Got the following link from one of my buddies at work and I thought it was worth posting here as these are some incredible pictures.

http://home.att.net/~hideaway_fun/442/planet.htm

Talk about making one feel very small in a very big world! I especially like the pictures of the world at night ... who knew it was so lit up like that??

My good friends, I hope you read these and take heed. You will have a much better chance of seeing the first of November. With Halloween upon us, it is worthwhile to remember a few simple rules to help keep this season healthy, happy and SAFE!! Please use these helpful hints this and every year.

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has gone out.

4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak with somebody else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off and go alone.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE HELL OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits; just get out.

10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.

12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you're doing.

13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at east twice, more if you are female. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.

15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize this one), anywhere in Texas where chainsaws are sold, the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help. If you think that it is strange you ran out of gas because you thought you had most of a tank, shoot yourself instead. You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.

17. Beware of strangers bearing tools. For example: chainsaws, staple guns,hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any devices made from deceased companions.

18. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This also applies to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices.

19. Dress appropriately. When investigating a noise downstairs in an old house, women should not wear a flimsy negligee. And carry a flashlight, not a candle.

20. Do not mention the names of demons around open flames, as these can flare suddenly. Be especially careful of fireplaces in this regard.

21. Do not go looking for witches in the Maryland countryside.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I received an email from a co-worker this morning about the death of a San Francisco Police Officer during a pusuit and I thought it would be a great thing to post. This Chief is the type of administrator that ALL Police Departments need ... a man who stands up for his people and who isn't afraid to say what he thinks and feels.

Background: San Francisco Police Officer Nick Birco was killed July 26, 2006 when his police car was struck by a stolen van occupied by suspects who had just comitted an armed robbery and were being pursued by SFPD units. This video was of a press conference given by a member of the SFPD brass. This demonstrates how administrators should act.

Click here for the Press Conference and some great statements"

Norwich, and every city out there, could use a Chief like that who stands up for his people!

There are times that, as a dispatcher, I just want to reach through the phone and strangle the idiot on the other end of the line but that's an urge that I have to squash because, professionally, it just isn't done.

The things that I would like to have said could fill volumes and volumes! But through the grace of God and knowing that every single word I say is recorded, I am able to generally hold my tongue. Not always but most times! Obviously, though, not all dispatchers can control that urge as evidenced here by the winner of the ...

"Duh-What-I-Was-I-Thinking-When-I-Said-That?? Award"

Somehow, I'm thinking that ole' Mike there on the tape is no longer employed as a dispatcher - unless it's of taxi cabs or tractor trailers!

Police are warning all men who frequent clubs, parties and local pubs to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman.

Many females use a date rape drug on the market called "Beer."

The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large "kegs". Beer is used by female sexual predators at parties and bars to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a guy to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex.

Men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with horrific looking women whom they would never normally be attracted.

After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that "something bad" occurred.

At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship."

In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage." Men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females.

Please! Forward this warning to every male you know.

If you fall victim to this "Beer" scam and the women administering it, there are male support groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up Golf Courses" in the phone book.

For a video to see how beer works click here:

Beer Demo

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter, "Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief, coming right up." He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee. The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere, then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand pulling another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Training for position in United States Congress: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day."

A lot is being written in the local papers about a new plan to renovate Norwich's ailing downtown but I'm not sure it's really a feasible plan. Joseph Gentile, the guy who is trying to turn the old Norwich State Hospital grounds in Preston into a movie studio - theme park combo called "Utopia" has now set his sites on the Norwich harbor. Plans to build twin 37-story towers at the place where American Wharf now sits were unveiled and presented to the Norwich Planning and Economics Commission last night. Needless to say, there are skeptics galore.

Whereas I wholeheartedly agree that someting needs to be done with Norwich, these sort of grandiose plans don't seem to fit. Maybe because I've lived and worked here for so long it's hard for me to see Norwich becoming THE destination for anyone to come to, particularly anyone of a Hollywood caliber. It doesn't matter that we're smack in the middle of the world's two largest casinos - there is nothing of note in Norwich that anyone would want to come here for. Nothing!

I guess part of the reason I'm so skeptical about this whole "pie in the sky" plan is because I remember what a great thing the Mashantucket Tribal Mercantile Exchange was originally supposed to be. There were plans for a fancy hotel, retail shops, restaurants, etc., etc. and even though the empty hole in the ground now has a building on it, it was scaled down so much that it's simply another partially vacant office building with a hideous parking garage in front of it. I guess I'm rather afraid that this new venture is going to end up being the same thing.

