DECISIONS DECISIONS

GIMP HOUSE 22 Feb. 2005

Oh boy, have I done it now! Word is just about the only thing working on this %^*^&# computer. It self uninstalled ALL the hardware and will not under any circumstances allow me to reinstall even the modem. I think one of the major goofs was letting Child Genius install a bootleg XP Pro. I kind of liked it as long as it ran, but we didn't’t address the underlying issues and screwed up and corrupted files. My guess is that there is a virulent virus or two or thousand lurking in wait. We were just too lazy to reformat and now I’m paying the price. I’m going to have Gerald reformat the whole thing and install a legal XP Pro and Norton Security Suite. Ouch. I should have known that taking the easy way out would cost more in the end. Time, upset, and money. The first two are the worst, but the money is going to be a major owie. Now, if only The Philmore’s check would just arrive. Mordy deep sixed my credit card yet again, but when the check gets here, we are going to have a very painful, (for him) chat. I KNEW he was going to bounce my cell phone payments, but that was ok as I had over 1000 left on my card. I am going to waltz into the bank, check in hand and inform him that he has two choices; 1) He gives me back my card, gold with the 3,500 limit, or I change banks and write letters to management or, 2) I change banks and write the letters. He has taken his control thing too far this time. I have enough money to cover that option two and he would be well advised to choose option 1!

I think it might be a good idea to get the letter written. It’s not as if I don’t have the money locked up there to cover this month’s monstrous mistake. I do, and he’s just flexing his muscles. Bank of Israel is implementing a new law at the start of next year, whereby unauthorized overdrafts will be illegal. It has yet to be implemented and Mordy could and should have let it go this month and for sure not yanked my credit card. One has nothing to do with the other. And here I was so close to home free. The Philmore’s check will sort that, if it ever gets here. I think I’ll bang this on a floppy, go to the post boxes and try to find a computer to use until either Child Genius or Gerald can sort this one.

Feb 24 2005
Somehow I got the computer working again. Don't ask how because I have no idea how I accomplished this wonder of technology. For now, it's enough to know that I did it, and all by myself.
So, now I'm not in a panic to get Gerald to sort things. That can wait a bit.
I am much too busy at the moment trying to decide which is worse; feeling crap on a great sunny warm day, or feeling great on a bad weather day. All this because my latest cold has developed it's very own cough (which had me awake and coughing all night) and had me feeling dizzy and woozy all day. Then, just for the fun, there were the labor pains I had all afternoon. I've had two kids and even though the last one was 28 or so years ago, I haven't forgotten what labor feels like. I'm just grateful now that they went away, even if they have been replaced by those sore cough abdominal muscle pains. Those I can deal with. I was awake coughing at 0430 and gave serious consideration to getting up and being the first at the docs. After a short ponder, I decided to try to get a bit of sleep and pull the "Crips don't wait in line" tactic. It worked and I left the clinic armed with scripts for Contac and cough syrup, after a few choice words with the Russian bitch who actually thought she was going in before me. I very rarely pull that tactic at the clinic but I felt too crap to be polite, and the rule in most places is crips first. Most of the time I don't mind waiting as I have my very own chair with me, but I really felt crap today. After that, I went to Yoffee Coffee, had a nice chat with Richard and left a message for Child Genius, and went home by way of the butcher and picked up a few things for the weekend. You know, maybe I do have flu? I feel achey and cold inside, but as there is no medicine for flu, there's not much to be done about it. Tomorrow I'll go out for the papers, and a quick coffee, then back home to read the local scandal sheets and rest a bit. I'm going to need all my strength for next Monday. Teadrinker is getting her computer!!!! That should provide for some interesting posts in the future.

DECISIONS DECISIONS

GIMP HOUSE 22 Feb. 2005

Oh boy, have I done it now! Word is just about the only thing working on this %^*^&# computer. It self uninstalled ALL the hardware and will not under any circumstances allow me to reinstall even the modem. I think one of the major goofs was letting Child Genius install a bootleg XP Pro. I kind of liked it as long as it ran, but we didn't’t address the underlying issues and screwed up and corrupted files. My guess is that there is a virulent virus or two or thousand lurking in wait. We were just too lazy to reformat and now I’m paying the price. I’m going to have Gerald reformat the whole thing and install a legal XP Pro and Norton Security Suite. Ouch. I should have known that taking the easy way out would cost more in the end. Time, upset, and money. The first two are the worst, but the money is going to be a major owie. Now, if only The Philmore’s check would just arrive. Mordy deep sixed my credit card yet again, but when the check gets here, we are going to have a very painful, (for him) chat. I KNEW he was going to bounce my cell phone payments, but that was ok as I had over 1000 left on my card. I am going to waltz into the bank, check in hand and inform him that he has two choices; 1) He gives me back my card, gold with the 3,500 limit, or I change banks and write letters to management or, 2) I change banks and write the letters. He has taken his control thing too far this time. I have enough money to cover that option two and he would be well advised to choose option 1!

I think it might be a good idea to get the letter written. It’s not as if I don’t have the money locked up there to cover this month’s monstrous mistake. I do, and he’s just flexing his muscles. Bank of Israel is implementing a new law at the start of next year, whereby unauthorized overdrafts will be illegal. It has yet to be implemented and Mordy could and should have let it go this month and for sure not yanked my credit card. One has nothing to do with the other. And here I was so close to home free. The Philmore’s check will sort that, if it ever gets here. I think I’ll bang this on a floppy, go to the post boxes and try to find a computer to use until either Child Genius or Gerald can sort this one.

Feb 24 2005
Somehow I got the computer working again. Don't ask how because I have no idea how I accomplished this wonder of technology. For now, it's enough to know that I did it, and all by myself.
So, now I'm not in a panic to get Gerald to sort things. That can wait a bit.
I am much too busy at the moment trying to decide which is worse; feeling crap on a great sunny warm day, or feeling great on a bad weather day. All this because my latest cold has developed it's very own cough (which had me awake and coughing all night) and had me feeling dizzy and woozy all day. Then, just for the fun, there were the labor pains I had all afternoon. I've had two kids and even though the last one was 28 or so years ago, I haven't forgotten what labor feels like. I'm just grateful now that they went away, even if they have been replaced by those sore cough abdominal muscle pains. Those I can deal with. I was awake coughing at 0430 and gave serious consideration to getting up and being the first at the docs. After a short ponder, I decided to try to get a bit of sleep and pull the "Crips don't wait in line" tactic. It worked and I left the clinic armed with scripts for Contac and cough syrup, after a few choice words with the Russian bitch who actually thought she was going in before me. I very rarely pull that tactic at the clinic but I felt too crap to be polite, and the rule in most places is crips first. Most of the time I don't mind waiting as I have my very own chair with me, but I really felt crap today. After that, I went to Yoffee Coffee, had a nice chat with Richard and left a message for Child Genius, and went home by way of the butcher and picked up a few things for the weekend. You know, maybe I do have flu? I feel achey and cold inside, but as there is no medicine for flu, there's not much to be done about it. Tomorrow I'll go out for the papers, and a quick coffee, then back home to read the local scandal sheets and rest a bit. I'm going to need all my strength for next Monday. Teadrinker is getting her computer!!!! That should provide for some interesting posts in the future.

WE JUST NEVER LEARN

It's bad enough that regular Israelis can not under any circumstances admit that they were wrong. I can't count the number of times I've seen an Israeli boss chew out an employee for something in front of other people, only to have the employee argue back and the whole thing escalates into a pitched battle with the employee being fired on the spot, in public. The whole thing could have been averted if the employee had only said one simple sentence, "I'm sorry, you are right. I will do my best to see that it never happens again." That one little sentence takes the wind right out of the boss' sails and turns the employee into a good guy. I've used that tactic many a time, and it works. If only the government had done something similar with the settlers. Here we are some 26 years after the evacuation of the Sinai settlements, and the government is going from bad to worse. They are completely ignoring the fact that the Sinai evacuation took place only 5 years after the settlers were SENT there. That's right, SENT there by their government, and that the Gaza folk were sent there, 26 years ago. There is a big difference between evacuating after 5 years and after 6 years. In fact, some of the Gaza evacuees are ex Sinai, again, with government blessing. For some inexplicable reason, our government would rather demonize, criminalize and disenfranchise the people it sent to Gaza settle there in the name of not only Israel, but the whole Jewish people. Why is that the government has such an impossible time saying "Thank you. You have performed an invaluable service for your country and people. Sadly, it's time leave, and we understand how hard it is for you." But an Israeli government can no more do that, than a regular Israeli can say "Sorry, I was wrong" What is wrong with us and why do we always have to be right, especially when we are wrong? And why can we never learn the past? Just about everyone agrees that the Sinai evacuation was a disaster, and gone about all wrong, so what do they do next time? The same exact thing, only worse. I am thoroughly outraged that hard working, honest, G-d fearing people, who were sent by their government to settle in the territories are being treated like this and turned in the bad guys in the story. As is anyone who dares agree with the settlers. We are all threats to the security of the country, and warmongers and worse. All this based on lie the 'so called palestinians are perpetuating about their population growth. Their figures have been proven to be completely wrong, yet, our leaders persist in using them to scare us into believing that their population will immininently over take ours. Not so, ain't gonna happen. How true it is that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. To me, the word doomed is the operative word in this digraceful episode of our history. I am afraid that the government's treatment of the settlers will eventually lead to the next diaspora. We have lost our sense of purpose and are only interested in furthering our own private lives, the other guy be damned. What I haven't quite figured out is; does it start at the top with politicians who accountable only to their parties, not the electorate, (with a PM who was elected to do one thing, then, for whatever reason, decided to do the exact opposite, and Knesset members whose loyalty is to the party from whose list they were elected) or does it start with the people who allow the political system to continue unchecked, rather than demand reform and accountability?
It's too sad for words. I just hope I'm not alive to see the end of Israel this time and chances are good that I won't be! We are so much better when united against a threat from without. We put aside our personal issues and pull together to save ourselves collectively, but the minute the threat is gone, or perceived to be less, turn right back to our personal issues, and the country be damned. The race after the almighty $ is disgusting as is hearing Israeli after Israeli say that they only want to be like the rest of the world. Well, guess what? We can never be like the rest of the world. We are Jewish and that sets us apart whether we like it or not. We have as a country lost our vision and purpose. I'm not sure it's too late this time, but I don't see a change in the offing. It happens every time we forget who we are, and try to be like everyone else.

