Wino

Good thing they have the confessional, all sins are forgiven after only a few Hail Mary's and an Our Father.

Don't you love the way we go off on tangents! Not too much to say about comparison shopping but "squirters" are a different matter.

Brett looked tired towards the end, but he kept going. He did a great job overall but the turnovers did in the Vikings. Brees and the Saints played a good game, too.

Because you were in the health care field for 40 years does not mean you are not mysophobic. Seems to me someone who is worried about shaking hands with a stranger is a little out there! As you know, your skin is a great barrier against many germs/bacteria. If you practice your handwashing technique you talk about, then you should have nothing to fear. I am sure you also have plenty of alcohol-based hand cleaner, as well.

OK, I would like to buy a Havard MBA, how do I go about doing it?

True, but seems in order to kill US citizens the odds favorite is to involve airplanes.

The article states, "Thai Visa extension, therefore, is carried out to lengthen or extend current entry permits whose validity is due for extension. The extension is granted as long as requirements are met. Extensions are normally done at any immigration office across the kingdom. A 60-day tourist visa for example can be extended for one month at the at the immigration office for a fee of 1900 Baht." Is this still up-to-date information? A 30 day visa on arrival can be extended for 7 days while a tourist visa can be extended for 30 days?

Sounds like you may be germ-aphobic or is it mysophobia? Like I said before, nothing that a little soap and water cannot cure.

What will you do on Valentine's Day? This year, it is also Chinese New Year. I have heard Pattaya City Hall will be sponsoring Chinese art, singing and other events at Bali Hai Pier.

Here is a report about erectile dysfunction's link to heart disease. Not earth-shaking news but good to be aware. By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter Erectile dysfunction is a strong warning sign that a man might be at increased risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems, a long-running study indicates. "We saw that adjusting for age and Framingham [Heart Study] risk factors, men with erectile function still had a 40 percent increased risk," said Andre Araujo, director of epidemiology at New England Research Institutes and lead author of a report published online Jan. 19 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Though adding erectile dysfunction to the list of known risk factors determined by the Framingham Heart Study -- cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure -- doesn't improve the prediction of future cardiovascular trouble, it can be a quick, free addition to risk assessment, Araujo said. "If a man presents with erectile dysfunction, the physician should work him up for cardiovascular disease," he said. "It is low cost -- indeed, no cost -- with no risk associated with it." The study is the latest of several that have linked erectile dysfunction to cardiovascular disease. That is to be expected, Araujo said, because the same artery-blocking conditions that reduce blood flow to the heart and brain can also reduce flow to the penis. http://news.yahoo.co...ctsheartdisease

Osama is again making nasty broadcasts. Do board members feel safe flying these days? DUBAI (AFP) – Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the botched Christmas Day bombing of a US airliner and vowed further strikes on US targets, in an audio message broadcast on Sunday. The brief statement carried by Al-Jazeera satellite television warned Washington that the attack was meant as a similar message to that of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US carried out by 19 Al-Qaeda militants who hijacked airliners and crashed them into buildings. Bin Laden in the statement praised as a "hero" Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who allegedly tried to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airline over Detroit on December 25 but who was foiled when passengers pounced on him. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100124/wl_afp/attackusnigeriabinladen

If you have shares of Google, this might be a good time to take some profit. By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology WriterSAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are relinquishing some of their control over the Internet search leader with the sale of 10 million shares worth $5.5 billion at current prices. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100123/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_google_founders_stock

Astronauts can now Twitter in space. Here is the story. By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer – Fri Jan 22, 1:26 pm ETCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In a high tech first — really, really high — astronauts in space finally have Internet access. Space station resident Timothy (TJ) Creamer had been working with flight controllers to establish Internet access from his orbital post ever since he moved in last month. On Friday, his effort paid off. He posted the first live Twitter post truly from space. "Hello Twitterverse!" he wrote. "We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station -- the 1st live tweet from Space! More soon, send your ?s" Before, orbiting astronauts had to send such Twitter updates by e-mail to Mission Control in Houston. Then controllers posted the tweets. The International Space Station crew can now use an on-board laptop to reach a desktop computer at Mission Control, and thereby browse the Web. This remote Internet access is possible whenever there is a solid high-speed communication link. It's expected to provide a big morale boost. "Long-duration astronauts, they commit to spending months away from family and friends. It's a pretty unique state of isolation," said NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries. "We expect this to enhance morale and productivity." The astronauts will be subject to the same Internet access guidelines as other on-the-job government employees, namely no interfering with work. Is NASA worried the astronauts might spend too much time online, more than 200 miles up? "These are highly driven individuals," Humphries said with a chuckle, "so they're going to get their work done first." The astronauts already had an Internet Protocol phone for private calls to family and friends. Creamer is one month into a five-month mission. He is sharing the space station with another American, one Japanese and two Russians. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100122/ap_on_hi_te/us_space_station_internet

Perhaps someone of average intelligence can graduate from Yale with a bachelor dregree, but I think a MBA from Havard proves George W is no idiot.

