Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

Julie,I saw a report on the bbc website that the groundhog
'Punxsutawney Phil' saw his shadow so there will be 6 more weeks of winter.

Good Maen everyone!! Have a safe & fun trip June!! I still wish I could go with you!! Take pictures, ok??? Give my love to Wagdy when you see him!! He was one of the first to welcome me to SA8. Got a few minutes before lunch with a client today. Can't remember what else I was going to say. Hugs & Love to those who need it! TTFN

Brenda: Congrats on the TOPP!!!

I heard the same thing on the radio while waiting in line at the stockyard, Brenda. I hope ol' Phil was wrong.

Morning all!
I am the worst mother in the world. It is absolutely pouring down rain here so of course the swimming carnival is cancelled, normal school day. Ally's friends had made plans and they are going to go ahead with them - skipping school. Hubby and I have said Ally has to go to school as it is a normal day - which really sucks for her as she was an integral part of her friends plans. She is now really upset! Her teachers had better put on proper lessons or we are really going to cop it!

The cow and calf have been sold. As I said, I don't like this one as much as the other. The prices are lower here, but I don't feel guilty dumping these 2 on someone. When I arrived there, I ran into a friend/neighbor who knows cattle. I was honest to him about the runt and he told me that he could tell at a glance that she was stunted and not as young as she looked. Her tail is the length of an older animal. Calves have short little tails. Apparently, my friend knows more about cattle than all the employees there put together. They put her in with the bottle calves and calves weaned too young. The buyer is going to be disappointed when she doesn't grow, but he didn't pay a whole lot for her, either. The cow was a nightmare to load in the trailer, a nightmare to unload at the stockyard.... she was running over people.... and when they preg-checked her (due to calve in 3 to 4 weeks) she was running backwards in the chute and refusing to cooperate. They had to hit her with the shock stick about 6-8 times! I could tell when they were trying to get her in the sale ring. I heard a LOT of banging, crashing and swearing going on behind the doors. At least she wasn't the worst behaved cow in the ring. One of the others decided that she was going to kill somebody. In the sale ring is a barrier (like in a bull fighting ring) for the employees, who are moving the cattle through, to dive behind in case one gets ornery. This cow was throwing herself against the barrier repeatedly trying to get at the 2 guys in the ring. Her body language said that she meant business. She sold for a ridiculously low price.

My cow sold for a decent price. I was expecting less.

To clarify my second sentence..... I don't like this sale barn as much as the one that has their sale on Saturday.

Good Morning All.
Safe travels June.
Heidi, glad you sold the cow and calf.
Susan, you obviously got home safely, how does Jason like his job so far?
Zusy, sure Ally will eventually forgive you.
Going to a funeral this afternoon, a friend who had cancer.
Love and hugs to you all.

Broni, so sorry about your friend.

June, have a wonderful and safe trip!

Heidi, they probably paid for the calf and will get rid of the cow once she's calved.

Speaking of cows, that strange guy has his wandering around the back again - I can hear them mooing.

Thanks Zusy.
On a good news note Teresa's SIL has impoved enhough to go home(will be staying with friends) to start treatment.

That is good news Broni.

Yes, Suzy. The calf that #9 is carrying is worth as much or more than they paid for the cow. That's why I don't feel guilty about selling her.

I just went to feed the calves and cows, and discovered that my tractor has a flat tire. The same one as last week. The guy who fixes tractor tires will be out here to fix it first thing in the morning.

There is a news story this morning that the journal article that linked autism to vaccines has been officially retracted by the medical journal that printed it. Not only was the methodology faulty and misrepresented in the article, but others had tried to duplicate his results and failed. There will still be many, like my nieces, who believe that it is true.

Unfortunately, irresponsible science like that will convince a lot of gullible people to avoid important and necessary vaccinations for their children.

The vaccination rate has dropped to scary levels all over the world, and I believe this article is largely to blame.

http://us.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/02/lancet.retraction.autism/index.html?hpt=T2

If you're interested..

Broni, thinking of you.
Pleased about Teresa's SIL.

Morning all.
Thanks Vici for blessing my socks!
Not staying long, feeling a bit flat this morning.
Hubby has gone to work for his and his partner's once a month pilgrimage, so there is lots I should be doing while he's out of my hair.
Catch you later.

Morning folks..
Gail does that mean your feet won't get smelly? Noice....REALLY noice...
Broni...thoughts are with you
Thank goodness that is sorted Heidi! Buyer beware I say!

Suzy interestingly enough the article doesn't mention WHY the study was invalid other than his shockingly unethical practices...eg selection criteria for research subjects. If they were interested in it truly being informative they would have commented on the vaccination schedule
timing coinciding with the normal emergence of autism symptoms. The people blaming vaccination would be shocked to find that if they HADN'T vaccinated their child then they would still be looking for another cause for their child's autism. [references available on request but not today..]

and now I am outta here...things to do...places to be...people to see... Have a good one everybody..

