Your House As Seen By:

Yourself...




Your Buyer...




Your Lender...




Your Appraiser...




Your Tax Assessor...

Gingerbread Man

 

Oh la la! c'est magnifique!

Why individual efforts are only part of the solution

clipped from www.fborfw.com

It is discouraging, isn't it?! We all need to do our part, but we need more than individual efforts to protect our environment.

Otherwise it's like bailing water out of a rapidly sinking rowboat with a teaspoon. Every little bit helps, but the overall prognosis is bleak.

1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham

clipped from 1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca

From the teaching guide: "The National Battlefields Commission, in collaboration with the Virtual Museum of Canada, is presenting 1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham, a new recreational/instructional virtual reality challenge. This exciting interactive adventure sends out net surfers to the year 1759 to let them relive, alongside the French, British, Canadians and Amerindians, the ups and downs of a fight to the finish for the conquest of America, an outstanding episode of the country’s military history. "

This is a remarkable and fun way to learn some very important history pertaining to Canada, France, England, and the Amerindians, during a time when the French and British battled for control of America. Explore the site in either English or French!

The Allure of a Used Car

It was a small town and the patrolman was making his evening rounds.
As he was checking a used car lot, he came upon two little old ladies sitting in a used car.
He stopped and asked them why they were sitting there in the car. Were they trying to steal it?
"Heavens no, we bought it."
"Then why don't you drive it away."
"We can't drive."
"Then why did you buy it?"
"We were told that if we bought a used car here, we'd get screwed ..so we're just waiting.

Young at heart: Ramones--I wanna be sedated

Young at heart choir - Ramones I wanna be sedated

Picture yourself singing your favorite songs...forty or fifty years from now. Funny yet bittersweet...

Propaganda

My brother forwarded me this shameless propaganda this morning, purportedly created by a fifteen-year-old girl. Here is the message being disseminated:

Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is only 15 years old.

There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning.

In case you missed it, here it is.


The link below is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News today .

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1



Quite a "Foxy" fifteen-year-old, no doubt. Damn that Faux News!

Here is my heartfelt reply to my brother and to all the people to whom he had forwarded the video when he sent it to me:

I believe that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home alive and healthy so that they can work for all Americans instead of working for the manipulative rich political families and corporations who are making huge profits from the Iraq war at the expense of our young people--at the expense of the lives and physical and mental health of those serving in the war and at the expense of all the young Americans who have been shouldered with an astronomical debt, increasing by the minute. The cost of the war to line the pockets of the rich is far too high for the rest of us. I am proud of our troops; I am not proud of the politics and greed that has killed and maimed many thousands of them. I will smile and rejoice when they arrive home alive and well. I mourn the deaths of those who died in the name of America and freedom, doing their job, doing what they were assigned to do by a corrupt administration. I will never forget the sacrifice of our troops by our government.

The Meaning of American Pie

clipped from www.youtube.com

Images set to the Music. This video will move you.

Fuel Economy: How does your vehicle rate?

clipped from www.fueleconomy.gov FIND AND COMPARE CARS... Gasoline Prices   Find the Lowest Prices Frequently Asked Questions Gas Mileage Tips   Driving More Efficiently Maintaining Your Car Hybrid Vehicles   How Hybrids Work   Tax Incentives Alternative Fuel Vehicles   Flex-Fuel Vehicles How Fuel Cells Work MPG Estimates from Users... Calculate and Share 'Your MPG' View MPG Estimates from Drivers Like You Find Your Car's Energy Impact Score Hybrid Tax Incentives Updated!

I looked up the energy impact of my Ford Ranger pickup & although at 9.4 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions (based on 15K annual miles) it is only midway between the worst and best vehicles, not the worst, it still consumes 18 barrels of petrol per year. My only saving grace is that I drive only about 3K miles per year, thereby reducing my truck's energy impact by 80%. I also learned that the 2007 Ford Rangers are the most fuel efficient of the trucks listed. (Unfortunately my truck is 10 years old). One of the best things about my truck is that it is paid for. It does the job for me. Living in the country a person needs to be able to haul stuff. A person does not need a big gas guzzler to haul stuff, unless they often haul big stuff. Most of the trucks I see on the road, and especially the big macho ones, aren't hauling anything.

Anyway, this site provides you with the opportunity to examine your own and other vehicles in terms of fuel economy and energy impact.

The $100-Dollar Tattoo (MATURE)

Larry gets home late one night and his wife says, "Where in the hell have you been?"

Larry replies, "I was out getting a tattoo."

"A tattoo?" she frowned. "What kind of tattoo did you get?"

"I got a hundred dollar bill on my privates," he said proudly.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she said, shaking her head in disdain. "Why on earth would an accountant get a hundred dollar bill tattooed on his privates?"

"Well, one, I like to watch my money grow. Two, once in a while I like to play with my money. Three, I like how money feels in my hand. And, lastly, instead of you going out shopping, you can stay right here at home and blow a hundred bucks anytime you want."

