Hippie Zen

Summertime Writing

2009-06-23T07:53:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try to do JulNoWrimo (the July version of NanoWrimo) to help me figure out what's it is going to be like in November. Hopefully I can finish, but if not at least I will figure out some things that could mess me up later. I really want to be a winner in November.

Link to JulNoWrimo forums

And if you don't know what NanoWrimo is, take a look here.

~Hippie Cat

The Chains of Cable TV

2009-06-22T19:21:00.004-04:00

In an attempt to break free of my cable company I ordered a Roku player ($115 w/shipping). It shipped today and subscribed to Netflix's cheapest unlimited package at $8.99 a month. The Roku player lets me watch any of Netflix's online movies immediately on my tv. There are 12, 000 and also I can rent Amazon movies thru it too. I probably won't do this, but you never know. I also have something to hook my laptop to the tv so I can watch my shows like Top Chef from online. I haven't tried that out yet but if it works I should be good. I'm waiting on the Roku to get here to try it out without my cable plugged in for a week and see how it goes. If it goes well, I should be saving almost $80 a month between my cable and tivo subscription. Woohoo!!! Boy I hope it works. With work the way it is, I really need to get an emergency fund going.
Also I'm challenging myself to watch any movie I haven't seen on their online list. If I don't like it I'm not going to watch the whole thing but I wanna review them all. This should make the online list last for awhile and also add to my Listal list of movies too. I also get 1 DVD at a time from any of Netflix's movie sent to me in the mail. My first choice: the new version of My Bloody Valentine. It should be here tomorrow, I can't wait.
Fingers crossed crossed crossed that this works out!

~Hippie Cat

Free Money Friday

2009-05-29T08:17:00.000-04:00

I love this new program! And you should too if you like to receive free money. It's a very quick sign up and you can immediately begin to earn money. The ads are chosen depending on your info you fill out in your MeFile. You can then either download a desktop gadget or just go to the site and click on ads. A "ding" signals you have earned your money. It's not a huge amount but change adds up and they send it automatically to your paypal account - so there is no filling out your real whole name and social security number to earn real money. You choose when you want to view ads, no emails filling up your inbox. I can't say enough about how easy this is. I like that you know exactly what you earned as soon as you click - no filling out a survey to find out you've only been entered into a sweepstakes. Sign up by clicking the logo above and I will earn $1 from YouData (thanks in advance if you do!!) I guarantee you will like how easy it is to make some free money quickly - it only takes a few minutes whenever you happen to be on the internet - the ads open up in a new window-click, click, click and you are done. It takes nothing on your part for payment except letting them know your paypal email and it's in your account every week. The first day I signed up I earned $2.32. I'm not guaranteeing any certain amount, but how cool is it that I spent probably a total of 5 minutes and earned a couple of bucks. I'm not going to walk away from some extra cash to put in my pocket (the lint in there is getting lonely that's for sure). So go sign up already :-)

Too many chiefs - Not enough Indians

2009-05-27T11:14:00.000-04:00

EVERY JOB I'VE EVER WORKED AT!!!

Dead Duck

2009-05-26T19:17:00.005-04:00

Something I got in my email today ~ gave me a little chuckle...

A woman brought a very limp duck into a Veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry,your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?" Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," replied the vet.
"How can you be so sure," she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.
"The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head,meowed softly and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said,"I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bil... "$150," she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with theLab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."

hehehe :-)~

~Hippie Cat

Memorial Day 2009 -- Always Remember, Never Forget

2009-05-25T10:32:00.003-04:00

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.
It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,
but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
Arthur Ashe

The above are just a few links--there are many more on the net.

Sign the petition to restore the traditional day of observance for Memorial Day

"On Memorial Day we need to stop and pay with sincere conviction our
respects for those who died protecting and preserving the freedoms we
enjoy, for we owe those honored dead more than we can ever repay."

Please pause for a moment in your day today at 3pm to pay respect to our fallen but not forgotten heroes.

