Information is Power...Use It

Since when does having an opinion automatically make a person right?

I will be so glad when this election is over.

All the yelling and name calling. All the buttering up and flat out lies. All the bickering between people when they disagree.

What's so wrong with agreeing with something Obama believes? What's wrong with disagreeing with something McCain believes? Well, here in Utah, both appear to be grave sins.

I don't care what scandalous things either VP candidate has allegedly done. I don't need spam mail "informing" me that Obama is a Muslim terrorist (although I did get a laugh of the one that claimed he was a muslin terrorist). I am aware that McCain is old, and I don't care that he accidentally said "agree" when he meant "disagree" when trying to win over the "racist old people" in Western Pennsylvania. I don't think that makes him stupid, just human. (And the look on his face when he realizes his mistake is priceless.)

But worst of all, I am sick of people telling me how to vote when it is obvious that these people are only voting on what they are told by their siblings, parents, friends, professors, church, voices in their heads, etc. Informed discussions are one thing, but I don't know your siblings, parents, friends, or professors, I don't go to your church, and the voices only talk to you, so I'll keep my own opinion and not feel obligated to simply absorb yours. And unless you can actually have an intelligent, well-supported conversation with me about actual issues, I'm going to tune you out.

Both candidates have websites. Both websites have voting records. Forget everything they've said. Take a look at what they've DONE. Being president is about doing, and what they've done in their careers is indicative of what they WILL DO in office.

And please, stop running around touting your opinion as fact, telling me I'm wrong, or telling me I'm right. I'm informed. Join me.

Want Some Magazines? Please Help!

We're doing a fundraiser for our GSE Academy students. (If you're wondering, GSE stands for Government/Law, Social Services, Education. The students who have chosen this academy are considering careers in these areas and take elective classes geared towards them, like sociology and psychology.)

We want to send them on field trips. Right now we have one planned for the school of the deaf and blind in Ogden, and we also will be sending our Seniors to the state prison. This is the most popular field trip in the school and is always very powerful. Unfortunately, gas prices make field trips extremely expensive.

Our kids are selling magazine subscriptions. (I am, too.) Go to the link below and enter our Northridge school ID #: 1216571.

www.gaschoolstore.com

Most year subscriptions are $20-$40. There are some REALLY popular magazines to choose from--I promise, it's not lame. If you already subscribe to a magazine, ordering a subscription through us will extend your current subscription for one year.

Happy shopping!

We're Expecting!

So Moiraine has been acting somewhat silly lately. She spent a lot of time in her water dish the past couple of weeks. On Friday night, I was watching television online and I noticed she seemed rather lumpy. Look under her arm in this picture. (She's on the left.)
Plus, she was running laps in her tank and digging almost nonstop. These are all indicators of gravidity ("gravid" means "full of eggs"). I put my hand under her belly and was pretty sure that I felt little orbs in there. Al called to tell me he was going to the gym after work and I told him he needed to come home and verify my opinion. We ended up hitting Lowes for nesting materials: A sweater box and some vermiculite. (In the picture above, she has been in her vermiculite and there is some on her head.)

She spent the entire night in the box and continued to dig in there all day Saturday (Oct. 11). I vacuumed at about 5:00pm and still no eggs. At about 6:30, I peeked in and she was busy laying!

She laid 21 eggs, but one got squished. We've rigged an incubator and have a real one coming in about a week or so. We were SO not prepared for this!

The eggs should hatch in 55-85 days. We're incubating them at a lower temperature. This takes longer, but the dragons that are hatched have a better disposition.

Just so you know, this shouldn't have happened this quickly. Usually, to get bearded dragons to breed, you need to simulate the changing of the seasons (known as "brumation") by lowering temperatures and reducing light. It is about a 12 week process. Then, their instinct is to breed. We put these two together on the evening of September 22. Females lay their eggs about a month after this event. So, you can tell that they got right down to business!

We don't know how successful we'll be with this clutch. We weren't expecting her to be gravid, so we were feeding her the regular diet. We do keep them pretty well fed, but we should have been giving her more protein and calcium supplements to help the formation of the eggs. This just helps the shells to be stronger and her to recover more quickly. However, it is likely that she'll lay one or two more clutches from this single breeding experience, so we've improved her diet.

So, does anyone want a beared dragon around January/February?

P.S. Jeff and Ashley came over to a Rock Band Pizza Party just after Moiraine emerged from her box. The subject line was his idea.

Congratulations, Jake and Ashlee!

On Thursday, our good friends Jake and Ashlee got married. Congratulations! Thanks for letting us share your day!

Thursday's New Trick

So Thursday thinks she's a cat. She loves the walnut tree near the driveway. When we come home, she runs down the driveway and jumps in the tree. Just to the right of her head is the knot that she uses to grab onto with her teeth and help pull herself up. She's getting pretty good!
And here she is in action!