Happy and free in Tennessee!... Dulary the Elephant

clipped from www.philly.com HOHENWALD, Tenn. - After teasing staffers and press for more than four hours, at 5:27 p.m. CDT yesterday, a former Philadelphian named Dulary became the latest pampered permanent pachyderm guest at the Elephant Sanctuary here. She left the Philadelphia Zoo at 8 a.m. Monday for the 900-mile drive to Hohenwald in a specially designed trailer she proved reluctant to leave, despite the encouraging welcome from Tarra, the first elephant at the 2,700-acre sanctuary, which opened in 1995. It was Dulary's first trip off the grounds of America's First Zoo, where she arrived 42 years ago from Thailand as a 1-year-old infant. In all the ensuing decades, she never got to commune with her own species - Asian elephants. Finally, at 5:27 p.m., Dulary stepped off the ramp, but in a final fuhgedaboudit moment, Dulary didn't enter the barn, but instead followed Tarra - her new friend - into the woods and out of sight. Dulary is in Tennessee, happy and free.

Heartwarming news in a too often bleak landscape: Dulary finally finds sanctuary, and a friend of her own species, in Tennessee.

If only all the lonely, mistreated elephants in zoos and circuses could find sanctuary...

Visit helpelephants.com for more information.

Walkable neighborhoods & depression risk linked: study

clipped from news.yahoo.com Living in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood may help shield older men from depression, a new study suggests. Researchers found that among 740 older adults living in the Seattle area, men who lived in more walkable neighborhoods tended to show fewer depression symptoms than men from less walker-friendly areas. Walkable neighborhoods have sidewalks, streets with safe intersections, and stores, restaurants and other destinations within a short distance. In their study, Berke and his colleagues found that men who lived in such areas had lower scores on a standard measure of depression -- even with other factors, like overall health, income and exercise habits, taken into account. if pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods do offer depression protection, that would be important for older adults who are deciding where to live after they retire It could also mean that more senior centers and assisted living facilities should be built in walkable neighborhoods.

Suburban sprawl is not just an environmental issue; this study indicates that it is also mental health issue, particularly for men.

PAWS: pet project helps seniors, too

clipped from www.sfgate.com SAN FRANCISCO A pet project to help seniors PAWS provides food, other necessities to low-income owners In her prime, Ola Carlson was an artist's model in San Francisco. Now she's 98, and her friends are all dead. But she is not alone. Carlson lives with a calico cat named Patches. They've been together a decade. Last summer, they became the newest clients of PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support), an organization that allows low-income people to keep their pets by providing food, litter, dog walkers, vet visits -- whatever it takes. PAWS was founded in 1986 to assist people with AIDS and HIV. It expanded its services to the disabled in 2002 and now helps the elderly as well. A pilot program that started last year became permanent in January. Fourteen of the 550 San Franciscans served by PAWS are seniors. One of PAWS' 350 volunteers brings food and litter every four weeks, and deals with vet visits when necessary. www.pawssf.org.

Heartwarming news for a change!

Side note: Ola Carlson, the elderly woman featured in this story, apparently led a wild life. Read the article for the racy details.

Core Health Indicators from WHO

clipped from www3.who.int Core Health Indicators Country, Indicator and Year selection These are the latest Core Health Indicators from WHO sources, including 'World Health Statistics 2006' and 'The World Health Report, 2006 Edition'. With this query system, you can construct tables for any combination of countries, indicators and years. WHO African Region WHO Region of the Americas WHO South-east Asia Region WHO European Region WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region WHO Western Pacific Region All countries Mortality Morbidity Health Service Coverage Risk Factors Health Systems Inequities in Health Demographic and Socioeconomic Statistics Information and Communication Technology All Indicators Years: (select latest available or all years) Help Latest available year All years

It is extremely enlightening to compare and contrast the core health indicators of different countries, including literacy;school enrollment; income; and telephone (fixed & mobile), computers and Internet use and availability.

E-Zone...a new environmental website for elementary students

clipped from www.ene.gov.on.ca It's easy to forget sometimes just how important the natural environment is to all of us.  The air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we use to build our homes and schools are all part of the Earth’s natural environment, and we use them every day. Meet Maya, Jay, Katie and Eric. These four teens are heroes, simply because of the choices they make and the actions they take. Click on each one to find out a little bit about them, and to learn about the environmental issues that are important to them. clipped from www.ene.gov.on.ca Meet Eric. Eric plays guitar and drums, and dreams about being an international rock star someday. Click here to get the Global Warming story from Eric. You’ll learn that this big problem has some surprisingly simple solutions! This site is maintained by the Government of Ontario SPREAD THE WORD LEAD BY EXAMPLE BE A LOCAL HERO books glossary Comics air quality conservation climate change waste/recycling famous heroes

artwork pictures

air quality