Monkey Musings Daily Open Discussion #13 12/16/08 -02/02/09

[mrfy]

http://www.ccleaner.com/help/?v=2.14.763&l=1033

try this program to clean up your computer, is free and seems to help,

[San]

Hi everyone!  I want to make an effort at not being so shy, and post more often to get acquainted with everyone. I have been a Monkey since Natalee's case but havent posted much because I am still on dinosaur dialup and it's SO slow!! I have decided to just suffer with the "slow" and go ahead and post, one of my New Year's resolutions is to make an effort at participating in Scared Monkeys. Anyway I thought I would come chat here too to get better acquainted.
SS and Numbers, I am so sorry for the health problems in your families! Sending prayers up that answers will be found to help your loved ones.
I do medical transcription at home, typing doctors' dictation, have done this for 33 years and have had exposure to almost all the specialties, and have also taught several courses on medical terminology. One thing I can help with is taking medical terms and breaking them down into layman's language, so if I can help anyone with that just let me know, I will be happy to try to help you understand the medical jargon a little better. I can also share some very good medical and medicine links on the net for specific info. Just let me know if I can help, I will be happy to.

Thank you Gabby for your offer.  I'm sure your knowledge will come in handy.

[2NJSons_Mom]

Imagine being in your 50's and everything you have worked for and accumulated, including things of sentimental value, daily use and otherwise, is reduced to a horrible stench and ashes. Every heirloom and relic is ash. Every photo of all relatives many as far back as the 1800's and your children from birth onward, is reduced to ashes. No photos: baby books, first drawings, confirmations, Easters, Christmas mornings, first day of school. All those events one takes a photo of. Grandfathers highchair, Great Grandfathers letter to his parents from the gold rush, your childs first drawing and first day at school and many, many more cherished momentos are all gone. They do live in the memory. That is the good news.

You can't even imagine until it happens to you. And it probably will not.

Our lot is graded and trenched in preparation for the foundation. That is a wonderful thing but, the loss still sometimes overwhelms me. If I get emotional on other threads, please try to understand. I am getting closer to going home. It has been an emotional journey.

Shell, I'm glad your home is finally being built, and want you to know that I understand the loss of all of those sentimental things that all of us cherish and take for granted.  My SIL's home is getting there, too.  She had many of the photos we would have loved copies of but they are gone.  We did give them a picture for Christmas that we'd had copied and framed.  She cried and BIL said thank you several times.  It made us feel good that we could give them something to start with when the walls are ready. 

Hope all goes well moving forward, and keep giving us updates.  ((((Hugs))))

[dottie]

I will give instructions for disc defragment later unless Klaas or San or some other smart monkey does them first. It is my nap time.

Thanks Sam!! I found the defrag thing and my computer is set on a schedule to defrag every week so I guess that's not the problem. 

[dottie]

I see people mentioning problems with ads on the SM site in the Caylee thread. I just want to tell those who use Firefox this:

I run Windows XP and I use Firefox (version 2.0.0.20) as my browser. Since I started using an extension called AdBlock Plus (version 1.0.1) I see NO ads on the SM forum. NONE at all. No popups, no still ads. NONE. You can find the extension by doing a simple google search for it.

I hope this helps some people. I am going to post this in the thread about computer help, if I can find it

Hey Brandi,
Thanks for the info.  I use IE, but I may try Firefox an the adblock plus.

[crazybabyborg]

Shell, this has been such a long journey for you. I'm so sorry this fell to you to go through. I remember being so worried, and so relieved to finally hear from you. It hit me when you asked for a simple recipe that had been lost that all those things that are so familiar, that we take for granted, and are at our fingertips, suddenly weren't there for you. I remember pulling it from my file to post it for you and thinking how simple for me, and how difficult for you it was. You've been very brave, and don't worry about it if you get emotional on occasion. You are among friends, and we understand. {{HUGS TO YOU, SHELL}}

[crazybabyborg]

I know I'm whining. It's not Wisconsin, and I'm not going to need a shovel. I don't mind the snow, actually, it's beautiful when it snows. The mountains seen from all my windows are so pristine when they are covered with snow. But I am freezing!!!! The STUPID guy I hired 2 years ago to remove a support post in the downstairs den, and install an I beam to replace it, ruined the ceiling heat downstairs, and the heat pump just doesn't cut it when it's really cold. It makes a huge difference in the upstairs as well, and downstairs is just plain cold.

