Of course, I first looked at a Dyson. However, I just simply could not get my mind wrapped around the price. A central vacuum system for a house cost a little more than a Dyson. I just couldn’t make myself feel OK about paying that kind of money on ONE vacuum. Then I saw an infomercial for a Shark Navigator Lift Away. I wasn’t sold. First of all, I never believe infomercials. They always show the worse case scenario and use that as the reason that you need their product. They make ordinary people look like fools who could not live without the product they are selling - in my humble opinion. I decided to see how much the vacuum was in stores. I was surprised to find out that it was only about $180. OK. THAT is a price I can live with. If the vacuum didn’t work as expected, I wouldn’t want to hunt down the marketing department at the company. $180 is an amount I can stand to part with if the vacuum didn’t work as expected. So I got a Shark Navigator Lift Away Professional (the white/grey one)!

Putting it together took about 2 minutes. The thing felt light. Almost too light. I remember thinking that my carpets would eat this little vacuum alive. I decided to try it on one flight of steps first. WOW! I cleaned 3 STEPS and that canister looked like I had cleaned 15. I didn’t know whether to be disgusted or ecstatic. I couldn’t believe it! I had vacuumed those steps! How was it even possible that my old vacuum missed so much? Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. I vacuumed the entire set of stairs and a landing area. The canister was full by the time I finished! I was astonished for multiple reasons. First, the vacuum was light enough that I could lift it on each step and vacuum the step. I didn’t use the special attachments. That would have been impossible with the power head on the central vacuum. I didn’t even use the lift away portion of the vacuum by itself. The maneuverability of the unit made it easy to do each step with the regular vacuum head. Second, as I said, I had vacuumed those steps and had not pulled up that much dirt. The prior owners of the home had an animal in the house. That animal shed. They had the carpets professionally cleaned, however, when I moved in, I was still getting pet hair in the vacuum. The carpet on the steps is a beige color and both the cleaning and the subsequent vacuuming didn’t get all of the hair. The Shark Navigator did. Third, the suction on this thing is nothing short of amazing.

I’m no sure how long this vacuum will last, but my goodness is it a good vacuum! I was so amazed by the thing that I just ran around vacuuming things. I finally had to stop because it was getting late. I vacuumed another room I had already vacuumed and, once again, I found more dirt the central vac left behind.

I am SOLD! The Shark Navigator Lift Away is simply amazing! I am SO GLAD that I didn’t get that Dyson! I would have paid double the price of the Navigator. With that extra cash that I was close to spending, I’m going to get another Navigator! Yeah! Let the suction begin!

How do you find it acceptable to turn a blind eye for years to the abuse of children, yet consider the contraceptive health needs of women to be a forefront issue that required an IMMEDIATE response? That is so backwards! The idea that priests conspired to cover up abuse, move priests accused of abuse from church to church and then did not go to authorities when allegations of abuse were made speaks volumes to me. I am surprised that anyone finds what they have to say to be of any consequence. Of course this issue is very political, but the Catholic church has demons of their own that need to be addressed before they start attacking the reproductive rights of women.

As a secondary issue, unless I’m mistaken - which I do not believe I am - their insurance covers Viagra and other male sexual aids. How can you cover those items, but NOT want to cover birth control? Why the attack against women’s needs, but not the items that men need?

Railing against making birth control available to women through your insurance carrier while turning a blind eye to men sexually assaulting little boys is VERY STUPID!

To develop apps for the Windows Phone, you have to pay $99. To test an app on the Windows phone, you STILL have to pay $99. What about those people who just want to work through their idea on their own device before making a commitment. What about those people who don’t have $99, but have a great idea that they have developed?

When you look at company websites, most say two things about mobile apps - we have an Android app and an iPhone app. Most companies don’t mention Windows and with the way Microsoft is tight-fisting potential developers, I can see why. There are only a small number of applications available for Windows Phone. I was given  a Windows Phone as a gift and I found the lack of apps to be troubling. With as many resources as Microsoft has, there should be far more apps. There should also be a lower barrier to Microsoft marketplace development.

Microsoft was late to the mobile development game. They should realize that they are NOT Apple and are not even in Apple’s league in the mobile sphere. They should have done EVERYTHING they could do to make it super simple to create applications for the Windows Phone. Instead, they have chosen to be arrogant and stupid. I think that is an ill-thought out plan. Microsoft, your barriers to app development and app development policies are VERY STUPID!

Jakadrien’s parents divorced. That can be traumatic for a kid. I get that. Jakadrien decided to run away from home. Well, unfortunately many 14 year old kids think that they know better than their parents. Sometimes, without the knowledge about how to deal with issues, they do asinine things like run away from home. I get that. What I don’t get is what happened next. Jackadrien was caught stealing. I can understand not wanting to get into trouble. However, she decided to give police a false name. Can you say big MISTAKE!  Unfortunately for her, that name happened to be the name of a woman in this country illegally who also had warrants out for her arrest. If it were me, I would have come clean, told cops I lied because I had run away from home, had them call my parents and went on with life. However, that is not what happened.

