Kat

I'm hungry.

Join me and the family in our efforts to support Walk Now for Autism! Once again, we are participating in Walk Now for Autism to help find a cure for autism. As you may know, my son Sean has a form of autism called PDD-NOS. This stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Sean is a very sweet boy who enjoys Star Wars, Lego video games and Tae Kwon Do. He started high school this year and is involved with the Best Buddies program at his school. Thankfully, he is high functioning, although he still requires special ed and many services and therapies in school and out. Autism is the second most common developmental disorder in the United States affecting one in every 150 children born today. Despite some promising discoveries, the cause of autism is unknown and a cure does not exist. Research is crucial. Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism. Not only must we find ways to improve the quality of life for children and adults with autism, but we also must find a cure, and soon. By participating in this event, our hope is that we will soon hear “Your child no longer has autism." Thanks so much for your support. Here is a big honking link to my page at Walk Now for Autism. Kat's walk page Good luck! Kat (p.s. if you are in the Chicago area and would like to participate in the Bears ticket raffle, let me know.)

The butt rags seem to basically be baby washcloths wtih a tad-o-hype. I prefer paper bun-wad myself but I'm sure there is a good market for these and it is capitalism at work. Wallypop also sells cloth hankies. I should get Mike some of those. What is really cool is the Incredibles cycle pads. How did I ever live without those!

Thanks. I just thought it was cool to be able to save that much moolah without doing rebates or collecting coupons for more than a day. It wasn't any special promotion, just the normal weekly sales combined with electronic and paper coupons. Thanks also for the website Sherri. I've seen that one before. I also look at ones like zenhabits.net and livingonadime.com and a few others from time to time. Kat

I don't consider myself either for or against the environment. I believe in a common sense approach. I think groups like PETA and Greenpeace are nutters, but I also think that some environmental controls are necessary to keep our world safer and cleaner. A little green living is good. Throwing $30 million in the stimulus package to save some friggin mouse species is bad. Kat

Yesterday we went grocery shopping at Dominicks. This is the regular grocery store in the Chicago area. It is part of the Safeway chain. Generally, we shop at Sam's Club or Food4Less because they are generally cheaper. I wanted to drop by Dominicks to make a deposit at the bank and just to pick up some items on sale. I decided to do a little homework first. I looked at their website to see if there was anything I should pick up on sale while I was there. They had 93% ground beef on sale for $1.89 and a few other things I wanted to pick up on sale. I saw that I could make a grocery shopping list from their online weekly ad and so I did that. They had a coupon section where I could load coupons into my club card and not have to use paper coupons, they also had printable coupons, and a link to Proctor & Gamble brand savers, which I joined. I also visited upromise and coupons.com and sites of products which were on the shopping list that I didn't find a coupon for already such as Progresso soup and found coupons around the web. We also picked up a Sunday paper. Clipped and loaded, I was ready to go shopping. With all the coupons in hand, it did take a bit longer to shop. We filled the cart with mostly sale items and proceeded to the checkout hoping for the best. I've done this type of thing to a lesser degree before and have saved $20-$30 at the store. I was expecting at least $60 off the bill. When the total came to nearly $330, I was a little anxious, thinking we bought too much stuff. I handed the checker my handful of coupons taken off the web and a couple of coupons that were on packages. Those totaled $8.10 (a bit disappointing). Then he swiped my loyalty card. The total started falling... and falling ... and falling. I said come on ... please get it under $200 and lo and behold, the total went down to $199.49. Whew! Oh, and I also earned United miles, gas credits and money towards my daughter's college fund. I saved $121.78 on groceries. Try this sometime. Doing the prep work really pays off. Kat the coupon queen

OK, the food fight is over here Stay on topic please. Kat (I really hate having to use my magic powers, but boys will be boys)

Clearing out the racism discussion from the home schooling thread.

Hi Sherry, Welcome to OL. I just ran across this thread and had to wade through a lot of trash before posting. I apologize for the hijacked thread. I think we will need to move some stuff to the garbage pile. Anyway, I think it is wonderful that you are able to homeschool your kid. My son has PDD-NOS and I understand how challenging it can be. My kid just started high school this year and it feels like it takes an act of Congress to get him any services, although his high school is better than the middle school he went to. He is in an organization called Best Buddies and also participates in a drama program. At home, he basically reads about what ever he is interested in... Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lego animated video games, but at school he has to read what is assigned, although since he is a special ed kid, they don't challenge him much academically. There are many resources out there and several books by and for Aspie children. You can start by looking at The Autism Shop and just browsing around. Check out the forum wrongplanet.net read anything by Temple Grandin and definitely read Tony Atwood's Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. Check this link for specific titles for home schooling Objectivist parents... Strong Brains. Also, check and see if you can get your kid into Best Buddies. I believe that it is a national program. Kat

Capitalism does rock and so do Aspies. I saw the title of the thread and was expecting something new and cool from the Schoolhouse rocks people. Oh well. Anyway, its nice that some people still believe in capitalism. Kat

