Posted: Tuesday November 24, 2009 10:26 AM CT

The State of Texas issued the Amber Alert late Monday night (11-23) after the girl was reportedly abducted in Shepherd. Shepherd is north of Houston. The
girl is considered to be in grave or immediate danger.

Angela Rodriguez , a 14 year old Hispanic female, 5' 1", weighing 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing blue and white Jordan
shoes and gray capri pants.

The suspect is Joaquin Garcia, an 18 year old Hispanic male, 6' weighing 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has spiky hair and acne all over
face. He was las seen wearing a brown shirt with an eagle on the front, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

The suspect vehicle is a blue-green 1999 Chevy Malibu 4-door with Texas license LHF-502.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office at 936-653-4367 or dial 911.

Posted: Monday November 23, 2009 7:06 PM CT

The State of South Carolina issued the Amber Alert Monday night (11-23) after the boy was abducted in North Charleston. According to reports the child's
mother left the child in hoer car while she went into a post office to drop off mail. Upon her return the child was gone. According to a witness a suspect
was seen getting into the suspect vehicle with the child in her arms.

Angel Miguel Perez , a 1 month old Hispanic male weighing 11 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue pants,
white shoes and a blue hat.

The suspect is stocky black female in her mid-20s, approximately 5 feet 1inch and 175 pounds. She was wearing a blue and white vertical stripped shirt
and possibly boots. She has straight black hair between her ears and shoulders.

The suspect vehicle is a gray, four door compact vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to call the North Charleston Police Department at 843-822-1128 or dial 911.

Urge Family & Friends in Committee Member States to Call Today! 

This is huge news!  New York Senator Schumer introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform! The next
step is to urge the Committee to pass the amendment.  

Now, we need to call on our friends and family across the country to contact their Senator on the Senate Finance Committee and urge them to support the
amendment.  Have a friend in Kentucky? An aunt in Florida? Have them call their senator TODAY and say:  

"I am calling because NY Senator Schumer just introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the health care bill and I want my Senator [name] to help
pass this amendment!  Everyone should have a choice to get home care and not be stuck in a nursing facility." 

[More info] The amendment would give states increased federal Medicaid matching funds for providing attendant services and supports as an alternative to
nursing facilities and institutions.  

Below is a list of all of the Senate Finance Committee members and their D.C. phone number.  (If the Senator is already a co-sponsor of CCA-as noted below-then
they should be the first to support this amendment!) 

Arizona:

Jon Kyl (R)

(202) 224-4521 

Arkansas:

Blanche Lincoln (D)

(202) 224-4843 

Delaware:

Tom Carper (D)

(202) 224-2441 

Florida:

Bill Nelson (D)

(202) 224-5274 

Idaho:  

Mike Crapo (R)

(202) 224-6142 

Iowa:                           

Chuck Grassley (R)

(202) 224-3744            

Kansas:                                   

Pat Roberts (R) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]

(202) 224-4774 

Kentucky:                    

Jim Bunning (R)

(202) 224-4343 

Maine:                         

Olympia Snowe (R)

(202) 224-5344 

Massachusetts: 

John F. Kerry (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]

(202) 224-2742 

Michigan:

Debbie Stabenow (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]

(202) 224-4822 

Montana:

Max Baucus (D) [Chair of Sen. Finance Committee]

(202) 224-2651 

Nevada:                       

John Ensign (R)

(202) 224-6244 

New Jersey:     

Robert Menendez (D) [CCA CO-SPONSOR!]

(202) 224-4744 

New Mexico:               

Jeff Bingaman (D)

(202) 224-5521 

North Dakota:              

Kent Conrad (D)

(202) 224-2043 

Oregon:                       

Ron Wyeden (D)

(202) 224-5244 

Texas:                         

John Cornyn (R)

(202) 224-2934 

Utah:                           

Orrin Hatch (R)

(202) 224-5251 

Washington:                 

Maria Cantwell (D)

(202) 224-3441  

West Virginia:              

John D. Rockefeller, IV (D)

(202) 224-6472 

Wyoming:                    

Mike Enzi (R)

(202) 224-3424 

Posted: Thursday August 20, 2009 7:14 AM CT

The State of Idaho issued the Amber Alert early Thursday morning (08-20) after the boy was reportedly abducted from his home in Boise. The suspect reportedly
knocked on the door and asked to see the boy. The suspect then took the boy and fled in the listed vehicle.

