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Post by katina2nd on Apr 30, 2019 21:23:33 GMT -6
Well I got that one wrong, been convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter ………
"Minnesota’s third-degree murder charge means causing the death of another through a dangerous act “without regard for human life but without intent to cause” death. Second-degree manslaughter is defined as creating unreasonable risk of causing death or great bodily harm to another through culpable negligence."
Sounds about right to me.
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Post by Phalon on May 1, 2019 4:41:06 GMT -6
Dang, that was fast - faster than I expected the jury to reach a verdict anyway. I hadn't read anything about it until your post, Katina.
Sound right to me too.
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Post by stepper on May 12, 2019 14:51:19 GMT -6
Happy Mother's Day ladies!
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Post by Phalon on May 15, 2019 4:07:44 GMT -6
Thanks, Stepper. Had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with the girls...and Hubs too, of course, but he sweetly made sure there was lots of just Mom-Daughters time.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 15, 2019 4:25:52 GMT -6
My niece had to work Sunday night, so we're celebrating this coming Sunday. It will be combined with my Nephew's birthday.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 25, 2019 12:33:34 GMT -6
My straight talk iPhone doesn’t get service where I live. So I decided to switch to Verizon when I replaced it. I was walking out of the store, because the cheapest phone I saw was over $600. The clerk stopped me and asked what I was wanting. I mentioned I had bought my iPhone on sale, because it was becoming outdated. So, she told me they had free phones. I love free, so I now have an iPhone 6s. My old one was a 5s. My monthly charge is more than my ST charge, but I get anywhere from one to three bars just sitting on my couch, so worth it. It does what I want it too, and i don’t feel the need to have the latest new toy.
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Post by stepper on May 25, 2019 15:31:18 GMT -6
Since I recently purchased a cell phone - a less expensive one - I did a 30 second drill on Verizon phones and the 6s. Mine is not nearly as fancy as an iPhone but all I wanted was a phone that would text and take pictures. What I could find in the drill said you had to sign up for 2 years of their service for the free phone, or there was a minimum fee of $5 a month to pay for the phone, but either way it sounds like a heck of a deal. I didn't look into Verizon earlier as I was in a bit of a hurry, but they and AT&T have the best coverage. For what little checking I did, what I found was that AARP recommended Consumer Cellular because they had good coverage, decent phones, and most importantly they've had the highest rated customer service several years running.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 25, 2019 21:25:52 GMT -6
My sister and her family have been with Verizon for ages. I think I'm locked in for 1-1/2 years ... I don't remember. I've used Straight Talk for around six years, so I don't have a problem with a two-year contract with Verizon, as long as I don't lose service. The phone will probably need replacing in a few years anyways. I'll reevaluate then.
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Post by Phalon on May 26, 2019 9:15:54 GMT -6
I'm not a fan of Verizon and AT&T. BP has used both, and though she never had a problem with the coverage, the monthly bills were outrageous I thought in comparison to what the rest of us pay with Virgin Mobile.
The difference, of course, is that with Virgin Mobile you buy your phone outright, choose a plan, and then pay month-to-month - there is no contract; you can quit using them at any time. With Verizon and AT&T you sign a contract for typically a couple of years, long enough to cover the cost of the phone which is figured into your monthly bill. BP likes iPhones, basically for the camera quality; she is a social media model (like a Brand Ambassador for a number of fashion lines; she doesn't get paid, but gets free or deeply discounted clothing). Since we pay her phone bill, a few years ago I agreed she could switch from Virgin Mobile (which at the time only offered iPhone service on the newest models) to a carrier that offered coverage on older model iPhones, provided she pay the difference in cost between the Virgin Mobile monthly bill and the new carrier bill. She saved up money from her part time jobs, gave me $500 up front and we went with an iPhone 5s with a one year contract through AT&T; her monthly bill was double what it was with Virgin Mobile. Her plan was supposed to have unlimited talk, text, and data, but 2-3 weeks into every month, the data would slow to the point of her phone being basically useless. Young people use their phones differently than we do; they do way more than just talk or text - music, for example, sucks up a huge amount of data, as does social media.
When that year contract was over, she gave me another $500, switched to Verizon, an iPhone 6s with a two-year contract, and a plan with unlimited talk, text, and a certain GB amount of data. She'd end up going over her data limit every month, but instead of slowing service, Verizon just added it onto the bill at a higher rate per GB that if she had a plan with a higher limit; I called and upped her data. She still went over, and I'd be shocked at the monthly bills which were coming in at $120-$150 per month! The problem was there was no indication she was going over her limit - Verizon would just tack on the extra charges to the monthly bills. She said her friends who used Verizon had a lock on data, which worked basically like her AT&T plan - when they started reaching their limit, the data slowed. So I called Verizon and they changed her plan again, so at least the monthly bills were consistent. She couldn't wait for that two-year contract to be over.
