So...finally...off to Disneyland this evening.
We are psyched!
Funny, huh? Considering that not one child is going with us (well, not a chronological child anyway ;))
Magic and Goofy LOVE Disneyland. Shoulda been able to guess that, but I'm just putting it right out there.
AND, we are flying a new airline to LAX...Virgin America. That should be kinda interesting too. Quite a high-tech experience (according to their website). Each seat has it's own entertainment center - a bona fide computer that can do all sorts of neato things. (neato is a technical term, meaning very cool :).
For instance, you can order a pay-per-view movie right to your console. You can also order food and drinks (also for a fee). You can watch TV streaming from satellites, and (this is really fun) you can chat with others on the plane via a linked up chatroom. I plan on having fun with that. There are also video games available, and you can access over 3000 mp3's to create your own playlists to listen to while on the plane (apparently they are available for purchase/download as well).
I'm gonna have to carry more usb cords.
All of this is run on servers in the belly of the plane - using - LINUX!
Take that Bill!
I'll see if I can get some decent video and post a little blurb about it...
Other than that, the Fab 4 (US), will be chillin' with the Fab 5 in the Happiest Place on Earth.
It's cool how you can make that so by just declaring it...
I'm thinking that there would be many more Happy Places if folks just thought that they were...wonder how that would work out?
Hahahahahaha...lots of my happiest places would be under water, I guess, but MOST would just be wherever my family and friends are. My happiest place would be a big compound where everyone I care about is...all at once...although not necessarily all together...space is a good thing to preserving happiness too. But I digress (as usual)...
Have a MAGICAL DAY!
M&G
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Random Rambling, Misplaced Musings
So...it's Wednesday, April 16...the day after the US Government (and everyone else too, I suppose) implores us to continue our support of their many good programs and projects.
And not in a nice way, really.
It's not like they ask for a donation for their really cool ideas/projects, or give us a little sticker for the window of our car -
(that'd be nice, though...but only if it's the static cling kind - I hate stickers on my car that won't come off - and what's with these people that put stickers on the paint of their car? What are they thinking? But I digress...)
- I PAID MY TAXES 2008! with a little american flag or a caricature of uncle sam waving a dollar bill in front of the flag...the flag is a constant in my little car sticker fantasy.
Yeah, I'd like a little sticker...paid my taxes 2008! It'd probably take an act of congress to get it approved, though, and then someone would undoubted have to vet the design ad infinitum, making that one little sticker cost millions in tax dollars. It'd open a whole new collectibles market on eBay though.
I believe in paying taxes - for the most part, anyway. It's how we all work together as a big group of happy cohabitants of this country to fund the things that need funding in a bigger way than - here's $5, go get something to eat.
(don't get me started on the new social programs of this country tho...frankly, I don't think they are working all that well...$5 for dinner isn't probably enough).
There are things that need doing in an organized way, and those need us all to chip in. Things like roads, and police, and schools...
Apparently, there are also taxes going for lavish trips, and boats and houses, but these aren't what I am talking about. We don't get to enjoy the benefits of those taxes, and I'm pretty sure that none of the money I send the government (local, state or federal) goes to those kind of things. I write a note asking it to go for the good stuff, not for the fluff, so I'm pretty sure that they don't spend any of my money on those things.
So..I pay my taxes every year. Have done so for nearly 30 years (which is not a valid method for determining my age, by the way, I have paid taxes before most folks did, lol).
And every year, I wait to see if the pothole in the street outside my house (or someone else's house) gets filled. I also wait to see if the schools ever have enough money to buy books and art supplies. I think that they must, since the administrators around here are buying ipods and digital cameras for themselves - so there must be a ton of money left over every year. I'm still waiting to see the cool art projects though.
I also wait to see all the new police officers and fire fighters that get hired. We need them, so money goes there too I hear.
What I DO NOT understand is the whole notion of "estate" taxes. Most people would laugh if you told them that they had an estate, and it needed to be taxed.
