THIS & THAT AND OTHER

HEATER AND AIR CONDITIONER

Yup, it’s that time of year to have our heating and a/c system checked over and out. Hey, I’m sad to report that I had to turn my heat on last night, well, early this morning. I was bloody arse cold! What is up with this damn weather anyway? Didn’t anyone tell Mama Nature it’s MAY! And what’s with all this rain – did she get the month’s mixed up again – I mean, isn’t it April showers bring May flowers? This woman is losing it – early dementia or something – ye gads!

Dollar-friendly Destinations

The economy is faltering, the euro is clobbering the dollar, and traveling to the far reaches of luxury is costlier than ever. But I did some digging and have good news: For every Barcelona, there's a Buenos Aires; for every Marrakesh, a Tunisia. And fear not: No one's about to suggest you strap on a backpack and call the Eurail office — or even make you ride a camel. These ten high-value destinations are every bit as chic and luxurious as their highfalutin counterparts, but they'll make your greenbacks fly a lot further. Are you ready for these “dollar-friendly destinations?”

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua
Buenos Aires
Portugal
Santa Cruz Valley, California
Jordan
Ho An, Vietnam
Barbados
Warsaw, Poland
Tunisia
Isle Holbox, Mexico

Boy, I’m excited to visit anyone of these places, how about you? Well, maybe not Vietnam, as a Nam Vet I’m still a little hesitant about going back there!

Rising Ripoffs

Thousands of cast iron manhole covers in cities across the country have been pilfered in the past year. Chicago lost 200 in one month, with 40 reportedly taken in a single day. This is not some prank, oh no, thefts of manhole covers increase as metals prices soar – boy, folks will go to any means to make money these days, eh? People have been known to fall in these sewer holes and get injured – six-foot fall is not funny. And even this doesn't stop clowns from taking manhole covers -- talk about sick, ye gads!

Many schools unlikely to meet education goals

The federal No Child Left Behind law says that by the 2013-14 school year all students must pass state tests in these subjects.[passing scores in math and reading]. And guess what, many schools aren’t even close to seeing this happen. So what happens?

Schools that don't hit testing benchmarks for two years in a row or longer must do things like provide tutoring, transport kids to better-performing schools or replace staff thought to be a part of a school's problems. [Tell me something, what other job can you name that after three years you are just about tenured for life? I mean you gotta do something really bad to get your butt fired --sorry, I can't think of any, can you?]. I know teachers work hard and our children are blessed to have dedicated teachers, so how about teaching and meet these educational goals!

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Okay, have you have enuff of this round the globe news tidbits? Pretty wild, eh?

Don’t look now but I am seeing sunshine and as soon as things dry up a bit and it warms up a little, I plan to get outside. Need to run errands anyway and while out and about, I shall bring my camera and who knows, maybe I’ll find some interesting shots. [ By the by, why do we call it "run" errands? Why not "walk, stroll, crawl, skip," or some other word? It's always been run, odd, eh?]

By the by, what's the gas price today -- in some places its $4....ouch! None of us are gonna be driving around sightseeing -- unless its on a bike! Good thing we all learned how to walk, as this may be our only means of transportation soon....walk and eat, drive and starve -- you can't have both!