JUST STOP AND THINK FOR A MINUTE

All this anti settler crap has gone way too far. Just who sent them to settle there, if not *US* as in, 'we the people' by way of our duly elected government, a Labour government, no less? Where the hells do they get off trying to disenfranchise and delegitimize the people they encouraged to settle there? Just how far can they go with their hypocrisy? Don't answer that! I'm beginning to get the picture. Go settle where the leaders want settlers, then, prepare yourself to be turned into a criminal for not agreeing to pick up and move when the very leader who was elected only because he promised not to do that has done a 180 and is now accusing you being a threat to the country/world and peace. It's too much.
On a much happier note. Orna and I cleared all the junk out of the spare room, moved the bookcase and put the computer desk in the corner with all the parts (monitor, printer, surge protector, etc.) on it, washed the dust away and lo and behold, a very nice guest room! It looks quite nice now that all the junk is up off the floor and the empty boxes and cartons are gone. In the not so great column, there's the missing purple tray thingy I need to find for the beautiful turkey I stuffed and roasted today. It is quite lovely, if I do say so myself. Back over in the good column; I just came back from a run to the mail box and there's a notice for an overseas package. Cab mentioned that she sent something. Bet it's that! I can't wait for morning to go get it!
Law and Order just started, so I'm taking my cold back to bed to watch and refill my meds boxes.

WAY TOO EARLY

Every now and then, City Hall gets it right. I decided that as the street is finished, it's time to get a no parking place marked outside Gimp House, in the hope that people will stop blocking only place I can go up from the street to the path. They arrived at 07:00 to paint 6 white lines-4 for the oblong box and 2 more the no parking X inside the box, to ask me where I want it. It took me a couple of minutes to understand what they were on about, even though I went to sleep early-01:00, 07:00 is not my best time! But, so what? I have a no perking space now.
I am truly sick and tired of the media going on and on about the 'threat from the right' In the same breath they point out that there *is* a serious threat, but the security types aren't doing anything about it because the high and mighty elected, who are threatened, feel they get more mileage from yammering about the threat and they (the security
types ) don't know who all to arrest! Of course if they *did* know, they'd have to arrest them and the threat would go away. There has been too little talk about Sharon's about face on the pullout from Gaza. Just on and on about the 'threat from the right' The man gives a whole new dimension to Chutzpa.
While watching the news, It hit me that we have really lost it. All the left wingers go on and on about wanting to just get on with improving their lives,ie: making money. They have lost the vision. We only get it right when threatened from outside, and not always then. Too many of us look at the army as a summer camp stepping stone and not as the one thing that protects us from threats from without. Soldiers should be kept out of any possible danger. Well, yeah, that would be nice, but it *is* the army and by definition....when people are sending children/youths with bombs strapped on to blow themselves up in civilian centers, who is supposed to take care of it? The local kindergarten? No sense over here. What will it take? As we have no constitution to guarantee things free speech, it's dangerous to voice opposition to the government line. They accuse everyone who does of being a threat to democracy and public order. I don't think so. Sharon himself is a threat to very things. He was elected because he swore not to pull out of Gaza, then turns around and does the very thing he swore not to do, the accuses those who want him to do what he swore to do of being dangerous, and the media backs him up. Had Mitznah won, and done such an about face, the media would be all over him. It's almost too much to bear at times.
On the other hand, watching Syria squirm has it's amusing aspects. It is so obvious that they killed Hariri, yet they are trying to blame everyone and their uncle (except us, for once) of doing it. No one is buying it and all fingers are pointing straight at Assad Jr. It will be interesting to watch developments there.
It's just after 09:00 so, I think I'll arm myself with some trash bags and start on the spare room. Orna will be in later to help move the big things and clean.

IT WASN'T US

My very first thought when I heard about the car bomb that killed Al Hariri in Beirut was, how long will it take them to blame us? Am I paranoid, or what? The Syrians tried pointing their finger at us for a bout 1 minute, then trotted out some obscure group to claim credit. Evil as it may be, I quite enjoyed watching the Lebanese yelling nasty slogans against Syria. Lebanon was such a wonderful place, then the Jordanian king booted Arafart and his thugs out and Assad said go East, young terrorist men, and Lebanon got destroyed. Rather than remain an economic mecca in the midst of the other Arab states, Lebanon got dragged back into the 'modern Arab dark ages'. The other states, like Syria just can't stand the thought of a progressive, independent state in the area. They rule by keeping tyranny going full force.
Things around here are getting out of hand too. It's a little after 05:00 and I have yet another cold, so my anti Sharon tirade will have to wait. Time for another cold pill and a nice kip, until 09:30 or so. Orna is coming over and we are starting the Great Dust Cleaning Project that I've been putting since they broke through the wall for the *liberry* and tore up the street! Just call us Dust Busters. I also want to get out for a while the weather holds. Winter isn't over by a long shot and I fully intend to take full advantage of the break in the rain.

BUSY DAY

For once I actually accomplished a fair amount today. It was a slow day for posts from the VA, so I had time to go looking for a bunch of URLs that were lost in the Great Computer Crash of 2005. I actually found most of them! Then I grabbed Danny and he and Yechia put the new socket for Harley Too on the wall. The old one was causing ,most of the shorts that were blowing the breakers. The new socket is in a box with a cover!
Then I headed for town to look for Child Genius and get a Blistex for my vest pocket. Found the Blistex but didn't get hold of CG until I got home. I stopped in at Mara's for a coffee and there was a British photographer there who covers the middle East for a pool in London. He's very well educated in a liberal way. He rather thinks the Arabs are right and that we the Jews have no business being here (Biblical rights not withstanding) He thinks that the Moslems will eventually take over the world. After he'd gone on for a bit, I decided that I didn't want to have another stroke today, so let Mara rebut him. I adore Mara, but she does tend to ramble on about totally different things to what are actually being discusses. I just shut up. (Yes, I really did). He left and David the DOS (Religious) arrived and we had a lovely theological chat. This time Mara was pretty much left out because we were going at it hot and furious, while in fact agreeing on most things. There's nothing quite like an Israeli coffee shop! Richard wandered in and I pointedly asked him "How much for the coffee" His answer was "On the house. We still owe you for all your help" For that he got a big "Thank you" and I came home.
I hadn't been in for 2 minutes when Teadrinker called to announce that she ordered her computer today and should get it this week or next! I *have* created a monster, but one I'm proud of. It's going to be so much fun watching her go through what I went through when I got my first computer!
I tried to call my favorite ex husband(Yeas, I do know that I only have one, and therefore he's my favorite by default) to get him to send me an e mail as I got the one I sent him back, and he's interested in using Child Genius' service! They weren't home so I left a message, then called Irit who was dismissive and claims they don't have it and hinted that they deleted it because she's upset with him. It will be interesting to see how long it will be before she asks me for it! Not to mention how long it will be before she catches on that I only call if I have a question. This is going to be interesting.
Watching the IBA Saturday night weekend news drove we wild last night. It was mostly CNN stories with subtitles. I am resolved to write them a letter stating that if I wasn't CNN, I don't need it regurgitated by IBA, and that they might want to get off their butts and do some reporting instead of relying on CNN to inform them. Much as Israel 10 is almost too leftist for me, at least they do their own reporting, even if their lad in DC is just a recycler for Dan Rather et al. They *do* have a couple or so independent thinking leftys like London and Kirschenbaum. I might not agree with them, but at least they do the work and come to their own conclusions, left though they be!
In IBA's favor, they *did* do an item on the proposed Gaza scarper and let their interviewees talk about the referendum and rebut the government line. What a radical idea; the People deciding an issue. Sharon can whine all he wants, but his election WAS NOT a mandate to scarper, rather the very opposite, and he can not use the "I know things now that I didn't know then" excuse. Tank G-d and the internet for Fox News and Gartwaite. Now, if we could just get Dwight Schultze(my prophet) back on the air, I'd be a lot happier. Time to climb into bed with a cup of soup. At least I got some things done today and feel pretty good about that!

THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH TIME

There just isn't enough time in the day for me to get half the things I want to do started, never mind finished. My dear Child Genius has more or less taken over this computer in the evenings, which is fine because he does all the maintenance stuff and it seems to be running great, in spite of XP.
I spoke to The Philmore the other day and he has sent me a nice fat check that will put things back on track after the Harley Too purchase. Of course, I'll have to let him use Harley Too if he comes for a visit.............but, that's the least I can do in return for renewed financial health!
I found some old pictures the other day. I scanned the one of my grandfather from 1968, taken in Miami, then went on a search for the 4 generation picture of me, my mother, grandmother and Irit, which had been put in the Japanese lacquer box for safe keeping and scanned that one too! I'm going to have them made into proper pictures, framed and added to the rogues gallery (Mom & Dad's wedding picture, Mom's portrait and her high school picture) in my room.
I'm in a total rage about the government again. It's not enough that Sharon is doing the exact opposite of what he was elected to do, he's still selling the 'so called' Palestinian poplulation lie, and accusing those who want a referendum of being against peace and democracy. He has convinced himself that he can ignore, no deny everything he ran on/for and do as he wants. I haven't been this disgusted with a PM since Barak scarpered out of Southern Lebanon and brought the terror into Israel proper. Sharon actually asked that Hebrew terms be used (another pet peeve) but continues to use the Arabic himself. I must stop watching the news, or another stroke will be inevitable. I could go on about this for hours, but I have to write a note to The Philmore and convince my printer to print!

XP AND ME

I still can't say I like it, but I'm learning my way around it, and I've found a way to make almost everything the most beautiful purple, so I guess it's not a total disaster. Child Genius is pleased with how well it's working that he's taken to coming over to work here! He has his very own server/hosting business, and I don't call him Child genius for nothing. He managed to get a scrabble game installed here, but it's not as good as the old one I had, that was for 98, and will not install on XP!
I've been plagued with power cuts all evening. Something is shorting, and for once it's not Harley Too's connection. I suspect the drier, and have turned it off for now. I'll investigate in the morning. Child Genius called just as I was drifting off for a kip, and as last night was another late one, I'm fading fast.
I had a fine rage at the TV during the news. The mad man is bulldozing ahead with his peace(piece) plan with absolutely no regard for the will of the people, and with a total disregard for any logic. I'm really afraid that this the road map to the end of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people. The 'so called Palestinians are making ludicrous demands, like the release of terrorists who are in our prisons for murder, those with blood on their hands. Excuse me? Convicted murderers being released will contribute what exactly to peace? It's just too insane to contemplate. If the insanity of our political leaders (snerk) isn't enough, the Arab MKs are behaving in such a way that if it were in any other country, they'd be shot at dawn for treason. They act as if our Knesset were the 'so called' Palestinian parliament (a nonexistant entity), and it drives me wild. Why can't we trade with them? The Ara area and the triangle for our settlements? Oh, foolish me! The Arab residents of those areas would never agree, so we have to vacate villages, and they just stay where they are. Unbelievable. Sorry, I'm starting to think disjointedly and think maybe it's time for bed. Early tonight, it's only 1202

DID YOU MISS ME?

It only took a week, but I am now back on line, thanks to my newly adopted Child genius Geek. He is truly a gifted child, (he must be if he talked me into going with the much detested XP) but so far, so good, and I am slowly but surely getting things back to normal (QUIET UP THERE IN THE PEANUT GALLERY) It was not a great week without the computer, stuck in the house due to very stormy, wind and rain, but at least I had some new books and TV in between power cuts.
Child Genius and I pulled an all nighter to install XP and the peripherals. He even found me an edition of Scrabble with *YAY* a purple template. He's learning, and just might be moving into Gimp House with me as his mother has sort of given him the boot (this hot on the heels of his school giving him the boot) He's too smart for our conventional square peg in a square hole school system, and they just don't know what to do with gifted kids here. He runs his own website hosting business and is doing very well with it. He's not only a gifted geek, he's a very nice kid, and if his mother has no objections, he can have the spare room. Yes, he does know that keeping my computer alive and well is part of the deal!
I'm off to look for more of my missing favorites.

MISERY

As you can imagine, I've been playing Ragamuffin's last few days over and over in my mind. It doesn't help the guilt at all, but thinking back, I've come to the conclusion that no one in this neighborhood would dare hurt either of my dogs. Due to the state of things here in Sprintzak City (don't ask, just read it with a sneer) it is much more likely that she was bitten by something, or ate something bad from the spraying that was done during Operation Clean up, separately or together did her in. If it *was* someone here, word would get back to me PDQ and whoever it was would find hell looking like paradise in comparison to what they would go through at my hands.
I found Raggy in 1992 when she was an itty bitty scrap of a puppy who had been abandoned. She had found her way into a government office, and took refuge under my chair because other people there were scaring her. I picked her up and went around the whole building asking if she belonged to anyone. When all answers were negative, I took her with me, bought her a collar and lead, took her home, gave her a bath, hand fed her (she was on the verge of starvation) and when the time came, got her her shots.
I miss her so much it's hard to put into words. I feel like a murderer. Peg keeps looking for her, and when he doesn't find her, turns accusing eyes on me. I can't help thinking that if I'd paid more attention to her and less to the skating championships, maybe, just maybe I would have noticed that something was very wrong with her, and the vet might have saved her. She deserved much better from me.
Peg and I are totally miserable, but he seems to be slowly realizing that there might be advantages to being an 'only child' while at the same time wishing she was still here with us. I'm not leaving him alone for now. I'm staying in with him. I took him with me yesterday when I went to check the mail, and rain is forecast for the rest of the week, starting today. I wish I could take him with me when I go out, but he's too old and has a very healthy fear of vehicles, and as I charge all over town on the main roads, I just can't drag him along.
I still have bouts of hysterical guilty crying, and they hit at the most unexpected times. I also get an odd physical reaction-a cold wave that goes through my body every time I think of her, and the guilt is overwhelming.
Last night, when I left the kitchen, my heart almost stopped. There are a couple of floor cloths just the other side of the fridge and a white one was on top. It took a second to realize what it was and another storm of weeping followed. This morning I put all the floor cloths in a bucket with the white one on the bottom.
I know it will take awhile before I pull out of this, but when I do, I'll get back to *normal* (not) posts.
Thank you for the hug, Fingers and to the VAers for all the support. It helps.

RAGAMUFFIN

Ragamuffin
I wonder how long it will take to stop crying. My beloved Ragamuffin, who has been with me since 1992 had to be put down today. She got fed some poison, (most likely by one of my idiot neighbors) and didn't respond to anything the doggy doc did when he got here. I decided that it would be better for her to just let go. The hardest thing I've ever had to do. I loved being her human, I loved her. She was a wee bundle of pure love. She didn't care that I was completely nuts, she just loved me and wanted to with me all the time, no matter what. The one, albeit very small comfort, was that I got to hug her, kiss her, tell her how much I loved her, and say goodbye before she got her last shot. She was so far gone that she didn't even react, which got a storm of weeping from me. Doggy doc took her inside at that point and gave her the shot. He actually thought he was going to take her away in a supermarket poly bag. No supermarket bag for my Amuffin. She went in a purple trash bag, not as trash but as greatly loved and respected part of me.
It's just Peg and me now. Poor Pegasus, he's wandering back and forth looking for her. He's going to miss her as much as I already do. Teadrinker keeps telling me that I should be happy we had such a great life together, but knowing that just makes it harder.
Even worse is that as I'm not talking with Irit, there's no comfort there. It's just me, the computer, and Peg. I knew it would be hard, but not how hard. If I don't get a grip and stop crying, I'm going to short out the keyboard. I must find something physical to do. I think I'll print out Muffy's pic, put it in an envelope with the other pics I have for Teadrinker and scoot into town to drop in the mailbox, then, wash the floor. I have just enough time to do that before I have to be in Turin (via Eurosport) for the next event.
Ragamuffin, I loved you, I love you still, and hope will be happy wherever you are.

ARIEL SHARON AND WORLDS

And they have what to do with each other? I made the mistake of going to news after finding myself in my own bed, safely home from the World Figure Skating Championships in Turin, Italy. I was feeling a bit drained from doing the Golden Waltz 20 times, but at same time floaty happy. I *do* love that dance, and for the most part it was done beautifully. Then, I went to the news, only to see our fearless leader, Ariel Sharon going on about the threat to democracy that the settlers in Gaza represent. EXCUSE ME? The nerve of the man. The people who object to his wholesale sell out of our homeland by giving in to demands made by those who would destroy us. The settlers themselves have been begging for a referundum on the issue and Sharon refuses to entertain so much as the thought of it. What could be more democratic than a national referendum on what is turning into the most important issue to confront us since 1948. The settlers have even comitted to agreeing to abide by the results of the referundum.........but Sharon can not be trusted to abide by the results. It's not that long ago that he agreed to abide by the decision of the party Central Committee; after he lost that vote, he continued as if it never happened. AND HE HAS THE NERVE TO CALL THOSE CALLING FOR REFERENDUM A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY? Is it any wonder I was a bit off during the pairs competition, but he really pisses me off. At least I can smirk and say to myself "*I* didn't vote foe him, but I have to live with the mistake, even though, as it turns out, he lied through his teeth to get elected and is propagating the so called Palestinian lie about their population figures, which has been totally exposed and debunked by us bloggers! It's a complete total lie that the Arrab population will overtake ours, and Sharon and the pro unilateral withdrawal lot are still spouting that crap. Serves us right for thinking he wouldn't cave in to the Mitzna plan, which is based on a so called Paestinian lie!
It's time now to haul the trash out of Gimp House, make some breakfast/ lunch and get myself over to Turin for the Original Dance competition this afternoon and the Pairs Short Prog this evening.

