Thought of the Day #89 - Ooooh Soft

If you've never had the luxury of touching silk velvet, please seek it
out. It's the ultimate in sensual softness.

Thought of the Day #88 - Antique Medication

A friend of ours has asked us to sell some recently inherited antique
bottles on eBay. Antique bottle collectors rely heavily on eBay (the
evil overlord of auctions online), so it's a pretty safe sales risk.

Today, we looked through the most recent lot of bottles to sell. What
sets these apart from the ones we've sold previously? They're full!
Full of antique, unique, smelly and hazardous "cures".

Fearing potential liability, I decided I would not list any bottles
containing potentially hazardous contents, especially those that
could be used to kill someone. So, eliminated the medicines that
contained arsenic and strychnine. You might be surprised to see how
many remedies contained those. In 5 boxes, there were three. Oh, and
any that contained cocaine? Also not going to sell those. Only saw two
of those.

What's tricky with much of this stuff is that chemical or herbal names
are unknown to me...and sometimes Google. There's so many long
forgotten chemical "remedies" and infrequently used herbs in this
stuff.

My favorite herb that I successfully located on Google -- "false
unicorn." It supposedly helps with all sorts of "female trouble". Who
knows? Maybe it does work? Do we really know and use the best meds now?
How much of what we use is promoted purely for financial gain and not
for the betterment of man?

I also wonder how many medicines we use now will be thought of as
obviously hazardous in 100 years.
My guess is that there will be quite a few.

Thought of the Day #87 - 70s Hair

In the 60s and 70s my mom, along with countless other victims, had
their hair styled into bouffants and other styles that were worn for
several days in a row. They slept with it wrapped in scarves and upon
waking, they fluffed the flattened areas. My thought for the
day...Thank gawd we don't do this anymore. 'nuff said.

Thought of the Day #86 - Eyeglasses

One can by a systemic medication like "plan b" aka "the morning after
pill" over the counter, but one can not purchase corrective lens
eyeglasses without a prescription. The optometrists union must be
pretty strong.

Granted, there are eye disorders that need to be discovered through
exams, so most people should get an exam at some point. But, four-eyes
should be able to purchase new glasses without a prescription within 12
months of purchase. They know if their prescription isn't as strong as
it needs to be. And, seriously, if the power of the lens is just a
little off, you can function quite normally -- it won't cause cancer,
convulsions while driving nor send your hormones into a tailspin, so
what gives? Again, that optometrist lobby must be real strong.

Thought of the Day #85 - Follow Your Bliss

I wish I were exceptionally talented at one thing. You've heard of the
"jack of all trades, master of none?" That's me to a T. I do quite a
few things pretty well, but none so extremely well that I would call
myself an expert.

It's a blessing and a curse.
The best part is not having the fear to try something new because
success is usually achieved on some level. The bad part is that once
I've done something a few times, my interest often wanes. Kind of a
"been there, tried that" feeling.

So, when someone says that the key to happiness and fulfillment is to
"follow your bliss," it doesn't offer any solace. Many things are
interesting, but none so much as to be all consuming. My "bliss"
becomes a grey area filled with mild amusement...certainly not
something fulfilling.

Dunno...maybe I've just not found the right "bliss" yet?

Thought of the Day #84 - Fat and Couches

I posted this earlier today on Twitter, but thought it really needed to
be here...

When people get preachy about fitness on television, they usually call
out to "the people on the couch". Do skinny people not have couches??

Thought of the Day #83

I've been having fun with Twitter tonight by reading through Christopher
Walken's Tweets. So, so dry, and outrageously funny. See them here:
http://twitter.com/cwalken

For your reading pleasure, here are a couple of sample Tweets, the last
of which isn't outlandishly funny, but rather "fat positive" which is
so often lacking in this world:

"Someone commended me for being "approachable." Okay. The truth is that
I'm easily distracted and don't notice people touching me right away."

"Someone asked where the horses came from in Manhattan . It seemed like
an odd question. You could see the bridge clearly from where we were. "

"Oprah is fat again is what I heard. She's a beautiful woman who would
do well to accept that. Let Gwyneth Paltrow be skinny and peculiar. "

Thought of the Day #82

It snowed all day today. Luckily, with temps in the 40s keeping the
ground cover melting, we don't have two feet of accumulation on the
ground. It's soooo Minnesota to have this sort of Spring day, so why is
it happening here? I obviously have snow on the brain clouding any
chance of a "real" thought.

