What is an Internet Troll?
An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and upset people.Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.
Why does it Matter?
Some people -- particularly those who have been online for years -- are not upset by trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using the net. As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic without ants."It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the sad fact is that trolls do discourage people. Established posters may leave a message board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who read but do not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves to abuse and thus never get involved.Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash.The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of this beautiful forum for ideas.
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The Webmaster's Challenge
When trolls are ignored they step up their attacks, desperately seeking the attention they crave. Their messages become more and more foul, and they post ever more of them. Alternatively, they may protest that their right to free speech is being curtailed -- more on this later.The moderator of a message board may not be able to delete a troll's messages right away, but their job is made much harder if they also have to read numerous replies to trolls. They are also forced to decide whether or not to delete posts from well-meaning folks which have the unintended effect of encouraging the troll.Some webmasters have to endure conscientious users telling them that they are "acting like dictators" and should never delete a single message. These people may be misinformed: they may have arrived at their opinion about a troll based on the messages they see, never realizing that the webmaster has already deleted his most horrific material. Please remember that a troll does have an alternative if he has something of value to say: there are services on the net that provide messaging systems free of charge. So the troll can set up his own message board, where he can make his own decisions about the kind of content he will tolerate.Just how much can we expect of a webmaster when it comes to preserving the principles of free speech? Some trolls find sport in determining what the breaking point is for a particular message board operator. They might post a dozen messages, each of which contains 400 lines of the letter "J". That is a form of expression, to be sure, but would you consider it your duty to play host to such a person?Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a webmaster is deciding whether to take steps against a troll that a few people find entertaining. Some trolls do have a creative spark and have chosen to squander it on being disruptive. There is a certain perverse pleasure in watching some of them. Ultimately, though, the webmaster has to decide if the troll actually cares about putting on a good show for the regular participants, or is simply playing to an audience of one -- himself.
What about Free Speech?
When trolls find that their efforts are being successfully resisted, they often complain that their right to free speech is being infringed. Let us examine that claim.While most people on the Internet are ardent defenders of free speech, it is not an absolute right; there are practical limitations. For example, you may not scream out "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, and you may not make jokes about bombs while waiting to board an airplane. We accept these limitations because we recognize that they serve a greater good.Another useful example is the control of the radio frequency spectrum. You might wish to set up a powerful radio station to broadcast your ideas, but you cannot do so without applying for a license. Again, this is a practical limitation: if everybody broadcasted without restriction, the repercussions would be annoying at best and life-threatening at worst.The radio example is helpful for another reason: with countless people having a legitimate need to use radio communications, it is important to ensure that nobody is 'monopolizing the channel'. There are only so many clear channels available in each frequency band and these must be shared.When a troll attacks a message board, he generally posts a lot of messages. Even if his messages are not particularly inflammatory, they can be so numerous that they drown out the regular conversations (this is known as 'flooding'). Needless to say, no one person's opinions can be allowed to monopolize a channel.
The ultimate response to the 'free speech' argument is this: while we may have the right to say more or less whatever we want, we do not have the right to say it wherever we want. You may feel strongly about the fact that your neighbor has not mowed his lawn for two months, but you do not have the right to berate him in his own living room. Similarly, if a webmaster tells a troll that he is not welcome, the troll has no "right" to remain. This is particularly true on the numerous free communications services offered on the net. (On pay systems, the troll might be justified in asking for a refund.)
Conclusion
Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody whom you think is a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write a follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only this:The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.By posting such a message, you let the troll know that you know what he is, and that you are not going to get dragged into his twisted little hobby.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sleeping in Seattle!
The girls and I went over to Seattle this past weekend to visit my very pregnant sister and also to go to her baby shower. On the drive over I made and little hat that matches the girl blanket that I made. Now I just need to get working on that boys one before the twins decide to make an appearance. It was fun going to her baby shower. I met some people that she knew from blog land and others that she knew through work and other various places. It was nice to see all of them, most of them I already knew. I was disappointed, however, that one of her co-worker's did not bring her daughter, as her daughter is the same age as my older daughter and we get a lot of hand me downs from her that sho-sho enjoys. The games that we played were lots of fun and I was lucky to win one of them. The candy bar reference one. I have played that at so many showers that I knew a lot of them already. It was funny hearing all the ones that people put down.
After the shower, we went back to my sister's and helped get her nursery set up. That was fun b/c I never had a nursery for any of my little ones. They always had shared rooms, and well when Sneezer was little, I was staying with mom and dad while Hubby was away job training. Anyway, we got a lot done and I hope she is happy with how things are. She definitely has enough clothes for them for the first year at least. And some items she had an over load of, but I guess it is nice to have extras and she can store those at grandparents houses and such.