Luca Principali a 7 year old white male, 4 feet tall, weighing 60 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black Star Wars T-shirt
with a picture of Darth Vader and the Emperor on it, camouflage knee length shorts, and was barefoot. He goes by the nickname of Goober.

The suspect is an Unknown White Male 45 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 190 lbs. with brown hair, a full beard with a short hairstyle that is thinning
on top. He was last seen wearing a Red, white, purple, green horizontal striped short sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans.

The suspect vehicle is a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country Mini Van with California tag number 6GQC981.

Anyone with information is asked to call Boise PD at 208-570-6457 or dial 911.

CVS/pharmacy Enhancing Accessibility for the Visually Impaired To Its

Web Site and Store Point-of-Sales Devices

Initiative Announced In Collaboration with State and National
Organizations for the Blind

 
WOONSOCKET, R.I., July 30, 2009:  CVS/pharmacy, the nation's largest
retail pharmacy, announced today that it is implementing functional
improvements to benefit its customers with visual impairments and other
disabilities.  The company has installed tactile keypads in all CVS
stores and it will enhance
its website in 2009.  

 
Today's announcement is the result of a collaboration between
CVS/pharmacy, the American Foundation for the Blind, American Council of
the Blind and California Council of the Blind.  CVS/pharmacy's actions
were applauded by these groups.

 
"We are pleased to collaborate with organizations committed to advocacy
for the blind and introduce service enhancements in our stores and
online that will increase access for our visually impaired customers,"
said Helena Foulkes, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer of CVS Caremark. 

 
Point-of-Sale Improvements

CVS/pharmacy's point-of-sale improvements are designed to assist
customers who cannot read information on a flat-screen point-of-sale
device and therefore cannot privately enter their PIN or other
confidential information.  All CVS stores have been equipped, at a
minimum, with a tactile device at both the front check-out counter and
the pharmacy counter to ensure that customers unable to use a
flat-screen keypad do not have to provide their PIN to a store employee.
The company is also training its store employees to provide appropriate
interaction with visually impaired customers regarding the use of the
new tactile devices.

"Without tactile keys, blind and visually impaired people have no choice
but to share their PINs with strangers," explained Melanie Brunson,
executive director of the American Council of the Blind.  "Today's
announcement, and the collaboration that led to it, demonstrates
CVS/pharmacy's ongoing commitment to its blind and visually impaired
customers."

 
Web Site Access

The initiative includes CVS/pharmacy's commitment to ensure that its
online pharmacy,  <
http://www.cvs.com/>
www.cvs.com
, is accessible to
persons with a wide range of disabilities, including blind computer
users who use a screen reader or magnification technology on their
computers and those who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.  CVS.com
will implement these enhancements by the end of 2009. 

 
"An accessible web site is crucial if people with vision loss are to
obtain goods, services and information on an equal footing," said Paul
Schroeder, vice president, programs and policy group of the American
Foundation for the Blind.  "We appreciate CVS/pharmacy's commitment to
ensure that CVS.com is usable by the broadest range of online consumers,
including those who have disabilities."

 
About CVS/pharmacy

CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:
CVS), is America's largest retail pharmacy with more than 6,900
CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drugs store locations. CVS/pharmacy is committed
to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and
high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to
access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information
about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at  <
http://www.cvscaremark.com/>
www.cvscaremark.com.

Yay for them!

When I was in fourth grade, I spent every Saturday morning watching an incredible line-up of shows on Fox Kids, and one of the memorable commercials that they used to play was for Chips-ahoy. And, as requested, here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGlIqjszsR8

This is a slightly different version, and the description from YouTube says 1993, but it's not much different from the one that was shown in 1996/97. Enjoy!

This morning, I finished a list of employment and work-at-home sites that I've been compiling all week. There are some very well-known ones (like Craigslist), some that are specifically for people with disabilities (like ucp.org), and some that I'd never heard of before (like assemblyjob.com). I've been visiting them, and I've run into 3 main problems:

(1) trying to figure out if any are scams. I won't touch any site that asks for my bank info, but I think that in order to weed those out, I'll have to go through the registration process on every single site.

