The pictures are kind of meh and Ralphie looks like a ragga-muffin but we had a great day anyway!

We carved our pumpkin this weekend, or rather *I* carved the pumpkin. When you have a four year old who cannot stand sticky stuff on his hands, a significant other who harbors some unnatural resentment of holidays such as Halloween and Easter, and a teenager who really just doesn't care, I get pumpkin carving and Easter egg dyeing duties every year. The mess was all worth it for this picture! I would also like to say my child has a ginormous head so you can imagine how big the pumpkin is to make his melon look almost normal sized;>)

So Jim's Mom has discovered the world of Limewire. In the past we would find the 100 year old music she likes and download it and cut her a disc. Well she just came into the 21st century on the back of high speed internet. Thus she wanted Jim to set up Limewire on her computer. So she says just show me how to download a song. So she picks a Paul Anka song(Which I think would be worse then porn but whatev). So Jim says he is just tired at this point and wants to get the hell out of there so without looking just chooses the top song. Anyone who read the title of this post or actually uses Limewire knows exactly where this is going. So as Jim and his 67 year old Mom wait anxiously to hear the sounds of Paul Anka, they get a video of a girl going to town. Jim said he about died and could not get the window closed fast enough. His Mom just kept saying "Wha...What is that??!!" So there you have it folks, 1 more reason not to pirate music. You just might end up watching porn with your Mom!

I don't hate politics, I find it very interesting to know the issues and how I stand on those issues. I hate politicians. I hate that I have to pick who I feel is the lesser of the 2 evils. There has never been an election since I started voting in 1994 that I feel uneasy about both candidates as this 2008 election. I feel like I have to go with the guy who most matches my feelings on how this country should be run but I do not feel either of these gentlemen are "that guy". It reminds me of the vote or die South Park episode where they had the choice of a giant douche or a turd sandwich for thier school mascot. That episode doesn't seem so funny to me now. My friends that is what we have to choose from in this election. I see people get discouraged and not vote and it depresses me. That is the only bit of control I feel I have over this country we live in. So folks please vote, even if all we have to choose from are a giant douche and a turd sandwich. Oh well at least the Cubs wo....errrrr ummmmm nevermind

She finally let me get some pictures of her YAY! Although she did refuse to smile in most of them:>)

Please join me in helping remember those lost babies

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States. More than 25,000 children are stillborn in the United States every year leaving mothers, entire families and communities devastated. Estimates of the rate of occurrence of stillbirth make it at least as common as autism.

Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce its incidence, but good research requires good data. H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. This proposed bill would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still.

On October 15th, remember the thousands of unfinished children lost and the families who remain to grieve them. Honor them by taking action. Let's help pass H.R. 5979.

Action Steps:

Step 1. Use Your Blog to Enlist Others
-Copy the contents of this entire post and publish it on your blog immediately.

GOAL: Enlist 10 of your readers to spread the word

Step 2. Use Your E-mail to Enlist Others
-E-mail 5 bloggers and ask them (nicely and in an unspammy way) to publish these action steps on their blog. Consider contacting celebrity bloggers, political bloggers, medical bloggers, or bloggers who are not part of your reading community.

GOAL: Enlist 3 bloggers outside of your normal blog sphere to spread the word in other online communities.

Step 3. Help Pass the Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act
-By October 15th, publish a post on your blog supporting H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act. For maximum impact, title your post: "Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act."

GOAL: 1,000,000 Google results on October 15th when that term is searched for. Currently, Google only returns 20,400 pages - most of which have nothing to do with the bill.