GOING SKATING

Well, not exactly. But as close as I can get from a wheelchair! The European Figure Skating Championships start today with full coverage by Eurosport, so I'll be glued to the tube while my imagination is on the ice! My body might not be capable of so much as standing in skates on ice, but inside I can still feel every move. I don't quite know how to explain it, but I *can* feel it, which is wonderful and the thing that allows me to watch skating without wanting to shoot myself. Soooooo, I rather doubt I'll be here much before the weekend. I'm going to Europeans. The world will just have to take of itself until I get back!

NOTHING'S WORKING RIGHT

Gerald was here for hours today and the only thing accomplished was getting the scanner/printer/copier connected and running. It's an independent thing and makes noises as and when it pleases. It does, however, work and I got the pictures of the Great Motorcycle Trip Around The Country to Break In The MZ scanned! Ha! On the other hand, Yahoo Messenger will not work, not even after being un, then, reinstalled. *G* left me with a few things to do, but they refused to be done. He's off to do research on that lousy stinking rotten trojan horse. I guess I shouldn't be too upset as the important things *are* working. E Mail, Firefox and the PSC! The rest will be sorted as and when. It's going to be a long week without Yahoo, and with the rain.
The local geniuses, the very same ones who tore up the street not long after the *liberry* was finished and tore up part of it only 4 days after it was finished, decided that no one needed to park anywhere near Gimp House and parked a huge ugly green garbage "frog" right outside, then proceeded to cut down some trees which were placed neatly in the middle of the street so that no one could get close. They also planted a huge skip not far away. Insanity reigns supreme in Kiryat Shmonah. I wonder what nonsense they have planned for me tomorrow. It's supposed to storm, so heaven help us!

IT'S SO SIMPLE

Blame it on the dishwashing! I decided to spoil myself with the gimp version of beef Wellington and as I can not, repeat CAN NOT work in a kitchen with a full sink, I did the dishes, which lead me directly to THE ANSWER. Ok, "what was the question" is a good place to start, but as usual it must be approached from the twists of a warped gimp's mind. The differences between the 3 major religions to come out of this epiphany are thusly, and in order by age. Judaism, the oldest and most problematic to adherents of the other two, is quite simply a handbook that tells anyone who is interested how to have a good life here on this earth. There is very little about afterlife and such, and certainly no way anyone who practices Judaism as set forth in the Old Testament can control anyone else. Or at least, not until the Ultra Orthodox perverted that and now there are self proclaimed rabbis telling those willing to relinquish their personal responsibility how to live. There are thousands who will not make the smallest, most inconsequential decision without asking the rabbi. Then, along came the good folks who perverted everything Jesus stood for, which was exactly what is written in the O.T. and came up with Christianity, which is supposed to be a blueprint for how to have it good both in this life and the afterlife, with a few twists thrown in for holding the reins....The Pope and today's various churches. I find it interesting that they include the O.T. on their scared writings list while at the same time denying the parts that would take away their control over their minions. Then, along comes Islam which focuses on how to live this life in such a way that will bring great and wonderful rewards in the next life. They would much rather control the day to day lives of their believers and keep them in poverty and misery with promises of a miraculous paradise in the next life.
So, what do we have here?
Judaism-How to live in this life, almost no mention of the afterlife.No formula for mass control of people.
Christianity-How to live well in both this and the afterlife, with a lot of crowd control thrown in.
Islam-How to live this life in such a way to guarantee a glorious afterlife. Major control.
So, there it is, the explanation of why Jews are so hated. Judaism has no place for mass control. Every man, woman, and child is responsible for his/her own life, and there's no need to obsess over heaven or hell because what is important is THIS LIFE. So, if everyone were Jewish, there would be no need to go into all the rigmarole of afterlife like the Christians and Muslims do, while claiming that their religions originated in Judaism.
How easy is that?

Ok, I'm going away now

THIS JUST IN

In direct violation of my own rule (if I can't break my own rule, who can?) I am copying the following by this Mike Levine who said it as well, if not better, that anyone else who tried to say it. I couldn't agree more. Thank you Mike for saying it so well.
J'ACCUSE..!
Isralert.com source: subscriber/commentator Mike Levine

I, Mike Levine, citizen of Israel and the United States, accuse you, NY
Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, Denver Post, Atlanta Constitution, CNN,
Times of London, and thousands of other newspapers and TV networks worldwide. I accuse you of gross bias against, and naked hatred towards the Jewish state of Israel.

For years most of you have shown a clear bias in favor of the Arab
Muslims and Palestinians, taking every opportunity to demonize Israel, the only
Democracy in the Middle East, and the only Jewish state in the world.

But in the past two weeks you have raised your hatred to a new high,
while your journalistic standards have fallen to new lows.

While coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Asia has been extensive,
and your reporting of international fund raising and rescue efforts has
been massivie, you wrote hardly a word about the fact that Israel was one of
the very first to offer substantial aid and send medical rescue missions to
the stricken areas! Within hours planeloads of well trained rescue people and
experienced trauma doctors were on their way.

Israel is one of the tiniest nations on earth, with a total population
far less than many cities of the world, yet in the first hours following the
earthquake and flooding, Israel assembled hundreds of doctors and other
medical personnel, many planeloads of medical supplies, tents, food,
blankets, even baby diapers. While other, much larger, much richer
nations,
were still rubbing their eyes in disbelief, Israel was already setting up
many aid stations in the worst hit areas.

Nor did you report the unbelievably hateful refusal of S! ri Lanka , and a
couple other Muslim states, to accept the entry of Jewish medical and
rescue personnel, although they did cynically accept the supplies and equipment sent by Israel.

I accuse world media of gross incompetance.
I accuse world media of abrogation of journalistic integrity.
I accuse world media of sheer and transparent prejudice against Israel
and the Jews.
I accuse world media of pandering to the Islamic nations hatred of
anything Jewish.

Only a few publications outside Israel mentioned the major contribution
being made by Israel. Only a very few pointed out that Israel's per capita
contribution of manpower, equipment, supplies, and money WAS THE HIGHEST
IN THE WORLD!

Only a few bothered to mention that only a tiny trickle of aid was
offered by all of the world's Muslim nations, nations sitting on half of the
world's oil reserves, nations raking in billions of dollars daily, nations whose
elite live lives of such oppulence as can hardly be imagined by most of
the world's masses.

Saudi Arabia sat unmoved for a week while the world scrambled to raise
funds and send massive aid, then magnanimously pledged a measly ten
million dollars, a pledge which has yet to be paid! Imagine, this from a brother
Muslim state, a state that provided families of Palestinian suicide
bombers with $150,000,000 (one hundred fifty million dollars) during the past
year alone!

Kuwait, the second richest Muslim nation, pledged an equally paltry ten
million!

You people in Chicago.did you read any of this in your newspapers? How
about you good people in Dallas? Paris? Berlin? Melbourne? Did any of
you read or hear of Israel's incredible generosity of spirit, manpower, and
money? Did you read one editorial praising the fact that the Jewish state
unselfishly came to the i! mmediate aid of Muslim nations that have long
called for the destruction of Israel?

No, chances are you did not. Maybe you ought to let your editors know
how you feel about their treatment of Israel and the Jewish people. Because
if you don't speak out, they will continue to believe no one gives a damn
about Israel, and they will continue speaking of Israel only in negative terms,
writing only about how the Jewish state mistreats the Palestinians and
their terrorists.

Join me when I say to world media loud and clear .J'ACCUSE!