I am not sure these stricter rules in Holland will produce the desired results. Sounds like something Thailand authorities might try. AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Amsterdam's deputy mayor proposed new measures Tuesday to help tackle forced prostitution, including restricting opening hours for brothels and raising the minimum age for prostitutes to 23 from 18. Lodewijk Asscher, who faces re-election in March, said prostitution should be banned between 4 and 8 a.m. to complement existing efforts to fight crime, exploitation and human trafficking in Amsterdam's 800-year-old red light district. "Only the biggest creeps and boozers are walking around at those hours," he said on Dutch radio. "Women really dread working then and sometimes the most vulnerable are used." But the local union for prostitutes said it was against Asscher's proposal because the early morning hours are among the most lucrative for many women. "This is not a good idea, this is the time when the prostitutes can make the most money," said Metje Blaak, a spokeswoman for the Rode Draad union for prostitutes. She said that raising the minimum legal age would lead more girls into underground, illegal brothels. Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000 but authorities have toughened their stance on the business in recent years to fight organized crime and clean up inner city areas. In 2008, Amsterdam announced plans to halve the number of brothels in its red light district. [iD:nL6739892] The Dutch government is introducing stricter permit rules for brothels and registration requirements for prostitutes. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100119/od_nm/us_prostitution

A story about Aunt Karen. The teacher gave her fifth-grade class an assignment: get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories. Ashley said, "My father's a farmer, and we have a lot of egg-laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess." "What's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket!" "Very good," said the teacher. Next little Sarah raised her hand and said, "Our family are farmers too. But we raise chickens for the meat market. We had a dozen eggs one time, but when they hatched we only got ten live chicks, and the moral to this story is, 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.'" "That was a fine story, Sarah. Michael, do you have a story to share?" "Yes, my daddy told me this story about my Aunt Karen. Aunt Karen was a flight engineer in the Gulf War and her plane was hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun, and a machete. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then she landed right in the middle of a hundred enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete until the blade broke. Then she killed the last ten with her bare hands." "Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "what kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?" "Stay away from Aunt Karen when she's been drinking!"

A smile goes a long way. Do your business and get out would be the best way to handle it. Not sure why a handshake would hurt someone?

I thought both playoff games were pretty good. The Jets did fine for most of the game but fell apart at the end. The contest between the Vikings and the Saints was an excellent game. I am surprised Favre's 40 year old body could withstand all that punishment. Vikings would have won it, if it weren't for the turnovers. Now onto Miami. I think Manning is going to be hard to beat, but I will be rooting for the Saints.

Or stay away.

I don't feel sorry for Roman. I understand how the prosecutor likes to set examples to send a message to the public. My point is a 30+ year old case with money a factor, and no threat to the public, and the victim is pleading the case for the defendant. I think there are other battles to fight.

I think Jimmy Carter's wife had a facelift. I haven't seen her recently but I thought she looked pretty good. The comedian, Phyllis Diller use to tell jokes about her facelifts. She looked pretty good, at least on television. I guess the key is not to have too many major reconstructions.

I was told only seven days on a 30 day arrival visa. It may be different for a tourist visa. I am not sure.

I know of a case in which a cardiologist did a procedure on an 86 year old woman. A camera was placed through the groin to the heart to look for blockages. She had an advance directive stating she wanted no extraordinary procedures. The woman made the mistake of saying to this asshole doctor, "I can't take being tired and short of breath anymore." He took this as voiding her advance directive and did the procedure. She coded on the table. She was on a ventilator for ten days until the niece convinced the hospital to discontinue it. She died shortly thereafter.

I hear the poor 19 year old guy claimed he had testicular cancer, in order to fend off the MP's advances.

The crime victim is against it and I think her views should be important in this case. Certainly the 77 year old criminal is no threat to the good people of California. The state is running in the red and is cash-strapped. Is this battle worth fighting?