(2) Finding the ones that pay enough for my specific needs. For example, there's a great website called mylot.com that pays you every time you post something, but the pay is only $0.03 per post on average. I'd have to work about 12 hours every single day to earn about $50 a month, which is impractical and which I can't do anyway because I don't have my own computer. One of the sites on my list is Associated Content. I like the look of it, but it doesn't say how much it pays. Luckily, I know someone who has used it, and I'm waiting on a response from her.

(3) Some of the sites require you to have a resume, which I do not at the moment. The job placement specialist at Clovernook is going to help me put one together, but it may not be finished for a few more weeks.

I wish direct sales was feasible for me right now, but given the time limit with which I'm working, I think I'll wait to get started with that until I'm actually in school next semester, at which time I think it'll be great for me.

Has anyone else ever been through this? Any suggestions on how I can simplify this process would be greatly appreciated.

Later,
Becky

Was it the New York Times' intention to assault or diminish the basic
tenets of the disability community's civil rights law virtually on
the eve of its 19th anniversary? The New York Times' decision to
publish Peter Singer's latest long essay entitled 'Why We Must Ration
Health Care' (7/15/09) two weeks before the anniversary of the
signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act demonstrates either
deliberate malice or reckless disregard of the reality of disability
as an important demographic representative of nearly 20% of the
American population.

As anyone who has read "Why We Must Ration Health Care" knows, Singer
spoke "hypothetically" of assigning a life with quadriplegia as
roughly half that of a life without any disability at all. On this
"hypothetical" basis, Singer lays out a case for denying health care
to people with significant disabilities on the basis that our lives
have less value than the lives of nondisabled people.

This is Peter Singer's most direct assault on the value of the lives
of people with physical disabilities past the age of infancy that we
have read. His policy proposals allowing for the killing of newborns
with disabilities and people with significant cognitive disabilities
are already well known.

While this is a bolder assault than we have seen from Professor
Singer in the past, it's hardly surprising. What's surprising and
deeply disturbing is that the NY Times editorial staff have sought
him out as a writer on more than one occasion.

Reluctantly, we have to suspect that the NY Times accepted this piece
because of its content, agreeing with Singer that our lives have
lessened value and that we represent a drain on the collective
economic and health care resources of our country. It's hard to
imagine the NY Times green-lighting an article that targeted any
other group in such a way - e.g. immigrants, the poor, or other
groups who have been targeted as scapegoats in the health care
debates. Did the editor in charge of publishing this issue even
notice that Singer used no factual information at all to support his
devaluation of people with disabilities?

We have to wonder what went through the heads of the editorial staff
when they thought about the reactions of readers - with or without
disabilities - to the large graphic that read "__ YEARS OF A
NONDISABLED LIFE IS WORTH __ YEARS OF A DISABLED LIFE."

Contrast this with Senator Edward Kennedy's essay on the fight for
universal healthcare in the current issue of Newsweek. Talking about
people with disabilities he said, in part:

Social justice is often the best economics. We can help disabled
Americans who want to live in their homes instead of a nursing home.
Simple things can make all the difference, like having the money to
install handrails or have someone stop by and help every day.

Obviously, the definitions of justice that Senator Kennedy uses are
very different from the definitions favored by Peter Singer and the
NY Times.

The proposed treatment - or nontreatment - of people with
disabilities also violates the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, which President Obama signed on July 24th, 2009.
While the Singer essay violates the spirit and vision of the
Convention in numerous ways, the most pertinent section of the
document is spelled out in Article 25 (f), in which obligates
signatories to "prevent discriminatory denial of health care or
health services or food and fluids on the basis of disability." This
is important. Article 4(d) states that countries that have signed the
Convention agree to "refrain from engaging in any act or practice
that is inconsistent with the present Convention."

The American disability community, Senator Kennedy and an
ever-growing majority of the international community all recognize
that public policy has to embrace the inherent equality of the lives
of people with disabilities - and public policy must reflect that in
practice. The NY Times and Professor Singer stand opposed to the
more progressive voices of social justice, inside and outside of the
United States.

So, we in the disabled community have to fight against discrimination every single day, and yet this wank-stain has a college degree and is allowed to share his Hitler-esque opinions with the world? He thinks that people with cognative disabilities should be killed because their lives are worthless, and yet I guarantee that just one of them has more sense than he does. And the New York Times is supposed to be this world-renowned publication... really?

