Barbaro

The article begins, "Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May."

It continues, "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time."

Roy and Gretchen Jackson were with Barbaro on Monday morning, with the owners making the decision in consultation with chief surgeon Dean Richardson.

It was a series of complications, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, that proved to be too much for the gallant colt, whose breakdown brought an outpouring of support across the country."

I just wanted to let you know that MamaD is experiencing no laminitis in her left rear hoof. Good news.

Tacos

Ethanol is all the rage...unless you like tacos. There seems to be trouble.

Bears-Colts

Need a laugh? Watch this.

Everybody's Doing It

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to relate to and understand others. Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel. You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations. A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict. You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

The One Armed Man

This is not the real fugitive.

This guy is the real one.

Having said that, I think we all need take a moment and think about that poor one armed man. Life can't have been that easy for him, you know.

More about living the one arm life is coming soon...probably when I can use that other arm and blog about it.

Platinum Ring Mix-up

In June Mr. D and I will celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss.

I was hoping for a platinum & diamond ring, but there was some confusion and he is getting me a titanium plate instead. It will arrive on Friday afternoon.

Linda Scissorhands

When you break your wrist and it needs to be put back in place it is called a "reduction". They block the nerve to the arm and give an extra dose of pain killer into the break. Then they bring in the device seen in the photo. They put a "chinese handcuff-like" thing on each finger, hook it to the device, and hang weights from your arm. Within minutes the bone is moved up or down enough to pop that sucker over and back in place, put on a cast, and send you on your merry way with a weekend's supply of Vicodin.

Of course, when I saw what they were doing and how ridiculous it was, I asked Terry to take a photo for my blog. The nurse heard me and went running to get a polaroid (good thing since my camera was not in my bag). He took two shots. In the first I don't look so puffy and my eyes are open, but Terry's dark shirt makes this the better photo as it offsets the finger contraption nicely. So, I will set vanity aside in the interest of educating you, my dear blog reader.

Distal Radius Fracture

This is an x-ray of a typical distal radius fracture.

There are many ways to get one of your very own. One of the more fun ways is to go skating at Centennial Lakes.

Humility and Class

This is what humility and class looks like to me.

Here is a person who cares about what he says and how he says it and goes the extra mile to avoid unnecessarily offending others. Here is a leader who leads by example and demonstrates humility not by telling us how humble he is, but by being humble.

Junk Brothers

We switched to Direct TV last July in one of those attempts to bundle and save with Qwest. Lots of trouble and I still haven't figured out how to read the bill to see if we are actually saving $$$, but that's for another blog post, or, perhaps, for a letter to the attorney general's office.

At any rate, the channels are all weird at Direct TV. There seems to be no particular rhyme or reason, so I have memorized some channels (Fox News is 360, The Food Network is 231, CNN is 202, etc.). I discovered if you go to 231 (Food) and click down two channels, you get the Home and Garden TV and if you do it at the right time (I don't know what time that would be since I don't know how to find the schedule yet), you come across a very entertaining show called The Junk Brothers.

They are two guys from Canada who go out at night lurking. Their goal is to find furniture that people have put out in their garbage, but that the Junk Brothers think just needs some TLC and creativity.

They take the item, rework it into something creative, and bring it back all restored. They ring the doorbell and run and the owner comes out, looks at the reworked item, scratches his/her head and says, "Wasn't that the beat up dresser we threw out last week?"

Next time you're looking for some mindless entertainment, check out The Junk Brothers.

Noteworthy Quote from NYC Mayor Bloomberg

We are waiting for the gas to pass.
--Mayor Bloomberg

Caluiflower and Mark Twain

I think it's time to move on to a post that doesn't have the word "peeing" in it. While I was watching Rachel Ray make a pasta sauce out of mashed cauliflower, she offered the following Mark Twain quote. This, of course got me a googlin' (MamaD and the google search--a deadly combination) "Mark Twain quotes" and I came up with a few more for your reading pleasure.

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.


"Be yourself" is about the worst advice you can give to people.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run.

Substitute damn every time you're inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.

To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence.

Do something every day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.

Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.

A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.

It takes your enemy and your friend, working together to hurt you: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.

And, finally, how many of you knew that Mr. Twain is credited with the next quote?

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

From My Cousin Dale

SUCCESS:

At age 4  success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 16 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

Why I Homeschool

I homeschool so that I will not be in the same camp as this guy, Mr. Challies, whoever he is, who has bought into every cliche in the book about how idiotic and uninvolved with the culture us stupid homeschoolers are. Now I gotta quit blogging and get back to writing my latest tract, "The Evils of Halloween and the Excellencies of George W. Bush," then it's off to buy me a new blue denim jumper, but not till after I gather the eggs from the hen house and milk Bessie.

The other reason I homeschool is because of this:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7

In Spite of Myself

In spite of my recent blog post, I started my "read the Bible in a year" program in January. I did not, however, start with Genesis. I started with Zephaniah. One book down. 65 more to go!

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
Zephaniah 3:17-19

Choose this One

Okay, so if you're only going to read one of my links, pick this one.

Terry and I went to Bethlehem last Sunday and were blessed, encouraged, and challenged by this message.

Another Tasty Morsel

I found yet another tasty morsel...and guess where it was!?

It relates to the discussion I referred to a couple posts ago.

Never in January

I found this article on the Desiring God web site and thought it was timely. Here's the link.

Preaching the Gospel

Ben and his fam were having an interesting discussion yesterday that he continued on his blog.

While pondering his question, I remembered a St. Francis of Assisi quote that got me "a googling" and I ran across yet another SFOA quote that I think is even better than the more familiar first one.

First quote:
Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.

Second quote:
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.