We got back home yesterday and just as I thought, there was no cleaning done at all, so I had to start cleaning the kitchen as soon as I got home. There was this smell in the kitchen that I don't know if it was from the litter box or the sink, but I cleaned both and things are much better now. Since I got most of the things done last night, I guess I can work on other things today. maybe a little on the boy blanket and a little outside. I really need to get some gas for the lawn mower and a new blade for it too. The back yard desperately needs to be cut.
Well I guess I will be off now and work on other things.
TTFN!!
After the shower, we went back to my sister's and helped get her nursery set up. That was fun b/c I never had a nursery for any of my little ones. They always had shared rooms, and well when Sneezer was little, I was staying with mom and dad while Hubby was away job training. Anyway, we got a lot done and I hope she is happy with how things are. She definitely has enough clothes for them for the first year at least. And some items she had an over load of, but I guess it is nice to have extras and she can store those at grandparents houses and such.
We got back home yesterday and just as I thought, there was no cleaning done at all, so I had to start cleaning the kitchen as soon as I got home. There was this smell in the kitchen that I don't know if it was from the litter box or the sink, but I cleaned both and things are much better now. Since I got most of the things done last night, I guess I can work on other things today. maybe a little on the boy blanket and a little outside. I really need to get some gas for the lawn mower and a new blade for it too. The back yard desperately needs to be cut.
Well I guess I will be off now and work on other things.
TTFN!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Las Vegas trip.... Part II
I know I said I was going to post about this yesterday, but things got really busy here and well I had no time. So here are the det's of Thurs. in Vegas.....
My 2nd day in Vegas and I woke up at 7:30 in the morning. Hubby told me to go back to bed, but I could not sleep. So I decided to go for a walk through the hotel. I went down to the main floor and back to the shop where we got the saline solution and bought some Visine to clear up my very blood shot eyes. I thought my contacts had done this so I kept my contacts off for the rest of the morning. While walking around, I decided to check in with the kids and chatted with Sneezer while trying to find my way around this hotel. I went up the first set of escalators I came across, but that just brought me up to the arcade, which was not open. So I went back down to the main floor and found another set of escalators and found that all the shops up there were closed, but Starbucks and krispy kreme were open. I could not find the shops that hubby showed me the day before. So Sneezer (who was on the phone) suggested finding a map and there was one right in front of me, so I went and took a look. It was all so confusing so I just decided to go back to the room and wait for hubby to get up. I got back to the room and showered and then waited. I decided to play my DS while I was waiting for hubby to budge. BY 9 the roller coaster started going by, and I thought that would have at least woken hubby up. Finally 10 came and I asked hubby if that was too early to get up and then finally he started moving.
We left the room, went down and got a Starbucks and a cheese danish for me and then proceeded over to the MGM Grand hotel, where we came across the Indiana Jones slot machines. so we sat and played for a bit and once again $40. gone just like that. Twenty from each of us. So then we got up and headed over to the Monorail to head to the Hilton Hotel to see the Star Trek experience. Once we got there, we went in to the Bar and watched one of the Star Trek movies ,( there were several playing on different TVs through out the restaurant and bar) so we parked ourselves on the bar stool and order and Ramoline beer, which was basically and regular beer tinted blue. While we were waiting for our beers, this guy at the end of the bar threw this furry ball over my way. I, not being a huge Star Trekkie, don't know the name of it. But I have seen the episode that these things are from, but thought it was a bar thing that just rolled around. Hubby and this guy got a good laugh at me freaking out. Haha! :P So then we finished up our beers and then proceeded to the Star trek experience tour. The first feature (ride) that we went on was the Borg invasion. This was a 4-d attraction and the "ride" made me feel very nauseous, probably from not eating too much and having a beer when I should have been eating lunch Or maybe from the 4-d glasses that had to be worn for this feature? After the "ride" we went back to the bar that we had our beers and this time order some food. We ordered this drink that was so big that we had to share it, It had a total of 10 shots in it , I believe. I don't remember the name, but it was something about getting "warped". It was blue and had dry ice in the bottom of it so it steamed while you were drinking it. After our drink we went back through to ride the second "ride", The Klingon encounter. This was another cheesy ride , but I don't remember much of this one, probably from that "warped" drink. But this one was alot more entertaining as it gave us a sky line view of Las Vegas. Of course it was video, but it was still nice to see.
