Too Bad Tim Dinh...

I've never met you, and I'm quite positive you don't want to meet me.

For, you see, Tim, I'm not the gracious generous person you thought I was.

I am not sending you the new laptop you fraudulently paid for using an online account of mine. I'm not sure how you made it through, but bravo. That kind of energy redirected could bring about life changing moments for you.

Sadly, Tim, this is not one of those moments. I will be getting every last penny that you tried to take from me. You'll move on to other unsuspecting victims to try, once again, to obtain something for nothing.

So, if this post serves nothing more than a warning to my friends, family, and followers, so be it.

My advice to all of you? Go change the passwords to your critical accounts. You know which ones they are. Let me ask this rhetorical question...How many of those passwords are similar because it's convenient??

Not anymore, right? Be ever vigilant. Set a schedule. Every xx days, change your passwords. Make a point to look at your credit card and bank statements two to three times a week. It's a fact that if you commit three weeks to something, it becomes a habit. I'd love to say I'm a habitual password changer. I hope to get there someday.

Check your credit report often and please, please DO NOT go to freecreditreport.com. It is anything but free!!

Most of you in the metro ATL area have heard of Clark Howard. Second only to the Queen (aka my personal Certified Financial Panther) I refer to his site often for information and advice. Click here and it describes how to get your truly free credit report.

Don't let this happen to you. Don't rely on someone else to keep their eyes on your money. They didn't work for it....you did! Guard it fiercely!!

Sorry, Tim, go find someone else's day to ruin. This one is locked down...

Alysheba 3/3/84 - 3/27/09

“AMERICA’S HORSE” ALYSHEBA EUTHANIZED

Kentucky Horse Park Loses Thoroughbred Great

LEXINGTON, KY (March 28, 2009) The great Alysheba, Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year recipient, was humanely euthanized at 11:13 pm Friday at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky. The 25-year-old stallion was buried this morning at the Hall of Champions, across from the grave of the legendary John Henry.

Alysheba fell in his stall on Friday afternoon and was not able to get up. Dr. Nathan Slovis was immediately called to the Kentucky Horse Park, and an equine ambulance transported Alysheba to the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute directly across the road from the park. Dr. Slovis and his team treated Alysheba and evaluated his condition. By evening, it was clear that he had sustained an insurmountable injury.

“Due to a chronic degenerative spinal condition that led to ataxia and instability, Alysheba fell in his stall yesterday injuring his right hind femur,” said Kathy Hopkins, Kentucky Horse Park Director of Equine Operations. “Complicated by his advanced age, this trauma resulted in severe pain that did not respond to analgesic therapy. The resulting pain and suffering, and the inability to stand unaided, led to a joint decision for euthanasia. This very difficult decision was made by the veterinary staff of Hagyard Medical, the veterinary staff of His Majesty King Abdullah, and those who loved and cared for him at the Kentucky Horse Park.”

“Alysheba had just become part of the Kentucky Horse Park family last fall and we were looking forward to having him for many years to come,” said John Nicholson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park. “Discussions with Dr. Slovis and King Abdullah’s team, however, led us to conclude that this was the right thing to do for Alysheba, and Hagyard’s staff performed admirably in such a difficult situation. I am grateful to His Majesty for giving us the opportunity to enjoy this special horse and share him again with his many fans, and I am happy that his last days were spent here on his native soil.”

Frank McGovern, General Manager of King Abdullah’s stables in Saudi Arabia, participated in the decision and thanked the park staff for trying to save Alysheba. He stated “his injury is one of those incidents that is not uncommon in older horses, and, unfortunately, nothing can ever be done. I am glad that he was back home and enjoying the first shoots of Spring before this happened.” He added his thanks to the Kentucky Horse Park team “for their work in making Alysheba a star again.”

Before coming to the Kentucky Horse Park, Alysheba spent the previous eight years of his life in the royal stables of His Majesty King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, after standing his first years at stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. Known on the track as “America’s horse,” he was sent to the Kentucky Horse Park as a gift to the American people in October 2008.

Bred by Preston Madden at Hamburg Place in Lexington, Alysheba (Alydar-Bel Sheba, by Lt. Stevens) was sold as a yearling to Dorothy and Pam Scharbauer for $500,000. They campaigned him under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer, Jack Van Berg, who said, “He stuck out like a diamond in a rock pile.” Later, Van Berg observed, “He was so smart he knew what he was doing all the time.”

Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), Super Derby (G1), and an Eclipse Award as Champion 3-year-old colt. As a 4-year-old, he was even better, winning six Grade 1 stakes: the Strub Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap, Iselin Handicap, Woodward Stakes, Meadowlands Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was ridden in 17 consecutive starts by Hall of Fame Jockey, Chris McCarron. Alysheba is listed at #42 on The Blood-Horse magazine’s list of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, one notch above another Kentucky Derby-winner, Northern Dancer.

His career highlights also included Horse of the Year honors and track records for 1 1/4 miles at Belmont and The Meadowlands. Along the way, he defeated Risen Star, Forty Niner, Bet Twice, Seeking the Gold, and another Kentucky Derby-winner, the ill-fated Ferdinand. Until two-time Horse of the Year Cigar came along, Alysheba was the world’s richest Thoroughbred, with earnings of $6,679,242.

A memorial service for Alysheba will be planned at a later date.

The First Saturday in May....

Ahhh....May. The sun is shining. The flowers are in bloom. Life is flourishing and the Run for the Roses draws near.

I'm going out on a limb here, albeit a pretty solid one at that. I'm making my prediction for the Kentucky Derby and I'm pulling for The Pamplemousse.

I really love his high stepping gallop and his gangly stride. Kind of like the awkward kid in kickball, not really sure what he's doing, but somehow, someway, he's doing it right.

The 'Mousse is breaking from the #8 spot

He's such a monster. If he gets to the lead early watch out. You're not going to real in this runaway freight train. Beyond that, I'm pulling for his jockey, Alex Solis. A Derby win would all but guarantee his appointment to the Hall of Fame where he belongs.

I do have to have a second pick and that is Friesan Fire. He's the #9 horse:

I like the connections behind this horse. Larry Jones, the trainer, is ending is career this year. For those of you that don't know, Larry was the trainer for Eight Belles, the filly that gave Big Brown a strong run in the Derby last year. She beat 19 of the 20 colts that day. In the run out after the race, Eight Belles broke down, breaking both ankles. Sadly, she was euthanized that day. There was a whirlwind of events following this tragic moment, many of them completely and udderly ludicrous. Seriously, why, WHY, does the federal government feel they need to intervene in every single freakin' event. I can think of way too many things they should be doing instead of sticking their noses in the horse racing industry. Sorry, there is no place for that rant in this post. Larry Jones is one of the great trainers and if the 'Mousse doesn't win, I sure hope Friesan Fire finds his way to winner's circle.

Friday's Fact.....

NAVAL LINT

Navel lint, or more commonly belly button lint or navel fluff, is an accumulation of fluffy fibres in one's navel. Many people find that, at the beginning and end of the day, a small lump of fluff has appeared in the navelcavity. The reasons for this have been the subject of idle speculation for many years but in 2001, Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki of the University of Sydney, Australia, undertook a systematic survey to determine the ins and outs of navel lint. His primary findings were as follows: Navel lint consists primarily of stray fibers from one's clothing, mixed with some dead skin cells and strands of body hair. Contrary to expectations, navel lint appears to migrate upwards from underwear rather than downwards from shirts or tops. The migration process is the result of the frictional drag of body hair on underwear, which drags stray fibers up into the navel.Women experience less navel lint because of their finer and shorter body hairs. Conversely, older men experience it more because of their coarser and more numerous hairs. Navel lint's characteristic blue-gray tint is likely the averaging of the colors of fibers present in clothing; the same color as clothes dryer lint. The existence of navel lint is entirely harmless, and requires no corrective action. Dr. Kruszelnicki was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in 2002.

Hey Toast, something else to be proud about!




cited from: http://users.marshall.edu/~jacobs11/

Time to Vote Again!!!!

This time it's the home favorite......

Katie!

Katie is campaigning for Southeastern Greyhound Adoption this week.

Click to vote for Katie and help SEGA win $10,000!!!

And she'll clean your shower!!!

Ugh...

If I had wanted a loose-joweled dog, I would have bought a Mastiff or a Bloodhound...

Julie looks like she just robbed some poor squirrel of it's winter stash. This is allergic reaction number three to ????? in the last six months. First one was a yellow jacket. I was able to see it sting her because it stung me first and I inadvertently flung it on her. Fortunately, as I sit here with her, I can see the effects of the Benadryl we just administered. The swelling's going down and she's getting very, very sleepy. We'll check her again in a couple hours and she should be fine in the morning. Don't worry too much. Her breathing and appetite are both fine!


