Last night our cars were all broken into - although, since none of them were locked, it wasn't really a "break-in."

We live out in the country - have been here for almost 30 years - with never a problem.  We don't lock our cars, our house - no one that we know out here does.  So, I guess the word finally got out that we were just sitting ducks.

My purse was taken from my car, my daughter had a small box with jewelry in it taken from her car; change  - and a pack pf gum! - was taken from her boyfriend's car and nothing from my husband's.  Daughter's and boyfriend's GPS's weren't taken.  All my husband's fishing gear that was sitting out on his car was right where he left it.  Nothing taken from the garage; no one came into the house.

Interestingly enough, a Verizon employee spotted my checkbooks strewn on the side of the road, and stopped to pick them up - and then found my purse with my business cards inside, called my office and spoke to my secretary.  I ended up meeting him to retrieve what he had found.  Later today, I got a call from a woman about a mile from me, who found my wallet and most of what had been in it, strewn over her lawn.  She had also had her car broken into last night - as had someone one street over, so I guess it was a busy night for criminals in my area.

Bottom line was losing two bank cards, my cell phone and the cash in my wallet.  Still can't believe I got as much back as I did - nice to know I live in an area where people care about their neighbors.

New driver's license, new bank cards on the way, gonna have to get a new phone.  Still pissed off that my nice, quiet country life has been defiled, and we're now locking everything up as if we lived in the city.

The Secret History of Volition

What started out as a simple interview about a studio evolved into this: an hour-long documentary about the 18-year history of Volition, Inc. The studio provided an unprecedented amount of never-before-seen concept art and early footage of their great games, even from a couple that were canceled before their release. The video covers a lot of ground, so we divided it into four parts so that you can jump right in and learn the story behind your favorite Volition games. We recommend starting from the beginning to get a full look at not only the history of Volition, but how far the gaming industry has come in 18 short years.

Long story short, our economic output coming out of the recession has outpaced most developed countries, yet our hiring/unemployment is dead last.

Key exerpts:

"In the past, when the U.S. economy fell into recession, companies typically cut jobs but often kept more than they needed. Some might have felt protective of their staffs. Or they didn't want to risk losing skilled employees they'd need once business rebounded."

...

"Japan and Europe have been following that script."

...

"Panicked by the 2008 financial crisis and deepening recession, U.S. employers cut jobs pitilessly. They slashed an average of 780,000 jobs a month in the January-March quarter of 2009."

"Japanese, European and Canadian companies are less inclined to purge employees. Their customs, labor regulations and unions discourage aggressive layoffs.

U.S. management practices "make it easier for employers to avoid adding permanent jobs," says economist Erica Groshen, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "They have temporary help they can hire easily. They're less constrained by traditional human resources practices or by union contracts."

At one point Randolph suggested that his wife "incorporate her uterus" to stop Republicans from pushing measures that would restrict abortions. Republicans, after all, wouldn't want to further regulate a Florida business.

Apparently the GOP leadership of the House didn't like the one-liner.

They told Democrats that Randolph is not to discuss body parts on the House floor.

there was no accident & no 3rd party was involved - my provider (Kaiser) covered the incident & i have already remitted my $100 ER copay as well as my $100 ambulance copay

You just know that that is a crock. Untrue. A lie.

And there is this:

From Talking Points Memo:

The White House would forge ahead with military action in Libya even if Congress passed a resolution constraining the mission, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a classified briefing to House members Wednesday afternoon.
Clinton was responding to a question from Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) about the administration's response to any effort by Congress to exercise its war powers, according to a senior Republican lawmaker who attended the briefing.

So much for respect for democracy or the constitution.

In a major diplomatic setback to Col. Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's foreign minister Moussa Koussa resigned from his position and may announce his defection as early as Thursday, European government officials said,

Thousands have sent e-mails criticizing state Rep. Sally Kern for comments that were posted on the Internet in which she calls homosexuality "the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam," the legislator said today.

Jump cut three years. Sally Kern is still an Oklahoma state representative, having been handily reelected by what must be her equally bigoted constituency in 2008 and 2010. She's doing just fine -- and hey, she even has a new book out in July!

The Stoning of Sally Kern: The liberal attack on Christian conservatism -- and why we must take a stand

Sounds like the kid is in desperate need of some love & discipline, but felony assault as a hate crime?  12? Are we that insane? How bout we try a suspension from school and a cultural sensitivity lesson first?  Or is that too "soft" on hate crime...

If you are attractive, you are more likely to be happy in life, according to a study by the University of Texas at Austin.

It's time for oculus to settle in with her Traveling Friars against the hopped up Clydesdales where you can now order your Bottoms Up Beer for only $8.50.