Julia’s random thoughts and musings

Protect your pets from the candy collecting goblins.

2011-09-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat time is right around the corner, and while it’s great fun for kids dress up and collect candy, it can be a nightmare for many pets. Strange looking beings ringing the door bell and shouting loud greetings can send your skittish doggie pacing and drooling , while your scaredy cat hides under the bed.

Many cats will find a good safe hiding place and stay there until the “guests” stop coming, but some dogs will bolt out the door and take off into the night (or afternoon, depending on yo

Here’s my friendly advice. If you have a pet that is sensitive to all this holiday activity, please be considerate and put them in a safe place while the goblins are about. Shutting your pet in your bedroom with a bowl of water and a favorite toy or two will make her feel better and keep her safe.ur neighborhood).

My male dog is terrified of fireworks and thunderstorms, so I purchased a “ThunderShirt” for him. When he’s wrapped up tight in his stylish shirt he is still nervous, but not terrified. I plan to put this on him while the trick or treaters are on the prowl. I’m also hoping for a nice fall day/evening so I can se

t up my lawn chair in the driveway and meet the kids before they ever ring the bell. This way my dogs are disturbed less and the kids get their treats faster and move on to the next stop.

As a bit of extra protection you should but a collar on your pet that includes an id with your phone number on it. Even if you don’t usually keep a collar on your pet in the house, at busy times like this it’s best to be prepared for the worst. If your beloved pet does slip out you have a much better chance of getting him back if the person who finds him knows who to call. Without an id your pet could wind up spending the night in a kennel with a bunch of other frightened animals.

With a little planning, you can enjoy handing out treats to the little beggars without traumatizing your furry family members.

WARNING: If you have little goblins bringing home treats, don’t let them share with your pets; chocolate is very toxic to both cats and dogs and Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in a variety of sugar-free and dietetic cookies, mints and chewing gum is proving highly toxic, even fatal, to snack-snatching dogs.

Rest your eyes

2009-05-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

Do you spend hours reading, writing, working, gaming and or chatting on line? Do you take frequent short breaks from these activities? If the answer to the first questions was yes, and the answer to the second was no, you could be setting yourself up for repetitive strain injuries and vision fatigue.

If you find yourself having frequent headaches, dry itchy eyes, or (my favorite) pancake butt, you are probably spending too much time staring at your computer screen. But never fear, you don't have to stop spending time at your computer, you just need to take a few breaks.

Photo By: Lynn Rasmussen

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has put together an eTool that explains how the set up of your workstation can cause you physical problems over time and how to adjust your chair, monitor, keyboard and other components to help you create a safe and comfortable computer workstation. The tool also outlines stretches you can do to relieve muscle tension from working in the same position for extended periods of time.

In addition to muscles strain, you should be aware of the chances of eyestrain from spending a lot of time staring at a screen. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) reports that short, strategically-spaced rest breaks can reduce eyestrain and musculoskeletal discomfort for video display terminal (VDT) operators without decreasing productivity. These findings were published in the May 2000 issue of the scientific journal, Ergonomics.

If you're like me, you often find yourself so wrapped up in what you’re doing that hours go by without you stopping to take a break. One way I found to keep me from forgetting is a software package that counts my keystrokes and reminds me to take breaks at specific intervals. Office Athlete ® software prompts users during data entry, graphic design, and other computer-intensive office environments to take guided “micro-breaks.” This consists of nine stretching exercises that you can use to decrease the chance of repetitive stress injuries. The exercises help maintain good circulation, range of motion and reduce muscle tension and fatigue. Stretching for a few seconds every 30 to 40 minutes leaves you feeling better at the end of the day.

The exercises covered in the software are:
Chest Stretch
Eye Relaxer
Finger Stretch
Lower-back Stretch
Neck Stretch 1 and Neck Stretch 2
Shoulder Roll
Upper-Back Stretch
Wrist Stretch

Learn more about how Office Athlete software can teach you how to physically use your computer and prevent discomfort at: http://officeathlete.com/Ergonomics_and_You.pdf

To purchase Office Athlete please go to their website at: http://officeathlete.com/products/products.htm

A little exercise can go a long way in keeping you healthy and comfortable.

Music Everywhere

2009-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

I didn’t watch professional sports when I was growing up. My Dad wasn’t a big fan so there wasn’t a game on every weekend at my house. I started watching when I got married; in the early 80’s back when Miami Vice was introducing viewers to music instead of dialog in TV drama. Today music is everywhere; we hear it while we watch the forensic specialist figure out the cause of death in our favorite TV dramas. Music is in airports, elevators, restaurants, stores, sports arenas, even the parking lot at Gilbert Gateway Towne Center.

