From Steve K

It’s been a tough winter in North Dakota and white may not have been the best color choice.

Yes, we have it… a *gasp* PrettyMailbox.com

I learned about the site a while ago when I saw an advertisement for it on the back of a minivan.  Today they submitted a couple of pictures of their wildlife Mailbox Static Cling covers:

Not quite my style, but I was curious to see what holiday covers they had.  I have the most boring mailbox ever and thought I could spruce it up a little for Christmas.

It seems they don’t have their Holiday designs up yet, but I did come across some funky designs that I really liked.

They have designs in just about every category you can think of and I love their tag line: “Going Postal Has Never Been This Pretty”.

Wish I would have thought of it first, “Going Postal Has Never Been This Ugly!”

Here’s a picture of our street after Tropical Storm Fay:

I’m in England and couldn’t resist taking this picture.

So I’ve upgraded to the latest WordPress 2.3 with minimal hassle. Still a couple kinks to work out. (got an error message before the footer, trying to figure out what it’s all about).

I have a new banner thanks to Artbot. It’s pretty sweet I think. If you are interested in him doing any work for you let me know. He works for beer and pizza (not really) and I know how to contact him.

If there’s anything glaringly wrong or that you just don’t like about the new theme, holler.

HL – What Mideast nation released captured US Navy pilot Robert Goodman, after a visit from Jesse Jackson?

TV – What Pernell Roberts series featured characters niknamed “Starch” and “Ripples”?

MOV -What movie gave Tom Hulce the line: “Love, love, love. That is the soul of genius”?

MUS – What Peter Gabriel video won five MTV Video Awards, with the help of gobs of clay molded by Britain’s Aardman Animators?

S&L – What National League team, after 98 years of futility, finally won a World Series in 1980?

WC – What corporation paid a cool $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures in 1989?

Ann at TwistedSister tagged me with the Wikipedia Birthday Meme. Wednesday was my birthday, so the timing is right.

Here are the rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day). Then you write down 3 events, 2 births, 1 holiday, and tag 5 friends. There are five slots in the meme list…. as you are tagged, you have to remove the name in the first slot and bump everyone up so that your name can be added to the bottom. Participation is optional.

And the list:

Are We There Yet??
Sarge Charlie
Comedy Plus
TwistedSister…totally pissed off!
Ugly Mailbox

I tag:

Project Armannd
Tea Party Girl
Goddess Carlie
Little Mummy
Earnest Parenting

On My Birthday July 25th

Three Events

• 306 – Constantine I proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
• 1980 – Australian hard rock band AC/DC release the album Back in Black. This album goes on to be the 2nd best selling album in history.
• 1999 – Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France.

Two Births

• 1954 – Walter Payton, American football player (d. 1999)
• 1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor

One Holiday

• Inca festival in honor of the thunder god Ilyap’a

I’m joining hundreds of bloggers around the world on today to educate the world about organ donation. I’ll admit that I am not as educated as I could be about the topic, but my driver’s license does indeed state that I am an organ donor!

I know there’s plenty of reasons that people have for not wanting to be organ donors. For some it’s against your religious beliefs and for other’s it’s a matter of personal fears or values. I’m not going to preach or try to change your mind.

I will however pass on information. If you’re undecided or unaware, perhaps this will help.

From BlogCatalog’s campaign initiative page:

Stop The Black Market!
Slate Magazine took a hard look at a growing problem around the world. Organ donation is so great, some poor people are being convinced to sell their organs on the black market. In Pakistan, 40 percent of the people in some villages are turning up with only one kidney. There is only one way to stop it and that is encouraging more people to become donors. See the article! http://slate.com/id/2164177/

Success Story! Alex Pratt of Los Angeles suffered from kidney disease for over 20 years. It was a huge burden on his wife and two children until he received his first transplant in 1993. Unfortunately, it only lasted 9 years, so he had to wait another four years for a second transplant. He would have never gotten a second chance if not for http://www.MatchingDonors.com and a paired donation program at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Donors Needed! In Australia, more than 1,700 people are waiting for organ transplants. In Latin America, more than 50,000. In Europe and the United States, more than 95,000. In China, more than 2 million. In Africa, there isn?t enough organization to really know. Without an organ transplant, these people will die. There are many statistics and links to find a good story at Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_donation

Other Bloggers who have joined in this effort:

Imperfection at It’s Finest

Literary Minded – Touching success story about her father’s transplant

Wahseh

Robin’s Kara - Organ Donation and Buddhism

I’ll post more as the day goes on.

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire engine with lights flashing and a wailing siren at full blast zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat next to the driver of the fire engine was a Dalmatian. The children, never having seen a dog in a fire engine before, started to discuss what the dog might be for.

“They use him to keep crowds back,” said one youngster.
“No,” said another, “he’s just for good luck.”

Several more ideas were put forward and an animated discussion soon ensued when a little girl who had sat quietly throughout the discussion and deep in thought finally brought the argument to a close…

“They use the dog,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrant.”

For more FighterFighter Jokes.

So did they just run out of paint? I didn’t get a picture of the house, but it wasn’t even gray and maroon, so I’m wondering if there’s a significance to the pattern and color that I’m missing.