What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 1,401-1,450 of 8,509

[Mary JL]

Jim--my condolences to all as well. A pet is a real part of the family and leaves such a sense of loss.

[Jim]

Thanks to you both. It is weird, the hole Munchkins has left. Marg burst into tears Sunday morning because she wasn't tripping over him. Amber, another JRT, hasn't been eating well since he's been gone. But, I agree with Nina about how the sorrow fades & good memories remain.

[Katherine]

Jim,

The news from Saratoga Race Track is that Rachel Alexandra faced an upset today.She was beat by a 21-1 shot.
We were there cheering her on, but she looked tired to me. The crowd was full of people wearing pink ribbons in support.
I have always liked Calvin Borel, but he couldn't pull it out today.

[Jim]

Thanks, Katherine. We watched the race on TV. No, Rachel just didn't have it, but the race was a long one for a front runner, 1.25 miles. Borel rode her as well as he could & she had a fine race. She just didn't have it in the stretch.

Still, she put Life At Ten away, another front runner, proving that she was the better of the two, but Persistently just had the bottom in the stretch. It was a very exciting stretch run. It's a shame that Garcia & Persistently didn't get the applause they deserved for their win.

They've done some weird things with Rachel. They held her back, fighting her natural inclinations, to get her to rate herself. She didn't, just wore herself out. (Interestingly, Life At Ten is the same way & the jockey said there was no way he could rate her or he'd wear himself & the horse out.) We think they were trying to get her ready to face longer races & Zenyatta. They've failed miserably.

I doubt we'll see Rachel & Zenyatta go head to head now. Both are fantastic mares, but run so differently that any comparison isn't really fair to either.

If you want to watch another great race,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpSmpr...
You have to listen to the end of it. It's funny as can be.


Spoiler Alert!!!








'My Wife Knows Everything' & 'My Wife Doesn't Know' are in the same race. They come into the stretch together & the announcer's call is just too funny.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... My Wife Knows Everything' & 'My Wife Doesn't Know' are in the same race. They come into the stretch together & the announcer's call is just too funny."

Yes, Jim, I saw that one on the TV news several times. It's hilarious!

[Jim]

We went out to dinner tonight. I was informed via email that I was doing that. She had to drop her truck off in town (like I need another repair bill!) while I had to get my eyes checked (worse, again!) so it made sense. We went to Cattleman's, but both had chicken & the salad bar. They have a wonderful salad bar!!! Everything is fresh & tasty. I made dessert out of the fruits & pudding. Yum. Plus we both had enough of our entrees left over for dinner tomorrow. Not bad for $35, including the tip.

[Jackie]

That sounds fantatic. Great price, good food, you can't beat that.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I love a good salad bar!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank goodness for Wiki. Today at Wiki I found out the answer to something I've been wondering about for years.

As you probably know, Johns Hopkins Hospital was in the news today (because of a shooting which occurred there.) I've always wondered about the origin of the name of the hospital.

Wiki explains:
====================================================
"The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins."
...
"His first name, "Johns" (not John), was a family name. His great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, married Gerard Hopkins, and they named their son Johns Hopkins, a not-uncommon naming convention at the time..."

FROM:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Ho...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Ho...
====================================================

I had never known of a person whose first name was "Johns". Now I understand, thanks to Wiki.

[Jackie]

That was interesting.

[Nina]

I enjoyed reading about the "Johns" name. A friend of mine has a grandson with a first name of "Jones" which seemed strange; it was his mother's maiden name. nina

[Katherine]

It was reported today that Eddie Fisher is dead at the age of 82.
I remember a fresh-faced young man singing "Oh, My Papa" and advertising for Coke.
Of course that was some years before the Debbie/Liz scandal.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks Katherine.
I've always felt bad for Debbie.
RIP Eddie Fisher.

[Jim]

Marg got out & went for a walk around the woods today. She's feeling much better. The goats & dogs came with us. here are some pics.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...

[Nina]

Good news about Marg Jim. Hope she keeps up the good work. nina

[Jackie]

Nice. The goats are cute. I'm glad Marg is feeling better, she looks great.

[Jim]

Thanks! I hope she goes grocery shopping with me today. I never do it any more so I'm sure I'll spend half my time looking around blankly trying to find stuff. I wind up asking whoever else is shopping where half the items are.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glad to hear that Marg is feeling better. I couldn't view the pics because I'm not a Facebook member.

[Werner]

I'm in the same boat as Joy as to the pictures --and also join her in gladness for Marg's being up and around again!

[Nina]

How do I find you, Jim, on Facebook? Glad your wife is home and one the mend. nina

[Nina]

I found your pictures. loved them; especially the darling goats. nina

[Jim]

Joy, I thought I shared them out so everyone, even non-FB members could see them. I'll check & try again. Sorry about that.

Thanks to the rest! Marg went grocery shopping with me this morning. She barely made it through & went back to the truck while I paid for everything & got it out. Tonight she went for a walk with the dogs alone, so she is definitely on the mend. She's even making dinner! Yay!!!!

More pictures are posted tonight.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...
None with Marg in them, but some action shots of the goats, horses & dogs playing this morning. I was waiting for the water tub to fill & two of the horses to finish eating, so the rest of us were standing around. It was in the mid-50's & everyone was energetic, as you'll see.

Rosie is standing up looking like she's going to drive Pixie into the ground, but she stayed clear & Pixie jumped in to nibble on her ear, then run away. Topaz, Erin's horse, looks like he's going to stomp the goats, but then winds up sniffing noses with Buttercup. The pictures don't begin to capture all that was going on, but I tried.

Nina, I sent you a message about finding me on Facebook. I would think you could get to me through the pictures I posted, but I sent you my email address, just in case.