I enabled html so youtubes now work in this thread. Here is Tom Sawyer Harry Potter style... his mind is not for rent.... and South Park doing Trees ... sort of a parody song about spreading the wealth around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHvCocYG5yk and Rush performing Free Will live a few years ago. Geddy Lee's voice is deeper nowadays... a relief for many. Rock on. Kat

Yep, You'd better believe that Michael had kitty litter in his grape nuts the next morning! meow. Kat

I think the whole ordeal is silly. So he took a hit on a bong at a party. Big deal, people drink and smoke stuff at parties. That is just what they do. If he was under the influence during competition or an endorsement, that's another story. Whoever made this video is a malicious jerk out to destroy people of achievement. Kat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0qRsorj0dQ Here is a beautiful Objectivist love song I wrote for Michael that John Lennon performed on the Imagine album. Well, I didn't actually write it... John did... but I still think it is a beautiful love song. Happy Valentines Day! Kat :heart:

Thanks Chris. I was going to put up a thing about Buddy, but you beat me to it. He is one of the all time greats and a great inspiration to many. A few months back we saw the play The Buddy Holly Story. Go see it or rent the movie. It is a very good show. Here's some video of the late great Buddy Holly. and here is Paul McCartney performing a Buddy Holly song, Words of Love Kat keeping classic rock alive

I thought both Wall-e and Happy Feet had a very stinky agenda. I didn't like either. It is the brainwashing of American youth. Kat

Hi Billy, welcome to OL. I like your video and I also like Frank Zappa. I saw Zappa in Chicago around 1980 and it was a great show. He is a great musician and quite the entertainer. At the show he had women throwing their bras and underthings up to the stage and he had them all hanging from the amps. He said he was going to go home and make a quilt. I also saw the movie 200 Motels ages ago because Ringo was in it... and I am a huge Beatles fan. Here is a cartoon interpretation of one of my favorite Frank Zappa songs, Yellow Snow. Maybe some people will recognize this song. Sing along! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsdyiCD3AMY

That chicken shit was lame and made even more lame by the laugh track. I did not find it funny at all, but of course, I am the chart monkey in the office making decks for a living. I take my craft very seriously. Monkey, Monkey, Monkey! Now that's funny! Here is how not to use Powerpoint. I couldn't find the one Edward Tufte uses for the Gettysburg address, which is a very funny satire of Powerpoint. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM Kat Professional PowerPoint Arteeeeeste

I think the recent Wall Street Journal article may have given it a little bit of a boost. It was on their most emailed list for several days. Also, it's a good book so go to Amazon and buy copies for all your friends. Kat

Troll shit goes into the garbage pile or is simply deleted. I think we have in the guidelines that trolls are not welcome. Coming in with long posts preaching contrary ideas in an Objectivist forum and saying Rand is wrong about this and that is trolling. We've seen it before and we don't want it here. btw - It is not like we do not accept any criticism of Ayn Rand or her ideas as we have a whole section on that called Objectivism in Dark Places. Kat

I'm sorry to hear that there will be no summer seminar for 2009. I was hoping they'd have it in Chicago and we'd be able to go. I understand there are other priorities at this time and limited resources and vamping up their web presence is less costly and would reach more people than putting on such an event. I hope things start looking up in the coming year and their next event is as great as the Atlas Shrugged event. I wish Ed, David and everyone at the Atlas Society a very happy, productive and prosperous New Year. Cheers! Kat

Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes. Kat

Yum, I may just have some pineapple too. I love pineapples and we have a fresh cut one in the fridge. Here is today's menu: Turkey and a vegetarian turkey-like-product, fruit and nut stuffing, honey and pecan sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, home baked dinner rolls, veggies, pumpkin pie.... and maybe some pineapple. Tina has been a tremendous help in the kitchen today with the homemade rolls and cranberry sauce and everything. Dinner is in an hour or whenever grandma gets here. Happy Thanksgiving, Kat

Here is a good looking vegetarian-friendly stuffing recipe I am making this Thanksgiving. I am trying to make the recipe bigger so I'm kinda winging it, as usual. If you don't have a vegetarian around, feel free to use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. Fruit and nut stuffing (serves 10) 2 Tbsp butter 1 small onion, minced 2 stalks celery, minced 1/4 cup chopped pecans 4-5 chopped dried apricots 1 cup fresh cranberries (or 1/4 cup dried/Craisins) 3 Tbsp raisins or chopped dates 8 cups (nearly a loaf) of whole wheat bread, dried and torn into pieces 1 egg 1 cup vegetable broth 1/2 cup milk salt and pepper dash of poultry seasoning Preheat oven to 375 Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onions and celery 3-5 minutes or until softened Stir in nuts and fruit and saute about 3 minutes more. In a large mixing bowl, combine mixture with dried bread In a small bowl, whisk together egg, broth, milk and seasonings Put in baking pan, cover with foil, and bake for about half an hour. Remove foil and brown top for 5-10 minutes Enjoy!