That’s what this sign says to me…

Also Zero – Sign of Progress…

We went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire on Sunday. On our travels through the hamlet of Bristol we came across a curious statue. Early in the day, she was sitting in the dappled sunlight, later on, we found her standing in a different part of her garden…

Click to embiggen.

The Anchoress is hosting a week long retreat from politics and the news of the day.

A place to contemplate other, more spiritual things.

A place to find things worth thinking about…

A Link to The Anchoress' Retreat

Mayhap this will be the first annual Anchoress Retreat?

We needed to replace our can light in the ceiling above the sink. We put in a new can and found this wonderful pendant fixture to put in it. The fixture just screws into the socket like a light bulb. The cord is adjustable for length. We just love it. It bring the light closer to the sink and it just looks beautiful. Thanks to Hubby for climbing up into the hot, dusty, pink insulated attic to put in the new can!

denies fathering the baby girl.

ABC News reports:

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

This is absolutely hilarious!

More Peeves! See also Peeves and Peeves Vol. 2.

Then/Than

Then: at that time; soon after, next; in addition to. I’ll get the ingredients together, then make the cake.

Than: second thing being compared; other than. John is older than Barry. Fred is a better actor than Mike.

Tale/Tail

Tale: a story. Paul Bunyan is the protagonist in a tall tale.

Tail: a part of anatomy on some animals and insects. The dog was very happy to see his owner and wagged his tail vigorously. Tail can also mean end or behind. The littlest goose brought up the tail end of the formation.  As a verb: The detective was tailing the suspect.

To/Two/Too

Too: means also. I ordered the artichoke dip appetizer and a raspberry daiquiri too.

Two: a number. Karen and Bill have two children.

To: can indicate motion, direction, purpose and more. He went to the store. The store was to the south of the gas station. He applied primer to the wall before painting it.

Cant/Can’t

Cant: an angle or a secret language. Due to the winds and the waves, the ship was at a significant cant to port†. The thieves discussed their upcoming project in public with no one the wiser because they used Thieves’ cant.

Can’t: a contraction for can not. I’m sorry I can’t go out to lunch today, I have another obligation.

Wont/Won’t

Wont: (pronounced “want”) accustomed to, used to. When he came indoors, he immediately took off his shoes, as was his wont.

Won’t: a contraction for will not. I am sorry but I won’t take that pack of gum.

Peak/Peek/Pique

Peak: summit, the top. Her career reached its peak when she became CEO.

Peek: a quick look. He took a peek at the next student’s answer.

Pique: to excite curiosity. He mentioned the possible salary range in order to pique her interest.

Breath/Breathe

Breathe: is what one does to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide using the lungs.

Breath: is what one “takes” to breathe.

Data/Datum

Data: the word data is plural. The proper usage is data are not data is. Data is only works with a character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. That Data is singular (in more ways than one.)

Datum: a single item of data. One point on the chart.

A few phrases:

Incorrect: For all intensive purposes. (611,000 Google results)

Correct: For all intents and purposes.

Incorrect: Bounden determined. (77,300 Google results)

Correct: Bound and determined.

Incorrect: Tough road to hoe. (57,100 Google results)

Correct: Tough row to hoe.

†BONUS: Trick to remember which side is port and which is starboard – port and left both have four letters. Port is left when you are facing the front of the boat. A second trick to remember which sides knives, forks and spoons should be on on the table: knife and spoon have five letters each, as does right. Fork has four letters as does left. So knives and spoons on the right, forks on the left!

The Little Guy was looking for a different lunch today. So I accomodated him. Pita bread with peanut butter “tomato sauce”, shredded coconut “cheese”, and yogurt raisin “sausage” pizza.

peanut butter, coconut, yogurt raisin "pizza"

Updated – see below.

Betsy has a post up on windfall profits and what exactly constitutes a windfall profit.

Exxon Mobil posted record profits in the 2^nd quarter of 2008. Chris Krasowski at iStockAnalyst reports:

A record profit for Exxon Mobil (XOM), but nonetheless an increase year-over-year that was smaller than expected by analysts. Smaller?!? The company made just shy of $11.7Billion in profit on $138Billion in Revenue. Both all-time highs, not only for Exxon but for any company in America’s history!

Then General Motors posted a loss for the 2^nd quarter of 2008. Edmunds reports:

General Motors Friday reported a $15.5-billion loss for the second quarter, a loss that was far beyond analysts’ wildest expectations.

So, profits of $11.7 billion are windfall profits and too much for any company to make, but losses of $15.5 billion are just fine for a company to lose.

Barack Obama speaking in Lansing, Michigan today (his 47th birthday) once again said (transcribed off TiVo):

I believe we should give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate and we should pay for it with part of the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.

He wants to rob Peter to pay Peter. He’ll give us a thousand stinking dollars to offset our fuel needs and charge the oil companies for it. The oil companies will turn around and charge us more for our fuel needs. And what do you want to bet that Obama’s administration would take far more from the oil companies than they’d “give” to us? Costing us far more than the $1,000 “gift” we’ll get.

He said that if we drill on “every inch” of our soil and offshore we’d only have 3% of the world’s oil supply and that the United States uses 25% of the world’s oil.

Nasty, greedy Americans, using 25% of the world’s oil supply and we don’t account for 25% of the population and, if you believe what Obama just said, 3% of the supply is in our control. What no one seems to consider, however, is what percentage of world production of just about everything is American? Which country has produced more inventions? Developed new technologies in just about any industry one can think of? Which country has greater productivity? We don’t take the month of August off, we have many industries that run 24/7 including retail. Run out of toilet paper in the middle of the night? Chances are there’s somewhere close by that’s open so you can go buy some more.

That 25% goes to far more than greedy SUV and soccer mom van driving Americans. It goes to far more than keeping someone cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

He’s talking about stopping our dependence on oil. But as I noted in an earlier post, oil is in almost everything we use.

Update: Over at Patterico’s DRJ has a great post on Obama’s energy policy speech in Lansing today.

I also had a few more thoughts on us “greedy Americans”. We give the lion’s share of foreign aid especially in emergency response situations. We pay what percent of the UN’s budget? How much of the world’s food supply is from the United States?

Happy 47^th Birthday Barack Obama. And happy 80^th birthday to some little old lady named Barbara Hermione Oliphant…

A comment  I left at the Anchoress’ place on a post about Pelosi and the Dems content to do nothing:

I could try to affix solar panels to my Yukon, but to get enough on the vehicle to do any good, I would be worse than one of those “wide load” vehicles. Perhaps I could turn the necessary solar panels into a wing and try to fly.

I could also try to affix a sail to the Yukon to try to harness the wind, but unlike lakes or the ocean, roads are fixed in place and I don’t think that people would like me cutting across their property because that’s where the wind took me. Buildings are also a hazard…

And at Betsy’s on a similar post – Democrats don’t care about saving the planet:

Back in the seventies, we were going to run out of oil in 20-30 years. Well it’s now the “oughts” and we’re finding more and more oil. Technology is also allowing more and more oil to be recoverable.

I have a theory. They say that oil is non-renewable, but I think it might be. Like a kidney produces urine 24/7 and is slowly filling the bladder even when the bladder is being emptied, oil may be more renewable than previously thought. After all, there’s been a lot of organic material since the dinosaurs that could be a source for the earth to produce more oil.

I’d been thinking about writing on these points and couldn’t really decide on how. So this will work.