Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I love a bargain. I love treasure shopping. I love the “hunt” for cool stuff. I also adore Goodwill and other thrift shops. (I would have been a pirate a few hundred years ago. Not for the stealing part, but for the finding of the loot.)

For years, I’ve said that you can find ANYTHING you want at Goodwill if you look hard enough and are patient enough.

Now I knew there were some exceptions to that rule, but only the obvious ones. I’ve wanted a platinum or 18K diamond ring for awhile now (I love ebay for trying to find those types of items) and I know that Goodwill isn’t hte place to find that… or at least I thought I did.

Last week, while looking for a few final “necessities” for my new apartment with my son… he found some jewelry that appeared to be sterling in the mass tangle of the jewelry basket. I checked it and it was, indeed, sterling.  So we start digging.

What we found, essentially, was an estate collection of sterling jewelry along with a couple pieces of gold. The most impressive piece was found by my son… it’s an 18K white gold band with a beautiful (and perfect) diamond in a tension setting. Simply lovely. He had it checked out at a jewelers and has since “loaned” it to me to wear.

The cost for this treasure? $1.00

So, I have to amend my earlier statement to include everything — not just nearly everything — is available at Goodwill if you look hard enough and are patient enough. I’ve picked up leather coats, gold and silver jewelry, crystal, sterling flatware, designer purses, down comforters and an assortment of other delightful items at Goodwill in my travels. During this economy, it’s nice to know there’s a place you can score a $2,000 ring for $1 — isn’t it?

Have a great day and happy hunting!

I took my daughter and our friend, Brittney to see Twilight last night, to a sellout crowd in Russell Springs, Kentucky. Sellout. That’s really saying something around here. It almost never happens. The 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. showings were overrun with enthusiastic crowds.

And, just in case no one believes a sell-out crowd around here, I have photos!

Great movie… the book, of course, was still better. ;O)

Last night, while at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky I bought a book and a magazine. While waiting my turn to check out, I noticed that the three displays closest to the main checkout were quite an odd collection of topics… and then I thought about it and decided that the person responsible for the setup of these displays may be making their own statement.

I’ll let you be the judge (I got photos of each of the three for your review):

First there was this one…

then this one followed…

and the third (and last one) before the checkout…

Accident, irony or overt political statement? You be the judge.

To say I’m pleased with the election results would be a lie.

I’m deeply concerned about this country, probably more so than I have ever been in any given election. I get the feeling that many people voted the way they did because they saw it as a way to shirk their responsibilities.

The thing that keeps coming to mind is the lady who, at the celebratory victory rally, said that she was glad she no longer had to worry about her mortgage or her car payment.

I’m assuming she intends to KEEP both of these items, she just doesn’t want to pay for them anymore. So, by default (isn’t that a great pun?!?) those of us who are responsible and DO pay our bills will get to pay hers as well? Maybe our children and grandchildren can kick in to support (with interest) the quality of life to which she has become accustomed, but no longer desires to afford?

It reminds me of the time when I was in a grocery line with my mother in Danville, Kentucky. The lady in front of us was wearing diamond rings and an “Aigner” coat (which was all the rage at that time), a matching purse and shoes.

These were things that we couldn’t justify (my mother has always been so practical — thank goodness!). When she tried to check out the dog food with her food stamps, she was told that it wasn’t permitted. Her response? She said her dog preferred hamburger anyway — and promptly left the line, went to the meat department, got a 10 pound roll of ground beef and returned to be checked out — while we all stood in awe, mouths agape.

I think that was a pivotal moment in my development. I was probably 12 or 13. It has colored my glasses about welfare programs and these glasses aren’t rosy. I feel that what we have here, is an even bigger version of the same mentality. Put simply, it makes me angry.

When are people going to be responsible and quit expecting the government to parent them?

Some of the propositions that passed also alarm me. I really don’t believe it’s the government’s job to dictate morality, define “family” and determine what is ok in our bedrooms. Apparently, that puts me squarely in the minority these days, too.

Most of my clients and friends are fiscally and politically conservative (with a few notable exceptions). One of my friends commented today, “Welcome to the USSA.” I have to wonder if he’s right.