Thought of the Day #81

For many, procrastination doubles or triples the anxiety to get
something done. I wonder, however, if the "feeling of accomplishment"
seems greater because of the excess anxiety during the procratinated
period? Maybe this is why procratinators are often repeat offenders?
(This only applies to those who aren't the 'forgetful'
procrastinators...they probably feel no anxiety pain until after
getting reminded of the task.)

Thought of the Day #80

When someone forgets something...like say, ummm...posting the "Thought of the Day" until much later in the following day, do you forgive them or would you throw rotten fruit their way if given the chance?

Thought of the Day #79

When dogs bark at seemingly nothing or cats suddenly get startled and
run like they're on fire, they probably just have dementia, hormonal
issues or irritated bowels. I prefer to imagine they're picking up
signals from other dimensions or other galaxies.

Thought of the Day #78

When I was in 8th grade, I wrote a paper about how religion was doing
more harm than good and that a world free of it may be better off. My
social studies teacher said I was sooooo wrong. Yet, here I am, decades
later, and I still believe it.

Don't get me wrong, nearly every religion teaches some basic beliefs for
universal harmony amongst our fellow men. Some people genuinely need
those guidelines, for whatever reason. For this, I am grateful.

The main problem is when religious beliefs and differences cause hatred
and strife with disparate religions and cultures. We all need to *live*
together, and any religion that teaches otherwise really needs to be
questioned.

Also, localized "feuds" between dissimilar religions - protestants vs
catholics in N. Ireland, baptists vs LDS in Utah and elsewhere, etc, -
has led to pained history and regurgitated hatred. Why? What's the
benefit?

I could go on, but won't.
So, give me your best shot. Tell me why religion makes the world a
better place?

Thought of the Day #77

The outrage over the AIG bonuses seems a bit reactionary. Rather than
look at 200 million, which really is a drop in the bucket of
corruption, we should be focusing on why this giant, money sucking
company needed financial support in the first place. Oh, and so many
newsreports and politicians have said that AIG was "too big to fail".
It's insurance, right? Those items that needed insurance (businesses,
airplanes, people, cars, etc.) could buy insurance from somewhere else.
Trust me, in the scam that is insurance coverage, there would have have
been hundreds of companies that would step up to offer coverage for the
potential of making big money off of potential misery. If companies
didn't come forth to sell insurance, items would be uninsured. Would
these items immediately fail because they were uninsured?? No, of
course not. The lapse would certainly impact some, but the majority
would have just continued "life as normal," without the umbrella of so
called security.

Bonus for Being Super Fat

Woot! I just knew there had to be some extra bonuses for being super-fat. Now, when in Arizona, I'll be sure to stop by The Heart Attack grill for free food. Everyone over 350lbs eats free! Take that under 5 year olds, who seem to always get the free meals. :-) http://www.heartattackgrill.com/350.html

Thought of the Day #76

I've been watching "Big Love" on HBO. This week's episode was probably
their best and their most locally controversial. The local LDS crowd
was up in arms over the scene that depicted a temple endowment
ceremony. The trouble is that to LDS'rs, the ceremonies that take place
in the temples are considered sacred. The scene in the temple lasted
maybe four minutes. From what I can figure, a typical endowment
ceremony lasts at least an hour. So, take a chill, ya'll! The ceremony
details are all over online and in books, so for those who want to
know, they already know. What bothered me most about the complainers
was that they complained even before seeing the scene. Blind protests
annoy me to no end. In the end, the scene was pretty sympathetic to LDS
beliefs.

Photos of the Week

I uploaded two today 'cuz I was a little bit behind. Speaking of
behinds, beware of the anal probe!

Thought of the Day #75

The weather today was beautiful. I was outside today and without the
cover of a jacket, the warm breezes felt lovely. Usually at this time
of year, my mood matches the weather, but this year is different. I'm
hanging on to my winter gloom. Mental clouds are hanging low despite
the sunny days. I'm hoping to snap out of it at some point soon, but
soon seems like a longshot. I'm sick of the disingenuous, greedy,
thoughtless mass of humanity that seems to be growing at an unbelievable
rate. It's soooo discouraging. Bah!!

Thought of the Day #74

Is anyone else out there confused? Should we be spending money
needlessly in order to jumpstart the f'd up economy, or should we be
scrimping and saving in order to survive the impending doom? Screwed if
ya do, screwed if ya don't. Maybe this is just an example as to why our
overall economy is built upon illusion and lies?

