My Archives: June 2003
Friday, June 20, 2003
Yup, as is always true for my family there is no "just losing a tooth" round here...last night the kids were wrestling and R's tooth got KNOCKED out--it was bleeding hugely and she sorta panics at the site of blood, her other teeth just bled that little bit they tend to do...but this one GUSHED blood! The crisis was short lived and today everyone is happy...here are some pictures for you all to enjoy...
First: R in her gymnastics outfit =o)
R's crooked tooth
R's missing tooth =o)
Oh, and you have to see how lovely R's hair was today--Mamaw Patsy taught me to french braid her hair a few years ago by telling me I didn't have to worry about it being messy--that I could just brush it after it's braided and spray it--and it works!! The bow and pretty butterflies are from Grandma--it's hard to believe as beautiful as this little girl is that one of her favorite things to do is catch bugs lol Lookie!
Then B being the boy he is...
One of the boy wonder doing one of his flips in gymnastics
And two shots of little C
And my R requested that I post this picture which is her "hillbilly" face lolol enjoy!!
In other news--talked to dh and he is good...they were close enough to land to have two bars of antennae. The trip has been pretty good, they made pizza tonight--he is really feeling sick from the shot...says it's like the flu times ten. Bless his heart...I told him to go to bed so he said he was going to do that...he felt rotten and has been taking 800 mg of ibuprophen.
We had company last night--we talked forever and stayed up toooo late, then had our homeschooling friends over today and had a ball. I bet we will all sleep soundly tonight. =o)
I hope you are all blessed!!
~A
Posted by Angelbaby @ 08:28 PM CST [Link]
Thursday, June 19, 2003
The Article
BIG BROTHER COMES TO WAL-MART
By Mary Starrett
June 11, 2003
NewsWithViews.com
Starting this week, the nation's largest discount retailer will quietly begin selling tracking-chipped products to clueless shoppers. The first volley in their war against our privacy is set to start at their Brockton, Massachusetts store.
Wal-Mart will put Radio Frequency I.D. sensors on shelves stocked with RFID-tagged Gillette products, but they'd rather you didn't know about it, because, hey, you might not like it, and then you might make noise and then they'd have a big PR mess on their hands.
You might even stop buying Gillette products or, say, refuse to shop at Wal-Mart.
These chips, researched at M.I.T.'s Auto-ID Center are about the size of a grain of sand. Chipsters say the technology will only be used to help retailers keep track of inventory - like bar codes. But privacy-loving consumers question the very concept of a device that sends out radio waves to "readers" that not only identify the article, but where and with whom it's going.
The Big Brother implications of this thing need little hyping to get your skin crawling.
Wal-Mart's putting the pressure on its top 100 suppliers to make sure their inventory is all chipped by the end of next year.
But why start this in Brockton, Mass?
Could it be because the store's customers are typically lower income minorities who'd be less likely to be aware of the tracking devices, and even less likely to make a fuss about them?
Their thinking? Let's foist it on folks who're too concerned about paying the electric bill to be aware of these types of issues.
Retailers are SUPPOSED to alert their customers to the tracking chips and offer to "kill" the tags at the checkout counter.
Don't count on it, because what you don't know won't hurt you, right? And to PROVE those RFID tags won't be "killed" at the cash register one of the ways they're planning on convincing you, the shopper that these tags are A-OK is by touting how "hassle-free" returns will be. Huh? If the tags are supposedly turned off at purchase, how can they be read after the item's brought back to the store? Just one of the myriad lies you'll be told about this technology.
Are we to expect that in addition to being asked the "paper or plastic" question we'll get an option on whether the RFID tags are left on or turned off? Not only will consumers be witnessing the death throes of privacy, but it's going to cost them. Currently, the chips cost about 60 cents each. Add that to the cost of each and every item that uses this Orwellian technology. Gillette and Wal-Mart are only the pioneers here, the stated plan is to affix each item produced on the planet with RFID tags. Each pack of gum, each roll of film, each bottle of Merlot.
So what's a freedom-loving shopper to do?
