When I come across controversial news articles or other information that grab my attention, I publish links for you here so you can check it out for yourself.
Today’s shocking contribution, 911…An Inside Job?, can be found here: http://www.wildchildmagazine.com/
The article is very extensive, with tons of links; be sure to scroll all the way through the article to see all of them.
After going over it, please come back here and give us your thoughts on the matter: do you agree? disagree? Think it’s the stupidest thing you ever read in your entire life? Or, did it get the old brain cogs turning? Let me know!
Thanks!
~Linda~
Brrrrr…it’s c-o-l-d outside!
Please don’t forget the birds!
They sometimes have a hard time “making a living” in the cold winter months!
If nothing else, get some sunflower seed at the store and put it out. Most all birds will eat it.
Or stale bread. Throw out your stale bread, corn bread, any bread but “moldy”… no moldy bread.
I have been feeding the birds for years, year-round, and have concocted my own recipe…which varies little from warm weather to cold:
In no particular proportions:
Black oil and/or grey stripe sunflower seeds…loved by most all birds
Scratch feed (cracked corn)…also a favorite of squirrels
Wild Bird Mix (mainly millet)…loved by Doves
Songbird Mix (contains Safflower seed)…loved by Cardinals
Peanuts, unsalted (shelled and un-shelled)…loved by squirrels, bluejays, titmice, nuthatches, woodpeckers, etc.
Dogfood (yes, dogfood: small kibble, provides extra protein)…loved by bluejays, crows, mockingbirds, and many others
I pour equal amounts (sort of) into 5 gallon buckets with lids and stack up on my back deck, ready to use.
If you wish, you can also make or purchase Suet (solid fat, usually beef, with or without seeds in it…loved epsecially by woodpeckers, but many birds will also eat it.) There are also little cages to hold the Suet… ready to hang in a tree.
Oh…and don’t forget the water!
A shallow pan/dish/bowl of water on the ground near the birdseed will do. (I don’t use my birdbath much in the winter…it’s always frozen and just too much trouble to fool with. I have a small, plastic dog-food bowl of water on the front porch, an identical one on the side porch, and a larger one on the back deck.)
Water is very important this time of year! Many sources are frozen and therefore not accessible to the birds. I have seen birds eat snow, but seeing as we don’t get much of that where I live…. 
Prepare to frequently change the water you set out as it will likely be either frozen, soiled or gone!
If you provide food and water for the birds, they will reward you many times over with their beauty, comings and goings, and downright adorable antics!
Till next time…
Don’t forget to feed the birds!
~Linda~
If you have particular items you feed, or methods of feeding or watering, let us know in the comments so we can pass the word!
Do you ever wish you had a way to express your gratitude of someone or something, but aren’t sure exactly how to proceed?
Well, Scott Truitt of The Gratitude Campaign has come up with an absolutely wonderful idea to do just that!
Speaking of soldiers, Scott says, “… but they have always appreciated being thanked, and I have always felt better having expressed my gratitude.
I started to think that it would be nice if civilians had a gesture or sign that they could use to say “thank you” quickly and easily without even having to approach. I did some research and found the sign that we are now using.”
Whether you would like to thank Military personnel passing you on the street, representatives of various Religious organizations you see here and there, or anyone else for that matter, now there is a terrific way to do that!
For the full story, including a wonderful video, Click here: The Gratitude Campaign
Oh, and please pass this along so it will catch on!
As Roberto Benigni said in Newsweek,
“It’s a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.” So true.
Till next time…
~Linda~
Hello All!
Just a quick post to give you a heads-up about my post at www.coolonlinetools.com
In case you have an interest or need, I didn’t want you to miss out on the one-week-only ”Thanksgiving Special” Leo Quinn is giving to readers of my Blogs!
Ok…I won’t keep you in suspense any longer!
Go ASAP to…
Talk soon!
~Linda~
Are you “old enough” to remember good, old fashioned Customer Service?
You know…when businesses and services maintained the
philosophy that ”the customer is king”…and “the customer is always right”… ?
Is it just me, or is good Customer Service going the way of all good things…like good manners, being polite, being respectful (saying yes ma’am and no sir)…
It’s been fairly gradual, but it finally got my attention: good Customer Service is dying! The first couple of times you get bad, or rude, service…you just sort of sluff it off as someone having a bad day…then slowly but surely, you come to expect being ignored or abused…and start to automatically build up your defenses (ie: “Here’s what I’m going to say if they dispute or disregard my problem…”) and your stomach starts churning at the very thought of having to confront someone in order to obtain what is rightfully yours, what you’ve paid for, etc.
And THEN…one day, out of the clear blue sky, you have occasion to deal with a company who not only treats you with respect, but actually makes an effort to solve your problems… and keep you a happy customer…and all on the first go-round!
IMAGINE THAT! Unbelievable! Yet something about it seems vaguely familiar…..and comforting…
And then you remember…why, that’s how it USED TO BE!