A sincere thank you to all of those who stood up to do their duty for their country. I salute you and the families who've stood by and supported you. Everyone overseas now - thank you and God bless -
I wish for you all to come home, every last one of you.

Image via Wikipedia

Love & Peace

~Hippie Cat

Seriously Sunday

2009-05-24T06:47:00.000-04:00

2009-05-23T08:07:00.002-04:00

Quotable Friday

2009-05-22T18:52:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. ~Samuel Johnson

~Hippie Cat

2009-05-21T06:17:00.000-04:00

Why do Wednesday? Fireflies

2009-05-20T06:21:00.000-04:00

Why do fireflies glow?

Because they are trying to attract a mate or because they are avoiding predators. Males and females flash back at each other. Predators avoid fireflies because they taste yucky and don't forget what that flashing light means.
The actual compound that causes the light is called luciferin. There are over 2,000 species of the firefly around the world.
I can remember pulling the glowy part off and wearing it as a ring when I was a kid. I was so cruel (I'm sure that kinda stuff still goes on today). And I can also remember the distinctive smell they have too. It was a big thing on summer nights running all over the yard, catching fireflies and putting them in Mason jars.

~Hippie Cat

Personalize you browser with Personas

2009-05-19T06:54:00.002-04:00

I love, love this extension for the Firefox browser (you are using Firefox, aren't you?!) I never could find a theme that I liked very well and tried out several. I'm one of those people who like to change fonts, colors, etc -- I'm a personalizin' fool! Personas is the easiest theme personalization tool I have ever seen. Once installed, you go to the icon (mine is in the lower left bottom of the screen) and then click on it. Up pops a selection menu where you can see the browser change themes as you roll over them. Lots of categories and I'm sure you can find something that fits your mood. I've changed mine three times today while surfing. Nothing more to install or download, it just stays whatever theme you click on. I highly recommend this -- a keeper for me!!

~Hippie Cat

2009-05-18T12:43:00.003-04:00

Image by Per Ola Wiberg (Powi) via Flickr

Thousands of years ago,
cats were worshipped as gods.
They have never forgotten this.

~Hippie Cat

Listal - A cool place to keep track of your stuff

2009-05-18T12:32:00.002-04:00

Image by NightRPStar via Flickr

I just joined a new site (to me anyhow) called Listal. I've already added a bunch of movies and books to my page there. I also found it fun to tag movies and books. If you will look to my sidebar, you will see 2 of my lists there and a link to them. It's a pretty neat site and I plan to keep track of my stuff there.
They get their info from IMDB and Amazon and you can rate, tag and fave everything. It's also a social community if you want to interact. You can make up your own personal lists for yourself or to share. I have tried a couple of other services, mainly All Consuming and Good Reads and didn't like their limitations. Good Reads was for books only and All Consuming lacked the tv connection. I watch a lot of Lifetime movies and they couldn't keep up with that. Listal didn't have a problem. Other things I faved was directors, actors/actresses and authors. I was on there a big chunk of time last night, I was having a pretty good time going down memory lane with all the movies I've watched (that will never be a complete list, nor will be the book list). And it's neat to see how other people rate movies and books you like. They have music lists too, I am just not that into music - I listen to whatever is on the car radio but rarely buy cd's.
I highly recommend this site if you like collections. I'm a natural born packrat - I have a tendency to want to hold on to everything. And being able to keep lists online is right up my alley.
If you would like to befriend me on Listal, my name is Hippie Cat - befriend away (let me know you found me thru this blog, ok?!)

~Hippie Cat

Thank you reading Hippie Zen!

Something About Me

2009-05-18T06:42:00.002-04:00

Things I like: reading, gardening, being frugal, saving money, taking pictures, surfing the internet, learning new things, horror movies, good food, reality tv, blogging, quotes, being creative, interesting conversation, laughing, cats and lots more..... My cup is half full with room for lots of good stuff.

Things I don't like: staying on the path, living in the box, running with the herd, being in the rat race, keeping up with the Joneses--umm you get the idea.

~Hippie Cat