Here's the forecast, and I'm going to have to pick up a heater tomorrow:

Tonight: Snow showers. Low 28F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. About one inch of snow expected.
Tomorrow: Snow showers. Cold. High 28F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulating 1 to 2 inches.
Tomorrow night: On and off snow flurries are possible along with variably cloudy skies. Low 18F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday: Flurries and a few snow showers throughout the day. Cold. High 27F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Wednesday: A few snow showers. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.

OK, I'll take some cheese please, with that whine.......

I needed to read your posts, Shell, because I really don't have a thing to complain about. Please post pictures soon, hon. You are in my prayers.

[always 1]

MuffyBee, do you live in Austin.  My kids live in the Allentown neighborhood.

[Lovinlife]

A-1, glad to hear that you are having a fun trip!  I'll be praying for a safe return home as well.
Lovin

[always 1]

A-1, glad to hear that you are having a fun trip!  I'll be praying for a safe return home as well.
Lovin

Thanks Lovin, you are very sweet.

[Nut44x4]

'Lost in Space' actor Bob May dies at 69   
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009
LOS ANGELES -- Bob May, who in an entertainment career spanning more than 65 years won over a cult following as The Robot in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 69.

May died at a hospital in Lancaster, his daughter, Deborah May, told The Associated Press.

He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by "Lost in Space" creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family's loyal metal sidekick in the hit series that debuted in 1965.

"He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit," said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. "It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, 'If you can fit in the suit you've got the job.'"

Although May didn't provide the robot's distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a devoted following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows.

"We gave them entertainment. We didn't try to lecture them. We just wanted to have fun with the family," he said at a 1995 reunion of the "Lost in Space" cast.

"Lost in Space" was a space-age retelling of "The Swiss Family Robinson" story in which Professor John Robinson, his wife and their children were on a space mission when their craft was knocked hopelessly off course by the evil Dr. Zachary Smith, who became trapped in space with them.

May's robot was the Robinson family's loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn. His often-quoted expression to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase.

The grandson of famed vaudeville comedian Chic Johnson, May was introduced to show business at age 2 when he began appearing in the "Hellzapoppin" comedy revue with Johnson and his partner, Ole Olsen.

He worked in vaudeville, nightclubs and theaters.

"My dad always ended his shows the same way his grandfather did, with a toast. May you live as long as you want to and may you laugh as long as you live," his daughter said.

He went on to appear in numerous films with Jerry Lewis and in such TV shows as "The Time Tunnel," "McHale's Navy and "The Red Skelton Show."

He was also a stuntman in such 1950s and '60s TV shows as "Cheyenne," "Surfside 6," "Hawaiian Eye," "The Roaring 20s" and "Stagecoach."

He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a "home away from home."

He worked incredibly hard at the role, Lockhart said, wearing the suit for hours at a time and learning the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn't easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.

"He was a smoker," Lockhart remembered. "From time to time (when he was on a break) we'd see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us."

May and his wife lost their house in November when a wildfire destroyed their upscale mobile home park in the San Fernando Valley's Sylmar section. It was one of 484 homes destroyed.

Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Judith; his daughter; his son, Martin; and four grandchildren.

Funeral services are pending.

http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/1137806.html

RIP Bob...I will never forget...DANGER APPROACHING--Will Robinson!

In this file photo showing the crew from the original cast of the television series 'Lost in Space' pose for a group portrait with the shows' robot in Boston in this Saturday, Dec. 2, 1995 file photo. From left in the back row are: Bob May, Bill Mumy, Mark Goddard, Jonathan Harris; in the front row from left: June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright.

[Nut44x4]

Shell.....my thoughts are with you as you go through this process. I do understand. It happened to me, although many years ago and at a much younger age. Hang in there.

[janetruth]

Just wanted to say that I've got over my snit, and many thanks for everyone's kind words.  I apologize, having driven around for a while and played "Piece Of My Heart" at top volume, I now feel halfway human.

Fuzzy is partly right--the word "suicide" did jump right out at me, but, as always there is more to the story.

I am not comfortable with armchair diagnoses of mental disorders, or physical ones, for that matter. 

My husband left a note that he thought he had Parkinson's disease, and the principal at his school later told me she had advised him at the end of the school year to see a doctor, because she thought he might be diabetic.  He refused to see a doctor, so I don't know to this day what was the matter with him, except that he was in a bad place in his life.  He never had any diagnosis of anything, he just decided that he had an incurable disease, and that life was intolerable.

He shot himself the day he was supposed to start back teaching school.

I'm putting this here, because I don't want to start a pity party, especially in a new cage.

Thanks.

