Moving to a new host

This blog will no longer be updated. My new blog will be residing at my own host. http://www.celynoir.com/Sparklesblog

Dieting Does Not Work, Researchers Report

Dieting does not work, report researchers who analyzed 31 long-term studies on dieting. "You can initially lose five to 10 percent of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back," said Traci Mann, UCLA associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study. "We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more."

Read More about this story at Science Daily.

A new attitude: or "I no longer give a rat's ass!"

I have decided that I am going to give up the "social networking' part of my Sims 2 hobby. For one thing, it is overrun with poorly disciplined, ill-informed, illiterate and nasty teenagers and pre-teens. And the adult women who are members of the community are rarely much better. The ones I have been in contact with have the weirdest thought processes, and serious control issues. So I am leaving them to their own devices and keeping my hands clean. I am too old to have to deal with what one curmudgeon calls "Twelveness." Twelve is a state of mind, and the drama whores and teen drama whores who populate the online Sims 2 community seethe with Twelveness. I no longer give a rat's ass. They have successfully demotivated me to the point of no return. I still love the game, but not the Twelves. Luckily, the internet nature of this "community" makes it possible to lurk, to get what I want, and avoid them all. Aaahhhhh....a life without Twelveness. Nirvana.

Busy Right Now with New Stuff

All kinds of things have been happening.

1. I am the Personal Representative for my uncle's estate. I have to collect all his money and distribute it to his sisters. Luckily, it is a small estate.

2. I was elected Financial Secretary of my church. I have to keep records for parishoners' tax receipts. Probably more to it, but they haven't told me yet.

3. I am the forum moderator for the Federation for Free Sims Sites. Interesting work.

4. Been having a pretty good Links, Inc. year...not working TOO hard, but spending a ton of money on dues, fundraisers, clothes, registrations, donations, etc.

5. Been gearing up to work on the Cape Fear Crime Festival. They have asked me to design the poster. Hee.

6. Sons look like school is working out for them. Daughter still unemployed, but looking hard. Cross Fingers.

7. I interviewed for a job in the university library, since my grant is ending soon. Cross Fingers.

My Daughter has returned to us

My daughter has decided to give our side of the country a try. She has left Las Vegas after 9 years, and will be settling in here on the East Coast. I am just so glad to see her. I can't stand it!

My Uncle Killed in Car Accident

Nothing else to say. My uncle, James Harold Downs, age 77, was killed in a car accident Thursday, December 21, 2006. My mother was driving. She was released from the hospital on Christmas Day, having suffered contusions, a collapsed lung and a fractured rib. The impact was on the passenger side of the car, where my uncle was seated. Everything is horrible.

Now the focus is on providing for my mother. We don't have any idea what to do about her. My sister is with her for now, and we are trying to get my daughter to return home now, rather than later, to provide some company for her. I will investigate the service, Home Instead, to see if we can use their services in the short (or long) term. She has no car, now (totalled) and is not capable or interested in driving again anytime soon.

Pray for us.