Jakadrien ended up being deported! That is correct - Immigration and Naturalization got her butt out of this country faster than you can say Rio Grande! She was sent to Colombia, where she, not speaking a lick of Spanish, ended up being forced to clean homes. I bet running away didn’t look like such a good idea after that. Her grandmother managed to track her down through the Internet. Now Colombian officials are holding her in a detention center until she can be sent back to the US.

1. There are a few morals to this story.
2. Don’t run away from home. Usually, there are worse things out there that are waiting for you. Get help if you need it, but don’t run away.
3. Don’t lie to the police! It can get you deported.

Once you realize you are about to be deported, start telling the truth to ANYONE who will listen! Hopefully this girl will get the help she needs when she gets back to the US. If she doesn’t, she may end up being one of the lost ones.

All I can say is WOW! What is wrong with these politicians? Don’t they know they have this baggage BEFORE they run? It reminds me of John Edwards. Here you have this intelligent lawyer. Well-dressed, well-liked, charismatic, attractive and on his way. There was just one problem - he couldn’t keep his dumb stick in his pants! YET, he was willing to run, potentially get the Democratic nomination and then have all of that baggage come spilling out like diarrhea- potentially jeopardizing any chances of Democrats regaining the White House. Didn’t he think about that before he decided to run? Didn’t Cain?

Human failings are nothing new and most of us have some little tidbits that we would just as well prefer to keep to ourselves. The difference, however, is that most of us don’t decide to run for the presidency! Herman Cain has had multiple women coming out alleging that he groped them or carried on an improper relationship with them. Herman, for his part, has continually denied any inappropriate behavior. Herman’s wife has steadfastly stood by his side. Now, that a new woman has emerged stating that she had a 13 year affair with Herman, maybe his wife’s support won’t be so steadfast. I hope it isn’t. I think you have to be a colossal prick to run for the presidency when you have been sleeping, groping and otherwise being inappropriate with a multitude of women (CLINTON INCLUDED). Maybe I’m not thinking about things correctly, but I’m tired of politicians - both Republican and Democrat - who can’t keep their dumb sticks in their pants or their wandering hands to themselves! If you want to be single, then be single, but don’t get married and carry on all of this crap and then expect people to overlook it!

It really is getting to the point where it is very, very stupid!

Then, Rick Santorum, who I personally consider to be one of the most horrible people imaginable for several reasons, said that he would REPEAL Don’t Ask Don’t Tell! What? Now what would that mean? That would mean that gay service members couldn’t get off that plane, walk out into the receiving area and be warmly greeted by his or her significant other – just like ALL of the straight service members can. Rick Santorum talked about sex during his response. WHY is it that EVERY REPUBLICAN I have encountered who does not like gay people, equates being gay with sex YET they DO NOT equate being straight with sex? Just because a person is gay does NOT mean they are having sex in the same way that being straight doesn’t mean you are having sex. Why the hypocrisy? Gay servicemen and women risk their lives just like straight service members. They bleed and sacrifice just like straight service members AND they love and hurt just like straight service members. They DESERVE the same adoration, admiration AND RIGHTS that straight service members have. Why is it so hard for these compassionate, conservative, so-called Christian Republicans to get that?

It reminds me of the people who did not want black people in the military. I used to wonder how a person could go and fight for a country that would not allow them to use the same bathroom as a white person or eat at the same place or have the same rights. I used to wonder how it must feel to fight for the freedoms of others when your own country denied rights to you. How sad for those service members that endured that kind of injustice simply because of the color of their skin. Has this country learned NOTHING? Very, very stupid indeed!

As a side note, I just came across what I think is the GREATEST site EVER - http://blog.spreadingsantorum.com/. This site is about none other than the gay-hater Rick Santorum. I don’t like hypocrites and. if there ever was one, Rick Santorum is IT! He thinks partial birth abortions are wrong and should be denied even in cases of rape and incest AND even in the case of possibly saving the mothers life, YET HIS WIFE HAD ONE!!!! LOL!!! Of course he considers his case to be “different” as most hypocrites do. I hate people like that! I would not be surprised if he had a gay relationship or a secret gay lover somewhere. Often the loudest haters are the worse perpetrators.

• Creating a bank account
• Cashing a check (either at a bank or at a check cashing establishment)
• Driving legally
• Flying on any airline
• Getting a health club membership

Why should voting be any different? The law doesn’t say that people need a driver’s license. It says that people need a state issued id. An identification card, which every state offers, is a state issued id that people can use to vote even if they don’t drive. I’m not sure who would be unable to vote in Benjamin Jealous’ world, but I think he is over-thinking something that is common. When people rail against basic things, they create issues where there are none. Requiring id for voting means better accuracy in vote counts. In states where id is not required, people could possibly vote two, three or four times. How can you ever make sure that there are accurate counts in a system like that?