The rest of the trip was pretty cloudy. I know the things that I did, but I don't remember the sequence or what hotel we were at. I blame this on the unfamiliar and also the fact that you can order a drink and walk all over Las Vegas with it. We did get back on the monorail and then head back to the hotels closer to ours, and then walked around a bit. We went to Caesar's palace and watched the Atlantis show and got drinks at a fat tuesday's, though we have on here in Spokane. We played the Indiana Jones slot game again and then that night we watched the Cirque de Soleil's Zumanity. After the show, we walked around some more and then I decided to call it a night, but hubby went to play poker and one of the poker tables we saw at MGM. This night he left with double what he went in with. Oh we also ate at a buffet at I don't know what hotel, but it was crappy. The food was good, at least what I had was, but the service was horrible. And very over priced for what little they had.
Friday we woke up and ate lunch at a fish shop where we had fish and fries. We got our espressos and then went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. This was very nice and then had a recorded feature so if you wanted to know more about a certain fish in a aquarium, it was there to tell you. We got to touch the same kind of sting ray that killed Steve Irwin. They are very slimy and so cool to watch, but yet so dangerous. It was so peaceful and serene to watch the fish. There was one point when me and hubby went to sit down and I could have fallen asleep in there.
We walked every where that day. We grabbed a drink at the Treasure Island hotel and continued to walk trying to cross the street to get to the Paris hotel. (I had to get a matching balloon cup for the one my parents got me a few years back.) It took us an hour or so just to cross the street. Along the way, at some point, we went to the Venetian hotel, this was very nice and they had the water Gondola's that went through the hotel. I wanted to ride on that , but we couldn't find where you got on. We were across the street when the water show in front of the Bellagio went off, so we stayed and watched that for a bit. We went to Madame Tussauds wax museum. I liked that, but some parts were stupid. Like the "haunted" section. This had live action people and the guy that did the intro was dorky and actually spit on my face while he was talking. I didn't like that too much and I was laughing at all the people, I don't think they like that.We went to MGM grand and played the Indiana Jones game one last time. This time as i was witting there, this guy came up and sat next to me and asked if her had to bet the max to win. I said no, you don't have to bet all the lines, but you need to bet the max amount to get anything, so he sat down and put in his money and after about 3 times he hit the jackpot!!! WTF? He only won about $50. b/c it was a nickel slot, but still! Man, If only I sat one seat over!! You know? We had a very good Buffet at the MGM Grand. It was so much better than the one the night before and they had Creme brule for dessert. I love creme brule, though I don't think I spelled it right. We did not do anything the rest of the night. After we ate dinner, we head back to our room, got our flight info and then went over to the MGM and got our boarding passes for our flight home. Then we went back to our room dropped off the stuff and then went over to Excalibur. I don't remember what we went there for? But then went back to our room and called it a night.
Saturday morning, Hubby had to wake me up. I was so exhausted. We checked out of our hotel and checked our luggage to the bag boys at the front of the hotel. Then we went and got some lunch, this time we just had hot dogs and chili fries. While eating our lunch, I saw the Zumanity shop and decided to go and take a look. There were some book and stuff that I would have liked, but did not want to spend that much money on it. I bet I could find it online for cheaper.
After lunch, we went shopping around for things for the kids. We got the girls just some t-shirts that said Las Vegas and the boy got some dragon shirts from the Excalibur. I saw alot of baby things I wanted to get my sister, but they were either over priced or not in a small enough size.
All in all, I had fun in Vegas. I would like to go back again. My advice for visiting Vegas, if you are going to gamble set a limit. it can be so over whelming and you find your self thinking, I will win on the next one, and then just like that, your money is gone. Wear comfortable shoes, you will be doing so much walking that if you wear sandals or anything with no support your feet will kill you. And finally, If you are at an attraction and they ask to take you photo, say no, that is their way of making more money off of you and after they snap your photo, they have the right to do what ever they want with it.
My 2nd day in Vegas and I woke up at 7:30 in the morning. Hubby told me to go back to bed, but I could not sleep. So I decided to go for a walk through the hotel. I went down to the main floor and back to the shop where we got the saline solution and bought some Visine to clear up my very blood shot eyes. I thought my contacts had done this so I kept my contacts off for the rest of the morning. While walking around, I decided to check in with the kids and chatted with Sneezer while trying to find my way around this hotel. I went up the first set of escalators I came across, but that just brought me up to the arcade, which was not open. So I went back down to the main floor and found another set of escalators and found that all the shops up there were closed, but Starbucks and krispy kreme were open. I could not find the shops that hubby showed me the day before. So Sneezer (who was on the phone) suggested finding a map and there was one right in front of me, so I went and took a look. It was all so confusing so I just decided to go back to the room and wait for hubby to get up. I got back to the room and showered and then waited. I decided to play my DS while I was waiting for hubby to budge. BY 9 the roller coaster started going by, and I thought that would have at least woken hubby up. Finally 10 came and I asked hubby if that was too early to get up and then finally he started moving.