Thought of the Day #73

I love listening to "classic rock" stations that transport me decades
back. So much emotion is tied to songs. Some are really pretty lame
songs, but still heavily tied to some sort of epiphany in a 13 year
old's brain. And for that reason alone, they are AWESOME songs.

Thought of the Day #72

I have been getting hundreds comments submitted through my site's
contact form advertising Viagra or Cialis. I don't know how the rumour
has gotten out, but let me just state for the record that I've never had
trouble getting or maintaining an erection. Thank you. :-)

Thought of the Day #71

Cleaning the bathroom is one of those quick tasks that you "need to" yet "hate to" do. I wish it was as yummy as chocolate. :-)

Thought of the Day #70

Reality really is what you make of it. I wish my delusions were strong
enough to fix everything in my life. :-)

Thought of the Day #69

Thought 69 really should be about oral sex, but all I can think about
is the desire that we, as a country, elminate the two party political
system. Division amounts to nothing positive. Dang, I should be
concentrating on oral sex instead...or at least sexual politics...much
less disappointing than regular politics.

Thought of the Day #68

If you've been watching the Food Network for the past few years, you may
have noticed the increased attention that is placed on hand washing.
Previously, you may have seen the hosts just wipe their hands, now
you'll see closeups of the hands under the faucets. This is on every
show, so it makes me think that either there was legislation that
prompted the change or Food Network was sued by some yahoo who liked
their hands after handling raw meat? Something definitely prompted the
change. While I think it's probably good to mention it once in a while,
I do want to say that for hundreds and thousands of years people have
survived without soap and running water, we as humans can survive a lot
of bacterial visitors. Some say we actually get stronger when exposed.
So, are we doing a disservice being so stringent about "germs"? If
you've ever had food poisoning, you'd probably say NO!. Dunno, really,
my jury is hung on this.

Thought of the Day #67

I feel refreshed with the daylight savings time switch, in fact,
planning on getting up super early tomorrow to run errands before work.
Maybe a lack of sleep is a good thing? Well, I guess we'll see how I
feel about it in the morning. Have a great week, everyone.

Thought of the Day #66

I know I've previously mentioned how much I hate the trainwreck that is
MySpace, but I don't think I've mentioned how much I'm enjoying
Facebook. I've found sooooo many friends that I haven't seen in years,
and it's easy to keep up with everyone through a quick scan of updated
"status" pages. So fun. You can find me under cat@catay.com if you'd
like to be my new fwend on there.

Thought of the Day #65

A passive approach to life is like bowling - sometimes you get knocked
down, sometimes you're safe, and sometimes life just passes you by, but
in any event you get a chance to get up the next day and do it all
again. (I'm still working on this *deep* thought..any more additions on
how life is like bowling?)

Thought of the Day #64

I witnessed the ultimate in recycling...an antique, five story, brick
building was high on stilts and wheels, ready to be sold and moved to
another spot in downtown Salt Lake City. It makes my recycling efforts
seems so insignificant.

Thought of the Day #63

While looking through plus-size bra catalogs with hundreds of offerings
in seemingly every size imaginable, the bubble is always burst when the
bras actually arrive. Sizes are never, ever, never consistent from
manufacturer to manufacturer, so I end up with the same style bras and
the dream of all of the pretty, sculptural, lacey and fussy numbers
quickly gets mailed back.

Thought of the Day #62

I don't use and never have used illegal drugs, but
I still believe that
they should be legalized. It would eliminate the
power that gangs and
drug cartels have. It would allow for users to
seek addiction treatment
without the potential for prosecution. The
government can tax it and
make a little bit more money.
So many good things. There are potential
negatives, but I think the
positives far outweigh them.

Thought of the Day #61

I let many a "f*ck" slip through my lips today. I was and still am sick
and tired of the lack of decisiveness, honesty and proficiency in a
certain department at work. It's getting worse and worse with no end in
sight. The thought of quitting passed through my mind several times.
Ugh. If the economy were healthier I would take that thought a bit more
seriously, but for now I shall just suck it up...

Thought of the Day #60

I may have mentioned it before, but it's worth mentioning again. Not
unlike the separation of church and state, we are in a desperate need
for the separation of business and state. The idea that the government
has become enmeshed in business ownership of publicly traded companies
is a sore demonstration of the sickness of our political process. It
really needs to stop. Let the businesses that are heading to failure
either change or fail. Superficially reinflating the fa�ade of these
businesses will only prolong the inevitable.
Blarg.

Thought of the Day #59

Anger is usually just a wasted use of energy.