I WONDER

Sometimes I just can't help but wonder what makes some people tick. I joined a macrobiotic list a while ago and have yet to post there. I did contact the owner and we exchanged mails for a while. I even tried to design a poster for them but never did get it right and when I did get an almost ok version, she couldn't open it, neither could the alternative addy she gave me. That was the end of exchanges with anyone on that list. The alternate addy was even more cynical and caustic than I would dare be about someone I had never met or even corresponded with.
Not long after that there was a whole spate of "philosophical" e mails that left me wondering if these people have any awareness of reality beyond their little rose colored liberal worlds. These people all live in one of the most dangerous Areas of the world and actually have convinced themselves that if they think positive thoughts nothing *bad* will happen to them. I wonder how they will explain being blown off the face of the earth in a terror attack (G-d forbid) . That's just fine, but then, they are so secure in their bubble that they blithely post their phone numbers, addresses and directions to their homes in their posts. Ok, that's their right, but what really gets me is this: They are heavy into macrobiotics which is just fine, I'm a bit into it as well. The thing is the way they are so into the whole "how can I be a better person through macrobiotics?" thing. And trying to link it to Judaism. Um, Judaism answers that question all by itself and the answer is not by being self absorbed with the search for the answer. The answer is right there on the first page! And if you keep reading it becomes clear that the best way to become a "better person" is not to worry about it, but to do, to act, to follow the rules so clearly set out for us in the Tanach, by being selfless and doing for others as much as we can with no thought for what *I* will get from it.
My personal view of Judaism is that it pretty much boils down to two things. 1) our relationship with G-d and 2) our relationships with other people. The rules governing the latter far outnumber the ones for the former, and only G-d can judge or forgive us for our transgressions against Him, and only our fellow "man" can forgive us for things to do with them. There's not much crossover between the two. What I don't get about the ones worrying so much about becoming "better" is how this escapes them when it's so simple. Have you helped anyone lately even with as little as a kind word, or by just listening to them? Have you gone out of your way to do a kind deed? Have you donated money to a charity or bought a struggling neighbor something you know they need? Have you told your school department that you will anonymously donate the school, and book fees for a family that can not pay them next September? Do you have a smile and kind word for people you meet out and about? Or are you so concerned with bettering yourself that all those things are lost in your struggle for self betterment? Or is lip service to those ideals and telling others how to be better as far as it goes?
I'm just wondering here, not pointing fingers. I only know these people through their posts. They might do all those things and more. I don't know, but I tend to wonder about people who seem to be so self absorbed.
I went into town yesterday for the first time in over a week and stayed at the coffee shop way too long. There was a very nice ex Yank-NYC- who lives in Metula there and we had a lovely chat. Richard sat with us most of the time and we had some fun with the guy. We did our *act* on him. Richard is very quick on the uptake which is one of the reasons he's so much fun. It went a bit like this: R-"How old are you anyways?" W- "47"
Me-"Ah, a child" W- "Hardly" R- Yup, a mere young 'un" Me- There's still time to raise him up right!" R-"Listen to your mother, she knows what's best for you" All-burst into spontaneous laughter! Being silly can be so much fun especially when it consists of nothing at all.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up few things, then came in and collapsed into bed where I stayed with the TV and a book until I was rudely awoken at 11:00 by Teadrinker. I didn't get to sleep until after 04:00. No reason, just not sleepy. My cold is gone, but I still feel yucky and weak. Sitting at the computer had no appeal, and I didn't pay much attention to the 'tube' either. I did perk up when the news was on. Richard and Mara and I talked a bit about the developments with Abu Mazzen and his attempts to secure the Strip (Gaza). My brilliant contribution was to the effect that someone must have landed on him HARD, and lo and behold, they said on the news that the US told him to get his act together, or else! Vindicated yet again. I hope it's not just an Arafart style crack down that is an act only and this time it will lead somewhere. They are always going on about 'trust building'. Ok, let's take this to a level we all understand; if we lose the trust of a friend or family member, how long does it take to earn it back? Earn is the operative word here. We can't just say "sorry" and all is forgiven. It takes time, sincerity and effort to earn it back. How much more at that level, where mistrust has been a major element for so many years? I hope that Abu Mazzen is sincere and that things can move ahead. I remember well the days of not so long ago when we could go to the major towns in the West Bank and be very welcome. It would be wonderful to go back to that. I still have trouble getting my head around forcing our settlements to move, while there is no move on their side. Of course, there are some areas that could simply be included in their state with not one family being displaced from their home........but sadly, I can't see that so logical thing happening. It's all about *us* giving in to their demands. Could someone please spread a little logic over here?
Ok, enough is enough. Time to organize some breakfast........at 14:30 almost....

RECOVERED AT LAST

Ok, so it was just a mini cold, acquired when chasing Pegasus, the escaped Keeshond in the pouring rain. But it was one miserable mini cold. I felt ill every time I sat up for more than 5 minutes at a time. On the upside, it rained most of the time so I had no desire to go out. Today I woke up about as close to normal as I can get! I devoted the morning to finding out what's going on in my bank account and it looks better than I hoped! EXCEPT for Barak. I discovered that they are charging me as if I'm still connected to the www through them. I am not, and if they don't sort it PDQ I'll yank my overseas calls from them too. I was told that there is no charge at all for using their web mail and no way am I going to pay 50+ shekels per month for the privilege of going to that mail account several times a week to delete hundreds of pieces of spam. By sometime next month I'll have to decide if I'm going back to them or continuing with Net onesh. They have actually settled down to ok and there haven't been any of the problems I was plagued with at the beginning for several months now. I'm seriously considering staying with them. I'll start running price checks next week, then decide. They just called and are going to credit my account for the amount they charged for the unused internet service!
Gerald was supposed to come on Monday to sort the trojan horse that's stabled here! He had to do something else and couldn't find my phone number. That's ok, because since then I have found directions on how to get rid of that trojan horse. I'm just not confident enough of my computer capabilities to even try it. But........it just might mean that the computer stays here.
Abu Mazzen looks like he might have contracted a serious case of pragmatism. He, at last is talking about shutting down the terrorists operating from Gaza, but in true so called Palestinian style, he is demanding that we reciprocate immediately. Huhn? When was the last time we sent a suicide bomber to blow himself and any innocent by standers to smithereens? And when was the last time we shot rockets willy nilly at their towns? I guess he needs to say that in order to save face. Even if he does stop the terror, how long will it last? Until they have a state and their own European armed army? Not much longer than that, if that long. We also have my old friends the Hezbollah flexing their Syrian supplied muscles. No way are they going to sit quietly by while the so called Palestinians get their act together and go independent. It won't be long before Katyushas start flying again. Things *will* be interesting.
I've been here since 09:00 and I'm starting to feel woozy, so I think I'll finish, go check the mail and crash into bed with a book and Sorbo guy!

GOT A COLD AND OTHER STUFF

I decided last night that I have a cold. Of course it could be the flu, but as I've had my shot, I'm hoping it isn't. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'll be spending most of my time in bed with my two new books and the idiot box.
Gerald is supposed to be here at around 15:00 to either take the computer away to get rid of the trojans, or to do it here. I don't much care which he prefers as I feel really lousy. I *did* get my tooth refilled yesterday, after a long discussion with the dentist about the relative wisdom of just refilling it or, doing a root canal. I won and after shooting a huge amount of novocain into my mouth, he went to work. I'm glad it's done. From there, I went to get the rest of this months fags, to get a couple of new books and some groceries. When I got home, I called Himself-the ex and we had a long chat about his daughter. He actually suggested that I do what I'd already decided to do........ignore her. He was incensed that she didn't come to see me before going back to work yesterday. I'm non too happy about myself. I've said it here before and I'll say it again now. No more. I will not let her be rude and controlling. If she can't behave towards the way she should, she can just stay away.
After talking to Himself, I called The Philmore, who has fallen completely in love with Romi. Every time he mentioned her, his voice got stronger and his excitement and happiness were apparent. I haven't heard him sound that good for several years now.
The news is nonstop about the poor people of Sderot who are getting hit by kassam rockets pretty much nonstop. Their whining and wingeing remind me of some Kiryat Shmonah residents in 1996, the last big katyusha attack we had. Many wanted to get out of town and in the end an evacuation to safer areas was organized for families with small children, the elderly and disabled. I stayed. No Hizzbalon is going to run me from my home. Ok, it's scarey when they hit, but; if you heard it, you're ok, if you didn't, you don't care!
It would be interesting to see what would happen if the women of Sderot took things into their own hands and put my anti terror 'clean up'plan into action. It sounds stupid, but I bet if all the women in Sderot took their brooms and marched on Aza, proclaiming their intent to clean out the terrorists, they'd win hands down. Several hundred determined women is the most frightening thing I can think of.
Jabotinsky's grandson was interviewed on the radio this morning and he is thoroughly disgusted by Sharon. He said, and I agree with him, that after 9/11 our government should have declared a state of war with the so called 'Palestinian' terrorists, like the US did on the Taliban. So kind of Bush et al to agree that we have the right to defend ourselves. It's our own damn fault that we are still sitting back and taking it after all these years. It's still beyond the grasp of the Barak school of thought that this intifada is a direct result of that infamous scamper out of the security zone in Lebanon. When ever anyone tries to bring that up, they are immediately silenced by the liberals who can't see beyond their own noses. Things are not going to better any time soon. Abu Mazzen has no intention of dismantling the terror infrastructure over which he now presides. That Egyptian is urging *us* to give him time to get tings under control. It's clear to me that he means that we should give them all the time they need to get rid of us.
I'm getting dizzy sitting here, so I think I'll take my cold/flu to bed.

IT'S TOO MUCH

It's too much I tell you, too much. Are there no limits to the insanity in this world? Our fearless leader, Ariel Sharon is hell bound to pull out of Gaza, no matter what. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. He was elected because he promised not to pull out of Gaza unconditionally, which was what that idiot, Mitzna's platform was. Mitzna and his platform were soundly beaten by Sharon who now has done a full 180 and gone back on his word. It's beyond me.
Now that Arafart is dead, and his cohort, the money man for the Munich massacre, denier of the Holocaust, coddler of terrorists and terrorist himself, Abu Mazen, has won the sort of "legitimate" election in so called Palestine, after a campaign that included being paraded on the shoulders of some of the most dangerous terrorists in the PA, calling us the Zionist Enemy in public, and saying that terror does not serve their interests at this time, he has been hailed as the new hope for peace here, invited to The White House, praised by the Europeans and just about everyone else. The last ballot was barely counted before the kassams started flying again. It totally gob smacks me that WE have to leave Gaza and the West Bank, but they actually think that rather than have the Arabs in the Triangle and Wadi Ara move to the P.A. (not that they'd do it. Why give up what they have here?) never mind that they are demanding the right of return for the refugees and their descendants to Israel proper. They can go to the P.A. along with the Arabs mentioned above here.
The only conclusion I can come to is that we, the Jews are hated universally. I can only come up with one explanation, and that is that we have stuck to our G-d and his laws and not wavered even in the face of the Spaniards, Nzis and so many others, in the 1400s and 1500s, or any time since. We have been steadfast in our faith, the very faith that was perverted (apologies to my Christian readers, but we've been here before and it *is* my opinion) into Christianity, which, has never stopped trying to convert us by any means to their views. Does it scare them that much that we might be right and they might be wrong that they have to get rid of us by any means at their disposal? They can't even let us have this little sliver of wasteland surrounded by bitter enemies?
Yes, we do get tired of fighting for our very survival and we desperately want peace, but not at the price of self destruction, which is exactly where the *road Maps* etc will take us.