We left the room, went down and got a Starbucks and a cheese danish for me and then proceeded over to the MGM Grand hotel, where we came across the Indiana Jones slot machines. so we sat and played for a bit and once again $40. gone just like that. Twenty from each of us. So then we got up and headed over to the Monorail to head to the Hilton Hotel to see the Star Trek experience. Once we got there, we went in to the Bar and watched one of the Star Trek movies ,( there were several playing on different TVs through out the restaurant and bar) so we parked ourselves on the bar stool and order and Ramoline beer, which was basically and regular beer tinted blue. While we were waiting for our beers, this guy at the end of the bar threw this furry ball over my way. I, not being a huge Star Trekkie, don't know the name of it. But I have seen the episode that these things are from, but thought it was a bar thing that just rolled around. Hubby and this guy got a good laugh at me freaking out. Haha! :P So then we finished up our beers and then proceeded to the Star trek experience tour. The first feature (ride) that we went on was the Borg invasion. This was a 4-d attraction and the "ride" made me feel very nauseous, probably from not eating too much and having a beer when I should have been eating lunch Or maybe from the 4-d glasses that had to be worn for this feature? After the "ride" we went back to the bar that we had our beers and this time order some food. We ordered this drink that was so big that we had to share it, It had a total of 10 shots in it , I believe. I don't remember the name, but it was something about getting "warped". It was blue and had dry ice in the bottom of it so it steamed while you were drinking it. After our drink we went back through to ride the second "ride", The Klingon encounter. This was another cheesy ride , but I don't remember much of this one, probably from that "warped" drink. But this one was alot more entertaining as it gave us a sky line view of Las Vegas. Of course it was video, but it was still nice to see.
The rest of the trip was pretty cloudy. I know the things that I did, but I don't remember the sequence or what hotel we were at. I blame this on the unfamiliar and also the fact that you can order a drink and walk all over Las Vegas with it. We did get back on the monorail and then head back to the hotels closer to ours, and then walked around a bit. We went to Caesar's palace and watched the Atlantis show and got drinks at a fat tuesday's, though we have on here in Spokane. We played the Indiana Jones slot game again and then that night we watched the Cirque de Soleil's Zumanity. After the show, we walked around some more and then I decided to call it a night, but hubby went to play poker and one of the poker tables we saw at MGM. This night he left with double what he went in with. Oh we also ate at a buffet at I don't know what hotel, but it was crappy. The food was good, at least what I had was, but the service was horrible. And very over priced for what little they had.
Friday we woke up and ate lunch at a fish shop where we had fish and fries. We got our espressos and then went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. This was very nice and then had a recorded feature so if you wanted to know more about a certain fish in a aquarium, it was there to tell you. We got to touch the same kind of sting ray that killed Steve Irwin. They are very slimy and so cool to watch, but yet so dangerous. It was so peaceful and serene to watch the fish. There was one point when me and hubby went to sit down and I could have fallen asleep in there.
We walked every where that day. We grabbed a drink at the Treasure Island hotel and continued to walk trying to cross the street to get to the Paris hotel. (I had to get a matching balloon cup for the one my parents got me a few years back.) It took us an hour or so just to cross the street. Along the way, at some point, we went to the Venetian hotel, this was very nice and they had the water Gondola's that went through the hotel. I wanted to ride on that , but we couldn't find where you got on. We were across the street when the water show in front of the Bellagio went off, so we stayed and watched that for a bit. We went to Madame Tussauds wax museum. I liked that, but some parts were stupid. Like the "haunted" section. This had live action people and the guy that did the intro was dorky and actually spit on my face while he was talking. I didn't like that too much and I was laughing at all the people, I don't think they like that.We went to MGM grand and played the Indiana Jones game one last time. This time as i was witting there, this guy came up and sat next to me and asked if her had to bet the max to win. I said no, you don't have to bet all the lines, but you need to bet the max amount to get anything, so he sat down and put in his money and after about 3 times he hit the jackpot!!! WTF? He only won about $50. b/c it was a nickel slot, but still! Man, If only I sat one seat over!! You know? We had a very good Buffet at the MGM Grand. It was so much better than the one the night before and they had Creme brule for dessert. I love creme brule, though I don't think I spelled it right. We did not do anything the rest of the night. After we ate dinner, we head back to our room, got our flight info and then went over to the MGM and got our boarding passes for our flight home. Then we went back to our room dropped off the stuff and then went over to Excalibur. I don't remember what we went there for? But then went back to our room and called it a night.