On another note, the “Civilian National Security Force” scares the crap out of me. It simply does.

So, I’m sitting quietly here in my home office, wondering why I’ve spent my life paying my bills, meeting my obligations (even when people who supposedly share those obligations don’t do their part to help), trying to stay out of debt and avoiding “welfare” type programs — even during those really hard times in my life when I qualified.

I’ve always believed that freedom mattered more than security. I’ve believed in making your own way and cutting back when times were lean. I’ve always been capable of making the tough decisions. I’ve tried to pass this on to my children (whether or not I did this successfully is yet to be seen.)

I wonder “what’s the use?” when people who didn’t behave responsibly are getting bailouts. Like another one of my friends recently quipped, “Where’s my friggin’ financial bailout?!?”

*Not that I’d want one if it cost me my freedom or my privacy — or made me beholden to someone as a result, mind you*

We aren’t educating our children in our schools anymore, I worry that now all we have to educate them is our example… and if that’s the case, we are probably totally screwed.

I think I’m going to go try to find my old weather-beaten copy of 1984 for a quick re-read. I think it’s time.

Brent Lengal and Mary Beth Warner pose with Alex following their roles as John Proctor and Abigail Williams in the Russell County Production of Arthur Miller's Play "The Crucible"

Alex and I saw a wonderful production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” this afternoon. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. This was Alex’s first community production experience, and I must say she was enthralled.

Russell County’s own Brent Lengal and Mary Beth Warner (playing John Proctor and Abigail Williams) offered to pose for a photo with Alexzandria following the show. (She was thrilled.)

The next event will be the telling of ghost stories on October 23rd.

For more information, you can visit the Star Theatre online or visit in person at: 546 Main Street, Russell Springs, KY 42642 in Russell County, Kentucky.

Kentucky Governor, Steve Beshear --gives orders to swipe domain names

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s Office recently seized 141 domain names belonging to Internet gambling sites. Those names have been transferred, by court order, to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The DNS information was ordered to stay the same while the court case was being resolved.

There was an outcry this week in a Press Release I received this week by Jim Waters of BIPPS — the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions:

For Immediate Release
Monday, Oct. 6, 2008

Contact: Jim Waters

270-782-2140

High-tech hijacking: Web site domain names seized, Internet freedom threatened

(Frankfort, Kentucky) – The Commonwealth of Kentucky has taken unprecedented legal action by seizing more than 140 Web site domain names belonging to online gambling sites.

Due to the dangerous and far-reaching implications of this high-tech hijacking, the Bluegrass Institute will hold an emergency summit in Frankfort on Monday, Oct. 6. Timing is critical as the next legal hearing on this issue takes place the following morning, Oct. 7, before the Franklin County Circuit Court.

The Bluegrass Institute urges anyone with an interest in protecting Internet freedom to join us in protest against this egregious action. While the primary focus in this legal matter is online poker, the ramifications extend much farther into the entire realm of online commerce.

This radical approach is disturbing for many reasons. Chief among them is the concept that domain names of Internet sites operating legally in their home nations can be seized by other nations for violation of local laws. This should be of concern to all Americans. If Kentucky is successful, a very dangerous precedent will be set.

The Bluegrass Institute will be joined by several other groups who stand in opposition to Kentucky’s actions. They include the Internet Commerce Association; Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association; Americans for Tax Reform; The Poker Players Alliance and many others who continue to join with this cause.

We will convene a panel discussion on a range of topics requiring immediate action. The meeting is open to the public and all participants will be available for media comment.

The summit will take place at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Frankfort (405 Wilkinson Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601) at 1 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, Oct. 6. Please RSVP to Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Institute at 270-782-2140 or jwaters@bipps.org.

Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions
400 E. Main Ave. Suite 306
Bowling Green, KY 42102
www.bipps.org

The court, on October 7th, decided to rule on the case next week, on October 15th. I anxiously await this historic ruling. I can only hope that (as a small Internet business entrepreneur), that my state fails miserably to make this action stick. I’m honestly appalled that they would even try. What a month to be a Kentuckian!