BABY SONY IS HOME

My baby 15" Sony TV finally came home today. I popped in to ask Yehiel a question and he got all flustered about not bringing it home. He brought it in, set it on it's perch and wired it into the cable box in my room. It's fine, except I have to get up (my poor knees) and change the channel in my room. I have an idea on how to get around that. I'll work on it tomorrow.
The other day I told Teadrinker that something would bad would happen up here yesterday, and it did. The Hizzies shot at Har Dov and killed one of our baby officers. The exchange of fire that followed killed a French observer, Aww too bad. The Head UN guy there reported back that even though the frog was killed by our fire, it was the Hizzies fault. I wonder how long it will take before that UN guy WAS there. The UN can not let anything not be our fault.
The so called Palestinians elected Abu Mazzen...big surprise there. There are actually people out there who think that peace will now break out here, and are ready to pressure us to give major concessions, without any effort on the part of Abu Mazzen to dismantle the terror infrastructure that is the P.A. Sharon will at the very least, fall in line with this and things will go from bad to worse. I don't know if they shot any kassams today. Didn't pay much attention to the news, but from what I did hear, they didn't. That's a first and will go a long way to lulling everyone to believing all is well. They all seem to just close their ears when Abu Mazzen says that attacks are not in their interest now. Operative word-now. He has not come close to denouncing terror as a means of establishing another Arab state here. He's Arafat in a suit without a pistol. What did we expect from Arafart's partner in establishing the PLO? If those guys don't clean up their act things could get ugly real fast. They keep going on about democratic elections, but they wouldn't know one even if it came up and introduced itself to them. Same old terrorists and thieves, stealing from their own people and taking great care to blame us for their misery. If they had used the money they got from Europe and other Arab countries to better their economy, the people there would never support terror, but as their fearless leaders keep them in poverty and misery and keep telling them it's our fault.......terror looks pretty good to them. Happy prosperous people have no reason to turn to terror, ergo....
These daily talks with the ex are getting to be a bit much. Today he called and gave Purplegimp international Investigations Ink a new assignment. He's losing it. If, as he says Irit is doing what he thinks, then, it's her problem and she deserves what she gets. I think he's got it all wrong, but only time will tell. If she has to learn the hard way, then so be it. I think her bad behavior there is just her insecurity at not being on her home turf. Of course she behaves as badly, if not worse towards me and this *is* her home turf. At any rate, I will not stand for it any more and his nibs has agreed to back me up, not that she listens to anyone!
My feet are frozen and my knees need fluffing. Cab, where are you? I'm going to my cell phone center tomorrow and make them teach me how to send text messages! But for now, to warm feet.

ANOTHER WEEKEND

Something happened that I'm not quite sure about. I stopped talking to Orna and Danny months ago when Orna didn't fullfill her part of the barain we made, and that was just fine. A couple of weeks ago Danny helped with a parked car problem. Then again when Harley self amputated his lwg (wheel). When Yefim showed up with Harley Too, he was at the front window and asked if I could help with a computer problem their kids were having. I said I'd try, but not being any kind of expert, not to expect too much. Orna came over later and asked id I could come around 18:00. I was waiting for the vet and said I'd come after he left, and so it was. The good part was that it just was as if nothing ever happened. No rehash of the past. Oh, yeah, not to forget that she(Orna) tried to help capture the escaped Pegasus in the rain. I tried to explain to her that fixing/repairing their compter is an exercise in futility if her kids aren't careful with downloads, IMs and don't use good anti virus software and a firewall. Orna knows absolutely nothing about computers....to the extent that she thought Netonesh could solve the problem, which is obviously multiple major virus, spyware and trojan horse infestations. They'll have to get a good geek in to sort it. Actually, they'd be well advised to get a good geek to move in with them! There is absolutely no sense in getting it sorted, only to get reinfected because the kids can't be bothered to maintain it.
I got Ragamuffin's meds, the local papers, a plant, and two twisty things for the feng shui thing I'm trying to get finished here. Just a few more things to go and Gimp House will be all feng shuied. I got the major things done pretty much by accident.
Ragamuffin is feeling much better today. She made the whole 'walkies' just fine. Poor little bubba, but at least she's better. I might have to change their food. Peg is scarfing down her share and getting fat. She's skin and bones, but friskier. I'll sort it later today. Right now I have a fly to chase a fly out of here, or kill it. Meanwhile, It's time for lunch and a rest. My knees are not happy campers.

BACK UNDER CONTROL

Pegasus is back home , my groceries will be delivered soon, the heat is working and it's only 17:00 Peg was taken into custody just after I left to go shopping. He was getting tired (his name isn't Pegasus for no reason) I had his lead on Harley Too's handlebars and managed to grab him by the tail and get his collar with my other hand and clip him on. He went straight to dog bog and I went shopping. I was a good girl and passed over many things that I love, but on the way out of the mall there was a table with some gals selling scarves, sarapes and other things from interestingly textured textiles. My downfall came when I saw THE PURPLE. Yeah, right, I'm going to go right past it after the day I had. Uh huhn. I don't think so. The gal wanted to open it for me. I told her "no need. I've seen all of it I need to see to know that I NEED it!" 50 shekels later it as mine! As soon as things warm up in here a bit, I'll change out of my clothes and open , then snuggle under it to watch TV and wait for the delivery guys. Now that things are under control and the rain has stopped a little, I just might take Ragamuffin out walkies. Peg can stay in this time. I'm tired from the agro and my knee hurts. Sheesh what a day.
Would the Israeli who reads almost every day, please tell me who you are? You are most welcome to visit any time you want; I just am really curious as to who you are.

ONE DOWN ONE TO GO

At long last and after hours of frustration, I got the hit counter to appear, but have not been so lucky with Pegasus. He thinks it's a game, and has been enjoying torturing me for several hours now. I'm cold and wet and without heat. I don't quite dare plug the a/c back in, so the mangy mut is just going to have to open the door himself if he wants to come home. I have yet to catch a break in the rain to go grocery shopping. I think I'll go get dressed in the hope of an oportunity to go out. With any luck, I'll catch Peg before I leave the area, if I get a chance to go out. What a rotten way to end to good mood that carried over from yesterday; power troubles and an escaped dog.
Stay tuned, I'm pretty sure that one of these days I'll get around to solving the world's problems. For now, I just want to get my dog back and get some groceries in before I run out. It's supposed to storm until Monday, if not longer and the cupboard is almost bare!

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Well, of course the power went off from my box and the circuit breaker refused to come up. And of course Mr. Pegasus slipped his halter and escaped into the downpour. *I* of course went out on Harley Too to try to capture him. All I got was soaked to the skin, He's still out there. The power is back for now. I went around and unplugged everything and it worked. The only things I've put back are the TV and computer so, no heat. Pegasus just came in, but only long enough to scarf the turkey traps. In one door and out the other. I reset the trap and now only one door is open with a trail leading to a huge chunk of turkey. Mr Wily Pegasus will most likely get away again.
The good news is that I got my template back on Foxfire too, minus the hit counter. It is of course possible that Foxfire is the problem. I'll have to check and see. the counter doesn't show on IE either. Hmmm If Peg ever comes home I'll do some more research into the hit counter conundrum, and others

I GIVE UP

I can read and follow directions, but this template crap is beyond me. For some reason it just doesn't work with Firefox grrrrrrr. I've also managed to lose my hit counter and spent way too much time messing about with the whole thing. I'll try one more time to get the hit counter back, then take my 'break in the rain lookout position' in the hopes of being able to make a quick dash for the grocery store, and maybe quick walkies for the dogs. I just hope I'll be able to some how bring this template up on Foxfire. Probably have to rebookmark it? Ok, hitcounter, here I come. I'll fix the white on white post later.

FINALLY FOUND A TEMPLATE

I just spent two hours searching for a new template to celebrate Harley Too and finding Cab! It will take me a while to figure it out. There are one or two things I'm not wild about, bit as usual, I'll sort it in time! This typing in white is for the penguins!

HARLEY TOO AND CAB

Harley Too and Gimp!
Harley Too arrived today at 10:30! He's beautiful, if black, as opposed to Harley's bronze color. I'll fix that shortly. Must have my very own color! The very first thing I did even before paying for him was to give Pegasus and Ragamuffin the first 'walkies' with him! Of course Peg established ownership even before we moved off. After the checks were duly handed over, I took a chance and headed for town even before charging his brand new batteries. He made it there and back with no trouble at all and is now plugged into his very own socket. It's supposed to storm tomorrow and if the rain holds off today, I just might go out and finish my shopping.
EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARLEY TOO ARRIVING: CAB CHECKED IN AT THE VA and is fine.
See? Cab is ok, and I got my account sorted just in time to be able to buy Harley Too! Yefim forgot to put the old basket(the one I had between the handlebars) on this one, and the leather strap I use to hold the screen door open, but will bring them the next time he's up here. Harley Too is much newer than Harley was when I first got him. In fact he's the Harley Davidson model! I want royalties from Afikim for the use of Harley's name! I'm so wound up by both Harley Too arriving and hearing from Cab, that I think I'll go have a Cup 'O Soup, then a little nap, and if not pissing rain when I get up, I'll go shopping!

