Thursday Thirteen - Just for the JOY of it!

Make Time for Small Reflections

Herein are my Morning Musings
Random Tuesday Thoughts
and Wordful Outdoor Wednesday

Tuesday morning, March 23rd
1. It's 6:22am ... the fur-kids are fed and thoughts are swirling in my head. Where to begin? Perhaps with National Puppy Day (lest I forget). I'm listening to Eyewitness News (ABC7 in Los Angeles) and they're encouraging folks to send puppy photos to share. Methinks I'll just share here and get on with my randomness, but if YOU'D like to share YOUR PUPPY pictures or see the puppies other have shared,you'll find more information here: ABC7 Celebrates National Puppy Day. Here are links to a few of my of my favorite 'puppy posts' ... just for the JOY of it!

Molly learns to use the stairs
Molly Montoge - Change
Molly as Teacher
Molly at the Beach & Doggie Spa
Celebrating Molly's 5th Birthday with Nostalgia

Ohmygosh ... I've got to STOP being nostalgic and get on with my randomness! I do love my little Molly girl and share about her often don't I ...

2. My right forearm hurts. I've been wearing a 'tennis elbow brace' for a while now and it helps ... sort of but not really. Fortunately I'm fairly ambidextrous ... born left-handed but pretty much forced to do things right-handed from an early age does have some benefits. Transplanting shrubs over the weekend to make room for my 'birthday rose' probably didn't help much. Today is the first time I've noticed that typing hurts, though I have friends who think it's caused my 'mouse activity' in my computer classes, blogging, and Photoshop play. I guess they could be right.

3. I'll write more specifically about the actual 'fix' in a separate post (for the benefit of other owners of Dell laptops with 'dim monitors' making use without a power cord impossible), but for now ... I'm dancing for joy because mine's fixed at last!!! Let's hear it for persistence paying off folks ;-)

4. I love Microsoft Security Essentials!!! A while back I dumped McAfee (even though I'm paid up until next November) because I got tired of it's increasingly intrusive & inept presence on my computers. Just now, when I logged on to my Photobucket account to retrieve this animated 'Snoopy' gif ... MSE popped up with a 'severe threat' (that it had already quarantined and suspended) warning & gave me the option to 'clean' which I did ... all without having to shut anything down. FYI the threat was from from Exploit:Win32Pdfjsc.EI and when I checked just now (after the fact) on the Internet for additional info I learned ...

Exploit:Win32/Pdfjsc.EI is a detection for files that use an obfuscation technique in an attempt to evade detection. This technique is generally employed by malicious PDF files that target software vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Once the malformed PDF files are opened by vulnerable versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader, the embedded JavaScript gets executed and loads the exploit. The exploit may execute code to download and execute arbitrary files on the affected computer. These files may include additional malware. There are no obvious symptoms that indicate the presence of this malware on the affected computer. Files detected as Exploir:Win32/Pdfjsc.EI usually arrive on the system where the user visits a Web page that contains a malicious PDF file or opens an e-mail containing the ODF file as as attachment.

What I know for sure is that I'm happy to know that Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly & simply in the background on my computers .... keeping me safe without charging me an arm and a leg or eating up precious memory doing things I don't understand or care about.

5. Hmmm ... it's now 7:54am. I need to take Molly for a walk so perhaps I'll stop my randomness here to publish and be on my way. I need to pick up a bag of mulch for the planting of my rose bush tomorrow. Interestingly my Wednesday class has been canceled due to a special event on the high school campus so I can be here after all when the gardeners visit tomorrow. Gotta luv serendipity, right? Now I have two more vouchers for one-day Friday or Saturday classes to redeem before the close of the school district's fiscal year in June.

6. Finally, for my Outdoor Wednesday visitors ... here's the space I've cleared for my new Veterans Honor rose bush ...

some of the shrubs I dug up and put in pots for the time being along the new rose bush to be planted ...

and one of my Amaryllis plants beginning to bloom ...

You'll note another bud coming up at the base of this plant. I've got several more Amaryllis plants in various stages so I'll have blooms to enjoy for a while.

7. Watching & listening to President Obama's comments at the Health Reform Bill signing on ABC7 News this morning fills me with pride. If you missed it, I'm sure there will be a link on the Internet soon and I recommend that you check it out when time permits. This is a historic moment for Americans. The bill may not be perfect ... but personally I believe these changes are long overdue. If you have doubts, I offer this link to a recent NY Times opinion piece by Paul Krugman on Health Reform Myths for your consideration. Of immediate interest to me is the financial relief for seniors in ill health on Medicare who are currently trapped in the so called 'donut hole' paying excessive amounts for their prescriptions. I understand that they'll get a $250 rebate this year, next year a 50% reduction in prescription costs, and by the year 2020 the crazy 'donut hole' will be completely closed.

Wednesday afternoon, March 24th (post amended for Thursday Thirteen and Just for the JOY of it ... with apologies to those who have already visited and commented on the above ... you know how I like to 'multi-task' in my posts ... especially when I'm pressed for 'visiting' time in the Blogosphere)
8. On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations. Learn more about how Earth Hour began, what we’ve accomplished, and what is in store for 2010. Click to learn more ...

To participate, just flip off your light switch at 8:30 pm local time to cast your vote for action on climate change.

9. My gardeners didn't come on Wednesday afternoon as scheduled ... I know not why so I'm feeling a bit frustrated because my Veterans Honor rose bush NEEDS to be planted soon and I have no idea when they'll make up the missed day. I'd really like to be here when they plant it for a variety of reasons. If they come tomorrow, I won't be around because I'm spending the day with my sister ... just for the JOY of it! She'll only be here three more weeks because she & her husband plan to head for Yosemite (and beyond) in their Pleasure Way on April 15th. I've not done so for a while, but I occasionally share her photos from the road with is 'logo' and labeled 'SistersPics' ...

10. Dalton at the Bella Terra Staples store in HB helped me choose this 'all-in-one' machine last Friday then suggested I wait for the weekend to see what went on sale. On Tuesday afternoon, he helped me set up my new Canon 'all-in-one' wireless MX870 printer after the guy on telephone Tech Support in Tulsa, Oklahoma said he couldn't help me do anything until the 'extended service plan' info showed up in 10-14 days.

11. I used it to print my belated Christmas Cards Wednesday afternoon ... just for the JOY of it! I hope to get notes written in them and envelopes addressed so they'll arrive before Easter. Regular reader might recall that my HP Photosmart 6180 'All-on-One' printer developed problems when I tried to print my cards last December. Better late than never, right? Right!

12. Ohmygosh ... the gardeners just arrived (at 6:30pm) so I'm going to get my rose planted after all! Hooray ;-)

Here it is in the ground ...

13. The fur-kids have both had dinner but I haven't ... so methinks I'll stop here and fix something because it's already 7:15pm.

Click to embiggen any image & for others participating in

Random Tuesday Thoughts
Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
Outdoor Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen and Just for the JOY of it
Hope you're each having a delightful day!

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" Robin Williams