Heiderino

I love my Bluetooth headset. It is seriously awesome. In fact, when I forget or misplace it, I feel almost crippled.

The other day, something strange happened. I was in the shower, and I panicked because I felt like the headset was in my ear… But it wasn’t!

Like phantom pain after a limb is amputated, Bluetooth Ear leaves you with the feeling that the Star-Trek-like device is attached to you at all times. It makes you want to just click on your ear to call your Mom, too.

There are a couple other symptoms of this condition:

Loss - You come home, run in, kids are yelling… Sometime along the way the headset is ejected, and finding out where is the challenge. You rely on this baby to drive, and not having it is akin to a PB&J minus the PB.

Rage - you reach up to click on the thing, only to realize it isn’t there. How irritating!

Annoyance - you come home, put the thing on a table somewhere, then dial a number using the phone the conventional way. If you are still in range, your phone tells you that you’re connected to whoever it is you’re calling, but you can’t hear a damn thing because the Bluetooth is synced, and you aren’t sure where it even is. This is about the time you start shouting things like: “Mom! Mom? I can’t find my headset!” with the hope that she will hear you and understand.

So with that, I implore the medical community to research this more. Ha!!!

UPDATE - 07/01/2006:

I jinxed myself by writing this post last night, and I also proved myself right on two things today (refer to above conditions):

LOSS - This morning, I could NOT find my bluetooth. I had to go without it. Awful.

RAGE - During my day away from home, I poked myself in the ear twice in an obviously futile attempt to dial out via my bluetooth.

That will teach me!

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll mention it again… I’m a BIG TIME Fox News addict. I sometimes watch O’Reilly (although at times I can’t take him), sometimes Hannity and Colmes, and most often Greta Van Susteren. My schedule with the kids really dictates which show(s) I get to take in. I’ll catch Shepard Smith whenever I can. That guy is great!

Honestly, I think I’ve been this way for about 4 years… I made this clean break from Lifetime Movie Network to Fox News with no symptoms of withdrawal at all.

People who know me know that I define myself as a fiscal conservative, but socially, I am a bit more liberal. A bit. As a result, I end up agreeing with Sean Hannity 93% of the time, but 7% of the time I don’t agree with him. The bizarre aspect is that I agree with Alan Colmes 0% of the time. I understand that this just doesn’t add up, but I can’t even believe some of the statements that come out of his mouth.

I DO understand that it is his job to battle with Hannity… But let’s examine the case of old Grandpa who got tasered carrying an American flag at some Memorial Day event or demonstration. Honestly - they TASERED him.

The hosts asked him to set the stage, and he explained that he was walking around with his flag hanging from a pole.

(Colmes - paraphrased): “But isn’t it true they were concerned about how sharp that pole was? What kind of pole was it?”)

(Grandpa - paraphrased): “It was a normal flag pole - you know, the kind with the eagle at the end.”

At the end of the segment, they asked him if he’s ever going to go out with that flag again, and he said “Nobody can make me put my flag away.”

Go go Grandpa! I’m with you!

Every day, I get about 6 “great” ideas for blog entries. Of course, being an idiot, I never write these down. And then you would think I had Alzheimer’s as I try to recall them. So I bought myself a little journal that I can bring with me everywhere.

Today I thought of two that I think could be good contenders, I wrote ‘em down, and lo and behold…

I AM TOO TIRED TO WRITE TONIGHT!

I saw them for about 6 months - several times each day… Vonage commercials. “It’s so easy to install…” “We love it…” etc. etc.

I must say, it has saved us a bundle of money each month, but on the downside, I find that the reception ranges from slightly staticy to severely staticy. Forget about walking to the mailbox while talking on the phone, too. I have a VERY SHORT driveway, and I can’t get more than ten steps outside before I lose the call.

As a positive, their web dashboard rocks. I can look at my activity - it logs ALL incoming and outgoing calls (Great for parents of teenagers) and offers features such as simul-ring (make another # ring at the same time as your home phone) The bad news is, I set that simul-ring to call my cell phone at the same time, and whenever it is activated, I cannot call my home phone from my cell phone for some reason. A tad bizarre, no?

