Sunday, January 28, 2007

Free Stuff online

My husband just posted a great set of free (legal) resources online, including classical works where copyright no longer applies, audio books, and old computer games that we used to play when we were kids. Cool! Check it out Apologique: Really Cool Free Stuff

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Calling all 24 fans!!

Oh my goodness--y'all gotta check this out! One of Frank's friends in the Philosophy program had a cool experience: a-team

Sunday, January 21, 2007

For Anyone whose ever flown

I came across these as an email forward, and this is kind of long, but too funny not to share!

Airline cabin announcements:

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no as signed seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"

2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.

4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."

5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245
to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but
we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."

11. "Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake
City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the
airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart
comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with
a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank
you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized met al tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."

20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."

21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed,and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled,"That's nothing. You
should see the back of mine."

Friday, January 19, 2007

Other stuff

Mom and Phillip came out to see us for 2 weeks. We've had lots of fun. Took Fifi (P's nickname) to Disney and let him ride all the fast rides. Rode the new and improved Space Mountain--I like the changes. It's a roller coaster that is completely in the dark, and used to have spacey/orchestral music with lights that simulated shooting stars all over the place--like you were at light speed thru the whole ride--immensely fun! But believe it or not, they've made it even better. They placed black lights strategically around so that you can sometimes 'see' where you're going, and changed the music to some cool heavy metal w/electric guitars. It was rockin! literally.

On another note, it's been REALLY cold here. Mom and Fifi brought it with them I think. Normal 'winter' temp is around 48 degrees at night, but it's been getting down to low 30's. Gov. Schwarzeneggar (sp?) has declared that CA will lose over a billion $$ in lost citrus crops. Bummer. We saw on the news to expect much higher prices and more damaged fruit. I think our lemons are doing ok though. I am curious to see how high the prices will be by next summer. Oranges are really good here. I hate that the crops got ruined.

Counting down to the end. I am getting excited. For the first time, I won't be sad to put my mom back on a plane to AL, because I'll be there in 4 months, yippee!! 132 more days to be exact.

My job is very demanding. It'll be nice to be the mommy again. I think Frank will also be glad to switch back to the breadwinner role. Not that he doesn't make a great stay-at-home parent. He is really good with the boys. (I know that's why I was blessed with boys) So patient, and even helps keep up with the housework. The only time he gets bogged down is midterm and finals time--usually several papers and exams are all happening at the same time. It has proven to be a bit stressful. Thank you God that we are almost done. Frank (by the grace of God) has managed to maintain an A/B average! and that is with being a full time at-home parent! So pray we finish well. We have one semester left that will start next week, and it looks to be the easiest semester we will live thru, yey! Frank set it up that way on purpose so that his graduating semester would be the least stressful.

My mom has been cooking for the last 2 weeks. When she comes it is wonderful. Most folks would be thinking,"Your mom took over the kitchen and you're ok with that?". Yup, most definitely. As a f/t working mother, it has been WONDERFUL to come home every day to home cooked, southern meals! I sure will miss that. And the company. It's been nice to hang out with my brother too, as I'd not seen him in probably over a year. So, I'll be seeing the rest of you soon too, and we can hang out!

See ya soon! :o)

Changed my look

How do you like it? Got bored with green and was perusing the templates and found this charming look...so...decided to pull an aol and update my look. Aol is notorious--every time I JUST get comfortable manuevering thru the site--will have located my stored emails, figured out where they put the entertainment news, and relearned how to find recently sent or deleted emails; they go and change the look again. So, just when you were comfortable with my site, here goes...