[Jim]

Joy, apparently I can share by sending a public link. Here's last night's.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...

I sent you an email from tonight's. Let me know if that works for you.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, thanks for links. Looks as if the goats and the dogs get along fine! The goats look very comfortable balancing themselves on those logs.

I couldn't access the horse pics. I don't want to give my addy to Facebook.

[Jackie]

Jim, how were you able to do that?

[Werner]

Thanks for the link above, Jim! You've got a nice family --two-legged and four-legged. :-)

[Jim]

Jackie wrote: "Jim, how were you able to do that?"

Do you mean the public link? It's kind of hidden down at the very bottom center of the album page.
"Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link:" Followed by the link right below it.
Each individual picture has it, too.

Joy, here is the public link for today's pics.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...

Thanks, Werner. That's exactly what they are - family. An odd one, but we always have been a bit weird.
;-)

[Nina]

Jim,

You did come up on my Facebook. i loved the pictures. Reminds me a bit of my daughter's place. Hers is smaller and only two horses, one dog and one cat. nina

[Jim]

Thanks, Nina. Luckily, we don't have any more kids moving out. Seems we get a couple of critters to replace each one.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, thanks for that link to the pics with the horses. Those were real action shots of the different animals interacting with each other. I loved the one of Speedy taking a dust bath!

[Jackie]

Yes, Jim that's what I meant. Thank you.

The four-legged kids look like they're have the time of their lives together. What a playful bunch!

[Jim]

Thanks all. It's a lot of work & money to keep them all, but mornings like today make it worthwhile. It was the most fun I've ever had filling a water trough!

Now, if we could just get some rain... This is the 8th week gone without any measurable rainfall. It's a good thing our fields are in good shape & we don't have more horses. They're starting to stray into the woods looking for green grass. The fields are just brown as can be.

I really feel sorry for the wild animals. All the ponds & streams have dried up. Yesterday went up to 80 & last night it dropped to 47, but we still didn't have any dew - it's too dry. Yuck!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Hope you get some rain soon, Jim.

[Jackie]

That's awful, Jim. I hope you get rain real soon. You're reallly overdue. Does this happen often, or is this out of the normal range of rainfall?

[Jim]

Jackie, it's not supposed to happen often, but this is our 4th summer/fall here & it's the 2d that's a drought - maybe 3d. One year was close. Last year was wonderfully wet.

The weather here mostly comes from the west & often hits the Ohio river & flows north of us. We're a lot higher than Frankfort or Lexington, so sometimes rain will get channeled south of us, too.

This year has been bad for everyone, but nothing is being said publicly. I think it's because of the WEG. If you watched the World Equestrian Games which were held nearby, you'll see green fields & trees in all the pictures. These must have been taken months ago. Everything is brown now.

If we get a lot of rain now, it will ruin the harvest. We need some, just not a ton. In 2007, it was a horrible drought followed by the wettest winter ever, so we actually didn't look too bad for yearly rainfall, overall.

[Jackie]

It's never a good thing when weather patterns change. I hope you get some rain but not too much.

Today I'm having my 2nd session with an acupuncturist. I hurt my neck a couple of weeks ago and he fixed that on the 1st sesion. Hoping to get rid of other ailments today.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

That's interesting, Jackie. Do the acupuncture needles hurt?

[Jim]

Feel better, Jackie. I've never tried accupuncture, just a chiropractor. They can do wonders.

[Jackie]

Joy, No they're very thin, thinner than a needle we'd get for an injection from the doctor. A tiny pinch but that's it, and I only felt that on one out of the 20 or so needles.

Jim, I have other issues besides the neck. The neck was just a temporary issue, I must have slept wrong or turned my head too fast. The other issues are long term. For example, I have circulation problems. Today was the first time my left foot and toes were warm without an outside source in 20 years. The right one is being more stubborn but I have confidence the next session will get that circulation moving too.
It's a practice that's being going on for thousands of years. I can't argue with a track record that long with documented positive results. If it keeps working, I'll keep doing it.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Good luck, Jackie. Hope it keeps working for you.

[Jackie]

Me too.

[Jim]

Watch what you post on social networks! A new service, Social Intelligence, mines social sites for the HR Department. The "Minority Report" & pre-crime is now a reality!!!
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/feat...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Jim.

[Jim]

I doubt it has much impact on you, Joy. Probably not much on me. It's really scary for anyone coming out of high school or college, though.

Every job gets flooded with resumés, now. Just weeding through all the emails you get for a job is a job in itself. Anything that automates the process is a huge help, so as this sort of thing proliferates, it will become a huge problem.

[Jackie]

Jim, I have a friend who works for the Sheriff's Department and she told me a while ago that as an investigator she uses FB and other social networks for info. People are really stupid and post the most outrageous things, including admitting guilt of a crime usually in the form of bragging.

What's sad is teenagers/young adults have no concept of the future, they say silly things, take provocative photos and post it online without thinking of the ramifications to their future interests or future employment.

[Jim]

Wow! That is a huge privacy hole & people are filling it up themselves. People need to realize that anything they say online is public - like a newspaper.

[Jackie]

You're right. And what's worse is, it right there in black and white for all the world to see. No more 'he said, she said'.
And it's only going to get worse.

[Jim]

Some of the predictive stuff they can do now is scary. Insurance companies have been good at it for years, but now there is a lot more data available to mine. When you think about how the insurance companies have used their power, it's a very scary thought.

[Jackie]

It sure is.
The Minority Report was scary. I'd hate to see that happen in real life.

[Jim]

This is even scarier - all the ways you're monitored everyday.
http://www.cracked.com/article/150_5-...