Learn more about this topic here:

DomainNameNews.com

NewsFeedResearcher.com

Recent news out of California may threaten all homeschooling parents. The appellate court recently ruled that parents aren’t the appropriate teachers for their own children. Apparently, the court wants a teaching certificate before a parent is allowed to teach. I find this not only unacceptable, but also ironic.

I actually looked into adding a teaching degree to my own education back when I was in college. After talking with the Colledge of Education at the University, I decided against it. It seemed ridiculous to me then (and even more-so now) that a major (or even a minor) was not required to teach a subject.

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Nope, not always. (But it is much more often than it should be!)

I just spoke with Russell Springs broker and real estate agent Kim Byrom of Lake Cumberland Properties who is the first real estate agent that actually tried to help me find a new office space. She is NOT the first one I contacted. In the future, she will be.

Kim asked qualifying questions, got my name and number and said she would give me a call back. I believe her. I told her how much I appreciated her help and that she was the first real estate agent of the five I’d contacted that was interested in helping me. She said that most of the office space rentals were not listings so she helped people as a public service. She went on to say that it strengthened the community… etc, etc.. and I found myself in awe. She said all the right things. She’s service-centric! I love it.

Yes, I work with Real Estate agents all day, every day. Yes, my own clients are overboard on the customer service. That’s one of the reasons I work with them instead of working with other agents and brokers in their zip code.

But locally, it’s always been hit and miss with real estate service and it was really nice to talk to Kim after what I’d endured on this one inquiry already today. It was refreshing and I told her so.

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My best buddy and I went on a road trip last night, barely eeking our way into the Maysville, Kentucky AT&T store at closing time. (OK, they actually held the store open for a couple minutes for us because I’d called and said I was on my way.)

Where to find an iPhone in Kentucky:

Maysville was one of two stores that still had stock in the entire state of Kentucky after the mad-dash run on the little devices yesterday evening. Corbin was the second. The first day of release was really nuts. But, I now have mine all up and running (am watching a large version of a Harry Potter movie while typing this blog entry, as a matter of fact.) (more…)

My daughter has picked up several bad habits from exposure to the elementary education systems in Casey and Russell County Schools. It bothered me when my child (who spoke perfect, grammatically correct English in the pre-K years) returned from first grade using the same incorrect language I’d heard fall from her teacher’s lips. It made me a little nuts, but I corrected at home and kept moving ahead. “We was” and “They is” demonstrated the worst of it and was corrected in fairly short order. (more…)

I spoke with a peer this morning. She knows I don’t watch TV, so she told me about the latest American Idol show… which donated money to needy causes. Alongside the starving children in Africa and disease causes, she said that there were also funds being funneled to Kentucky education. (more…)

Education in Kentucky gets me “all riled up.” My daughter got her report card on Tuesday. That’s the 24th of April, it was printed out on the 23rd (Monday). And the report date was 3/17/07 - 5/24/07.

She did well… only one B (in Language Arts, which kinda chaps my butt on general principal because I’m her Mom and that’s my “thing”) and the rest are A or A+.

So what’s my gripe? My gripe is that the term, the YEAR, doesn’t end for another month, but she’s already got her final grades. I’ve said for ages that the kids do NOTHING to learn anything after CATS testing, but how much more physical proof do I need than this? (more…)

This week has tested my resolve and altered my future. This week I had the opportunity to review what really matters in my life in a very real way. This week, the plans to travel next year were dashed. This week, the plans to move back to the farm were postponed indefinitely. This week, I made plans to move to the city — a place I hope I won’t despise. (more…)

Evanescence

I didn’t take photos (I was one of the few people who actually listened when I was told “no cameras”) at the concert. I sorta wish I’d been less honest. But, I did find this on YouTube this morning, to give you a bit of the “flavor” of the event:

Amy put on a great show. The thing that impressed me the most (aside from her amazing voice) was the fact that she never took a break. She never slowed down. I (being my age) had a hard time simply standing through her entire show. In the meantime, she bounced around on stage — working it from corner to corner, belted out song after song — with an awesome vocal range, and did solos on the piano while her band members took a break. It was impressive. Quite.

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WARNING: It’s a rant…

Ok, my freak flag is about to fly high again. I have been reading the hubbub about a recent bill to “protect our children from pornography” and psychotic poaching in the schools. And once again, I have to wonder about our school system and our political system.

