I didn't intend on posting anything like this today. I had planned on a few senior jokes as a follow up on my Thursday post. I received a Private Message from someone that makes some accusations against other bloggers here. I don't participate in blogstream gossip, largely because by the time anything of that nature has made it's rounds it usually bears little resemblance to the original story. I also find that in many cases the entire event is a misunderstanding of intent. I refuse to make it any worse by adding my two cents to the mix. I also do not know on any real level many of my fellow bloggers and am largely protecting myself from being used by someone with an axe to grind.

I tend to stay away from blogs that are rife with controversy. I may read them, but I do not comment nor do I share my views with anyone else. I don't run around to my particular blogger friends and point out the blogs where the controversies are taking place and suggest that they go read them. I am aware that other bloggers here do, I don't understand why, but I know they do. The reason I don't do so is because it's NONE OF MY DAMN BUSINESS. If it's none of my business, and you aren't being talked about, why is it yours? If I am able to determine that the latest brouhaha doesn't involve me, why can't you determine the same?

Since I'm not the webmaster, I don't feel that I have the right to tell another blogger here that they are wrong, crazy, unstable or any of the other derogatory comments that I have been reading while I'm looking for new blogs to feature once a week. Excuse me, but the Blogstream teenagers behave better among themselves than some of the adults do. They fight, but they don't resort to the underhanded tactics that I find too many of the adults here participating in. I do have the right to say that a blog is objectionable based on violent or pornographic content, and I do that by use of the flag feature at the top of the page. Once that is done, the powers that be can investigate and decide whether the blog should be here. Not being a "power that is" I am not part of the decision making process and am always guided by their decisions. If they disagree with me, I have the right to avoid the blog, now don't I?

Funny thing, if I don't like someone, I feel that is MY personal opinion, and I don't need to impose my opinion on anyone else. So, rather than answer the Private Message I got, or go to the person it accuses and say something, I have chosen to voice my opinion on my OWN blog where you can read it or not as the case may be. I hold myself to a standard of behavior that has stood me in good stead for much of my nearly 58 years. I use that standard whether I am at home, in the workplace or online. It allows me to look at myself in the mirror every morning and although I'm not the cutest granny on the block, like the person looking back at me. I have no desire to involve myself in the gossip that occurs here or in real life. If you do, that's your business, not mine, and all I have to say about it is...Do you like yourself?

I believe that anyone who wishes to blog here, belongs here. I don't believe that any of us have the right to judge any one else. If we don't like something, pass it by and forget about it. Stop trying to make yourself more popular at the expense of someone else. It's not working, trust me.

When I went looking a few weeks ago for the funny senior female graphics that I used in the "My Humps" post, I discovered a website called Suddenly Senior, A place for everyone who's become Senior before their time. There are a number of different features to this website that I haven't really had time to look at. Today I was looking for inspiration for a post, which just wasn't coming. I was ready to give it up when I started reading some of the features from this site.

The first link I clicked on was for advice on how to stay young and happy. It's good advice and worth sharing, besides it gives me an excuse to use some Maxine cartoons.



Throw out all the nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them -- that is why you pay him.

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. If you really need a grouch, there are probably a few of your relatives to do the job.



Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Just never let your brain idle.

Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Laugh so much that you can be tracked in the store by your distinctive laughter.



The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with you your entire life is yourself.

Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.



Cherish your health. If it is good -- preserve it. If it is unstable -- improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve -- get help.

Don't take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country but not to guilt.



Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

And remember that Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take ... But by the moments that take our breath away!

I am a day late with this due to the power outage on Monday. The reason I say that is because I do want to devote the same day every week to this so that it becomes a feature that people look forward to, and can count on.  We all have our own tastes in things and I hope that the new bloggers will be able to find readers and sufficient interest in their blogs to keep them here. I also want to remind people of something.

