Thursday, March 19, 2009

Who Changed The Locks On The Door

Imagine you are in your jammies with your coffee and you think I wonder what my online friends are up to and I need something new to knit. Where do you go to, Ravelry of course, doesn't everyone? Now you pull the page up, login and get a message that says 403 Forbidden. What, must be server problems, so you try again several times only to get the same message. Well this can't be right, so you buzz over to email some of your friends and find they have the same message. Ok so maybe the server is down or acting up but then wait there is something that says to contact legal at ravelry. Uh oh, that can't be good -- contact legal, immediateley thinking oh crap what did I do now.

Well after much time is spent you find out you have been banned from Ravelry. What, banned from Ravelry, it is a knitting site, how can I be banned from Ravelry. But my friends, my patterns, my library of books, stash, etc is there, what if I am a designer trying to sell my patterns or yarn, I have pictures up, i am a moderator of a group, I am in a swap, and the list goes on and on. Essentially you can have a lot of your life tied up in Ravelry.

I will not go into the details of who got banned and why because I am not sure anyone is getting a straight story no matter what side you are on, but I do believe those who were banned deserve the following:

In all reality those banned should have been notified the locks on the Ravelry door had been changed and why; a straight honest answer as to why exactly they were banned, none of the crap they have been fed, we all know the real reason but it needs to be said. They should also be given time to login and capture whatever they may need to, find new moderators for their groups, and to address any swaps, etc they may be in. I do believe that if anything is posted it does not belong to Ravelry and those who have purchased patterns, etc need to be able to retrieve their purchase. There are some who were truly caught up in the grand locking event and I believe each case needs to be addressed individually. Some use Ravelry as a livelihood and now they not only have their careers destroyed but their reputation as well.

As I have perused more of Ravelry this week than I care to because it was obvious I stayed in my own little world, I had no idea the vile, ugliness, and filth that is allowed on the website. There are children here who don't need to be exposed to this stuff, heck I don't even want to be exposed to this stuff. Tell me what crotch shots have to do with knitting? Is there good stuff on Ravelry, absolutely, I have got lots of free help, free patterns, and the best thing is I have met the most wonderful bunch of people that you could ever call a friend. Had I known what was on the other side of Ravelry I would never have joined but then I would never have met my friends, a double edged sword.

There are some groups I am still interested in keeping my membership in, I do enjoy surfing the patterns and learn things, but my time in Ravelry will be very small from now on and my own little world has just become tighter.

Ravelry can be a good site but I suggest that if you keep the vile and filth there be an adult only section with a seperate login and password, that groups not be allowed, that it truly be a sharing of knitting and crochet information. Ravelry could be good, but not the way it is now.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

There's a New Blog in Town




So there is a new blog out there worth reading if you favor yourself a conservative from a woman's point of view. http://motherofallconservatives.com/

Some good reading so far and they have the cutest pig picture on their side bar.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Stupid Things in the Paper

There is so much negativity in the paper and so many things that just make me angry, that I thought I would post the really stupid stuff just because we all need a laugh.

Firt Pierce, Florida: A man shoved a Klondike bar down his pants and then offered a Texaco station store owner $69 not to turn him in for shoplifting. The 65 year old man tried to sneak the Klondike bar, a package of Ramen noodles, and Famous Amos cookies out of the store without paying. The owner called the police and the man is being held on retail theft and violation of probation charges.

Racine, Wisconsin: A deputy in his underwear teamed up with a bank president to track down an alleged drunk driver. The deputy was home when a pickup truck hit a light pole and skidded into his front yard and kept going. The deputy gave chase on foot wearing a T-shirt, boxers, and socks. The bank president was driving by and witnessed the commotion. He motioned for the deputy to get in and together they followed the driver. A few blocks away they nabbed the 32 year old and he was cited for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and other offenses.

Key West, Florida: Playing a Frank Sinatra classic on a conch shell helped a local bicycle tour operator take top honors in an unusual musical competion in Key West. Judges evaluated contest entrants ranging from 3 years old to seniors on the quality, novelty, duration and loudness of the sounds they produced. The winning group entry was an 18 piece conchestra whose members blew their shells while dancing to a parody of Jimmy Buffet's "Volcano."

Philadelphia: Employees of a pet store expecting to get a shipment of tropical fish and salt water by air cargo ended up getting a human body instead. The body they got was of a 65 year old San Diego man who died and was supposed to go to a lab in Allentown so samples could be taken for medical research. US Airways apologized.

And of course the narcissist octamom: Nadya Suleman is busy preparing to move to a new house and 4 of the babies are healthy enough to leave the hospital. She made money from selling photos of her babies and has put the money into escrow for the new home near LA. Her father is buying the 2583 square foot home which lists for $564,900. She says some of the money will go into a trust for the care of her 14 children. (Some people should never be allowed to have one child let alone 14.)

Hope this helped to deal with the world a little better today and put a smile on your face.

Letters to Write

I have never been more invested in an election in this country that this past one for the POTUS. Even though the right person lost, we can still show support for what we believe by writing letters and letting our beliefs and values known.

My distaste for how the PM of Britain was treated is beyond words. If you want to let the PM know how you feel you can write him a letter at: Sir Nigel Elton Sheinwald KGMG
British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

Also don't forget the Tea Party. On April 1 send a tea bag in an envelope preferably a red one to the POTUS at: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington , D.C. 20500 Make sure add on the back of the envelope "In God We Trust."

I have to say I am ashamed at how Americans are acting, when did we become this country of the government owes me because? Remember what JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you but what can you do for your country?"

May God have mercy on us for He is the only one who can get us through this mess.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Bearack Obama




The photo captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect
wildlife in the US . After a sweeping Democratic Party victory in the
November elections, animals that were formerly self-sufficient are
already modifying their behavior to take advantage of what they expect to
be a new set of societal norms in the next four to eight years. This
black bear from Montana has ceased hunting for a living and is sitting
outside the US Fish & Wildlife Service office in Kalispell, apparently

waiting to be fed and to have his winter den dug by government employees.
The residents of Kalispell are calling him "Bearack Obama".

Ben and Jerry's Keeps Their Pints Pints

So remember when coffee went from a three pound can to a not three pound can but they still charged the same amount of money? How many other items do we buy that went smaller but still charged the same price. Well, it seems now an ice cream company wants to reduce the size of a pint from 16-14 ounces and still charge the same. But not B&J they are keeping the 16 ounce pint for the same money. I can only imagine who the other company is but I won't mention that I think it is HD.

So straight from the cows mouth here is B&J's take on downsizing:
One of our competitors (think funny sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient & manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. At Ben & Jerry’s we think downsizing pints is downright wrong. We understand that in today’s hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, & think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream.
We are even more committed today to lead with our values through the quality of our ingredients & how we source them to make the best ice cream possible. So, while our competitor may be experiencing a bit of shrinkage, rest assured that your Ben & Jerry’s will still be standing tall in the freezer. Enjoy!