Right... now that I've expressed my opinion of that story in a thoroughly unprofessional way... there's a petition somewhere protesting this, but the link was not provided in the e-mail. If I can find it, I'll post it.

Becky

I’ve taken the following from www.adapt.org/takeaction:

ADAPT - It's time to pass the CCA!

ADAPT TALKS BACK TO THE DEMOCRATS!

The Democratic National Committee has created ads talking about the need for healthcare reform, but they don't tell you about the need to eliminate the
institutional bias.

ADAPT is talking back to the Democrats in a language they should understand. ADAPT has produced its own video telling the Democrats that "It's time to pass
the Community Choice Act." Watch the video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqs-fdhDZE8feature=player_embedded

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has a paper position supporting the Community Choice Act, but the DNC stands by and watches while the Democratic
Leadership does nothing to eliminate the institutional bias. Instead, the DNC publicly supports healthcare reform that perpetuates Medicaid's institutional
bias that steals the freedom... and lives... of Americans with disabilities and older Americans.

When the aging and disability communities advocated that healthcare reform eliminate the institutional bias, we were told that "It's too expensive." We
were told to be patient. We were told to wait. Well, we cannot and will not wait any longer. Tell the Democrats that it's time to eliminate the institutional bias. Tell them that it's time to pass the Community Choice Act.

Seniors and people with disabilities overwhelmingly prefer to live in the community with supports rather than receive long term assistance in a nursing
facility or other institution. Unfortunately, under federal rules, the Medicaid system does not give people a choice and often requires that people go
into a nursing facility or other institution to get the assistance they need.

The Community Choice Act gives people real choice in long term care options. This legislation ends the institutional bias in the Medicaid program by giving
individuals who are eligible for nursing facility services or other institutional "care" equal access to community-based services and supports, like attendant
services.

Personally, I’m shocked by the attitude of the DNC. I expected better of them. Institutional bias was supposed to have been stopped 10 years ago, and yet it continues to be an issue. Here in my home state of Tennessee, the governor has cut vast amounts of funding for people with disabilities. His feeling is, more or less, that if people with disabilities can’t support themselves without state funding, then they should be put aside in institutions.

The 19th anniversary celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act was held at City Hall this morning here in Memphis. There were many inspiring and informative speeches, one of the last of which was given by Randy Alexander, a disability rights advocate who works here at the Center for Independent Living. He told of the actions that are being taken right now by ADAPT to get the message to the DNC. I myself have been following news of the protests on Twitter. I’d like to encourage all who read this to join with us. Make your voice heard! I’d like to see as many individuals and organizations involved as possible. If enough people fight for their rights, changes WILL be made!

You can find information about ADAPT and ways in which you can get involved and stay up-to-date on the website mentioned at the beginning of this post. I ask everyone to please pass this on, and stay tuned for more updates.

Regards,
Becky J. Scott

Yesterday, a few hours after I got Comcast hooked up, my phone rang. The caller was a guy inquiring about my post on Craigslist. Surely he doesn't mean my "Housing Wanted" ad from four months ago, I thought. But then he said something about CD's. Apparently, someone posted an ad giving away 200 free CD's with my phone number. What's more, the location was listed as Memphis. This is odd, because even though I live in Memphis, the area code of my cell number is for the Nashville area (I got it that way when I started at MTSU). That call was the first of 38 at last count, and now not only am I giving away free CD's, but I'm also trying to get rid of a Kitchen Aid mixer and some costumes! I certainly wasn't this popular when I was looking for housing. Ah well... lol. I've contacted Craigslist and am waiting on their response. So... anyone who has Craigslist might want to watch out for awhile.

Meanwhile, I'm going to the anniversary celebration of the ADA on Friday at City Hall, and Val might be coming over to spend one or two days. Speaking of the ADA, many disability activists across the country are trying to get the Obama administration to include the Community Choice Act in health care reform so that people with disabilities are not unfairly institutionalized. Institutional bias was supposed to be illegal as of 1999, but it still occurs all the time. I'm sorry to say that the administration is showing very little interest. As many of you know, I come from an extremely prejudiced and narrow-minded family (for the most part), and I was one of the few, I'm sure, to vote for Obama last year. Not only did I vote for him, but I made no secret of it. I really, really hope he doesn't make me regret it.