Saturday morning, Hubby had to wake me up. I was so exhausted. We checked out of our hotel and checked our luggage to the bag boys at the front of the hotel. Then we went and got some lunch, this time we just had hot dogs and chili fries. While eating our lunch, I saw the Zumanity shop and decided to go and take a look. There were some book and stuff that I would have liked, but did not want to spend that much money on it. I bet I could find it online for cheaper.
After lunch, we went shopping around for things for the kids. We got the girls just some t-shirts that said Las Vegas and the boy got some dragon shirts from the Excalibur. I saw alot of baby things I wanted to get my sister, but they were either over priced or not in a small enough size.
All in all, I had fun in Vegas. I would like to go back again. My advice for visiting Vegas, if you are going to gamble set a limit. it can be so over whelming and you find your self thinking, I will win on the next one, and then just like that, your money is gone. Wear comfortable shoes, you will be doing so much walking that if you wear sandals or anything with no support your feet will kill you. And finally, If you are at an attraction and they ask to take you photo, say no, that is their way of making more money off of you and after they snap your photo, they have the right to do what ever they want with it.
Monday, April 23, 2007
My trip to Vegas....part 1.
Since I don't really have alot of time to sit in front of the computer this week, I thought I would break my trip down into parts. So this part one will be the first day of our trip.
I woke up at 5:30 am to wash the last load of clothes before we left. Got up and took a shower around 7 and finished getting ready and packed the last bit of items. My brother arrived here shortly after 8 and then I went over to the store and picked up some munchies and pop for the kids and my brother. When I got back, my hubby loaded the car with our luggage. Sho-sho gave me a big hug before we left but the other kids just went off to school like it was no other day. We left the house around 9:30. We arrived at the airport and check in our luggage. The airport has changed alot since I flown last. You had to take of your shoes and jacket, which I thought was strange, b/c I was wearing flip flops, I mean what could I possibly hide in there?
So we proceeded on to the terminal and then we had about a hour and a half to wait for our plane. and that would be no biggie at any other airport, but there is absolutely nothing to do in the Spokane airport. So after a bit, our plain arrive and we were part of the first group to board and of course hubby had to have the window seat. We had to land in Boise first. This was not on our printed flight plan, but I guess it was a scheduled stop. I took this opportunity to call and check on my brother and the kids since it was past noon that we landed in Boise. Then after a few minutes our flight took off and we were on our way to Reno where we had to switch planes. Upon arriving, the first thing we saw was an I-pod vending machine! And it had every little accessory and I-pod that you could think of, in every color that they have available. So after checking this out we went and checked the schedule and saw that our flight to Vegas was delayed by at least an hour. So we got a bite to eat and looked at the slot machines that were scattered everywhere. Then we got on our flight to Vegas and arrived there around 4:30. This airport was so big that we had to catch the Tram to go to our luggage. They had a whole separate building for baggage claim and this things was gigantic compared to Spokane. You could probably fit our whole airport in just the baggage claim!!! So we left there and check in for our shuttle to the hotel. We got to the New York New York hotel and there was just so much to take in. There were slots machines everywhere, trees inside the building,and the shops were lined up to look like a New york street. There was also a river that ran through the casino floor.
We checked into our room and went up to the 22nd floor, where we had the most amazing view of the roller coaster that came by right in front of our room, we could see down the strip and Excalibur was right across the street. I opted to take a shower after feeling ill from all the taking off and landing that we had to do.
After the shower, Hubby gave me a tour of the hotel. There were 2 Starbucks and 2 Krispy Kremes just in the hotel. We found Coyote Ugly and got a drink from the outside bar and then proceeded to walk over to the Excalibur b/c hubby said our show started at 9 and we had about an hour to kill over there. We walked around the casino there and then went down to the arcade, where hubby was determined to win a Spiderman or Venom stuffed doll. but we didn't. We then went into our show, it was the Tournament of Knights. We were in the Hungary group, it was jus tme and hubby sitting there and then this family of 5 with 3 very small children come down and we find that they have the seats right next to me. The Mom and Dad were huge!!and i was hoping that they would seat one of their kids next to me, but no it was the dad so I had very little elbow room. But I guess that was okay, so then I could just sit closer to hubby. The dinner was not all that good. We had a cornish game hen with steamed broccoli head, potato wedges and a roll. The chicken was good, but because of the steamed broccoli everything else was soggy. Unfortunately our knight did not win the tournament. But we got a couple of very cool beer steins from here.