[trimmonthelake]

Janet,I'm glad you posted.
I admit that I can be overcome with emotion when the subject comes up.
In my case we discovered my previous husband had a congenital abnormality of the heart.It had gone undiagnosed all his life.Stress seem to aggrivate the situation.At one point he was told any kind of unexpected excitement or what ever could bring on chest pain and cardiac arrest.
He showed some signs of depression.Things progressed and in the end I was actually afraid of him because he became physically abusive to me.
After his suicide,I was cleaning one day and found all these old papers where he was referred to a psychologist before we met.I had no idea how bad it was and I was overcome with guilt.I couldn't talk about it for a long time.
I think reading all the things about others here helps me to see we are never alone.
I hope you don't leave us.Monkey hugs to you.

[MuffyBee]

{{{Hugs}}} to you Jane and Trim. 

[crazybabyborg]

Jane, please don't let anything here add to the tragedy you've suffered.

My heart and sympathy go out to both you and Trimm. Hugs to both of you and I'm glad you are both here.

[SunnyinTX]

Imagine being in your 50's and everything you have worked for and accumulated, including things of sentimental value, daily use and otherwise, is reduced to a horrible stench and ashes. Every heirloom and relic is ash. Every photo of all relatives many as far back as the 1800's and your children from birth onward, is reduced to ashes. No photos: baby books, first drawings, confirmations, Easters, Christmas mornings, first day of school. All those events one takes a photo of. Grandfathers highchair, Great Grandfathers letter to his parents from the gold rush, your childs first drawing and first day at school and many, many more cherished momentos are all gone. They do live in the memory. That is the good news.

You can't even imagine until it happens to you. And it probably will not.

Our lot is graded and trenched in preparation for the foundation. That is a wonderful thing but, the loss still sometimes overwhelms me. If I get emotional on other threads, please try to understand. I am getting closer to going home. It has been an emotional journey.

Shell, this has been an emotional journey for you......I have few momentos of my young life and cherish them deeply..losing them would be like losing a part of who I am....I feel your loss...so please know your emotions are felt by many of us. I don't talk much about my life...I have a wonderful life and don't want to jinx it...but it was a very long time coming....getting closer to home is an amazing feeling.....and I am so proud to walk this with you.

[SunnyinTX]

Just wanted to say that I've got over my snit, and many thanks for everyone's kind words.  I apologize, having driven around for a while and played "Piece Of My Heart" at top volume, I now feel halfway human.

Fuzzy is partly right--the word "suicide" did jump right out at me, but, as always there is more to the story.

I am not comfortable with armchair diagnoses of mental disorders, or physical ones, for that matter. 

My husband left a note that he thought he had Parkinson's disease, and the principal at his school later told me she had advised him at the end of the school year to see a doctor, because she thought he might be diabetic.  He refused to see a doctor, so I don't know to this day what was the matter with him, except that he was in a bad place in his life.  He never had any diagnosis of anything, he just decided that he had an incurable disease, and that life was intolerable.

He shot himself the day he was supposed to start back teaching school.

I'm putting this here, because I don't want to start a pity party, especially in a new cage.

Thanks.

Jane....I read, after the fact, all the posts.....thank you for speaking out...so many time things are said and I think....oh chit!  And it was an OH CHIT post for certain. Good friends our ours son committed suicide 4 years ago...it devastated our small community....no one knew anything was bothering him other than he has just graduated from HS and didn't have any direction for his life. He was so kind and gentle...he helped people in the neighborhood. He mowed for us, put up and took down our Christmas lights, he would come over and swim in our pool and play with my dogs.... We realized much later on that there were issues that no one knew about in total....it was pieced together from talking to fiends...a piece here and a piece there....suicide is devastating for those left behind....always thinking why didn't we know, what did we miss, what could we have said ...................so thank you for speaking out....I saw an apology from fuzzball.....I hope you saw it......

[SunnyinTX]

Jane, please don't let anything here add to the tragedy you've suffered.

My heart and sympathy go out to both you and Trimm. Hugs to both of you and I'm glad you are both here.

DITTO!!!!

[MuffyBee]

Shell ~ SunnyinTX's post says it for me too.  No, I've never had a catastrophic loss as you have, but after you have shared your experiences with us, it has made me sit up and pay attention and do a household inventory, video'd my belongs, got with my insurance agent and made changes to the policy, have started scanning photos, and yet I realized I still don't think I could be prepared for what you have been through.  It would just make a terrible thing more bearable.  And I thank you for sharing with us, with what you are feeling, with the advice you've given and I wish I could ease your sadness.  You've been a monkey friend to us here for a long, long time.