ONLY good thing about this is that MAYBE it will help prevent something worse in the future.

If President Obama or anyone in his family ever gets hurt, I wonder if I wouldn't need locking up myself. The teabillies here would be shooting off fireworks in celebration, and there's only so much I can take.

I take extreme exception to your portrayal of President Obama. Just know that.

Too bad I don't have time tonight to verbally box your ears, but you could use it.

Don't mistake this as male-bashing; I actually like most guys, having had brothers.

But when my ex and I split, on the day the divorce became final I sent him a greeting card quoting MLK (who was quoting an old spiritual): Free at last, Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!

Some people mistake me for a hard hearted bitch because I don't suffer hysterics when they get abusive. I just say FU and walk off, happy as a lark. That's the best revenge anyway, to live happily regardless.

later:

Oh, and the night he left, I promised to pack his clothes for him to pick up later. As soon as he was out of sight, I piled them all in the dirt driveway (we lived out in the boonies) and set them on fire. Pretty soon the volunteer fire department showed up, and they thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. I went inside to fetch the beer, and we all sat around and watched it burn. They were still laughing when they left about half an hour later. When I hear a person begging someone to come back to them, I just want to slap them silly for their own good.

One more - What's the best frugal green way to rot out a tree stump?

I can't burn it because I'm afraid of underground fires even though I know we don't have the right conditions for one here. I'm just super careful about fire.

Please help identify a (boring) mystery item!

Because it was raining when a local church held a parking lot giveaway of personal and household items, there wasn't anyone else around to ask when I found this. (Apparently I'm the only one in town who doesn't mind a downpour when the price is right!) It's made by Remington and is shaped sort of like a foot bath except it's not big enough for most adults. I haven't found anything similar online as yet.

It held something akin to hardened wax with a slightly pleasant smell. At home I plugged it in and heated the wax so I could pour it out. Not only am I curious as to the exact original 'beauty' purpose, I also want to figure out an alternate use before I consider tossing it. Any guesses or ideas would be appreciated. Even though I cleaned the wax out thoroughly, the taste would probably make the thing unusable for a winter bird bath, wouldn't it?

Now for some of the other goodies I scooped up: A very nice heavy cable cardigan good enough for Sundays and FOUR pair of new St. John's Bay sandals and boots in my size; an electric roaster that works just fine, thank you; 5 antique glass bottles; several pieces of bakeware including a perforated pizza pan, all in good shape - I'm a very selective picker; a perfectly good scroll mouse and other electronic odds and ends; several insulated carriers that will be perfect for frozen food or electronics storage; and maybe best of all, a name-brand aircraft rolling suitcase that you wouldn't believe me if I told you the manufacturer. There were several nice purses as well that I know all sorts of alternate uses for, such as a mail catcher. Oh, and all kinds of garden pots I can use next spring.

I really hated to leave behind the two nice bikes but I already have one and they wouldn't fit in the car anyway - or yes, I would've hauled them away too. In the pouring rain, and I wouldn't care if the whole town had been watching.

Highjacking tv cable with coaxial was what I meant by 'piggybacking'.

And the phone company's certainly not going to give her anything in writing to allow free use of their service. More like a court summons or something.

I piggyback an open wifi signal from the church across the street with permission too, but that's different. I've noticed there are devices sold to hack someone's locked signal but I wouldn't do that and I KNOW that's illegal.

With today's technology, I bet the phone company can see who's using the fibre optic cable they installed, too. Right from their central office located about 45 miles away.

That's definitely where Harry picked up the term, as I believe he was involved with them earlier.

BTW, as an older lady I never got to join the ILWU myself but had relatives involved, including one who was Harry's West Coast business manager. Had a steel plate in his head from the Great Strike, etc. I was raised to believe and still do that anyone who crosses a picket line anywhere commits a mortal sin.

Two of my favorite pictures of Harry are of him as a young man shipping out for the States. He's barefoot on a wooden deck and in one picture has the wheel. You KNOW that was a lonnnng time ago!

What a service technician told my neighbor, which I can't quite believe:

Tiny as this backwater town is, it was fully wired for fibre optic cable a few years ago. A neighbor who just bought a house on our block knows a phone company technician who told her that since she has a router and a wall plug for a modem, she doesn't need to pay for isp service at all; that in fact she doesn't even need a modem due to the fibre optic cable. Supposedly she can just plug a modem cord into the jack with the other end plugged into her computer. Or something. I don't quite entirely follow.

This sounds fishy and even possibly illegal if true. But he works for the phone company and claims to know. Couldn't he turn her in for theft of service or something if they parted ways? I want to warn her but don't want to sound like the ignoramus I am either. I just don't trust people who try to tell somebody how to do something for 'free'. This town is tiny and remote, but I know in L.A. they had people who went around with devices that could tell whether tv cable was being piggybacked illegally.

At least I've learned long ago to either carry a tiny wrist strap 'purselet' or

something small like a multi-pocket camera case and long enough strap I can sling it across my body. I'm bad to go off and leave things, especially a regular purse which I don't like anyway. Just around town, what do I need one for?

Sometimes the pot that simmers longest boils over suddenly.