You could also blame breathing on autism. 100% of all parents of autistic children breathed during pregnancy! They also drank water! That sort of thing is called Bad Science".

Good morning lovely SA people.
Broni - sorry about your friend. Pleased to hear the better news re Teresa's SIL.

Here's link to an article in our local papers about the wild weather we experienced on the weekend - when Broni had to go out to the boat. This is the area where the Narnia boat was (see picture on my page) just behind where this photographer stood. Good restaurant there - if you like yummy fresh seafood!
http://www.baysidebulletin.com.au/news/local/news/general/cleveland-awash-with-wild-weathe r/1739219.aspx

Heidi - pleased you finally got the cows to the saleyard and were happy with the prices.
Hi to Brenda, Suzanne, Suzy, Gail, Bean etc!

Thanks for reminding me Cyn, the dinghy was flooded by the waves when we got back to shore and was too heavy to lift onto the trailer, so we dragged it up the ramp with the car so we could empty it, I was totally drench and exhausted.

Hi everyone. Read a little while ago, got interrupted and don't remember what I read. Too tired to go back and reread so I will do the best I can and my apologies to anyone I forgot.
Suzy, sorry to hear about your niece. I do wish all the best for the kids.
Rolanda, hope mum is doing ok.
Heidi, funny story about the dogs. I had a picture of it in my mind. Glad you got a good price for the cow.

June, have a great trip. Looking forward to all the pictures.
I don't remember anything else. It is my bed time so I am going to say nite-nite and tuck myself in. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Tami.... Does your mental picture include IH cowering in the bedroom?

I'm wishing I lived in Melbourne right now - much closer to Bendigo than I am!

We just made arrangements to sell another 24 calves in a few days. There are 8 heifers I'm keeping, and 1 steer for our freezer.

Afternoon all!
Just trying to cool down a bit. It's so humid that even a little bit of ffuts has me 'glowing'. There's a lovely breeze blowing through the window in front of the computer though so I will cool down quickly.

Broni, I thought about you and your boat when I heard about the storms and then promptly forgot about it again. Duh! Dragging the dinghy up to shore does sound exhausting!

Tami, I hope your life has settled back into a routine that is not quite as hectic as it was in the lead up to the Bah Mitzvah.

June should be about to head off to the airport. I will miss her while she's gone - especially if her hubby hogs the notebook!

Hey Cyn! How's tricks?

I'm just reading an article on internet addiction:

"While many of us use the internet to pay bills, shop and send e-mails, there is a small subset of the population who find it hard to control how much time they spend online, to the point where it interferes with their daily activities."

If daily activities includes ffuts, then I'm addicted!

Everyone!

Hi, Brenda, Suzanne, Heidi, Suzy, Broni, Gail, Bean, CynB, and Tami the T!

June, I hope your back is recovered and you are ready for a wonderful and safe trip to Egypt! Please give Wagdy our best! As Suzanne said, he was always one of the first to welcome new members and always seem so warm-hearted and encouraging to everyone!

Suzy, you can not POSSIBLY be the worst mother of the world! I got that title about 15 years ago! It's been taken, dear. If anyone asks, you could only be the second-worst mother. (P.S. - I hope the teachers had a normal day and made those who attended feel appreciated - and will HEAP LOADS OF HOMEWORK on those who weren't in school!

As for Punxatawney Phil - that groundhog is in Pennsylvania - well east of here. I defer to the groundhog at the local Chicago area zoos. They know what the weather was like here today - and it was snowing, so NO shadow! (I suppose that means we will only have 5 weeks and 6 days of winter, instead of 6 more weeks.)

Heidi, I'm so pleased cow #9 and calf were both sold. That's one or 2 fewer worries you'll have during calving! I hope you feel the price was reasonable.

Broni, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I'll be thinking of you - and your friend's family! But GOOD news that Teresa's SIL is able to return home!

I agree with Suzy and Heidi about the number of children unnecessarily exposed to diseases that could be prevented with vaccines. It's so unfortunate that the flawed study was reported. On the other hand, there are many more cases of autism being identified. I think people continue to hope that a cause can be found - and if not that, certainly a cure!

Wow, Heidi, 24 more calves to be sold in a few days! I think I have underestimated the size of your herd!

Off to bed now, folks. Good Night!

But before I go, here is an avatar showing Punxatawney Phil.

And another - this time just with Phil.

And yet another for good measure. I won't bring them out again for a year. (unless I can think of a really good reason)

Time to switch to the Valentine's Day avatars. (No, that's not a groundhog's picture on the box.)