Besides, the good citizens of Norwich didn't even want a Home Depot built around here so what makes anyone think that they're going to want anyone to build "37-story twin towers at the marina, an upscale theme park on Hollyhock Island, a retail plaza above Chelsea Harbor Drive and 100 high-end housing units where the Norwich Police Department sits."?? Oh no, the naysayers and NIMBYs (not in my backyard) will be out in full force and this project is going to have the proverbial snowball's chance in Hell.

Then again I could be wrong ... but I doubt it! New Englanders don't exactly like change - especially not progressive change.

As probably the vast majority of the country now knows, Connecticut's veteran senator Joe Lieberman lost this past Tuesday's Democratic primary to Greenwich millionaire Ned Lamont. Lamont was able to ride the waves of discontent with the Bush Administration and the War in Iraq and even though it wasn't an overwhelming victory, it was a victory nonetheless.

I have to admit that I voted for Joe despite "the kiss" and my personal feelings that we really should be out of Iraq. It seems to me that Lieberman has always gone with his own feelings and conscience and not toed the party line as so many others do. He obviously went against the Democratic Party the past few years but this was THE MAN that they put up as a running mate with Al Gore when he made his unsuccessful bid for the Presidency. Have things changed that much in Washington that he has fallen so far from grace?

It's no secret that I think partisan politics blow and really need to go the way of the horse and buggy (with my apologies to the Quakers). We need politicians who can stand up for what they believe in, who can back something not just because their party says they should but because their own conscience says that they should, and who have some sort of backbone that doesn't twist and turn in the winds of politics.

As Vice President Dick Cheney put it "It's an unfortunate development, I think, from the standpoint of the Democratic Party to see a man like Lieberman pushed aside because of his willingness to support an aggressive posture in terms of our national security strategy."

Lieberman is now going to run as an Independent this November because he feels that there is still a majority of people in Connecticut who trust him, who like him for the senator that he is, and who recognize that he has a fantastic record for fighting for the State of Connecticut with its defense-based industries. And chances are really good that most of those people aren't registered Democrats but Republicans and Independents who didn't get the chance to vote in this past election.

I'll vote for him again in November not only for the reasons above but because Hillary Rodham Clinton DOESN'T support him. She has urged Lieberman to "search his conscience and decide what is best for Connecticut and for the Democratic party" before going forward with an independent bid. And because she's definitely a "party" girl she's quoted as saying, "more than a month ago I said I would support the winner of the Democratic primary and that's what I intend to do in every way that I'm requested." Of course she will because the Democratic Party has deep pockets and it's good to be able to reach into those pockets when you're funding your campaign.

But if Hillary won't back him then you can by golly bet that I will because I think that woman is a troll and that right there, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'll vote for Joe! I hope there are others who will, too.

I got this picture from one of my very favorite EMTs the other day upon the successful completion of the motorcycle course he took. Aside from congratulations all I can say is - I WISH IT WERE ME!!

Oh to be young again and be able to see the world from the saddle of a motorcycle - to tool down the road with the white stripes passing by and the wind whipping along in time. Sigh ... I'm afraid that my days of ever even dreaming of being an "Easy Rider" are long since past as I'm sure that with my back problems about the last thing I need to do is sit on a bike. It sucks to be old and infirm! Oh, okay, just to make Cyndi happy - it sucks to be mature and have physical limitations!

Despite the many, many years that have passed, I can still remember the joy of sitting behind Joe Atwood on his Honda with my arms wrapped around his waist as we cruised around the roads of Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire. Talk about exhilaration! Talk about freedom! Talk about being in trouble if my father ever found out!

Now I can only admire those who are able to enjoy the pleasures of riding a bike and wish them a safe adventure wherever the open road may take them. Congratulations, Eric, and think of me sometime when you're out for a ride!

Honestly, though, how does anyone know exactly just how hot in hell it really does get?? Has anyone come back and made a report on it? I don't think so. If you go by biblical interpretations then I guess that it's got to be one scorchingly hot place to be but the Bible, like most things, is subject to wide interpretation and I guess a lot of that depends upon your faith and how you interpret it.

I used to go to church every week and read my Bible on a regular basis but then I married Al and his version of God versus my version of God was pretty disparate. I believed in a loving, forgiving God who understood that we are human and make mistakes but Al believed in a controlling and dictating God that brooked no excuses as it was "all there right in the book".

Well, the problem with it being "all there right in the book" is the fact that The Book was written by men and then translated by men over and over again until it fit the version that someone wanted it to. Heck, for the longest time only members of the clergy were deemed worthy to even be able to read the book - common man couldn't get his hands on it for love or money so the only interpretation people had was the one that the church wanted them to have.