After the show we went back over to the Spiderman game, but once again did not win one. We then started heading back over to our hotel. Oh I forgot, on the way to Excalibur are these Jetson's type walkways, where you just have to stand on them and they move for you! Nice huh? Hubby says that it is for the drunk people, but unfortunately there is not one of these ramps that lead out of the hotel. We got back to our hotel around 12 am and I just wanted to take my contacts out, so we went over to the newspaper store inside our hotel and bought some saline solution and then went up to the room to take my contacts out. Then we went back down and walked around for a little bit more. We walked over and looked at the poker tables were hubby wanted to get in on one and me not being a poker player, decided to play a couple of slot machines. And me not knowing how these things work, lost $40. just like that. So me feeling soo unlucky I decided to go up to the room and Hubby stayed down and played his poker game.
I sat up in the room and watched TV until hubby came up to the room around 2:30 or so and had some to go from one of the bars down on the main floor. We had some mozzarella sticks and some thing else that my hubby had that I don't remember b/c I didn't want any. Hubby said that he did not win anything, so at the end of the day, we gave our hotel about $100. And that is day one and now I need to go and do other stuff to get ready for the baby shower this weekend. I will continue on with Thurs. tomorrow.
I woke up at 5:30 am to wash the last load of clothes before we left. Got up and took a shower around 7 and finished getting ready and packed the last bit of items. My brother arrived here shortly after 8 and then I went over to the store and picked up some munchies and pop for the kids and my brother. When I got back, my hubby loaded the car with our luggage. Sho-sho gave me a big hug before we left but the other kids just went off to school like it was no other day. We left the house around 9:30. We arrived at the airport and check in our luggage. The airport has changed alot since I flown last. You had to take of your shoes and jacket, which I thought was strange, b/c I was wearing flip flops, I mean what could I possibly hide in there?
So we proceeded on to the terminal and then we had about a hour and a half to wait for our plane. and that would be no biggie at any other airport, but there is absolutely nothing to do in the Spokane airport. So after a bit, our plain arrive and we were part of the first group to board and of course hubby had to have the window seat. We had to land in Boise first. This was not on our printed flight plan, but I guess it was a scheduled stop. I took this opportunity to call and check on my brother and the kids since it was past noon that we landed in Boise. Then after a few minutes our flight took off and we were on our way to Reno where we had to switch planes. Upon arriving, the first thing we saw was an I-pod vending machine! And it had every little accessory and I-pod that you could think of, in every color that they have available. So after checking this out we went and checked the schedule and saw that our flight to Vegas was delayed by at least an hour. So we got a bite to eat and looked at the slot machines that were scattered everywhere. Then we got on our flight to Vegas and arrived there around 4:30. This airport was so big that we had to catch the Tram to go to our luggage. They had a whole separate building for baggage claim and this things was gigantic compared to Spokane. You could probably fit our whole airport in just the baggage claim!!! So we left there and check in for our shuttle to the hotel. We got to the New York New York hotel and there was just so much to take in. There were slots machines everywhere, trees inside the building,and the shops were lined up to look like a New york street. There was also a river that ran through the casino floor.
We checked into our room and went up to the 22nd floor, where we had the most amazing view of the roller coaster that came by right in front of our room, we could see down the strip and Excalibur was right across the street. I opted to take a shower after feeling ill from all the taking off and landing that we had to do.
After the shower, Hubby gave me a tour of the hotel. There were 2 Starbucks and 2 Krispy Kremes just in the hotel. We found Coyote Ugly and got a drink from the outside bar and then proceeded to walk over to the Excalibur b/c hubby said our show started at 9 and we had about an hour to kill over there. We walked around the casino there and then went down to the arcade, where hubby was determined to win a Spiderman or Venom stuffed doll. but we didn't. We then went into our show, it was the Tournament of Knights. We were in the Hungary group, it was jus tme and hubby sitting there and then this family of 5 with 3 very small children come down and we find that they have the seats right next to me. The Mom and Dad were huge!!and i was hoping that they would seat one of their kids next to me, but no it was the dad so I had very little elbow room. But I guess that was okay, so then I could just sit closer to hubby. The dinner was not all that good. We had a cornish game hen with steamed broccoli head, potato wedges and a roll. The chicken was good, but because of the steamed broccoli everything else was soggy. Unfortunately our knight did not win the tournament. But we got a couple of very cool beer steins from here.
After the show we went back over to the Spiderman game, but once again did not win one. We then started heading back over to our hotel. Oh I forgot, on the way to Excalibur are these Jetson's type walkways, where you just have to stand on them and they move for you! Nice huh? Hubby says that it is for the drunk people, but unfortunately there is not one of these ramps that lead out of the hotel. We got back to our hotel around 12 am and I just wanted to take my contacts out, so we went over to the newspaper store inside our hotel and bought some saline solution and then went up to the room to take my contacts out. Then we went back down and walked around for a little bit more. We walked over and looked at the poker tables were hubby wanted to get in on one and me not being a poker player, decided to play a couple of slot machines. And me not knowing how these things work, lost $40. just like that. So me feeling soo unlucky I decided to go up to the room and Hubby stayed down and played his poker game.
