panties, kitty, and women. Sigh …
Quinn the Eskimo Vintage Horns
The Bis Key Chronicles 