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Independence Day Safety USA

07/03/09 19:26:20 | 0 What Say You?

"The day will be the most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival... It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade... bonfires and illuminations (fireworks) from one end of this continent to other, from this day forward forevermore." - John Adams
on July 3, 1776 to his wife after the Continental Congress decided to proclaim the American Colonies independent of England.

Our 4th of July traditions of parades, cookouts and fireworks all are part of our celebration of this American Holiday. No one enjoys the magical brilliance of a fireworks display quite so much as on July 4th. Fireworks, even legal fireworks, present risks that result in deaths, blindings, amputations and severe burns. Illegal fireworks are significantly more dangerous. Fireworks safety is a vital component of our celebration:

LEAVE FIREWORKS TO THE PROFESSIONALS! But if fireworks are legal where you live and you decide to set them off on your own, here are important safety tips:

* Buy fireworks only from licensed retail outlets
* Never experiment with homemade or altered fireworks
* Follow directions carefully - with close adult supervision
* Never allow children to play with or ignite fireworks
* Read and follow all warnings and instructions
* Be sure other people and animals are out of range before lighting fireworks.
* Never point or throw fireworks at people or animals
* Before using fireworks, get permission from the property owner
* Use fireworks outdoors on a smooth, flat surface away from the house, dry leaves, and flammable materials
* Never shoot fireworks from metal or glass containers
* Light one firework at a time - then move back quickly!
* Never try to relight fireworks that have not fully functioned
* Keep a bucket of water, wet towels and a garden hose nearby
* Never carry fireworks in your pocket

PET SAFETY:

* Never take a pet to a fireworks display
* During the hours when the sound of fireworks can be heard, don't keep dogs in yards because they may run away
* While attending fireworks, keep your pet in a cool, well-ventilated room, with a radio or TV playing softly in the background. Windowless rooms are best since frightened dogs have been known to jump through windows and screens
* If you think your pet may become agitated, discuss the possibility of tranquilizers with your veterinarian
* Make sure all dogs and cats are wearing ID tags
* After the 4th watch your pets during neighborhood walks, making sure they are not exposed to potentially harmful fireworks debris

FIREWORKS THAT ARE BANNED UNDER FEDERAL LAW:

* M-80s, cherry bombs and any firecrackers containing more than 50 milligrams (about 1/6th the weight of a typical aspirin tablet) of powder
* Large re-loadable shells
* Aerial bombs
* Mail-order kits for building fireworks

STATES THAT BAN ALL CONSUMER FIREWORKS: including those which are allowed by U.S Consumer Product safety Commission regulations: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont.

STATE HAVING NO FIREWORKS LAWS EXCEPT AT COUNTY LEVEL: Nevada

STATES THAT ALLOW ONLY SPARKLERS AND/OR OTHER NOVELTIES: Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania.

STATES THAT ALLOW SOME OR ALL TYPES OF CONSUMER FIREWORKS approved by enforcing authority, or as specified in law: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Congress July 4, 1776: "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

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Forward THIS

06/27/09 08:27:14 | 1 What Say You?

FW: ALERT!!!!!!!!!! I MEAN IT!!!!!!
FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:FW:Alert!

Drop everything! Forward this right now! (And be sure to put all one-thousand email addresses in the CC: section, because somebody might like to reply to all the people who are on this forward and of course we want to make it very, very easy for them to do this because you just can NOT get enough email like, "Would you like to make one billion dollars overnight just by picking your nose?")

--------------------
Hello _______!!!

Please forward this to everyone you have ever known, or ever will know!!!! And I DO mean EVERYONE!!!! Even those people who you've only emailed once to ask why they didn't have any Nintendo cheat codes on their cat's home page, and they replied "Huh?" - yes, forward it to ***them*** too! Just forward away like mad - like your very life depended on it - BECAUSE IT DOES!!!!

This is the ONLY way this information can get out there, people!!!! We all know that the media refuse to cover things like businessmen having their kidneys stolen in strange hotels, and Bill Gates handing out free money, and computer viruses that are so powerful they can erase your hard drive even when the email is on a computer in the next apartment and your laptop isn't plugged in. IT'S UP TO US TO STOP THIS!!!!!!

If you don't forward this to everyone you know and THEY don't forward it to everyone THEY know, a strange man will approach some poor woman at a mall and ask for a ride, and she won't know to *****run like hell***** because she didn't get this alert!!!!! Nope, she'll just let the strange man get right in her car!!!!! And once he does, he'll steal her kidneys and leave her in a strange hotel room!!!! And on top of that, she won't get a free trip to Disneyworld because she won't be home to get her important forwarded email!!!!!