I sat up in the room and watched TV until hubby came up to the room around 2:30 or so and had some to go from one of the bars down on the main floor. We had some mozzarella sticks and some thing else that my hubby had that I don't remember b/c I didn't want any. Hubby said that he did not win anything, so at the end of the day, we gave our hotel about $100. And that is day one and now I need to go and do other stuff to get ready for the baby shower this weekend. I will continue on with Thurs. tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Has good karma returned?
I wish!!! No last night as we were getting ready for bed, D realized that he left a toy outside and just had to get it. So, it being dark outside, I left the door open to watch him while he was looking for it. And being that normal that dogs will try and run out when the door is open, I was blocking them and not even watching the cats and then Shaak ti goes running out the front door and takes off and hides under our neighbor's RV. She is a very clever cat and changed her directions every time she was with in arms reach of me. It finally took two of us to catch her and bring her back into the house. Then after that, My husband was wondering where the big suitcase was and I told him that I brought in all the suit cases I saw in the garage. I had no idea that there was a bigger one than the two i had already brought in. So I went out to the garage again and did not have any luck finding it. Then I came in the house to tell my husband this and a few seconds later I hear " oh here it is!" It was in the house the whole time. Nice huh? So then I went and got settle into bed, sore from cleaning all day and now my knee, elbow and back hurt from scraps that accord during the trapping of the cat. I am laying in bed and then I hear yelling in the living room. apparently CJ dropped the newly found Micro gameboy into the toilet. I say newly found b/c after cleaning the girls room, it was found. So CJ was just not happy about this. We told him it was an accident and that it will probably work again after it dries out, but he was still upset. But after waking up this morning, we found that the Micro still works and did just need to dry out.
So after all the bad things that have happened the last couple of days, I have decided to see the positive. Yes I lost the diamond out of my ring, but at least I found it, Yes I broke the jar, but we have others, and yes the cat got out, but she is back in, we found the suitcase, and even though the micro was dropped in the toilet, it is still working and I think CJ learned his lesson about peeing and playing at the same time... ;P
Oh and one more thing before I go... tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Vegas with my Hubby and will be gone til saturday!! It will be so nice to not have to cook, clean and watch little ones for the next few days. although I will miss them at some point, I will soak in every second of that freedom!!!!
So after all the bad things that have happened the last couple of days, I have decided to see the positive. Yes I lost the diamond out of my ring, but at least I found it, Yes I broke the jar, but we have others, and yes the cat got out, but she is back in, we found the suitcase, and even though the micro was dropped in the toilet, it is still working and I think CJ learned his lesson about peeing and playing at the same time... ;P
Oh and one more thing before I go... tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Vegas with my Hubby and will be gone til saturday!! It will be so nice to not have to cook, clean and watch little ones for the next few days. although I will miss them at some point, I will soak in every second of that freedom!!!!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Bad Karma?
The past week there has been negative energy flowing through my house. Me and My husband were arguing constantly and neither one of us know why? We would argue about the little things, " why did you make that noise? Why did you say it like that?" Stupid things like that. We finally figured out on Friday that we were fighting just for the sake of fighting. So it stopped and we had a good Saturday of shopping and Sunday was going well until I was carrying a basket of laundry downstairs and while setting it down I felt my ring snag a little. Upon examining my hand, I found the diamond from my engagement ring was no longer there. I screamed out "OH SHIT!" But being that the kids were outside and my husband was cat napping on the couch, no one answered. So I frantically searched for my diamond and finally found it on the floor in my room. But there was no possible way for me to replace the diamond and the shop that my husband got it from is no longer in business. I have the ring and the diamond in a little baggy on the computer desk. I feel so naked with out it on.
After this took place, I went outside to see what the kids were up too and to get some fresh air, as I was tearing up a bit. While out there I saw my neighbor, Brandie, jogging up and down the street, while her daughter followed on her bike. I like this girl, she is very nice but I just think she needs to grow up a bit. She came and sat on the front porch with me and was telling me how she was going to buy a house out in Springdale. I was polite and showed my joy for her, but after she left I was like " How does she think she is going to buy a house when she has no money for a down payment, no money for the closing costs, and she has been on food stamps the last couple of months." If she thinks she can afford a house payment and all that it entails to keep a house up, when she can't even afford her rent, she has another thing coming to her. So tired of listening to her "la la land" fantasies, I decided to go to the back yard and talk with Tanya, who was working in her garden in her back yard. We couldn't figure out why some of her plants were doing do well when mine, of the same plant, were dead. I lost my raspberries along with the flowers I mention in a previous post. But on the bright side, my cherry trees might have cherries this year. They have several blooms on them and if we are lucky, they will turn in to cherries!