A few years back, my daughter and husband were watching a football game on a Sunday morning. I was sitting at the computer working on some homework and listening to snippets of the game from behind me; when I heard very clearly the sound of church bells. I turned to my loving family and said, “Oh, there must be a church near the stadium.” To which my loving family doubled over in laughter. I was confused. I didn’t see anything particularly funny about a church being near a stadium. Many stadiums are in downtown areas and many downtowns’ have churches so I stared quizzically at my family and said “What?”

Eventually my darling daughter recovered enough to point out that the sound I was hearing was the intro to AC/DC’s hit “Hell's Bells” which was playing in the stadium. To this day whenever that intro comes on in a stadium, or on the radio or even on our compact disk player, either my daughter or my husband will say “Oh, there must be a church near by!” and burst out laughing.

Yep that’s right; I’m just here to entertain!
Maybe I should stop reading and pay a bit more attention before commenting on things? Oh forget it, what fun would that be.

Real Home-Based Businesses You Can Start Today

2009-04-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Real Home-Based Businesses You Can Start Today

This is an excellent article chock full of suggestions on how you can work for yourself. I'll be checking out some of the sites that have freelance writing opportunities.

One thing to note, if you decide to work for yourself, you will normally put in more than 40 hours a week, but you will feel more fulfilled and have more control than you did working for someone else.

My recruiter was right

2009-04-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

January 1982 – I first met my Air Force recruiter on a cold snowy winter day when I was 22. I was looking for a way out of debt and away from the cold. My recruiter was polite, but I could tell he didn’t really think I had much to offer. He gave me the introductory speech, asked me a few background questions, and scheduled me to take the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery test to see if I was smart enough to serve. I was excited about taking the test and showing the guy that I might be blond, but I wasn’t dumb.
A few days latter I went to the testing sight after work and spent an evening answering multiple choice questions in four areas: General, Mechanical, Administrative, and Electrical. I went home that night feeling good. I was confident I had done well and looked forward to getting the results.
The following week I took a morning coffee break and used a pay phone to call and see if my test results were back. This time my recruiter had a completely different attitude. He was excited and wanted me back in his office as soon as possible. I scored well in all four areas; I could choose any career field I wanted.
February 1982 - Before signing the delayed enlistment papers I had a long talk with my Mom. I wanted her approval and advice regarding my decision to serve. I didn’t really know anything about military life, but from what I’d discussed with my recruiter I felt the structure and camaraderie might fill the void I was feeling in my life. In 1982 the US was not at war, I naively believed we would be at peace for many years to come; however, I had contemplated the possibility of conflict and truly wanted to protect and defend our freedoms if necessary. Once Mom was convinced that I was serious and ready to make a commitment she gave me her blessing and I visited my recruiter once again.
I was very interested in computer technology, which fell into the Electrical area; so I choose that as my career field. Unfortunately there wasn’t an open slot for me until later in the year so I took the Military Enlistment Oath and entered into the Air Force Delayed enlistment program. My recruiter commented that I would be married within a year of my enlistment. I thought that was an odd thing to say. I wasn’t looking for a husband I was looking for a career and a chance to serve my country.
June 1982 - I flew to San Antonio, Texas to begin six and a half weeks of basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base. My all female flight consisted of about 50 other women from all across the US. Back in those days Air Force basic training was fairly easy. Every morning the dorm guard woke us and we quickly dressed and assembled outside the dorm for our first march of the day. We marched to the physical fitness grounds for an hour of physical readiness training before the sun came up. We marched from there to the chow hall where we waited in line for breakfast, ate quickly, and then waited outside in formation for the next march, which was either to a processing location or a classroom. In the processing locations we received uniforms, vaccinations, or testing. In the classrooms our flight was usually seated on one side of the room and our “Brother” (all male ) Flight was on the other side; so our classroom instructions was co-ed, sort-of. We studied military law, history and how to behave in uniform. My biggest take away from Basic was realizing how similar men look when they all have the same haircut and uniform on. I had not known it when I enlisted, but I also realized that men in uniform are very attractive.
August 1982 - After six and a half weeks of basic, with limited interaction with the opposite sex, I packed my duffle bag and boarded a bus headed for Tech school, Kessler Air Force Base, Biloxi Mississippi; one long bus ride. I like to read when I’m traveling and was looking forward to plowing through a paperback I brought along. I didn’t get very far in the book. The airman sitting next to me wanted to talk. As I glanced around the bus I noticed that all the women were being chatted up. We stopped for lunch at a buffet style restaurant that caters to tour busses. There were large round tables with seating for 8. In many cases there was one or two women at a table surround by very attentive men. It was almost comical to see how the guys were flocking around the few women. I didn’t know at the time, but this feeding frenzy for a women’s attention would be the norm for the next few weeks until we all adjusted into life at tech school.
September 1982 – After a couple weeks of waiting for enough airmen to arrive to fill a class I started technical training. First we spent 6 weeks learning “basic electronics” followed by months of instruction on how to repair and maintain an early warning radar system. When I wasn’t in class or studying in my dorm I was at the airmen’s club trying to relax. At the club I learned that when guys out number gals by ten to one that one gal is pretty popular. I never had so many guys hanging around me in all my life. I was a few years older than most of the students going through the training there and I didn’t feel right about dating any of the guys in my class so, I hooked up with a National Guard member from Oregon that had just completed 4 years in helicopter search and rescue (he assisted after the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980). I fell pretty hard for him. When his training was over in December he decided he should try to work things out with his girl back home.
December 1982 - I got a break from classes for Christmas and used some leave to go home, visit family and friends and forget about “that guy”. Upon returning from my holiday leave I had 6 weeks remaining before graduation and decided not to get seriously involved with anyone else before I shipped out. Two weeks later I met my husband Airman Raz.
January 1983 - Airman Raz walked into the classroom and started talking a mile a minute; he would be our instructor for the next block of technical training. My buddy Dave was sitting behind me and watching my reaction, latter when we talked about it he told me he could see the fireworks going off that very first day; there was a strong attraction between me and this instructor. Of course, Student / Instructor fraternization was strictly prohibited, but that doesn’t stop people from being attracted to one another.
A couple days after completing the block of training that Raz was instructing he asked me out. I accepted even though it was against the rules for students to date instructors, in my mind it was ok because he would not be teaching my class any more. Four weeks after our first date, Raz took me to the airport; I was shipping out to Calumet Michigan for my first assignment. He cried when we were saying goodbye and I decided right then and there that I was not going to let him get away. To my knowledge no guy had ever cried because he cared so much about me and was going to miss me, so you can understand why I had to have him.
February 1983 - First assignment was with the 665th Calumet Air Force Station located on the upper peninsula of Michigan surrounded by Lake Superior. I flew from Mississippi to Iowa to pick up my car, and then drove up north to Michigan. I managed to arrive between snow storms. (My plans of getting away from the cold were not working out at all!)