HARLEY TOO

My beloved Yefim, the Afikim scooter fixer was here today. He picked me up (getting in his huge Mercedes van was interesting) and we went off to see Harley at the Laddie's clinic. Because of inventory Yefim couldn't bring a braid because they have to be made individually. It was decided that Yefim would take him to Obadiyah's 'ospital and they'd see what could be done. I had a hint/clue filled chat with Yefim on the way, by way of reminding him of the Harley History Book, chapter and verse regarding Danny Lev, Afikim and Gelbras which is where Obadaiya started until he recently became Afikim's 'opital. After the daily hysterical call from the Polack, Obadaiya called and made me an offer I can't refuse. A new(2nd hand) Harley for 6000 in 5 payments. Either Yefim reminded him, or he remembered, and 6000 is 3000 less than Danny Lev gouged me for back when. And we are talking about one that is lots newer, even if second hand, so, I said yes! It comes complete with new batteries, engine, my new solid tyres, 6 month warranty, and Yefim as official fixer! Hip hip hooray! Harley Too will be here tomorrow or the day after.
Achy called earlier and we are making celebratory plans to go to the new Irish pub in Metula. I told him about The Polack and His Daughter. Achy wanted to know why I answer the phone at 02:00, but understood when I told him I have a friend in Borneo who has been sent an e mail demanding a collect phone call the very minute she gets the mail. I'm still checking the message board her employers started, trying her number several times a day with no joy.
The Polack has decided that Irit's Guy is the very incarnation evility and is taking advantage of his little girl. Ha! Boy, does he have it backwards. HRH Irit is not some innocent little naive wraith who can't look out for herself. She is spinning tales to her pappa of the Polak persuation, for reasons I have yet to fathom. What he thinks *I* can do about it, I just do not know. I suggested that he tell Guy to take a walk because he wants to talk with his daughter in private, and tell her what he thinks. I doubt the wimp will, I also hope he leaves me alone about it. He's a big boy now, and she is no danger from her husband. I'd say it's pretty much the other way around. And now I have Teadrinker yammering in my ear and Gerald hasn't shown up to do whatever with the computer yet, and I can't call him because I'm tied to the chair by the phone's umbilical cord.You'll just have to be patient and wait for my World Salvation Plan.

AND A GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO

When my phone rang at 02:00 my first thought was CAB! Then I heard the voice and my stomach sank. It was *he who is Polish* aka, the father of my children. At 02:00? Gulp. I spoke with him the day the kids arrived and checked when terry would be home. I was hoping to enlist her help in explaining to HRH Irit that her behavior is unacceptable, but The Polack suggested I not talk to her at all, so I didn't. So, what's he doing on the phone at 02:00? He called to ask me if HRH Irit is always so outspoken and caustic. Of course she is. As opposed to the last time she was there and he totally pissed her off, to the extent that they stayed at a hotel instead of with him, This time SHE pissed HIM off. I couldn't get him to tell me what exactly she did or said, but it sounds like she was just like she is with me, giving orders and telling what to do, as well as being rude and mouthy. Yeah, the whole thing sounded familiar. He threatened to write her out of his will. I gather that one of the issues is that she has plans to build on property he owns near Zichron Ya'akov. Oops, a bit ahead of herself on that one. It seems I'm the one elected to let her have it with both barrels when they get home. Of course I still have my own issues with her, but knowing she'll back me up (I hope, never can tell with him) just might give me the push needed. I think I'll just wait for her to give me an opening, which, knowing her should be sometime during the first phone call after they get home. I don't care if she threatens to not let me see Romi. I haven't seen her for at least 6 months, and that's just fine. She will either knock off the smart ass attitude or, lose both her parents. I may not be a perfect parent or even human being, but she isn't either and her arrogance towards us must stop. Of course, after he hung up I remembered lots of things I could/should have told him, but, that can wait. There is now a list next to the phone ready for our next chat. I wonder if she'll be like that with The Philmore. I doubt it. She knows who to suck up to and won't risk pissing him off! Ah, well, we shall see. When I spoke to him yesterday, he said he'd send me a check with her. I told him not to because I'd never see it. Much as it would be nice to get a couple of hundred dollars, I'm ok now without it. She will try to dictate terms and conditions for giving it to me. I've had enough.
I was up tossing turning, listening to a prog on 60s music until 05:00. The phone rang at 08:30. Again I went through the Cab thing only to hear Larry from Afikim. He was giving it another try.........to get me to at least buy a second hand Harley rather than fix my Harley. He also took a stab at getting me to send Harley to Afikim to be fixed. At that point my patience snapped. I'm trying very hard not to burn all my bridges at Afikim as I still need them to bring the braid. I *did* tell him in no uncertain terms that Harley would never again see Afikim. I also asked him if he wanted to go back to the good old days when I ran a boycott against them, which actually worked. What he doesn't yet know, is that when I get that loan in 6 months I AM NOT buying from them. Period. Partly because of his sales tactics and partly because Shirli had the nerve to laugh when I told her about the fried braid. No way will I buy Afikim again. But there's time for that battle. In the meantime, as I can't go out because Harley is still in ICU, I think maybe I'll go take a nap.
My plan for saving the world can wait!

BABY BROTHER TURNS 50

Well, well, my baby brother, The Jeffrey turned 50 today. I just talked to him and he sounds a bit shell shocked by it all. He was upset that The Philmore didn't send a card, so I called him and gave him hell about that. Poor little Jeffy, still feels sad when The Philmore forgets. I don't get sad, I get mad, because there really is no excuse to forget your kids birthdays, is there? Don't send gifts or money, but call or send a card. There, that's better. I got my bedroom and computer glasses mixed up and couldn't see anything here, so I switched them and all is clear once again.
My victory over the financial disaster monster is starting to sink in, and it's a bit scarey to not be hysterical anymore. I *do* have some long range plans that I'm starting to save for, like a trip to the States, England, and who knows where else. I'm also going to bring Susie over (next winter, I hope) and plan to have a car by then. I'd also like to have one or both of my nieces over some time. Of course the thought of seeing them is just added incentive to go over there.
I've pretty much worked out my plan for saving the world, but it will have to wait until next week. There are a thing or two I want to check on the www.
I checked Fung Shui this morning and found a few things to do here. One of them got done by accident (moving the stove) and I have felt a change. My bedroom is ok, by accident, but there is a post and a few corners that need attention. I'll get that done when Harley comes home, and lucky me, it won't cost much as it's mostly plants and the like.

IT'S OVER

Woohoo! At last, my bank account is sorted. I just came back from dumping 5000 into it and opening a savings account that will let me buy a new Harley in 6 months! The Sakal mess is over except for the Victor bit. And that should be moving into the courtroom soonish! I even have a small cash stash, small being the operative word. IT'S OVER. Now I can relax and not get hysterical at the end of the month. Happy happy gimp. Of course I can't go wild buying, but, the end is here. No thanks to Striar. He is far from out of it with me, but I pulled myself out of the morass he left me for broke in 2 years ago. HA! Before coming home, I went into Traklin and bought the printer scanner, copier I want for 500! Trust me, that's cheap. It will be here on Sunday!!!!!!
Right, enough blathering. It's Friday, 4 Dark Angel episode Friday, so off for a rest for this gimp.

HARLEY UPDATE

Papa laddy and of his lads were just here on a search for Afikim phone numbers. It seems my diagnosis was 100% correct, but even worse than a few burnt wire ends. It seems they need to change the whole *braid*, which is NOT a new hair do, but the main bundle of wires that connect everything to the batteries from the switches. Oops. Now, did I mention how great these lads are? Pappy laddy has taken full responsibility for it and I won't be charged for that part of the surgery. Of course I might not have him back until next week, but that's ok as the only thing I need is the Friday local papers and there are plenty of people who can bring them. I'm not too upset by this news and that is probably partly due to the good news about Kiri/Cab!

GIMP DETECTIVE

What a lousy week! Harley is now paralyzed from the neck down! Larry from Afikim was here on Monday and more or less pronounced him dead from a broken neck, and tried his very best to get me to buy a NEW one for 15,000 shekels. We couldn't come close to agreement on how to pay for a new one, so I very carefully took him(Harley) to get a second opinion from the local *clinic*. They said that they could weld his neck, and he'd be just fine. I took him in for the operation yesterday, and it went just fine, but he woke up paralyzed from the neck down (his wiring got fried during the welding) They are working on putting his central nervous system back together and he just might be ok by tomorrow.
There *is* some good, no, fantastic, news. I spoke to the English First UK office and Kiri/Cab is NOT on their missing person list which means she is ok and accounted for. The down side there is that Sky is yammering bout a new earthquake and tsunami threat, this time from the direction of Australia which is not good for Borneo, if that is where she is. Soooo back to the worry corner. At least I now have the all important phone number and web site for finding out what's going on with EF people. I think maybe I'll wander on over to the Sky site and see what I can find out about this new threat. I'm not sure I can take much more of this.