Right... time to see about lunch. Laters.

Namaste,
Becky

P.S.: Make that 39.

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her she did not know how she was going to make it and wanted
to give up, she was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed
carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans . She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a
bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg
and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean,
mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard,
and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected
its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they
were in the boiling water, they had changed the water..

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship
or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened
heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases
the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is
the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee
bean?

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future
will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around
you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another;
to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship
you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!

Posted: Saturday July 11, 2009 7:07 AM CT

The State of Nevada issued the Amber Alert Saturday morning (07-11) after the children were reportedly abducted on Friday (07-10) in Washoe county. They
were last seen with the suspect in the Sun Valley area. Sun Valley is approximately 10 miles north of Reno.

Tyson Mata-Martinez (above left) a 4 year old white male, 2' 6", weighing 40 pounds.

Megan Mata-Martinez (above middle left) a 7 year old white female, 2'10" weighing 55 pounds.

Jakelyne Mata-Martinez (above middle right) an 8 year old white female, 3' weighing 60 pounds.

Ivan Mata-Martinez (above right) a 9 year old white male, 4' weighing 80 pounds.

The suspect is Claire Tourand, a white female, 34 Years old, 5' 8" and 220 pounbds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

The suspect vehicle is a 1998 white Mercury Sable with Nevada tag number 369-SDH.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

Posted: Monday June 20, 2009 12:07 PM CT

Code Amber News Service (CANS) issued this Missing Endangered person Alert after the girl went missing on Friday evening (06-26) while walking home from
a friends house in McCleary Washington. McCleary is a small town of about 1,500 residents and is about 15 miles west of Olympia. There is no evidence of
foul play in this case but the FBI is joining the investigation and search today (Monday 06-29). The FBI will also be bringing in additional law enforcement
personnel to help in the investigation and search. No Amber Alert has been issued in this case.

Lindsey J. Baum a 10 year old white female, 4' 9" tall, 80 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a gray or blue hooded pullover
sweatshirt, with blue jeans and black shoes.

There is no suspect information at this time.

There is no suspoect vehicle information at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office at 360-249-3711 or dial 911.

Posted: Saturday May 23, 2009 6:18 AM CT

The State of Colorado issued the Amber Alert early Saturday morning (05-23) after the boy's parents failed to show up for a court appearance in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Custody of the boy was transferred to the state of Colorado due to allegations of child abuse. The boy requires medical attention due to sever burns he suffered in April to his hands. Police believe the suspects may be headed to Mexico with the boy.

Emanuel Guzman a 2 year old Hispanic male, 2', 30 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.

There are two suspects. Carmen Aguilera is a 30 year old Hispanic female, 5' 6", 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Benito Guzman is a 29 year old Hispanic male, 5' 8", 180 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and has a mustache.


There are two possible suspect vehicles, a tan 2004 Ford pickup with Colorado tag number 491-SKZ or a brown 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Colorado tag number 781-SLH.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000 or dial 911.

Many, definitely too many to list. Music is my biggest passion, and I'm always singing, so I tend to learn all the words to songs I like very quickly.

I'd like to know the legality of this:

Khloe Kardashian Kicked off 'Celebrity Apprentice' for Past DUI Offense

Though Khloe Kardashian has been gaining attention on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, she became even more notorious for being the seventh contestant fired from the reality series The Celebrity Apprentice. In a shocking turn of events, Donald Trump revealed that he had just learned about the starlet’s past DUI arrest and decided that it was one reason for her to leave the show.

Audiences might think it unfair that Khloe’s DUI was the sole cause for her elimination, and the reality TV celebrity agrees. Following the incident,
Khloe Kardashian wrote on her blog: “So as I'm sure you've all heard, The Donald fired me off of Celebrity Apprentice last night. It wasn't because of
my work ethic, it wasn't because I was slacking -- it was because of my DUI, one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made that I will forever regret.”

“I will NEVER say that what I did was right, but I think it is completely unrelated to my place on the show and I don't think I should have been fired
for that reason alone. I have tried to bring awareness to how serious DUI's are and I am trying to make some right out of my huge mistake.”

Despite the injustice of what happened, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star realized that the experience was worth it anyway. “Oh well...what's done
is done, and there's nothing I can do now. I just wish Mr. Trump would have handled the situation a little differently. I guess I was expecting a lot...
LOL.”