Now stop reading and get out your address book and forward this with utter abandon, regardless of whether you have anything more important to do OR ESPECIALLY whether the people you're forwarding this to might actually ******have better things to do!!!!!!****** THEY DON'T, TRUST ME! There is NOTHING more urgent than this!!!! Just to be safe, send it to everyone two or three times!!!!!!!

Oh, and by the way - watch out for that new virus that's disguising itself as an Important Forwarded Message because it's ****really**** nasty. It is by far the most powerful, vicious virus yet. It not only infects your hard drive, causing your keyboard to lock up if you try to forward email to anyone who hasn't personally asked you to alert them if Bill Gates is giving away money, it also sends out a secret subspace alert to all strangers in the area and the next time you go to the mall they'll follow you to your car and try to take your kidneys. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

********************

NOTE: How many times a week (or day) do you get such ludicrous emails as the above in your mailbox? Emails scaring the bejeebers out of you, filled with exclamation points and all capital letters: unbelievably (and they are) fantastic product or vacation offers, bizarre stories of real diseases, lost and/or terminally ill children, and oh Jeeez, those countless virus alerts.

Even the most archaic email program comes with a Delete button. It's really a simple feature to use. Who knows - it may prevent you from losing an email pal or two. If you are truly concerned, before forwarding this type of email to family, friends and mailing lists, check out the following URLs to see if it's myth, hoax or fact:

Computer Virus Myths
Current Net Hoaxes
Don't Spread that Hoax!
Urban Legends Reference Pages

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Who Are You Dealing With on the Internet?

06/07/09 15:22:32 | 1 What Say You?

"Beware. Keep on your toes and be alert" is all I can say. During the years on the Internet, it's been my experience to make friendships that have gone through thick and thin. In fact, many of the very first people I met online are still in frequent contact with me. We've developed deep, personal friendships, way beyond some of the relationships I've developed in real life. Oftentimes, I've met some of these warm, caring people in person, making our friendship bond even stronger.

But every once in a while, you will get the real lemon, the one that momentarily destroys your faith and trust in your fellowman; inadvertently, even your own general outlook of people. And that is what has happened recently in my life.

Oh no, it didn't just "happen" yesterday. It's been a long, long time coming. In fact, other friends whom I hold in high esteem knew this person much better than I did and begged me not to go in with her, that in the end, I would be doing all the work. The real ass kicker is that they had known OF her or knew her a much briefer time than I've known her. But, I chose to bury my head in the litter box because, to be quite honest, I didn't stop to think that someone I'd known for years would destroy a 10-year online relationship with a single email. Wait ... make that NO email. Wait ... I'm getting ahead of myself.

You know how it goes... One day you enter an animal site and love what you see. You email the web site owner and the beginnings of a nice relationship begins. Through the years, emails are exchanged discussing various animal issues, even though the visited web site is simply a cute site without any substance for the well-being of animals. However, through your efforts, the web site owner gradually sees that animal advocacy will make a statement to her visitors, and so you feel that you've made a difference for the sake of animals, plus helped another pet owner to realize that the reality of life is not just made up of the "cute" stuff.

Then another day you get an email from the same site owner begging for assistance in starting an animal message board. This person has had pets all her life, but doesn't KNOW pets, nor does she know anything to speak of about message boards and animal advocacy. "Oh please, please give me your help," she writes. "You know SO much about cats and animals in general. We could be a team!" And so you drop everything you're working on and spend months and months giving her tips, suggestions, and general advice.

And that's the way it began. For well over a year and a half, I've worked as hard as I could, devoting every minute I could spare to that message board, barely making time for my own board. This board was supposedly owned by her, two other women that I had brought on board, and myself. It was a monumental success. I was very proud of the impact we were making on pet owners in giving assistance to their worries and problems, extending friendship around the world to other pet lovers, and in doing so, I thought the personal friendship between this woman and me was growing deeper and stronger.

Then last month all hell broke loose. Problems arose on the board that only she could handle. Why only she? Because she never trusted me (or the other two women) enough to make the administrative decisions in her absence. Damn, she didn't even bother to tell us that she was dropping off the face of the earth for two and a half months. Our pleas for her administrative support went unheeded; my personal emails, come to find out, were simply deleted unread as they came into her mailbox.