I think NAACP President Benjamin Jealous is far off the mark here. Identification is a good thing. If people have issues with getting a government issued id, then they don’t need to vote. Period! Voting is a right for citizens of this country and it is a right that needs to be protected. Using identification doesn’t stop us from having that right. It just means that we need an id to exercise it! There is nothing wrong with that!

If you want to read more about the story, go here.

Her hair, just to note, was BEAUTIFUL after the makeover. She wasn’t a natural blond to begin with and the blond color she was adding just washed out her complexion. After the hair coloring, her hair looked perfect. It was fabulous. It brought out her complexion, it made her look beautiful and it softened her look. She looked her age after the makeover, while she looked like she was in her 40s before. Honestly, I couldn’t believe that she was just 26 at first. Her clothes and hair made her look like an old woman trying real hard to look young. She had on a t-shirt, plaid short skirt and tall stripper shoes. She looked ridiculous - to be honest. When the hair stylist was doing her hair, she started crying because she said that she saw herself as a blond bombshell - even though she wasn’t. I couldn’t understand that. Here was this beautiful girl who looked so great as a red-head, yet had this vision of herself as a blond bombshell when she CLEARLY wasn’t meant to be that - neither by nature nor the little Clairol box.

That got me thinking about other women I’ve seen with that platinum blond hair. I started realizing that a LOT of women dye their hair platinum blond even though it totally does not work for them! Now I’ve become hyper aware of it. I noticed a slew of women at the mall yesterday with platinum blond hair and NONE of them looked good with it - although, ALL of them seemed to think that they did. Why? The woman in the story said that she always saw herself as a blond bombshell. That got me thinking - why do women think they look better blond? It seems to be primarily white women who suffer from this affliction. I think that some black women dye their hair blond, but it seems to be more of a decorative fashion statement. I’ve seen black women with burgundy hair more than any other race, so I get the feeling that black women aren’t looking at it as anything more than just style and decoration. White women on the other hand, seem to want platinum blond hair because they want to pretend it is their real hair color. I wish I could grab some of these women and just tell them that it washes out their skin tone and makes them look much older than they are. It doesn’t look great on every woman.

Thinking that you look good as a platinum, unnatural looking blond is very stupid. Find a look that works for you and a color that accentuates YOUR features and remember that you are a bombshell no matter what the color of your hair is or isn’t!

Abigail Jane Suber then actually CALLED the family and left a message. In that message, she threatened to call the police and her immigration lawyer on them to have the guy deported. She demanded $800 to keep silent. There is just one problem. Trying to extort money from someone is a criminal act! The family contacted the police. Abigail was arrested and now she faces many years in jail and a hefty fine.

Abigail Jane Suber is very stupid, but I think the system, as it is, is also stupid. Many of the people classified as illegal immigrants come to this country seeking a better way of life. What they find are people who mistreat them, yet live off of the fruits of THEIR labor! Every time you put a piece of fruit in your mouth, you are benefiting from their work efforts in this country. These aren’t jobs that Americans want. These are jobs that require hard work and long hours. Jobs that many Americans don’t consider upwardly mobile enough or that Americans don’t want to travel to. However, there is no path to become a citizen for these people right now. They need a path to citizenship so that they can get driver’s licenses, insurance, etc. People may hate the fact that they didn’t come over in a certain way, but blacks were bought to this country in the belly of slave ships. Whites came to this country from other countries. Sometimes you can’t help how you get here - you can only try to do the right thing once you get here.

There are casinos all over the place. Vegas, Minnesota, Washington state, Maryland, Connecticut, etc. All of these places have casinos AND many people who gamble. So what is the difference between between these places and gambling online? Then I started thinking about stocks. Stocks are bought and sold on ideas about how a company will do. If that isn’t the epitome of gambling, I don’t know what is. So why aren’t stock purchases illegal? Instead of being illegal, stock purchases are encouraged.

Then we have state lotteries. There are state lotteries all over the place. Why is that legal, but online gambling illegal? State lotteries bring in millions in revenue. Wouldn’t the regulation of online gambling on a state level do the same? Gambling is a personal choice. People can sit back and say that it will cause family problems, addiction, etc, but it is a personal choice. Personal choices should be up to the person to make. Are we trying to legislate morality? If so, then why are there PLACES where you can go gamble that are illegal?There are absolutely no logical reasons why a person shouldn’t be able to gamble online if they want to. You can drink if you want to, provided that you are old enough, yet you can’t gamble online BUT YOU CAN gamble in Vegas? Give me a break!

If the US was smart, they would tax the hell out of online gambling. There are BILLIONS to be made! Again, the US is behind - just like in health care. Other countries already allow gambling and they aren’t going down the toilet. America is the only superpower sitting back crying morality about online gambling, YET supporting brick and mortar gambling. That is just backwards AND very stupid!