Fortunately for us, there's a really smart lady finishing up a Ph.D. at Harvard. She started a group that's bellowing out the urgency of fighting this technology; her name is Katherine Albrecht and she's founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering). Albrecht's CASPIAN has proposed a piece of federal legislation called "RFID RIGHT TO KNOW ACT OF 2003". It's a law that would let consumers know which products had tracking chips attached to them. In short, the proposed bill would amend the Fair Packaging and Labeling Program by adding language that requires manufacturers to state (in a conspicuous location) that the package contains a radio frequency identification tag that can transmit unique identification information to a "reader" device both before and AFTER it's purchased(!).
This is where you come in.
The bill needs a sponsor.
Maybe YOUR Congressional Representative would like to go on record as having helped stop this assault on our privacy. Forward this article to him/her and tell them the entire text of the bill can been seen at nocards.org.
Will you make it a point to email, call or fax your representative today, before our Big Brother gets any bigger? Do it NOW before the lobbyists and big money special interests get to them and convince Congress these RFID chips are consumer-friendly!
And while you're at it, why not tell the suits at Wal-Mart and Gillette (and Home Depot, Proctor and Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, too, by the way) that from here on out you wouldn't go near their stores or their products with a ten foot pole.
It works. Remember back a few months when I told you how Italian clothing company Benetton had chipped their Sisely line of clothes and was all set to roll out the garments with RFID tracking devices? Well your outrage and feedback caused them to put the scheme on hold.
Let's make sure the behemoth Wal-Mart is similarly put on notice. (By the way, IBM's planning to add RFID to it's products; so if Wal-Mart manages to sneak this past us, all bets are off and then every corporate giant will be able to inflict this chilling, tracking/monitoring horror on us.)
If RFID gets off the ground as planned, that would make George Orwells' predictions off by just 20 years. It's up to us.
Posted by Angelbaby @ 07:22 PM CST [Link]
Okay so the only question on the test is this: Can I sustain my optimism? eh.
Well, we had gymnastics today and then we had to go to the grocery and whatnot...we were all very anxious to get home for "the call"...if dh's boat was going to be pulling in today then we would get a call from our Ombudsman to tell us when it would be in so we could expect them. I even called my parents to find out if they could tell me how to check the answering machine from my cell phone lol (they didn't know how)...at any rate we finished out shopping and got home about an hour ago. I checked my phone as soon as we walked in and sure enough there was a blinking light which meant I had missed a call. We were all very excited when we got over to the phone and saw there was indeed one new message....AHHH the anticipation.
My heart literally lept when I heard our Ombudsman's voice on my answering machine...but quickly plummetted to the ground as I listened to her message. Turns out the boat was indeed on it's way back home but they have been called to do a bouy that has been hit by several boats in the last week or so dragging it underwater and becoming a potential hazard not just for the boats who SEE it or know it's there but especially for those who are looking for it and can't find it. SO...they will not be home until Sunday or possibly Monday. 
Well, I am really sad that he's not on his way home now...but I know these things happen and rather than be really upset I have decided I will transfer my anger to the boats who hit the BIG ORANGE OR GREEN BOUY in the first place causing it to be ripped from it's position and eventually pummeled by so many boats it is now a mere reflection of the bouy it used to be.  Since I am not sure what kind of boat hit it...I am planning to boycott all commerical vessels...that will include all seafood...easy...and the only other kind of boat I can think of that I might need to boycott would be cruiseliners--and since it is highly unlikely I will ever be able to go on a real cruise, that's an easy one too. I might make a dartboard later with the picture of one of those "Princess" boats and throw rotten tomatoes at it...on the other hand I might just pull out my last box of fishsticks (hey they ARE seafood right?) and stomp them until there is nothing but crumbs left. I'm a big believer in getting your anger and aggression out of your system... 