So then here we are this morning. Did the bad luck go away? No! this morning, while taking all the bedding down to the laundry room, I knock over a large pickle jar that the kids have been using as a piggy bank. The loud crash woke Sho-sho up and she came out to tell me not to hurt myself. her exact words were " Mommy don't get hurt to yourself" Her little 4 year old lingo is so cute. So I got the jar cleaned up and then continued taking the bedding downstairs. I have so much to do in just two days. I have to clean my whole house and all the bedding so that when my brother and mom stay here, it is clean for them. Most of the house is clean with just the regular routine to do, along with cleaning the bathroom, and getting the girls to clean their room, but I doubt they will! I think I will take some things and store them downstairs while we are gone so that there will be more space for them. My room especially is very clustered. I still need to do something with all the clothes my sister gave me.
I just heard the washer stop, so it is time for the next load.
Until next time.....
After this took place, I went outside to see what the kids were up too and to get some fresh air, as I was tearing up a bit. While out there I saw my neighbor, Brandie, jogging up and down the street, while her daughter followed on her bike. I like this girl, she is very nice but I just think she needs to grow up a bit. She came and sat on the front porch with me and was telling me how she was going to buy a house out in Springdale. I was polite and showed my joy for her, but after she left I was like " How does she think she is going to buy a house when she has no money for a down payment, no money for the closing costs, and she has been on food stamps the last couple of months." If she thinks she can afford a house payment and all that it entails to keep a house up, when she can't even afford her rent, she has another thing coming to her. So tired of listening to her "la la land" fantasies, I decided to go to the back yard and talk with Tanya, who was working in her garden in her back yard. We couldn't figure out why some of her plants were doing do well when mine, of the same plant, were dead. I lost my raspberries along with the flowers I mention in a previous post. But on the bright side, my cherry trees might have cherries this year. They have several blooms on them and if we are lucky, they will turn in to cherries!
So then here we are this morning. Did the bad luck go away? No! this morning, while taking all the bedding down to the laundry room, I knock over a large pickle jar that the kids have been using as a piggy bank. The loud crash woke Sho-sho up and she came out to tell me not to hurt myself. her exact words were " Mommy don't get hurt to yourself" Her little 4 year old lingo is so cute. So I got the jar cleaned up and then continued taking the bedding downstairs. I have so much to do in just two days. I have to clean my whole house and all the bedding so that when my brother and mom stay here, it is clean for them. Most of the house is clean with just the regular routine to do, along with cleaning the bathroom, and getting the girls to clean their room, but I doubt they will! I think I will take some things and store them downstairs while we are gone so that there will be more space for them. My room especially is very clustered. I still need to do something with all the clothes my sister gave me.
I just heard the washer stop, so it is time for the next load.
Until next time.....
Friday, April 13, 2007
my finds.
I went out shopping yesterday with Sho-sho and we found these Star Wars playing cards that I thought my husband would love. And he did, but when I told him where I found them. he went to that store and bought the rest that was still there and gave the ones that I bought to the boys. this kind of upset me b/c it made me feel like the ones I bought weren't good enough so he had to buy his own and then he just tossed mine aside to the boys where they are sure to get wrecked!!
I was hoping that today would have been a nice day to finish up some yard work, but now looking outside I can see the clouds coming in. I haven't checked the news yet so I don't know what the forecast is for today?
I was thinking about things to do during the flight to Vegas next week. with all the restrictions now I don't know. can I listen to my I-pod while crocheting the blankets? would they consider the crochet hook a weapon? Is the I-pod something that they don't allow? I have not flown since before D was born( or conceived for that matter) so I am no sure on how things are now.
Does anyone know or know where I can find out?
well that is it for today. have a good weekend all you might read this!
I was hoping that today would have been a nice day to finish up some yard work, but now looking outside I can see the clouds coming in. I haven't checked the news yet so I don't know what the forecast is for today?
I was thinking about things to do during the flight to Vegas next week. with all the restrictions now I don't know. can I listen to my I-pod while crocheting the blankets? would they consider the crochet hook a weapon? Is the I-pod something that they don't allow? I have not flown since before D was born( or conceived for that matter) so I am no sure on how things are now.
Does anyone know or know where I can find out?
well that is it for today. have a good weekend all you might read this!
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