ULTIMATE CONCEIT

I'm going to scream if I hear just one more TV hotshot ask if the world's weather is out of control. Excuse me, but since when was it ever subject to mans' control? Ok, so we can seed clouds and make a little rain, but that's it. Control hurricanes, typhoons, tornados and other natural manifestations of weather like heat waves, have never been in our control. So just who the hells do those people think they are asking if The Weather is out of control?
I'm not quite sure how that mini tirade leads into one of my pet theories about the weather here. I have noticed that when our leaders go in the obviously correct direction, we get just the weather we need.......lots of rain in winter and not too hot summers. When we get all soft and try to do as others (Europeans, Americans, UN) would have us do, things go to crap, like this winter. We've had very little rain and the summer was hot as hell. Granted, I haven't made a proper scientific study of this, but I have been keeping track on my own. When Sharon was elected after promising not to pull out of Gaza unilaterally, we had a great winter and the Kinneret filled up. Things turned to shite the minute he went along with the very reason that as**ole Mitzna was defeated.
Oh, and BTW, we are not, repeat, not, occupying Gaza and the West Bank in spite of what *they* and many of our own think. There is one and only one reason that our troops are there and that is to prevent *them* from blowing up in our midst and to try to stop *them* from firing missiles at us. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Our people should not have to leave their homes unless *theirs* do too. You know, the triangle, Um El Fuckem and that lot. I'd personally like to see Nazareths Muslims go too so the Christians can have their city back. Bethlehem too. It distresses me that the Christians have pretty much let *them* get away with it. There *was* a bit of a flap over the mosque *they* wanted to build in the courtyard of the church in Nazareth. Get real here people. There was absolutely no reason for *them* to build a mosque there other than that they *could* and that reason just doesn't work.
I'm wild with worry over my pal CabAret who is working in Indonesia, but supposed to be on holiday in Borneo. Phone calls aren't going through, and this morning I did something I NEVER do. I turned the TV over to Sky News first thing. Well, Cabbsie *is* from the UK, Wales to be exact, so of course Sky is the channel of choice. I'll go out of my damaged mind if I don't hear from her soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates today! I hope that next year you will stop giving in to all the jerks who want to secularize it. They don't deserve your consideration, you, however, deserve theirs. For the life of me I can not understand why they feel so threatened by 90 % of Americans exercising their right to practice their religion as they see fit. It would be another story entirely if they tried to stop others from exercising the same right, but hey, guess what, they don't! Are so many people that insecure in their beliefs that they feel threatened by those who believe differently celebrating their beliefs in public? If so, they have the problem. I always thought the ACLU was an organization that defended everyone's civil rights. I just never realized until recently that their method of defending those rights is by denying them to everyone. Something is very wrong with that. I hope you get it sorted soon.
It's almost time to start making my annual Christmas calls.
It is also time to take my semi busted foot to bed. Yesterday's x rays show no broked or fractured bone, it's the ligaments that are a mess. I'm supposed to stay off it and take it for whirlpool treatments. I'm also supposed to the wheel chair which doesn't fit in this corner, so, don't be too surprised or worried if I'm not here in the near future. It starts to really hurt after an hour or so.
I'm still sad that Dark Matters is off the air now. I am so going to miss my personal prophet. I've been moaning and groaning to myself for ages that we need a prophet, not fully understanding that Dwight Schultz actually was fulfilling that role almost every week. He truly has a brilliant grip on what is going on and has a special gift for expressing it. It's too bad that his audience was limited to the 100 or so Dark Matters listeners. He'd probably freak if he knew that I think this about him, but I do and hope that he will one day have a forum that will get his message out to more people.
Time to put foot up.

NO TIME TO FIX THE WORLD

Where does the time go? I barely have time these days to read and answer my e mail, never mind keep up with things here. For some reason I decided to stay in on Sunday, and try to get caught up. Finding out that Dark Matters is going off the air took the air right of me. Yes, I DID cry at the end. Life just won't be the same without them. I was so sad I didn't even feel like reading, never mind writing.
On Monday when I finally decided to go out, Harley went and exploded his front tire right on the ramp. The lads came and changed his tire on Tues. morning and I went to check my mail box and get groceries. Just at the bump from the street to the path, he stopped in his tracks. Already knowing what was wrong, I got out the cell phone and called the 'guys' They said they'd be along shortly, but never showed and there I sat in the street, freezing, but with a book. If I have something to read, I can be stuck in a corner forever and be perfectly happy. I finished the book at around 17:00 and decided to ask the next person to push Harley up onto the path knowing full well that his wheel would fall off. Sure enough, just in front of the entrance to the ramp, his wheel fell off! Even at a time like that, there is great satisfaction in saying " I told you that would happen" I went in and called and begged the lads to come get him as he couldn't stay there like that all night. They finally did. They came this morning to take me to get him, but as I wasn't dressed, we decided they'd come back in hour. I got dressed and went out to wait for them. No show. Back in and at 16:30 called again. We'll be right there. They finally arrived and I got Harley home in one piece. I, on the other hand, am still cold and have developed a whole bunch of new aches and pains, among them, I suspect a fracture in my foot from dropping the computer on it this morning! I'll take it to the quack tomorrow.
As to fixing the world..........I'm not sure it's worth bothering. Sharon has lost his mind, and is really going to do the one thing he swore he never would. The rest of the world is throwing itself at the so called Palestinians and promising them everything it can think of, with out making sure the keep agreements. Been there, done that, don't need another T shirt.
And over in America, the me me me crowd is trying to kill anything to do with Christmas, as if Christmas is a personal affront to them. Come on, people, it's a holiday that over 90% of Americans celebrate, how in the world can it be an insult to those who don't? I rather enjoy it, admittedly, from afar, but sending and getting cards is fun. When I was a kid, I used to go to the Dagget's every Christmas morning for the tree and opening presents. They always had few for me, and I always had for them. Isn't that what it's about, sharing? The little Jewish girl at the Christmas tree was neither a threat nor in danger of losing her religious identity. I loved it, but knew it wasn't mine. There are a lot of people in America who should just get a life.
Irit, Guy, and Romi are on an airplane on their way over there for a month. Irit called at 07:30 to tell me they're on their way.
I think it might be time to get up, undressed, make some soup and try to warm up. Achy called to tell me that the computer guys at his news thingy want to talk to me. I can talk to them from bed! It's about time this AOL thing hits the news.

THE GIMP AND GRAPHICS

One of these days I'll figure out to save stuff from Publisher as JPEG or something like that. It only took all day to get the poptart thing done and it's prtty crap. I'm hoping I'll be able to fake the computer out and get it posted here. I'll try a little later. Right now I want to rant a bot AOL. They still don't have their act together, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it's all Netvision's fault. I've stopped hating them as much as I used to, but if AOL isn't sorted PDQ, they will be back on the target for practise.I think it's time to go fight with the pic prog. You'll know if it works because there will be an awful picture of a popTART here!

AOL WARS AND TEADRINKER'S INTRO TO HI TECH!

I do not deal well with frustration, as anyone walking by Gimp House this morning is now able to confirm. The emails that were sent to AOL were all unceremoniously bounced. After an hour spent attempting to decipher the gobbledygook they send with the bounce, I realized that *my* server is somehow at fault, so I called them and the techie said they are working on it and that using Yahell or Hitmail might work. In the end that's exactly what I did. I used the hated Yahell and it got through. I hope they sort the issues soon because I really don't like Yahell, and I don't like Hitmail even more! I'm getting quite used to Thunderbird and the only complaint I can think of is that it doesn't have an automatic signature feature, but I can live with that and have even figure a way around it involving Ctrl-C and V!
Teadrinker got her digicam and PSC yesterday and the insanity and curses started. She *did* get the camera to work with a minimum of fuss. Then, this morning we moved on to the PSC (Printer Scanner, Copier) and the real fun started. She had much trouble getting the ink carts in and spent ages on the phone threatening dire injury with a hammer (to me, and/or the PSC) while simultaneously cursing me in several languages. After bellowing right back at her, she called HP support here and they really pissed her off, and we were at threats involving hammers and other implements of destruction. More Gimp bellowing and she calmed down, put the torch (flashlight in her mouth and got the ink carts in AND PRINTED A PICTURE! She has now gone off to recover.
No matter how many times I tell her that people of average or above average intelligence often have trouble with these devices because we have a hard time grasping that "yes it can be that easy" she refuses to believe it. I'm starting to dread the day she gets a computer! So is she. She remembers the good (not) old days when I was just starting out with my first one. The fact that she is without a doubt smarter than I am will only hinder her, but, on second thought, I might enjoy watching (listening) to her going through what I went through not so long ago!
I've been sitting here for 7 hours now and my knees are most unhappy. I think I'll take them for a rest even though my topics list for the blog is getting quite long. Blame AOL!

SLOW SUNDAY

As usual for a Sunday morning, I was up at 05:45, had the computer booted and a coffee to hand by the time Don and Dwight came on for another 3 hours of glimpses into the twists and turns of their brilliant minds. I *am* thankful every day I wake up, and even more so on Sunday because it means Dark Matters will be there once again to get my mind into gear. Their shows are brilliant and I wouldn't miss them for anything.
I managed to get Scrabble sorted at last and can already see that it is going to be dangerous and that not much else will get done around here. I spent way too long playing against myself while listening to Snoopy Christmas at full volume. I can get away with it because absolutely no one here knows English or American culture well enough to know what it is! I love that song and it gets me all bouncy and happy smiley.
I should have stuck with that instead of going to watch the news. Those kind peaceloving so called Palestinians dug a tunnel under an army post in southern Gaza and set off over 100 kg.......That's over 220 lbs of explosives under the post and blew it shy high. Sky News was reporting 3 dead, I was watching Israel 10 and Teadrinker had Sky on and me on the phone. These are the people everyone is so excited about us making peace with. Excuse me a minute here, but wouldn't it make more sense for them to lay off the attacks as a gesture of good will as Sharon is moving ahead with his disengagement/suicide plan? Something is very wrong here. It won't be long before they have a system of tunnels to rival the North Vietnamese, if they don't already.
I'm also getting good and sick and tired of OUR media using THEIR terminology. We have a perfectly good word in Hebrew, but they are all using the Arabic Houdna-cease fire and it drives me wild as does using the word Intifada. Must we give them linguistic credibility while they are trying to destroy us?