I think it is cool that when you forward the calls from home to wherever you are, the caller ID carries over! A bonus indeed over the “unknown caller” text that used to show up with a forward.

All in all, I definitely appreciate the cost savings and web features, but I think the call quality is lousy. I guess this is a case where you have to tally your pros and cons. I’ve been too lazy to do that just yet.

Last time I got my hair cut, my stylist mentioned that there is a theory buzzing around the salon that little Suri Cruise simply does not exist. I have to say, I am almost on board with that theory.

Think about it! Since Tom and Katie went on their first date (I will NEVER REFER TO THEM AS TOMKAT) we heard every detail of their courtship and saw a ton of photo-ops.

Why did I think of this just now? I was driving in Brookfield when I saw “Suri Rugs.” It was a reminder that the world has not yet been introduced.

I hear that the bids are coming in lower for the first pics of this baby than they did for little Jolie-Pitt. I guess in this case, the planned Namibian water birth trumped the planned “silent” birth.

C’mon, Tom and Katie - I mean, Kate. Prove to the world that this baby exists!

Looking at this hideous thing, I bet not. I’m still working on a plan to learn CSS and update it to look way cool, very soon.

I’m the first to admit, I have a freaky addiction to Fox News prime time. Bill, Hannity (and the other one), Greta Van Susteren… Well - I should rewind and say, I have a freaky addiction to Fox News in general. Day or night.

All of my favorite prime-timers usually cover the latest “hot” cases, and Greta’s show intrigues me the most. (Not just because she’s a Wisconsin girl.) I’ve been intrigued, fascinated and mesmerized by following which ever case is the most sensational. It is really a sad thing, because she is usually covering BAD things, like missing persons or murder mysteries. But I find Dr. Michael Baden FASCINATING, and I watch these shows more with the hope that whatever mystery it is will be solved…

The sheer WONDER forensic pathology (although I would faint if I ever saw a dead body in person) gives me the confidence that whatever the mystery is, it will be solved. Such confidence leads to real disappointments in cases like that of Natalee Holloway, who vanished in Aruba.

The good news is, there haven’t been a rash of murders or missing people lately.

The bad news? The media just doesn’t stop talking about the Duke rape case. It’s getting really annoying, as a matter of fact. I agree with the Duke Basketball coach.. Mike Krzzzzzzzzzzesky *sorry, coach.*

Let’s stop making judgements of either side in this case, and let it play out. Let’s not talk about it 24/7. Please?

Mitchell Park Domes

Originally uploaded by Heiderino.

The Domes are an obvious landmark in Milwaukee. This is horticultural heaven, with the Tropical, Arid and Floral Show domes. It’s kind of funny, because they have been there for my whole life (or at least since I was two) and I went on numerous family visits and school field trips there, but I haven’t been there now for probably (gulp) 16 or more years.

I was taking the kids down to meet my parents for lunch at our favorite Mexican place, Botanas, and by some freak of nature was running early. I didn’t really want to get to the restaurant and drag them in to sit there by myself, and Drue just happened to spot the Domes from 35th Street.

For fun, I decided to drive over to them for her to see. She was in awe - fascinated by these things. I couldn’t believe how EXACTLY THE SAME they were - particularly the zig-zaggy entrance way. Just driving up there brought back a flood of memories, including what I can even imagine the smell was inside.

I’m glad we saw the Domes that day - next time we’re looking for something fun to do, we are going there! It’s a great photo-op heaven, and I’m always looking for those!

To get an even better idea of the domes, and because I can’t (YET) provide my own photos of them, check out the “official” web site.

I can’t believe nothing major happened in that episode. When it ended, my husband and I looked at each other in disbelief! I understand that they want a lot to go on in the final eight next year, but there was no cliffhanger or shocker.

Yep- I sure was bummed.

How many times have you seen a pixelated, blurry, badly-lit security-cam photo of someone committing a crime on T.V.? It seems to me, with technology the way it is, they should be making better cameras, capable of night-mode shooting, and much, much clearer. Seriously - my Sony DVR video cam even has a night mode.

“If you recognize this blurry blob of a face, please call your local police department…”