I kinda cry, as I figure I've already paid taxes on all this stuff. Why don't I get a big bonus for that while I'm alive?...
When I think of "estate", I'm thinking Mar-a-Lago...you know, the big place in Florida that was built with Post (as in cereal) money in the 1920's?
I don't know about you, but my house does NOT look like that...even from the driveway, let alone from way up in the air...
Mar-a-Lago is a private club now...guess that's how some people avoid taxes, but it used to belong to a semi-famous big mouthed dweeb that has lots of "apprentices". You can even stay there...check out the link:
http://www.maralagoclub.com/default.asp
Most people will not reach the new $2M exemption (it was only $500K a few years back). You may think it laughable yourself. However, these days, with housing prices the way they are...it doesn't take all that much to get there. More people than you may think will be paying "up to 46%" of amounts above $2M ($3.5M starting next year). A home, a vacation place, a boat, a couple of cars. It all adds up.
So...here's my point. When you hit about 50 or 60, it's time to sell everything and live in a rental. Spend all that money. Go to the beach, or the mountains, or wherever you've "always wanted" to go. Think of it as a big tax refund...Your kids will thank you in the end.
I hadn't really thought I'd be blogging about all of this here today...which is interesting to me...but there ya go!
Live today, 'cause tomorrow is a myth until you wake up in it.
M&G
And not in a nice way, really.
It's not like they ask for a donation for their really cool ideas/projects, or give us a little sticker for the window of our car -
(that'd be nice, though...but only if it's the static cling kind - I hate stickers on my car that won't come off - and what's with these people that put stickers on the paint of their car? What are they thinking? But I digress...)
- I PAID MY TAXES 2008! with a little american flag or a caricature of uncle sam waving a dollar bill in front of the flag...the flag is a constant in my little car sticker fantasy.
Yeah, I'd like a little sticker...paid my taxes 2008! It'd probably take an act of congress to get it approved, though, and then someone would undoubted have to vet the design ad infinitum, making that one little sticker cost millions in tax dollars. It'd open a whole new collectibles market on eBay though.
I believe in paying taxes - for the most part, anyway. It's how we all work together as a big group of happy cohabitants of this country to fund the things that need funding in a bigger way than - here's $5, go get something to eat.
(don't get me started on the new social programs of this country tho...frankly, I don't think they are working all that well...$5 for dinner isn't probably enough).
There are things that need doing in an organized way, and those need us all to chip in. Things like roads, and police, and schools...
Apparently, there are also taxes going for lavish trips, and boats and houses, but these aren't what I am talking about. We don't get to enjoy the benefits of those taxes, and I'm pretty sure that none of the money I send the government (local, state or federal) goes to those kind of things. I write a note asking it to go for the good stuff, not for the fluff, so I'm pretty sure that they don't spend any of my money on those things.
So..I pay my taxes every year. Have done so for nearly 30 years (which is not a valid method for determining my age, by the way, I have paid taxes before most folks did, lol).
And every year, I wait to see if the pothole in the street outside my house (or someone else's house) gets filled. I also wait to see if the schools ever have enough money to buy books and art supplies. I think that they must, since the administrators around here are buying ipods and digital cameras for themselves - so there must be a ton of money left over every year. I'm still waiting to see the cool art projects though.
I also wait to see all the new police officers and fire fighters that get hired. We need them, so money goes there too I hear.
What I DO NOT understand is the whole notion of "estate" taxes. Most people would laugh if you told them that they had an estate, and it needed to be taxed.
I kinda cry, as I figure I've already paid taxes on all this stuff. Why don't I get a big bonus for that while I'm alive?...
When I think of "estate", I'm thinking Mar-a-Lago...you know, the big place in Florida that was built with Post (as in cereal) money in the 1920's?
I don't know about you, but my house does NOT look like that...even from the driveway, let alone from way up in the air...