After checking in at the station headquarters, I went up the hill to the radar tower to meet the men I’d be working with. I was a bit surprised at the size of the tower and the age of the system. The tower had 5 floors, if you include the dome that the antenna was in and housed an AN/FPS 27 built be Westinghouse in the late 1950’s. I was shocked that the equipment defending our country was as old as I was. I thought the Air Force was all state of the art technology, I was wrong. Calumet was scheduled for shut down in 1979 but after one of the radars was taken out of commission, there was a change of plans and the site continued with the single tower until 1988.
Three teams maintained the radar; two Transmitting teams and one Receiving team. SSgt. Potter and Sgt. Vanhuisen ran the Transmitting crews tasked with maintaining the water cooling system on the first floor, circuit breakers on the second floor, transmission tubes on the third floor and the antenna in the dome. Sergeant Rouge managed the Receiving team, its equipment was in digital cabinets on the fourth floor, but they also had to shut down circuit breakers on floor two to perform maintenance tasks.
The tower also contained a small office and one restroom on the second floor. There were two desks in the office, one for MSgt Davila, work center supervisor and the other for the Tech Sgt in charge of procurement. The men that worked in the tower made the strongest/worst coffee I ever had and occasionally forgot to shut the restroom door. I assumed this was because the only sink for the facility was also in the restroom so the guys left the door open to make the sink available to others while the stall was in use, but maybe they did it just to try to embarrass me.
I was assigned to a transmitter maintenance team and started my on the job training with Sgt. Vanhuisen. I also had theory to study and tests to take. When I wasn’t busy learning about radar I was writing letters to Mississippi and getting to know Raz better.
April 1983 – Raz and I decided to get married. We discussed going to a justice of the peace in Wisconsin and having a simple civil ceremony, but when I told my mom that she got pretty upset so Raz talked with his mom in Burnett WI and arranged for a Methodist minister he knew to perform a church ceremony to please my family.
May 1983 – Took leave to get married. We had a very simple afternoon service with a couple friends and immediate family.
Just as my recruiter predicted, I was married before my one year anniversary in the Air Force. One of the best decisions of my life. (We’ll be celebrating our 26 anniversary this year.)

Fear of Failure

2009-04-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

I've been reading "Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have to Do It" By John O'Hurley. It's a small book, I figured it would be a quick read, and it was until I arrived to page 103 of 173, "When All is Said and Done, More was Said Than Done". This chapter talks about following your dream and fear of failure. Up to this point, I was loving this book. I wanted to tell all my friends how great it is and how they should all read it. It's funny, it's insightful, but suddenly it was so much more than that. I read about John's fear of failure and how it kept him from pursuing his dream of being an actor. Boy can I relate. I never dreamed of being an actor, but I did have dreams of being a writer; but fear of rejection kept me from trying. Instead I found work I could do that paid the bills but didn’t feed my soul.
I have two chapters left to read, I think I’ll go do that now.
In case I forget to let you know how it turns out, pick up a copy of the book yourself; I’m sure you will enjoy it.