Thus Says Suzanne...

Pat Robertson is an idiot

The earthquake in Haiti is apparently (according to this bonehead) because they made a deal with the devil.  

Oh hell to the no!

The ick factor here cannot be overstated.  

Update - The previously posted video became unavailable.  This is a fresh link and should work.

AT&T tech support

If you're expecting another rant you're going to be surprised.  I was about as fed-up with my wireless service through AT&T as I've ever been, with constant interruptions of service and flickering orange lights (the one that tells me I've just lost my connection) so I called.  I spoke with a man named Art who (gasp!) took me seriously, didn't treat me like an idiot, and actually solved the problem.  When he pulled up his display he was able to see a boatload of reported errors.  Did I mention the problem was on their end?  

Maybe this seems like no big deal to the casual web surfer but I work from home using my computer.  If I don't have reliable wireless I'm dead in the water.  It costs me time and money.  (And it pisses me off.)

Thank you to Art at AT&T.

factoids about H1N1

This is a great (short) video about the H1N1 flu. 

preventing the spread of H1N1

product endorsement

Since the youngster arrived laundry has become a science project.  Seriously, this kid gets stains out of thin air and it can be challenging to get them out.  Getting stains out of clothes that are pink, yellow or khaki seems to be the hardest.  A few weeks ago I noticed a display of the new Tide Stain Release in the store and got a bottle of it to try.  Wow.  This is my new favorite laundry product.  Today I gave it the final test which I was sure it would fail...the youngster's down coat.  Last year I laundered it three times after pre-treating it, but there was still grunge on the cuffs, collar and along the front zipper.  I laundered it once today with the new Tide product and it's clean! 

I'm giving this one a big thumbs up!

how to be a good houseguest

Do you ever come across someone you feel certain could benefit from a full-time live-in life coach?  Have you ever wanted to send a copy of any of Emily Post's books to someone you know because you really feel the information would be completely new to them?  Today's blog post is going to state the (should be) obvious, and it's about being a good houseguest.

1. Do let your host know how long you will be staying.  If, for example, you are staying for an extended period of time but you have decided it is time to go be sure you tell your host before notifying the post office.
2. Do bring a gift for your host to thank them in advance for their hospitality.  Bring a crystal for their window, a book, or bring a pretty rock if that's all you can afford but do not show up empty handed.
3. Do bring enough clothes for your stay but don't overdo it.  If you stay for a month and no one sees the same outfit twice you've brought too much. 
4. Do keep your personal items in the space set aside for your personal use.  Your refrigerator magnets should stay at home. 
5. Do keep the bathroom clean and tidy.  Wipe away any splatters on the mirror, counter, and sink.
6. Do be careful with fragrance.  If you know your host is allergic, leave any heavily scented grooming products (and all perfumes) at home.  As a general rule of thumb if people can smell you before they see you, and smell you after you're gone you're wearing too much scent. 
7. Do respect your host's property.  Using your host's antique ink well as a prop for your makeup mirror is not going to be well-received.  Leaving beverage moisture rings on furniture and windowsills likewise is not going to be well-received.  Food should be eaten in the common eating areas, not in the bedrooms.
8. Do respect your host's privacy and safety.  Arrange to meet friends elsewhere, or check with your host before inviting guests into their home.  Any of your personal guests should remain in the public areas of your host's home, and not be invited into the private areas.
9. Do offer to help with expenses.  If your host has declined your offers to defray the costs associated with your presence, do leave any unused groceries you have purchased.  Clearing the food out of the cupboard when leaving and giving it to someone else is not good form.  (If your host's daughter spent hundreds of dollars buying and shipping groceries to you in recent months, and hundreds of dollars on your air fare, she will have a particularly hard time understanding this behavior.)
10. Do thank your host in writing.  Leave a note, or send a note but be sure to thank them for your hospitality.

Is California a deadbeat parent?

For those not living in the Golden State it may come as a surprise to learn our folks at the capital have so jacked-up our budget that they have well and truly hosed us all.  Unless they reach a budget agreement - right, because that will happen - they plan to delay taxpayer refunds, send state workers on mandated furloughs, and withhold child support, among other things.

When I say they plan to withhold child support I mean that they intend not to provide financial support to the children they have taken into the foster care system.  Foster parents in San Diego County have already received notices that they can expect reimbursement payments (which the state is aware does not adequately the child's basic expenses) to be delayed, perhaps into September.  And, because Medi-Cal is also affected, the same children are going to have difficulty getting medical treatment. 

Social services is the first casualty of the budget crisis.  My adoption worker is among the first to be affected by the mandated furloughs.  How many other social workers will be affected by the soon-to-come layoffs?  How many children waiting to be matched with adoptive families will continue in foster care limbo before this is resolved?

Because soon there will be fewer social workers, there will be fewer people to check on children who are in reported to be in horrendous situations.  There will be no funds to help keep families together, and we already know there are no funds to care for children once they enter the foster care system.

Soon the children in foster care will not have social workers to check on them, foster parents paying their expenses out of pocket indefinitely, and children without access to health care or mental health services (or social workers to cut through the red tape). 

Foster families take on the task of caring for children who are profoundly damaged by their past, and they do it for free but the state is supposed to pay for their basic needs.  The State of California is the legal guardian of the children in the foster care system who have been separated from their biological families.  These children have no voice. 

It is obscene that the folks in Sacramento are looking to these children to bear the first crunch of the budget crisis.  A civilian who withholds child support can find themselves being labeled a deadbeat parent.   

Khan is no more...

Ricardo Montalban died.  The man had some serious mojo.  If this clip of him as Khan in Star Trek isn't enough to convince you, then check out some of his early commercials for Chrysler Cordoba, but beware...I started watching one earlier but I became mesmerized by his voice, suddenly feeling an overwhelming desire to have Corinthian leather seats (whatever that is).

life lesson

Let's say for example that one has a child who is experienced at emptying the dishwasher.  They've done it for some period of time and except for an occasional utensil or plate that hasn't been properly cleaned ending up in the cupboard, and some whining about the task there has never been a problem.

You should make it a point to tell that child that the door of the dishwasher should never be kneeled upon.  Trust me.