Coffee Break #28 - The cold, dark days

I told Al no one misses him and not to ever think of returning! ^_^

fresh!!!

forgot to mention this yesterday - bambi (s) visited my yard the other night - not happy - they seem to really like oak leaf hydrangea, nibbled on a witch hazel (not the blooms), and i'm sure they chewed the wolf eye dogwood, looks like they stayed away from all the jm's although i have not walked into the backyard to survey yet

so it has got me thinking - Bear Grylls snagged a reindeer the other night setting up snares with rope from his parachute - i do not have a parachute - rope i do have - what do you think about setting up several snares tied to some trees by the oak leaf hydrangea? they will be back - have to talk to some hunter friends to see if they want to cut up some venison

If it works, come on over! I have not seen any since I found the pellet gun!

oh it would work eventually - thing is i couldn't kill it or get close enough to release it - so i would have a deer by the garage and peta all over me - not sure eating plants is a good defense

Talk about dumb technology:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ces/6949335/CES-2010-Ford-unveils-Tweeting-car.html

makes me sick!

A twitter car, oh brother. How about a car that will teach manners or English? That would be much more useful.

The reviews on that plant sensor were funny, did you read the one from the landscape artichect, I would not be using him if he needed to use a plant sensor, really now....He said he put it in a planter to get plant recommendations because he couldn't get something to grow there, a couple of the plants it recommended were coleus and tulips....um... tulips usually full sun coleus usually def not full sun.

You would think that someone would have realized that switching to LED traffic lights might be a problem since they would not melt the snow!

I would have... found out quick with the christmas lights

And they boasted about the low wattage - duh!!

Finally a closeup of the RedBellies Woodpecker who has been here for months.

They sure come close don't they? Once they get used to 'ya they get brave and 'announce 'themselves when they arrive, the Downys 'laugh' when they fly away, got this one a few days ago.

I could use some help on an issue that has recently presented itself to me, and I need some opinions. If someone with whom you have had a short, strictly online relationship with, sent you a large sum of cash in the mail, in spite of the fact you asked them not to, would you feel comfortable accepting it? This person is not wealthy, and I am sure, can find other uses for this cash. My anxiety over this is causing me to lose sleep. Any thoughts are appreciated, I've gotten to know you all and respect your opinions ^_^

The $ gift takes the relationship to a different level. If I intended to keep it as a strictly online relationship I would not accept it since I would not be willing to 'evolve' the relationship past a certain point at a comfort level of my choosing. Both parties should be comfortable when a relationship progresses, (IMO).

I'd def send the $ back.

Agree You don't want to feel an obligation & uncomfprtable. Why did person not follow your instruction?

I agree.

If there's a problem, I'll dmail you my address.

send it back

I'm hoping these responses will solve the problem Victor, thanks--I'll keep it in mind.

tomorrow my wife is off with a girl friend to a book signing/reading (author writes books on dogs, or dog stories) not sure which in southern VT - probably very close to your place bbrooks vt retreat - which works great for me, heading to a free bonsai lesson in the afternoon

I Know this person meant well, has an enormously kind heart, but this person was unable to hear my concerns and was extremely insistent. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only person who saw the potential problems. Your responses support my thoughts and feelings--Thanks for your help everyone!

Phoebe - I meant you could send it here!

My strictly online relationships have cost ME money! ^_^

LOL! I am a little too literal under stress^_^

Hope that everyones $$ in the stock market has done well since the fall a couple years ago - just received my year end statements and i'm within spitting distance of where they were at the market high back in the end of 07- not sure how that works since the Dow was so much higher then

'09 was a great year for me. I am past where I was before all the stuff hit the fan two falls ago with Lehman and the bailouts. Moving money into gold and oil when everyone was freaking out last year really helped. Also not bailing out of the tech funds.

Just finished installing two more speakers to my home theater. Now it's seven speakers, plus the sub-woofer. I had these speakers for almost a year - duh!!! What a pain running the wire neatly around. All the up and down and bending killed my back. The worst part is connecting the wires to the back of the receiver. Even with my small fingers it took a long time. Lots of profanity broadcast.

we have seven hooked up here to - when did it a few years ago i ran wire on the ceiling of the unfinished basement and up through the walls - the wall deal was the hard part farting around with the snakes to pull the wire through to set the speakers high in corners - made a mess and had to patch up a little

i already had stuff in energy - never went the gold route - market out performed gold last year, if you did it in 08 and kept it there then you made a good choice - very happy with my 09 since i did not contribute much - only moved around $$ to international and large cap value funds for a better mix

No way, Jose! Look at the chart of the gold fund I have. I moved most of the money into it in March.

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=VGPMX#chart1:symbol=vgpmx;range=1y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

Gold doesn't produce interest, even low amounts so would not be interested.

Well I would not buy it at this point - already had a great run. You don't buy gold for income (interest). You buy it for price appreciation and/or as a hedge.

great choice of fund!

I was referring to gold only funds verse the market - a local well know financial adviser mentioned this on a radio program i listen to over the weekends if i am in the car.

i did look up your fund - i am also a vanguard fund owner - and saw this link - https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/yellow-flag-10062009 - in the article V lists its highest performing funds and cautions for 2010.

i have the two top funds (too much of my portfolio if i listened to the advice the V guys gave me) that out performed the precious metal fund and the other.

glad we both did well!!

Victor, 7 years ago DH asked his students what problem the LED traffic lights could have and only 1 student could come up with the answer about melting snow. I just read your post to him. A student actually just emailed him remembering that question too.

Funny, Deb! There are always unintended consequences.

Bill my best fund from V over the years has been Primecap. The other two recent well-performing ones for me are the precious metals and energy.

Also happy with my Apple stock!

have Primecap and energy as well - i do not do stocks, only mutual funds - several years ago i did and found myself checking daily - made some good $$ when everyone else was - not worth the anxiety - i just make sure the fund is min. 4 stars and the lead adviser has been there a while and/or has a good track record

i have heard too much personal dirt on Jobs to buy his stock - Tiger is a pussy cat in comparison

My older son had a 'salad party' in his technology class today. They feasted on the lettuce they grew hydroponically. How cool is that?!! They have so much more now than when I went to school. I want a new childhood!

The latest edition of the bible for woody plants is out for a few months. Still a bit pricey! Maybe Bill can buy it for me. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Woody-Landscape-Plants-Characteristics/dp/1588748707/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262995214&sr=1-6

I used to hate it when the school improved the cirriculum the class after my youngest child.

Tell me about it. The HS I went to now has so much great stuff. Many AP courses (only two when I was there. I took English and earned six credits for college!), many activities, more sports teams, including baseball. When I went, they only had softball. I was on the team.