There's something lurking here in the air. Something that is.....that is just not right. More to come.....

The People's Horse Comes Back to the People

Funny Cide was officially welcomed to his new home at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions Dec. 5, becoming the second Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner and champion to take up residence there in just over a month.

Like his immediate predecessor at the Hall of Champions, Alysheba, who arrived Oct. 31, Funny Cide was known as a “people’s horse.” This was due to the fact he was a New York-bred and a gelding, but also because his owners, Sackatoga Stable, were the epitome of the “small guys” in the business who reached the top.

At the Horse Park ceremony, Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga, stated what he felt was Funny Cide’s legacy as the horse was paraded in the pavilion in front of him.

“He represents hope for the little guy,” Knowlton told several hundred people who braved the cold to welcome Funny Cide. “People tell us all the time that they’ve gotten into this game because of him. Also, racing needs more horses like him who fans can enjoy after their Triple Crown seasons. He was a huge fan favorite because he ran as long as he did--into his 7-year-old season--and because he was an underdog. We still get emails and letters from his fans everywhere.”

Funny Cide’s popularity grew through the Triple Crown series thanks to his ownership--10 partners who were small-time players in horses, including six who went to high school together in Sackets Harbor, a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York.
The Sackatoga Stable partners each threw in $5,000 to buy horses, and they furthered their blue-collar reputation by traveling to the Triple Crown races in a yellow school bus, the only means of transportation they could find for their large group at a reasonable rate in Louisville en route to the Derby. After winning in Kentucky, they figured why break up a good thing, and rented school buses in Baltimore and New York.

A $22,000 yearling purchase, Funny Cide, by Distorted Humor --Belle’s Good Cide, by Slewacide, was running under everyone’s radar until he finished second to the powerful Empire Maker in the 2003 Wood Memorial (gr. I).

Three weeks later at Churchill Downs, Funny Cide turned the tables, laying close throughout the Derby and holding off Empire Maker by 1 3/4 lengths. He went on to crush his field in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) before finishing third behind Empire Maker and Ten Most Wanted in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

New York in particular embraced Funny Cide as a hometown hero, as 101,864 patrons showed up for the Belmont Stakes, the second-highest crowd in history for the race. His popularity continued to skyrocket in Saratoga after the Triple Crown series, and a Funny Cide shop opened in town. Beer, ice cream, and souvenirs were marketed in his name.

Funny Cide went on to race 38 times over six seasons, winning 11, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) as a 4-year-old. He earned $3,529,412 for his owners and trainer Barclay Tagg. Funny Cide was named champion 3-year-old male of 2003.

After his retirement from racing in 2007, Funny Cide served as Tagg’s stable pony, but recently, infirmities from his racing career made it difficult for the horse to continue in that capacity, prompting his retirement to the Horse Park.

Knowlton thanked Tagg; Tagg’s assistant, Robin Smullen; Funny Cide’s regular jockey Jose Santos; Funny Cide’s fans; and the Horse Park.

“We are thrilled this will be his retirement home,” Knowlton said. “It is an honor to be here today. I know he’ll get the best care in the world.”

Friday's Fact: High-Level Logic in Ravens and Crows

I'm going to let the videos speak for themselves...

Even though the second one is over 9 minutes....

It's totally worth it.

Well, you've seen it in the both sidebars this week....here's the post....

VOTE FOR DREW!!!!!

Drew is representing my adoption group, Southeastern Greyhound Adoption.

If he gets enough votes, he'll advance to the next round and a chance to win $10,000!!!

Be sure and tell all your friends!!

Hurry! Drew's week is up on March 10!!

Wednesday's Worst: #14

Worst Sandwich

I was going to post about a random sandwich that was, by all means, not healthy for you. However, with this week being the worst sandwich, I couldn't resist to go after the burger. Let's not forget that they were initially called hamburger sandwiches. This one's bad enough that I see a repeat in it's future....

So, without further delay, I present the juggernaut to which all others are compared against and, all others whimper in it's presence....lifting the proverbial leg on health conscious eaters everywhere...

WARNING: Scantily clad waitresses ahead.

Hey, I picked the most modest one I could find!