I've got issues with organized religion - I don't believe that any one person or organization should tell you how to believe, to tell you what kind of faith you should have, or how you should exercise those beliefs and faith. I think that a personal faith is much more important than a group faith - that we should all be our own shepherds and not just sheep.

Depeche Mode put it best with their song "Personal Jesus":

Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there

We should all have our own personal Jesus and not one generated by the priests or pastors or anyone else. It's true that God loves us and as Mark Darcy told Bridget Jones he loves you "just as you are". And that, my friends, is good enough for me!

I got this as part of an email the other day and thought it was hilarious ...

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather -- who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car." --Author Unknown

That one just cracked me up for some reason!!

At long last, the Norwich Bulletin has finally got their readers' blogs up and running and I feel honored that I have been included in the group - yay! So even though I'll still post over here a good portion of my blogging will now be done on my new spot (insert shameless plug here ... http://mouseski.blogspot.com) which can be accessed from the "Blogs" link on the norwichbulletin.com website. Actually, if people do check out my blog, it's probably better to go through the Bulletin's website as it helps with my "numbers".

Because "Are We There Yet?" is geared towards the trials and tribulations of my life as a single, working mother I am still going to use this blog for the other things in life that I want to write about that are going to be off-topic on the Bulletin. Granted, Andrea said that we can expand from our subject but our primary focus should be the topic that we initially set the blog up as. And trust me, I'm sure I've got tons of material for that topic! This blog will continue to be for some of the fun stuff that I find from time to time and other rants and raves that just aren't appropriate on the other blog!

Besides, to abandon this blog would be akin to abandoning my oldest child in favor of the youngest! This is my first-born and even though my new baby will require more attention and time, that doesn't mean that the oldest isn't just as important. Geez, spoken like a true Mom!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the
brown house on the corner.
Dispatcher: Do you have an address?
Caller: No, I have on a blouse and slacks, why?


Dispatcher: 9-1-1, what is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: I'm trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't
have an eleven on it.
Dispatcher: This is nine eleven.
Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one
Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the
same thing.
Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid.


Dispatcher: 9-1-1
Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn....I think I'm going to pass out.
Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from?
Caller: I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster.
Dispatcher: Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an
asthmatic?
Caller: No
Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?
Caller: Running from the Police.

And the winner is..........

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?
Caller: My wife is pregnant, and her contractions are only two minutes apart.
Dispatcher: Is this her first child?
Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!!

Ya know, if I weren't a dispatcher myself I might resort to trying to find men using this similar method! Least-ways, if I reached the point of major desperation and was totally drunk! Sigh ... but I do love a man in uniform!


Woman Asks 911 to Send 'Cutie Pie' Deputy ALOHA, Ore. (AP) --

A woman who called 911 to get "the cutest cop I've seen" sent back to her home got a date all right - a court date.

The same sheriff's deputy arrested her on charges of misuse of the emergency dispatch system.

Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson told KGW-TV of Portland it all started with a noise complaint called in last month by neighbors of Lorna Jeanne Dudash. The deputy sent to check on the complaint knocked on her door, then left.

Thompson said Dudash then called 911, asking that the "cutie pie" deputy return.

"He's the cutest cop I've seen in a long time. I just want to know his name," Dudash told the dispatcher. "Heck, it doesn't come very often a good man comes to your doorstep."

After listening to some more, followed by a bit of silence, the dispatcher asked again why Dudash needed the deputy to return.

"Honey, I'm just going to be honest with you, OK? I just thought he was cute. I'm 45 years old and I'd just like to meet him again, but I don't know how to go about doing that without calling 911," she said.

"I know this is absolutely not in any way, shape or form an emergency, but if you would give the officer my phone number and ask him to come back, would you mind?"

The deputy returned, verified that there was no emergency and arrested her for misusing the 911 system, an offense punishable by a fine of up to several thousand dollars and a year in jail.

Thompson said Thursday it was the first case he knew of in which someone called the emergency line for such a personal reason.

"That's taking up valuable time from dispatchers who could be taking true emergency calls," he said.



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10. You believe in aerial spraying of Prozac and/or birth control over certain parts of your city.

9. Your idea of a good night involves someone getting shot, chased, or dismembered.

8. You can carry on more than 4 conversations simultaneously.

7. You have a long term telephonic relationship with one or more paranoid, schizophrenic, PTSD suffering people in your jurisdiction.

6. You have forgotten what it's like to actually eat a warm meal.

5. You find humor in other people's misery.

4. You hear a fire engine, police car, or ambulance go screaming past your house and you wonder not what's happening but who's going.

3. You can resume a conversation with co-workers 4 hours later, in mid-sentence, and everyone knows what you're talking about.

