Saturday, May 28, 2011

I am a Millionaire...again!

For some unexplained reason, I am still surprised when I get these kind of SPAM scam emails.  I assume because of the failing economy over the past two years, these have increased and it seems the Yahoo filters don't stop them.  ANNOYING.  At any rate, its just amusing to me that they keep trying and in case you want to collect the cashier's check for me, here is your chance:

FYI


I have been waiting for you to pick up your Cashier Check of $1,759,000 USD (ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE US DOLLARS) before I leave the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but you did not show up as I did not hear from you. I am writing to inform you that I have deposited your cashier check with UNITED PARCEL SERVICE there in Nigeria.

For your information, I'm now in Dubai to resume my new job offer and will not go back to Nigeria till next year. Please you have to contact the United Parcel Service of Nigeria to know when they will deliver your package to your resident address in your country.

Note that I have paid for the security keeping fee. The only money you will have to pay is the shipping/handling fee which only cost $95.00 US Dollars to receive your check parcel as agreed with them.


Please contact the company with their below details:


Name: Abu Richard
Tel: +2348181477003
E-mail: ups-express.ng@rdwang.com


Thanks for your attention.


O'Hagan Ceila 

Should you decide to collect my cashiers check for me, I would be happy to split it with you minus the security fee.  That seems fair to me, right?  LOL

Monday, May 23, 2011

Dallas Comic Con 2011


My favorite thing ever from Halo
 WOW is the only appropriate word to describe the feeling walking into this years DCC.  Living in a household decidedly on the geeky side, it is surprising that we have not attended one previously.  I have long lusted after the potential of heading to San Diego one year, but this was a nice substitution for a few hours. 

Little Monkey has oft requested a trip to a comic store over the past year and expressed her desire to start a series and collect on her own.  Boy did she get a great start!  She bought for her first book a Fantastic Four #44 The Gentleman's Name is Gorgon.  She was pretty excited. After that, she met the great guys at Red 5 Comics and fell in love.  These guys have a series called NeoZoic featuring a strong female lead (of which she bought the first series) and one called Atomic Robo (of which she got four) who is a robot created by Tesla to fight evil.  I will say the issue in which he fights Edison's ghost is greatness.  This morning, she burst out of her room, exclaiming:
"Mom! I was reading one of them last night and it was MADE JUST FOR ME!  There is a character named Emma AND a dinosaur with GUNS!  How cool is that?" 
I think they have a fan...LOL The have a great app if you are interested in checking out first issues of their titles for free.  You can locate it here at Comixology.

After that, Little Monkey scored the sketchbook and autograph of the great and wonderful Todd Nauck. He was quite kind to the 10 year old and that would make every geek mom happy.  Little Monkey keeps drawing, writing and creating her comic strips so who knows where that will lead one day!

Mandatory Spock ears when entering DCC



                                                                
Meet Joe Dalek
            



While Little Monkey was going comic crazy, Middle Monkey was loading up on all things Doctor Who.  I have been a fan most of my teen to adult life.  This is a habit I firmly planted in the minds of my children, mostly because they see me wrap up in my Tom Baker scarf every time its a little cold.  They snagged the card for Kevin Leen from whom they intend to amazing purchase sketches from online.  We bumped into The Brother Gromm and their Farbis Tardis that bordered on brilliant.  Middle Monkey wanted to buy it.  When meeting D. Wilborn from Urban Gallery, they commissioned sketches of the 11th Doctor which turned out great. He was incredibly kind to them and graciously provided two sketches for them of their beloved Matt Smith.  (IMHO this should be Peter Davidson but what do I know?) 

From the great and wonderful Oz, oops, I mean David Wilborn

Both girl monkeys loaded up on buttons from Kristin Hogan who was so sweet to my girls as well as Halo.  As you see the first pic in this post is Halo's and too good to wait until the end.  As a food geek and Doctor Who nerd, I can not imagine a more perfect combo in a piece than this.  I am frame hunting today and this is going some where in my kitchen.  I will throw shit out to make a space if I have to...she happens to be super cool as well.  All in all, an awesome experience for the girls and them getting to witness kick ass girl power in action.  Even Kman loaded up on Zombie t-shirts and Conan comics and I scored a Wonder Woman pendant (priorities right?). 

Thank you so much Dallas Comic Con for making it such a great experience for girl nerds!  There are a lot more of us out there than you think...:)

Consorting with the Dark Side

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

One person CAN make a difference

I was watching TV this morning and again, energy company commercials are running trying to scare people into forcing elected officials into keeping subsidies in place.  Seriously, people, get with it...an industry that posts BILLIONS in profits can afford to pay their taxes!  Jobs won't be cut from it but if they do, I would be okay with it being this guy:

Chairman and CEO, EXXON MOBIL CORP (XOM), Headquarters: IRVING, TX


In 2010, R. W. Tillerson received $28,952,558 in total compensation. By comparison, the median worker made $33,190 in 2010. R. W. Tillerson made 872 times the median worker's pay.