Mar-a-Lago is a private club now...guess that's how some people avoid taxes, but it used to belong to a semi-famous big mouthed dweeb that has lots of "apprentices". You can even stay there...check out the link:
http://www.maralagoclub.com/default.asp
Most people will not reach the new $2M exemption (it was only $500K a few years back). You may think it laughable yourself. However, these days, with housing prices the way they are...it doesn't take all that much to get there. More people than you may think will be paying "up to 46%" of amounts above $2M ($3.5M starting next year). A home, a vacation place, a boat, a couple of cars. It all adds up.
So...here's my point. When you hit about 50 or 60, it's time to sell everything and live in a rental. Spend all that money. Go to the beach, or the mountains, or wherever you've "always wanted" to go. Think of it as a big tax refund...Your kids will thank you in the end.
I hadn't really thought I'd be blogging about all of this here today...which is interesting to me...but there ya go!
Live today, 'cause tomorrow is a myth until you wake up in it.
M&G
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
April 2009...Wakatobi Indonesia...
...a once in a lifetime trip for Goofy and I...can you believe it? Neither can we (yet)...imagine....
we hope to be staying in one of the beach bungalows there on the left...
we hope to be staying in one of the beach bungalows there on the left...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Wah....
I suppose if you read the blog entry below, you should disregard...it's babbling brought on by cold medication I believe...
LOL
Although...
...I am hungry....
Magic has a cold
Wah.
Goofy and I spent a great weekend in Oregon visiting Uncle and Auntie.
The best times were when we just sat around drinking coffee and talking (which I think was a surprise for them, as they thought we'd need entertaining I believe :) The visit, as usual, was much too short, but we'll see them again soon.
Magic came home with a "hed code" tho...big baby. Magic is being a big baby, as that is the general course of events when one gets a "code"...LOL.
So, since Magic is the primary (read only) blogger here, the reports may be sporadic for a few days...or whiney....
I realize that there is really no such thing as "the common cold" as the rotten little virus that is responsible tends to mutate with every poor soul it infects - thereby making spreading so much more effective, and cure so impossible - but geez...what a miserable way to spend my time.
My mood matches the weather, at least...cold, grey and drippy. lol
I have WAY too much to do this week to be sick, but apparently it's not up to me. Thank goodness for cold medication...better living through chemicals...that's my motto! Talk about being in the wrong business...cold medicines just mitigate the symptoms, but give 'em to me anyway...I don't wanna be livin' without them. :) Misery loves company, so I must not be miserable...I wanna be left alone - except for when I am hungry, but that's a different thing. Come to think of it, I believe I turn into a cat when I am sick...I want what I want when I want it, but I don't want to see you unless I need you - and always on my terms...anyone with a cat knows this routine...lol...I think I need a nap...
and so it goes....
M&G
Goofy and I spent a great weekend in Oregon visiting Uncle and Auntie.
The best times were when we just sat around drinking coffee and talking (which I think was a surprise for them, as they thought we'd need entertaining I believe :) The visit, as usual, was much too short, but we'll see them again soon.
Magic came home with a "hed code" tho...big baby. Magic is being a big baby, as that is the general course of events when one gets a "code"...LOL.
So, since Magic is the primary (read only) blogger here, the reports may be sporadic for a few days...or whiney....
I realize that there is really no such thing as "the common cold" as the rotten little virus that is responsible tends to mutate with every poor soul it infects - thereby making spreading so much more effective, and cure so impossible - but geez...what a miserable way to spend my time.
My mood matches the weather, at least...cold, grey and drippy. lol
I have WAY too much to do this week to be sick, but apparently it's not up to me. Thank goodness for cold medication...better living through chemicals...that's my motto! Talk about being in the wrong business...cold medicines just mitigate the symptoms, but give 'em to me anyway...I don't wanna be livin' without them. :) Misery loves company, so I must not be miserable...I wanna be left alone - except for when I am hungry, but that's a different thing. Come to think of it, I believe I turn into a cat when I am sick...I want what I want when I want it, but I don't want to see you unless I need you - and always on my terms...anyone with a cat knows this routine...lol...I think I need a nap...
and so it goes....