I'd like to believe that none of my regular readers engage in the kind of behind the scenes tactics that I'm reading about in my quest for new blogs to post. It's been an enlightening experience and one that disturbs me on many levels. I don't like every blog I'm posting here, and this is my blog. However I feel every blog has the right to be here without being harassed, which is why I'm posting without any comment except this. No one here has the right to decide what should and should not exist in Blogstream except Pioneer. This is his website which he kindly has provided for the rest of us to have an open forum with which to express our opinions. If you don't like a particular blog PASS IT BY. DO NOT HARASS THE BLOGGER THROUGH COMMENTS OR PRIVATE MESSAGES. Which blogs belong here and which blogs do not is entirely the province of our webmastr Pioneer. Report blogs you object to to him and let him handle it.

This place is big enough for everyone. Let's keep it that way.

 

It was necessary to remove a new blogger because the link isn't working, the address appears to have changed

Inquizitive Irides Blog

A Southern Gals Musings

Squirrel Chitlins

ACoupleKnucklesDeep

This week I neglected to check the category of the blogs I was looking at but none of these blogs are the variety of adult blogs that you would want to keep your kids from looking at. Have fun reading

I don't know what power company any one else has but we have National Grid here where I live. When they bought out Niagara Mohawk a few years ago there were some changes made. Certain jobs here in the park will be done by the park owner, and other jobs will be done by National Grid. Last night, shortly after 6, my power and that of a neighbor went out. Technically the power went out on 10 of the lots here, but only 2 of them are occupied at the moment. I notified National Grid and they sent out a crew. Crew drove all over and checked all the transformers, and notified me the problem was not theirs.

I then called the park manager who decided that National Grid had not sent out a crew interested in fixing the problem, because based on what I described happening, a transformer blew somewhere. Park manager called the park owner who decided to come down and check out the situation because the outage affected his office as well. From the first to the tenth of the month is rent collection and some folks pay in cash. Without electricity the alarm system wouldn't work so he came to pick up the money before someone else did. On his way in to the park he noticed the street lights on the main road were all out. At 7:30 when the crew was here, it was too light for the sensors to have triggered the lights. The transformer that powers those lights, plus the 10 lots here and the office building, was not checked by by the crew.

The same crew got sent back out, they weren't happy because it was late. Well, if they'd checked this transformer like I'd asked them to, the problem would have been solved by 9pm. Power was restored by 11:45pm and I'm back online. That may change this afternoon because the next round of thunder storms is due this afternoon. Computer and DSL router were unplugged because there were rumbles of thunder and rain going on at the time of the power outage. The storm was happening elsewhere, we were getting the rain so I knew we hadn't been hit by lightening. Unfortunately I'm not a $50 per hour line technician for National Grid. Plus, they would have been pulling overtime for driving around checking transformers.

Seems to me, that if I describe a loud hum followed by a pop and loss of power, and no lightening is seen in the area; somebody who makes that much money for KNOWING his job should figure there's a blown transformer. It also seems to me that if that somebody doesn't know his job, then he's being overpaid and there needs to be some kind of a correction made. My bill reflects that we pay more for delivery charges and taxes than we pay for actual kilowatt hour usage. I'm a bit simpleminded here. If I'm paying you to deliver something, then I expect you to deliver it. If there's a problem, I expect you to send someone out that is willing to fix the problem instead of palming it off on someone else because it's too hot and humid to be outside working.



**the new blogger post will happen tomorrow, I couldn't be online to finish it last night**

To be a blogger I think you have to have a sense of humor. Especially these days with the fine folks at BloggerTalk pointing out all the ways in which you are blogging wrong. I thought it was supposed to be fun, but then again I'm just a 57 year old female that likes to use her brain once in awhile. Being the age I am means I've lived through and forgotten many different stages of society and the latest greatest fad of each decade. Now we're in the 21st century, and of course, I try to keep up. Which is why I do more surfing online than I used to.

One change in our society today, and it is one I don't understand, is the apparent lack of respect for women that appears in our culture in odd ways. I found the following picture of mens urinals in a bathroom at a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.



Urinals and a toilet shaped like women's mouths. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a problem with it.

In societies where women are raped, beaten and murdered with alarming regularity, is this really necessary? Is it me, or is this a distinct lack of respect towards women? I think maybe I've lived too long or something. This disturbs me in ways that I have no words to describe. I'm disappointed, and somewhat disgusted in a society that thinks this was a "fun" thing to do.