I mean, seriously (to capture one of my favorite Grey’s Anatomy phrases)…If we, as a society, have first given our right to parent our children to the state and the school system, I must (apparently) learn to quit asking “where are the parents in this scenario?” But, after reading the bill that’s being promoted, I have to ask a similar question, “Where are the teachers during school hours?” if this is the type of thing they worry will happen in schools?

Of course, concern for the children’s privacy is a serious one. After all, I recently learned that my own son’s high school class called the daily roll by projecting the children’s names up on the wall, along with sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers and home phone numbers and addresses. I nearly had a fit.

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What if the current problems I’m always ranting about in the public education system in Kentucky were suddenly gone? What if there was a way to provide an excellent online alternative and what if that alternative was free?

Consider the current new wave of “open source education” options online…A group of universities, worldwide have joined together to form the Open Courseware Consortium a group of higher education organizations willing to share their coursework, syllabuses and class notes online — for public view — for free. Pretty amazing new turn in the formerly un-shared information from universities and institutions including Harvard Law School, MIT, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, etc.

In addition, I’ve found the following online, opensource educational resources:

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As we are winding down the old year, I thought I’d share a bit of information that a family member sent me. It’s a link that shows exactly how much of the money raised for a charity is actually reaching the charity, and how much is being sucked up by the fundraising company and the professional solicitor.

For example, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the American Diabetes Association have 99% of the funds raised going to help the actual cause, and only 1% being used to pay the fundraising engine. That’s a percentage I can get behind!

On the other hand, just the opposite is true for the American Institute for Cancer Research (1% to charity, 99% to solicitor) and the Arthritis Foundation (1% for charitable work, 99% to pay off the fundraisers).

If you want to see the “big” picture on your favorite charities before making those end-of-year contributions, read on!

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It is my hope that others, like me, will take the opportunity of tomorrow’s election to show how important one issue can be. For instance, I’ll not be voting for Ed Whitfield tomorrow. Why? He voted NO — he voted against Net Neutrality. I wrote him earlier this year and told him my feelings on the topic. He decided to go another way, so tomorrow, I’ll go another way too.

He serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and is on the Telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee. So, I’m guessing that he knows EXACTLY what’s at stake here… and yet for some reason… he voted against Kentucky citizens and in favor of the Telecoms. Things that make you go…. Hmmmmmmm.

I know it sounds simplistic, but this issue is important enough to be the ONLY issue that sways me this year when the time comes to mark my own ballot…

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I’m having a fit. All over anyone who will listen. A HUGE fit. I’ve ranted about school attendance policies before, but I’m in the middle of another situation with this topic.

Alex is sick. She got sick over the “fall break” from school. She got worse over the weekend and, against my better judgment, I sent her to school on Monday. I did it because the new attendance policy sucks. Despite the fact that she was snotty and coughing and droopy, I sent her. I knew better. And it was socially irresponsible of me to expose others to the germs and I regret it. But, there was a part of me that was waiting for them to call me to tell me to come and pick her up because she was sick — just so I could ask… “Since you called ME.. is this an “excused” absence?”

It really is about the money from the school’s perspective, else they wouldn’t have “free days” so often and “movies” during library class, and no homework assignments on the days before weekends and often-times very few classes and no homework the days before and after big breaks (like Fall Break, Spring Break, Christmas Holiday, etc, etc…) If it were about educating the children, that would be the focus. That would be how the majority of the time in school was spent.

They are so worried about the “per head” money they get for each child, I figured having a contagious child would make them call me. After all, in the long term, more germs = more illness = fewer kids in school.

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In Kentucky, I wring my hands about the quality of the education. I blog about it, I become a thorn.

In China, the new eSchoolbook program is being launched, and even from the tiny bit of information I can find, it sounds pretty awesome. Now, if only I could get this type of high-tech education approved for home schooling my own — or permitting them to have quality distance learning.

This weekend, I talked with a client over lunch about the educational systems in Kentucky and Georgia. And his idea, married with this high-tech concept, makes perfect sense to me. Why not have the BEST teachers in the country teaching the classes and doing the presentations and have the local teachers on hand to answer questions that arise from those presentations?

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