haha okay so I probably (keep ya guessing) won't do any of those things...but I sure do feel better now 
I will be back later I am sure...in the meantime--my logo:
Posted by Angelbaby @ 07:13 PM CST [Link]
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Oh I forgot to mention that R has another loose tooth...this time it is her first top one...it is SO loose it is actually CROOKED from where it is hanging down on one side lol I have done everything to try to get her to pull it out! I told her yesterday that if her Mamaw Patsy were here that tooth would be GONE haha she knew it was true! She still remembers her pulling out one of her cousin's teeth lol Wish you were here Mamaw to get this one out...it's SO ready to be pulled...I'll keep everyone updated on the tooth progress haha =o)
Posted by Angelbaby @ 09:50 PM CST [Link]
Well, tonight finds me ONLINE again...long story short I had some issues with my dsl and after about 48 hours it is resolved. You can insert whatever horrifying scenes of pure terror which might resemble my disposition while I was without the internet.  The good news is I am back online--and the even better news is everyone at Bellsouth technical assistance still has a job today lol Turns out my DAD fixed the problem (thanks Dad!) He could have fixed it last night but I didn't know what I was talking about (sorry Dad!). At any rate...we are up and running again which is a relief. 
Today we have spent over 3 hours making birthday cards for dh. I'm guessing if I didn't already know how much he will love these cards AND how much he adores and admires me for what I do here at our home that I would be a very resentful and bitter woman right now lol  3 hours is a LONG time making cards with three children...however each of these cards are a TRUE work of art. They are beautiful and perhaps after dh opens them I will take pictures and post them. The kids have worked very hard on them and have been so creative...of course I have been a good "assistant" to them lol =o)
Last night B spent the night with Timmy. I am letting them spend as much time as possible together before they move. The girls and I had a girly night and watched "Cat's Don't Dance" in my room. We had apples, muffins, and green olives lol YUM...  hey, don't knock it if you haven't tried it haha The boys came dragging in here about 2 this afternoon looking pooped lol they stayed up too late. B's attitude has shown how true the late night assessment really was. He needs a good night sleep tonight. 
B had set dh's playlist on our media player to play. Now, I don't think I've discussed this here before. Dh and I are like twins in nearly EVERY way...we even enjoy *most* of the same music.  However, dh has a music passion which I have yet to acquire. That would be the taste of *old* country music. As in...slow...twangy...whiny...country music. Yeah...I can't seem to make myself like it and it is not uncommon to find dh setting his "annoy wife" (aka "amuse dh") playlist as he's walking out the door while I am busy in the kitchen--forcing me to listen to said old country music for an extended period of time until I can make my way to the computer to turn it off.  I haven't really come up with an appropriate response in retaliation so you are all perfectly encouraged to tell me some way to get dh back.  There's nothing worse than listening to OLD Tanya Tucker first thing on a Saturday morning while I am juggling all kinds of chores in the kitchen with the full knowledge that my dh is laughing all the while lol Okay so I have a sense of humor about the whole thing but the funny thing is it finally answered the question as to why dh always wanted me to sleep when we were traveling lol not only was it so I wouldn't harp about his driving--but it was also so he could control the music in the car! ahhahaha
Okay so now, I am off to do a quick clean through the house on the small chance that my precious icky old country lovin dh might come home tomorrow.  (that cup is half full and noone will convince me otherwise lol) It would be such a blessing...I have missed him a bunch this trip! Feels like he has been gone SO long this time. He is supposed to try to take some leave next month...and we are trying to work it out to get to go to TN to visit his Mom and Step-Dad and his Nonnie and on up to KY to visit my grandparents. I hope that it works out, it has been too long for getting to visit them all. Plus he just worked almost 40 days straight with only TWO days off work thanks to all of the transitioning going on in his department. He has been working so hard, I am really proud of him though, he has been doing SO good!! Oh and speaking of his Mom--HI Mom Patsy!!! I'm so glad Randy got you on here!! I was going to make sure you got here when we came to visit one way or the other! I love you and miss you! 
OH OH and one more thing!!! My Mom sent me my Mamaw's "salt pickle" recipe!!!  Yes...THE "salt pickle" recipe!! SO...this weekend will find me canning some pickles (if I can find the pickling cucumbers!)  Thanks Mom  for getting that for me! I am so excited to make them! (I know C will be excited too, I'll have to let her help me fix them!) I would like to make some strawberry jam too...I'll have to see if they are having any good sales on strawberries this weekend.
Well, I am off but it's good to get here to write. I love you all so very much and hope you are feeling as blessed as we are tonight! Take most gentle care!
Love,
~A
Posted by Angelbaby @ 09:45 PM CST [Link]
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