For days after I disassociated myself from that message board, I received emails from others complaining of the administration. Finally I broke down and wrote my so-called friend, who never once made contact with me with a single attempt by email or phone call after I left moderating the board, even when she came back to find me gone. The email I received from her in return was a poor-mouthing list of ailments and events that had happened to her. This is no excuse; this is pure unadulterated irresponsibility and lack of respect for those who have done all the work for her, with no concern from her about their own personal lives. I replied with, "And the rest of us lead a life of sunshine and roses. No, (name withheld), the rest of us have had scores and scores and scores of problems, too. HOWEVER, because we're close friends, we've made damn sure that our right hand knew what our left hand was doing."

The long and short of this tale is that no matter how long you've known some people, if their GAIN isn't met, then you're like so much garbage - to be kicked around and eventually left on the curbside for trash removal.

Beware. Keep on your toes and be alert.

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In Memorium - Memorial Day USA

05/25/09 05:09:59 | 0 What Say You?

In Memorium

Have you ever looked, really looked, at a soldier's face? Sometimes it's young, barely an adult the hopes of youth still painted in its features. Sometimes it's old older than faith, older than wisdom, older than time. And sometimes ... sometimes it's a bit of both all at once.

Sometimes it's gritty and pained, remembering the face of another who has fallen. Sometimes it's laughing, pleased to have a moment of peace. Most of the time it's proud because it knows, oh yes it knows, the world is a different place a better place because of it.

Next time you look at a soldier's face, see if you can find that glint of pride. Sometimes it's hidden, and you have to search it out. You'll find it in the eyes always in the eyes. For the eyes are indeed the windows to the soul, even a soldier's soul.

And when you've carefully examined every feature of that soldier's face, stand up straight and tall and smile your best smile. Thank that soldier, because it does what some cannot or will not. It defends what it believes to be right with it's very life. But more important, it defends a perfect stranger you.

And when you see a flag covered casket, stand in memorium of all the soldier's faces you've examined. For when one of them falls, they all fall. And when one of them stands, they all stand.

Shouldn't we stand with them?

Lilian Leader
June 2, 2006

Remembering them all ...

Have a safe Memorial Day!

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Introducing a New Cat into Your Household

05/24/09 06:51:28 | 0 What Say You?

One of the most frequently received emails I receive or posts on my message board is how to properly introduce one cat to another. Most people don't have the patience required, failing to realize that cats are much like people when it comes to other cats - it takes time for a relationship to bloom and grow.

When introducing one cat to another, both cats will be very stressed. They are frightened because changes have been made in their lives - one is probably missing his old home and is having to also share life with people that aren't family in his eyes and with a cat who knows that there's a stranger in his home.

Give the cats time to adjust. Introduction has to be gradual and supervised and can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to much longer - even months.

Not only are they having to cope with their anxiety over a disrupted home life, but they are having to adjust to each other - especially if one is used to being the only cat in his household. They will need time to get used to one another and then perhaps become friends.

One of the most important things to do in cat intros is to make sure that each cat gets a lot of attention. Let them know they are loved. Give them a lot of attention - cuddles, pets, and sweet talk. Both of them must feel that they will be forgotten and unloved, much like small children do when a baby brother or sister comes into the household. Watch for depression - get both cats involved in playtime and talk with them while they are together. Interactive toys like wands and fishing pole type toys are good ones to encourage them to play together.

Resident cats can be diligently protective of their territory when another cat is brought into the home, especially if both are alpha cats, or are trying to establish an alpha status. It's not always a smooth introduction because you can put two cats together, but you can't make them like each other. They may not ever like each other, but they will be able to tolerate each other. There's no fast solution. They have to do it in their own time with as little interference from you and your family as possible. They need to sort out their relationship.

However, cats are remarkable in the fact that they can adapt so easily to almost any changes. They normally don't like those changes, but they have such a seemingly bottomless pit of tolerance and patience.

Remember that hissing and growling is part of cat talk. They hiss and growl at other cats and their adversaries to let them know to get out of their personal space, to back off.

Here are some links for tips and general info in introducing cats:

www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/aggression4.html

www.cuhumane.org/topics/catcat.html

http://www.catcaresociety.org/introductions.html

http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/49/Id-like-you-to-Meet...-Introducing-Cats.html

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Yuku free message boards

sniksnak

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Independence Day Safety USA

Forward THIS

Who Are You Dealing With on the Internet?

In Memorium - Memorial Day USA

Introducing a New Cat into Your Household