Even though she’s no longer on Celebrity Apprentice, Khloe Kardashian gathered enough memories and lessons to last. “I met a lot of cool people on the
show, many who were really talented.”

“It was a great experience and I love a new challenge,” she wrote, “but I have to say that I was happy when it was over so that I could focus on the growth
and success of my clothing store and shooting Keeping Up with the people I love most in the world! Filming Celebrity Apprentice gave me a whole new outlook
on Keeping Up. I adore working with my family and this just made it all that much clearer to me.”

-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

I understand that Trump makes the rules for the show, but I wonder if there's a law that is supposed to prevent him from firing an employee based on his/her past criminal record. There are plenty of celebrities who have criminal records, and if Kardashian had a contract, she could sue Trump, couldn't she?

I think, as do many, that Kardashian's dismissal was extremely unfair. She has shown a very admirable effort to redeem herself and help others, and it's not up to Trump to pass judgment on her.

CANS Alert Issued for 5 Year Old Florida Girl
Posted: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:22 PM AT

Code Amber News Service (CANS) issued this Missing Endangered person Alert after the girl disappeared from her bedroom some time after 3 AM Tuesday morning in Satsuma. Satsuma is approximately 75 miles east of Gainsville.

Haleigh Cummings a white female, 3 feet tall, weighs 39 pounds and has blond hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear.

There are no suspects in this case at this time. However, due to the circumstances of the child's disappearance an abduction is strongly suspected.

There is no suspect vehicle at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Putnam County Sheriff's office at (386) 329-0808 or dial 911.

CANS Alert Issued for 3 Year Old Arkansas Boy
Posted: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:22 PM AT

Code Amber News Service (CANS) issued this Missing Endangered person Alert after the boy dissappered while playing behind his home Tuesday afternoon in Chidester which is in south central Arkansas.

Dominick Wesley Arceneaux a white male, 3 feet tall, weighs 38 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jean shorts with red stiching on the pockets.

There are no suspects in this case at this time. However, officials are leaning toward the possibility Arceneaux was kidnapped because they haven't found any sign of the boy as of Thursday night.

There is no suspect vehicle at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ouachita County Sheriff's Office (870) 837-2200 or dial 911.

Hello.

I really need to get out of my current living situation, but I'm on a very tight budget. Does anyone know of any housing (apt, townhome, travel lodge, rented room... I'm open to anything) anywhere in Memphis that costs between $200 and $300 a month? Please leave a comment or call 615-556-9977.

Thanks,
Becky

I think this is especially funny to me now because of my frustration with the computer I have to use. This amusing take on the situation is great.