M&G
Thursday, April 3, 2008
New Blog Site Added to Surfin' Safaris...
I found this site today in my wanderings through cyberspace as the carpet guys were installing the new carpet (OOOOOOOH, another post idea...woohoo).
Ya gotta love the simple truths...go take a look.
M&G
For No Particular Reason...
I am posting this picture of kitteh...
Heh...lol
Last night Goofy and I had dinner with friends downtown (at the usual spot...lol).
It was like a visit to the karma/well-being station...and no $4 a gallon to harsh things up! :)
Amazing how restorative it can be to spend an evening with dear friends just catching up and enjoying the company. Better than a spa.
Too often there is too little time to visit with friends...to reconnect on that human level with people the have places in our lives. What's up with that? What is going on in this world of ours where we forego actual human face-time in favor of...
...what?
Work? That's generally the excuse we use...we are too busy with our lives, to the point of life passing us by.
I've learned (and relearned on occasion) that so many things are not worthy of the importance that we assign them. There truly are very few things that are as important as our personal, human relationships. We'll tell ourselves that we need to make a living, need to clean the house or mow the lawn or any one of a thousand things that are part of our busy, 21st century lives. But in all seriousness, people are all that really matter when it comes down to it.
If you doubt that, spend an evening catching up with "your" people. I am sure that seretonin levels go up. Self-image and a general sense of well-being and connections tend to rise when you see yourself in the eyes of your friends.
Often these people are our "real" family...not of blood, but of choice - which is much more powerful and meaningful I think.
So, my wish for all of you is to take a little time out for yourself...find your friends and spend time with them - TV, the lawn, the dinner dishes can all wait..get yourself to the station and fill up on that priceless commodity of friendship that even our government can't regulate or inflate beyond the average person's ability to obtain. (sorry, couldn't resist one jab :)
And...to my friends who are my family...thanks for the refill, I can't wait to see you again soon!
M&G
Heh...lol
Last night Goofy and I had dinner with friends downtown (at the usual spot...lol).
It was like a visit to the karma/well-being station...and no $4 a gallon to harsh things up! :)
Amazing how restorative it can be to spend an evening with dear friends just catching up and enjoying the company. Better than a spa.
Too often there is too little time to visit with friends...to reconnect on that human level with people the have places in our lives. What's up with that? What is going on in this world of ours where we forego actual human face-time in favor of...
...what?
Work? That's generally the excuse we use...we are too busy with our lives, to the point of life passing us by.
I've learned (and relearned on occasion) that so many things are not worthy of the importance that we assign them. There truly are very few things that are as important as our personal, human relationships. We'll tell ourselves that we need to make a living, need to clean the house or mow the lawn or any one of a thousand things that are part of our busy, 21st century lives. But in all seriousness, people are all that really matter when it comes down to it.
If you doubt that, spend an evening catching up with "your" people. I am sure that seretonin levels go up. Self-image and a general sense of well-being and connections tend to rise when you see yourself in the eyes of your friends.
Often these people are our "real" family...not of blood, but of choice - which is much more powerful and meaningful I think.
So, my wish for all of you is to take a little time out for yourself...find your friends and spend time with them - TV, the lawn, the dinner dishes can all wait..get yourself to the station and fill up on that priceless commodity of friendship that even our government can't regulate or inflate beyond the average person's ability to obtain. (sorry, couldn't resist one jab :)
And...to my friends who are my family...thanks for the refill, I can't wait to see you again soon!
M&G
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
It's Magic's Birthday Month!
Bwahahahahaha
Birthday month invoked, accepted and duly noted (by Goofy) today at 6:15am!
It's Magic's birthday month
It's Magic's birthday month
It's Magic's birthday month
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Happy April Y'all!
M&G
Birthday month invoked, accepted and duly noted (by Goofy) today at 6:15am!
It's Magic's birthday month
It's Magic's birthday month
It's Magic's birthday month
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Happy April Y'all!
M&G
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