2. You have no idea what a holiday is, other than its a day when everyone gets drunk and beats up their family members.

1. You truly believe that stupidity should be painful!

Ever feel like just saying "oh to heck with it?" and running away from your life?? Sigh ... if I had the energy these days I might do just that but alas and alack, I have trouble getting out of my own way right now never mind running anywhere!

It's not that life is so bad right now it's just that there are so many things that could be better and I'm not even sure how to start fixing them. I could start with the mess that has become my living room - it looks like Amanda's stuff has been pulled there by an invisible magnet and then it just sticks there on the couch, on the loveseat, on the floor, on top of the TV cabinet, etc., etc. And while it's driving me crazy I just don't seem to have the ambition and/or energy to gather it all up and throw it back into the black hole of her bedroom. Even though I am not happy about the mess her room is in at least I can close the door and not look at it but it's not easy to just ignore the living room. Though I seem to be doing just that lately! Anyone who knows me would be shocked to see the state of my house - heck, I'm shocked.

It's been hot and somewhat humid the past two days and work has been ridiculously busy (heat + humidity = old people with difficulty breathing) so by the time I get home I'm just exhausted and barely have the energy to pour a glass of ice tea, plunk on the couch, and survey the pit the room has become.

With Jamie coming out in about a week and a half it's only going to be worse as she didn't exactly inherit my "neat-nick" genes either but instead took after her slob of a father. How can these be my children? The Lord indeed has a strange sense of humor!

Oh well, obligations prevent me running away so I guess I'm going to have to do something more constructive then stress about it - Amanda is 14 as of yesterday, I reckon it's time she took on some more responsibilities (heehee). For now, though, I'm not going to worry about it - I'm going to clear a spot off on my bed which is covered with clothes and watch "The Closer". Yep - nothing like sticking my head in the electronic sand!

Recently I interviewed for an open position within my company as The Scheduling Coordinator. I knew I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting the spot but figured it was worth a shot and it gave me a chance to dust off my interviewing skills - such as they are.

One of the more interesting questions of the interview was "if you could pick three people to have dinner with - dead or alive - who would they be and why?" Interesting question.

My three choices were my father so that I could thank him for all of the things I never got a chance to while he was still alive and to see if, in his opinion, he thought I might have made it over fool's hill yet; Abraham Lincoln because he was President during a time of extreme conflict and stress and yet he managed to maintain his sense of humor throughout it all; and Ulysses Grant because even though he wasn't the best President this country ever had he was a brilliant strategist during the Civil War and was the one to really make a difference when it came to the Northern States keeping the Union intact.

If I could invite a fourth then I would also ask Robert E. Lee to stop in and dine with us as I can only imagine the conversations that we could have over that dinner table! My Dad was a bit of a Civil War buff and to have the chance to sit down with three of the most prominent people of that time would be truly amazing! I can just picture the salt and pepper shakers and other dining implements being arranged around the table to depict military encounters!

Andrew had an interview today for a Supervisor's position and he told me that he had the same question asked of him. It really is an interesting thing to think about - especially when it's asked to you in a situation where you don't have a lot of time to think about it. I wonder who came up with the question and what the significance of one's answers might be?

... and the sand just keep falling through faster and faster and faster and - whoa! - how do you get time to slow down? Sometimes I feel like I started sliding down the side of a mountain and can't seem to dig my heels in or find a tree branch to hang onto long enough to even slow down a little bit - never mind come to a stop. It's the middle of June already and I have no freakin' clue how we got here so fast. Truly amazing!

The time hasn't exactly been winging by because SO much has been going on. On the contrary, it seems that mainly what has been going on has been the usual - work, home to sit around and veg, attempt to sleep, and then work again. Due to recent call-outs, etc. the o/t at work has been pretty ample lately so I've been trying to take advantage of it while I could (though truth be told, I'm getting a little tired of working all the time).

I did actually take both of my days off last week and spent a drizzly Thursday with Paula hiking around the Big Apple. We took the train in from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal and then took a good number of subway trains to the rest of our destinations. We each bought a one day "fun pass" for $7 and that was definitely a good investment as we must have hit six or seven different subway trains and even took a bus across Central Park. We navigated our way around quite well for a couple of tourists with some help from what turned out to be several very friendly New Yorkers.

( True are the tails I tell of my travels... )

I guess that pretty much catches me up on everything. I know I've been a lousy writer lately and keep meaning to rectify that but considering that I'm probably the only one that reads my writing, I guess it doesn't really matter all that much! Still, I don't want to end up looking back at this year like I did 2005 and realizing I never wrote at all!