> Annoying software: a rogues' gallery
No gain without pain?
The internet has brought us many joys. It's rewritten the rules of business and pleasure.
And pain. For it allows what may have seemed like bright ideas at the time
('let's use it to make sure our customers have the latest software', for example) to turn into a stinking pit of misery -- usually, but by no means always,
after marketing gets its fangs in.
Here are just ten of the guilty parties who try to do the impossible: to make us hate the internet and wish it had never been invented -- and who very nearly
succeed.
Adobe Reader
What does Adobe Reader do? Displays PDF pages. How does it do it? With as much bloody-minded bureaucracy, delay and needless interaction as possible. Perhaps
it's because we humans have been spoiled by books, where the gap between wanting to read something and reading it is as short as the time taken to lift
the cover. But Reader's incessant updates (demanding you reset your computer -- why?), thundering great list of modules to load, and hour-glass-provoking
pauses for thought have given Portable Document Format a reputation for being as welcome as a flatulent camel in the kitchen.
Which is a shame, because other lightweight PDF readers seem to manage perfectly well.
Apple
Oh, Apple. You created a domain where humans came first. You took usability and distilled it into an art form. Now look at you. iTunes is a music player
the size of a fat-bottomed whale that gobbles resources like krill. It spends half its time trying to sell us stuff and the other half trying to stop us
using it. But that's not as bad as your auto-update policy: slipping us stealth copies of Safari under the cover of important version updates to iTunes
and Quicktime -- what is this, Make Microsoft Look Good day?
Windows Update
Your machine will reset in four minutes. Your machine will not shut down until these five updates are installed. You must restart your machine now. You
will install Microsoft Genuine Advantage. Please wait while these updates are installed. Please shut down all applications before applying this update.
Pop! New updates are ready to be installed. And now that we've stopped you doing whatever it was you were doing (like we care), shall we go ahead and install
them now, or would you rather be interrupted yet again later?
We've been kind and not talked about Vista.
RealPlayer
If this software turned up at your door, you'd call the police. RealPlayer commits just about every sin in the book, sprinkling itself across your desktop
and offering 'Free games!'. It installs a 'Message Center' that tells you about microcelebrities. There is more advertising embedded in the application
than used to be on the front page of The Times. And you just wanted to stream The Archers.
At least Europe's been spared Real's Rhapsody music shop. When we looked at a beta before a subsequently abandoned UK launch, we were given software to
install. 'Disable your firewall', it commanded. 'Drop dead', we replied.
Java
Java doesn't do anything by itself. It's a programming language. Programming languages are like sewage plants: if the average user becomes aware of them,
something's gone wrong.
Java doesn't know this. Java wants to be in your face. Java wants to be updated. Java wants to tell you the good news about Sun. Have you heard about Sun?
Here's a nice picture of our logo. And fancy a copy of OpenOffice? No? Well, never mind. Java's installed a copy of Yahoo Toolbar in your browser instead.
Because that's what programming languages are there to do, right?
Yahoo
And talking of Yahoo. Please stop. Please stop trying to take over my email, my search engine, my home page. Please stop 'updating' your IM client to include
more emoticons, animations, noises and whatnot -- or at least have the good grace to produce a grown-ups' edition I can use at work without feeling like
I should still be reading Smash Hits. And yes, when I ask to exit the software, that's because I really want to, not because I'm having a crisis of doubt.
And there is absolutely no point in a toolbar that just replicates all the options on your web site's front page. Not unless you want to come across as
the sort of shrill, desperate, needy software company that makes big noises about user relationships but in fact knows less about its users than the Queen
does about shopping in Lidl.
Norton Antivirus
It's a little unfair to pick on Norton Antivirus and make it carry the sins of half the desktop malware industry -- but only a little unfair. If ever a
class of software deserved to be cast into the lower reaches of Hell and run on Satan's own desktop, it is this. Performance-sapping, space-hogging, noisy,
irritating and prone to inducing just as many problems as they purport to solve, these horrible, ineffective, expensive lumps of digital thuggery keep
entire platoons of support engineers in business and home users in tears. We know. We get the phone calls.
Preinstalled software bundles
After quarter of a century of the IBM PC, we still don't understand why so many companies feel obliged to create swathes of below-par software to install
on the computers they sell. Notebook makers are the worst, and Sony the king of them all: the first job for any new Vaio owner is to strip out the layers
of desktop 'enhancements', media 'managers' and system 'control software' that serve only to get in the way of doing things the way you know how to do
them, interfere with other software packages and suck up such enormous amounts of resources on start-up that two weeks after you've bought one, you're
still not sure whether it's broken or not.
Outlook/Exchange
Free, web-based email systems have more storage than you can use. They have powerful, accurate, swift search systems. They have clean interfaces, with threaded
conversations and sane attachment management.
Then there's Microsoft's Outlook. Things have been getting better for those whose corporate upgrade strategy allows it, but with major updates happening
every four years or so that's a long time to be looking at a non-threaded, licence-restricted storage- squeezed, treacle-slow-searching email system. Especially
while the online services get better and better, and doubly so now that email is the single most important business application ever created.
Flash
There's nothing wrong with Flash, provided you don't use it to construct web sites where people want to find information, navigate easily or do anything
beyond passively consume exactly what you choose to give them in exactly the way you've decided.
There's also nothing wrong with using it for a splendid splash screen replete with movies, sound and animation -- if you don't mind frustrating, annoying
and possibly even driving away people who might, just might, have something better to do.



Hope y’all enjoyed.



Namaste,

Becky

Grayhound customer service has been total crap for the last year or so. So I was pleasantly surprised today when I called to make my advance purchase and spoke with someone who actually knew what the hell she was doing. And, I paid $30 less than the price I was given back in December!



To add to that, my cold is almost completely gone, finally! I'm thoroughly relieved; this one really was a bitch.



Hope everyone is well.



Namaste,

Becky