Seriously, its time for Americans to be outraged.  Click here and search for ANY of the corporations that operate here and see what they are paying the guy in charge and then explain to me why they can't pay taxes.  I just don't believe it.  Vote for candidates willing to end corporate welfare.  This is a way to help our country by ending subsidies that could pay our debt!  Tell a friend, write a letter to your Congressman, DO SOMETHING!

I submit a much better way of spending a tiny amount of money...feeding people:





Monday, May 2, 2011

The Comforts of Home

Cross posted at Vet Voice and Daily Kos


I love my home.  Although I wished I owned my own, no matter where I live, I make it my own.  After years of living in large places, downsizing allowed me to choose only the things I love and cherish them.  In today's society that thrives on reality television, I think the idea of this has diminshed a great deal.  So many people need crisis as a distraction and things as comfort.  I hope that people wake up this morning and look at this squarely in the face and recognize the shift that needs to occur, both in themselves and this country.

Last night, I received a call from my brother and I was instantly transported to a call from my sister on 9/11.  Living in Hawaii at the time, I was not yet awake to have knowledge of the most horrific sight I have witnessed in all of my 42 years.  That day, it took me eight hours to get in touch with my brother, who was to have been working in the Pentagon on a contract.  I can not ever remember being more frightened in my life.  My entire family worked in Federal or Local government buildings at the time and the lines to all of them were jammed.  Waking up to another call, yet on the other side of the emotional spectrum, was surprising.  I can honestly say, I never thought I would see this in my life time.

Most of my life I have lived as a military dependant and now, sharing my home with a combat disabled Veteran and former Gitmo guard, I have never more acutely aware of how much I love my home and its comforts.  The love of my life lost much of his hearing, his ability to sleep at night and friends he worked along side.  Outside of being an operator myself, I believe I am supremely aware of the sacrifices made by service members as well as the greatest asset we have; I am so grateful for our intellegence community and special ops groups.  THIS is how you get something done.  This is the best of the best and it is great to see when it works.  I also am thankful that our Commander in Chief was willing to commit to the decision and its execution.

Too often Americans go through our lives, focused so narrowly that we do not do enough.  I know I am not one of those.  I work to feed and clothe the homeless, to help facilitate elections and educate the populations.  I have given up days of my own to ensure fair and accessable elections, I write letters to members of government, corporations, and organizations.  I say the things that other people are frightened of.  One day I hope that in some small way, I inspire others to do the same.  As impatient as I can be, I am not going to sit around waiting for that to happen.  In the spirit of some peoples new found patriotism today, I ask you to do something, anything, to make your country a better place.  If everyone would pitch in, even just an hour a week, we could restore our country to its former glory.  This cannot happen without all of us.  Stop relying on someone else to fix our economy/community/government.  Do something.  NOW.

Need a suggestion?  Too easy:

Volunteer--Teens can get busy right now. Go to Do Something and sign up today!

GOTV--No matter your political party, you can help get people to the polls on Election Day. Just one day to volunteer is not a lot to ask. Contact your local Party office or Candidate of choice and tell them you want to participate in the GOTV events in your area.

Register to Vote--If you aren’t registered to vote, please do so now. As a grown up that lives in this country, there is really not an excuse for not being responsible enough to exercise your civic duty. If you still don’t, then please don’t complain. You sign away your rights to complain about any politicians when you decide not to elect responsible representation.

Give money--Not everyone has millions to give to charity, however did you know that 40 meals can be provided by a food bank on approximately a $10 donation? Each pay day, I find the extra $5 or $10 to give, even when times are so tight for us. There are many charities that could do so much even with such small amounts, find one in your area.

Teach--Change the world. You could be the teacher that inspires a child that cures a disease, develops cheap renewable energy or engineer’s world peace. It could happen.

Write a letter or Make a call--What is an issue that is important to you? It takes less than 20 minutes for most organizations to make a call or write a letter of support/complaint/request to legislators that can be influenced by their constituents. Many causes will have letters that auto-populate so that you don’t even have to write the text which takes less than 5 minutes. While it may seem trivial, even in 2011, this is how things get done. Don’t believe me? Ask the folks in Wisconsin who are slowly getting recall petitions filed against many of their state politicians. This started one signature at a time and now it’s in the thousands. Each one makes a difference. You can make a difference.

You already do stuff? You got this covered, you are on top of this? Consider sharing then with people that don’t. Information and education. We can change the world this way, I believe it!