With ALL businesses…that’s why it has that air of familiarity to it… and you start to get the ”warm fuzzies” from it…
Only NOW, this company you are dealing with is the “novelty”, because most businesses nowadays think it’s ok to be rude…and treat the customer as “expendable”…
WHY? What good does that do? To put the customer on the defensive…or make them feel like 2-cents waiting for their change… HOW DID WE LET THIS HAPPEN?
I know how…because we accepted it! That’s right…it slowly but surely evolved, and we just layed down and took it…
And why? WHY? Think about it…W-H-Y?
Because we’re too busy to argue? Or stand up for what’s right? What is it?
I mean, look at it…! WE are the customers, the consumers…ie: the ones with the money! They ones they need to keep them in business….
So how did this ever get turned around…to where we should thank our lucky stars that there are at least umpteen million stores to choose from in almost any category…and we should bow down and kiss the feet of whoever lets us in their doors????
Are you hearing this? Oh please!
What’s wrong with this picture?
It’s almost enough to make you want to try to do something about it! (Actually, I’ve even thought a little about that… about trying to establish a customer service entity that companies could use to take care of their customer service… if any of you have had thoughts along the same lines, please get with me and let’s see what we can put together!)
So what is the solution? I’ll tell you what I think is the solution: Quit being too “busy” to do anything about something that is not right! Stop! Take a minute to speak to the Manager… email or write to the company headquarters… (or the owner, if it’s a franchise)…let them know about the atrocious customer service you just experienced…
If they have the same attitude, then the answer is obvious… start going to their competitors! Simple as that. Send the message… “If you don’t appreciate my business, I’ll try other companies… until I find someone who does!”
Well… that’s MyBlognosis…what’s yours?
Till next time…
~Linda~
Frustration and intimidation with my own Computer and the Internet have driven me to…
My Current Mission:
To find Cool Online Tools to help ALL of us out on the Internet… making the experience a whole lot more “pleasurable”… and a whole lot less “stressful”!
Let’s face it…not all of us grew up sitting at a keyboard in front of a computer…and many of us are not as “Internet-Savvy” as others…..and some of us don’t even know the difference between a “Geek” and a “Tekkie”…(and probably don’t even care!)
We just want to be able to more easily “use” our computers and the Internet…not become “students” of it… or take it on as an “occupation”!
I, for one, think that doing some of the things we would like to do on the computer or the internet shouldn’t have to be so “hard”…and now it’s not going to be…because WE are going to find some Cool Online Tools to help us out!
…and that’s MyBlognosis…what’s yours?
Till next time….
~Linda~
(Note: Cool Online Tools is a separate Website and is currently, and always will be, “a work in progress”, so check www.CoolOnlineTools.com every week for “the latest”! See you there!
P.S. Please don’t take some of the things I say on MyBlognosis OR CoolOnlineTools the wrong way; I LOVE Computer Geeks and Tekkies…they are some of my best friends! Without them, I wouldn’t even have this site up…because I sure couldn’t have put it together by myself!
So, that being said, I would like to recognize a few folks and offer a special
~ ~ ~ ~ T-H-A-N-K-S ~ ~ ~
to WordPress and Joni Ang for this beautiful site; Chris of ce2consulting for always “being there” for me, and Trent Smith, who keeps my whole family’s computers up and running smoothly!
I’ve been thinking about publishing “myBlognosis” for quite some time now.
As a would-be “online entrepreneur”, I have read and subscribed to many, many different schools of thought regarding exactly HOW to go about making all this happen…
So many, in fact, that sometimes I literally become overwhelmed with all the information ~ rendering myself “immobilized” and unable or unwilling to do anything further!
It’s a weird and unproductive place to be, as you may well know!
I usually switch to doing something totally different…to clear my head and rest my “frazzled little brain” for awhile…before I come back and hit it again!
Oftentimes I just go outside and do something in the yard for an hour (always something to do out there, wouldn’t you agree?) And of course there’s always something needing to be done around the house…(forget it! I’m on a mission!) Or, I could call someone on the phone…or catch up on my email…or…? (nah…not in the mood…still on “information overload” and trying to make heads or tails of it all!) Guess I’ll just brood for awhile.
That’s usually when I realize that what would be really nice is to have some little place to go…to just empty my head for a minute…think about something else, (but nothing too “profound”…LOL) …just something light and easy…see what others are up to…what their thoughts are on…anything!
Well, I am sure “that place” is out there somewhere, and I probably just haven’t found it yet, so if YOU know where it is, PLEASE let me know…(comment below) …and it you don’t know where it is, what do you say we just start our own?
RIGHT HERE.
A place where we can go …for a little “distraction”…to take a break for a minute…and talk about whatever…say what’s on our minds…offer a tip or idea…pick up one…or just see what’s going on with everyone else…
…and then we can get back to whatever it was that we were supposed to be doing!
Deal? Great! Let me know what you think, and what’s on your mind below!
Till next time…
That’s “myBlognosis” ~ what’s yours?
Linda