She's been with Boost Mobile (which works just like Virgin Mobile) for just about a year now; has an iPhone 8-plus which she bought outright at a discounted price because it is an older model than what was the newest model at the time, a plan with unlimited talk, text, and data - it's a set rate, no slowed data, or "extra" fees. She's happy with the service, and I'm happy with the monthly charges which are less than half of what both AT&T and Verizon were.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 26, 2019 11:15:30 GMT -6
I don’t know that I’ve noticed those two services in my area. I’ll have to check, and make a note of it for my next phone.
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Post by Phalon on May 27, 2019 6:18:20 GMT -6
Virgin Mobile and Boost are very popular in this area; they both use Sprint towers. That's the thing; you could have the latest and greatest phone, and the best plan anyone has to offer, but if the company doesn't have good coverage in your area, your service is going to suck.
It was that way with Boost - we used them a million years ago when we first got cell (flip) phones (actually when LX first started middle school, which seems like a million years ago), and service was spotty. It didn't really matter much then - we rarely used the phones. When Nextel was bought out by Sprint though, service in our area improved greatly.
I think there are only a few companies that have actual towers - Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T maybe? The rest of the phone companies tie into those towers, some of them using multiple company towers, so when roaming you can jump from say a Sprint to a Verizon tower.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 27, 2019 12:24:07 GMT -6
I live way out in the country, so I will probably stick with Verizon. My first Straight Talk phone used Verizon towers, and I’m guessing my second phone used something else. But maybe other companies will improve over the years, giving me a better option. Thanks for the two suggestions.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 3, 2019 21:17:50 GMT -6
I am such a doofus at times. So Sunday was BP's graduation ceremony. I had bought an outfit to wear weeks ago; anticipating cool weather, it was a nice long sleeved jacket and a pair of slacks. If it was warmer weather, I've got a lot of summer dresses, but nothing really nice for this in-between more spring-like than summer weather.
Ironing the slacks Sunday morning, I had a WTF?!!! moment - a wardrobe crisis was in the making. The slacks are capris - or they are supposed to be anyway (Joxie, I bet you'll understand this), except on me, they are long pants. I tried on two sizes - a small and a medium; the small looked like floods not capris, and it appeared I was wearing long pants that were just too short, and not intentionally so. There wasn't a whole lot of difference in the way the medium pair fit, except the length - they looked like they were supposed to be long pants. I went with the medium.
Except the pair I tried on had a tiny (pen?) mark near the hem, so I hung it back on the rack and grabbed another medium.
Or so I thought. When I got home, I hung everything in the closet, and didn't look at them again until I pulled them out Sunday to iron.
Instead of a size medium, I somehow had grabbed a size 1 extra large!!!
It was sunny but cold; the graduation was outside, and there was no way I could sit through an hour and a half ceremony in 50-something degree weather in any of my back-up plan sleeveless dresses! I ran to the store, hoping it'd be open, and hoping I could exchange the slacks without a receipt (though I still had the tags). Yes, it was open, and yes I could exchange them!
Except they only had size extra large and 2XLs left! Crap! I found a pair of black slacks instead, and though they didn't go with the jacket, I figured I could wear a sweater I already had, made the exchange, and walking out the door, I happened to glance at the displays in the window.
There, on display, was a mannequin wearing a very familiar pair of slacks (except on "her", they were capris as they were intended to be). I went back in, and hoping no one was wondering why the strange lady was checking the size in the waistband of the mannequin's clothing, found she was wearing a size medium! I couldn't exactly strip the mannequin myself, so I asked for help, explaining the "emergency". The sales woman dismantled the torso from the bottom half of the mannequin, and while she held the latter, I peeled off the pants, and was on my way, leaving in my wake a dismembered, half-dressed mannequin window display, and I'm sure a very bewildered sales woman!
All that work, and still I froze my @ss off at the graduation ceremony!
The cold though, did not keep me from grinning ear-to-ear with tears in my eyes at my graduate, herself with an ear-to-ear grin, receiving her diploma.
Wonderful weekend. LX and the Boyfriend came in Saturday, people in and out all day Sunday, before and after the graduation, and for dinner at home afterward.
High-school graduation one day, and off to college the following day (just for a day)! We're here now in a hotel, (after a hellish 2 and a half hour drive that turned into just under 3 and a half hours). Student/parent orientation is in the morning. Pooped. Better get to bed.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 4, 2019 0:32:33 GMT -6
Wow! I was just watching 'Devi' & 'Between the Lines' today. Your girls shouldn't be this old yet. What'cha gonna do when the nest is empty?
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Post by Phalon on Jun 5, 2019 5:02:59 GMT -6
Movies? Kids' T.V. shows? I'm not familiar with either...there was a kids' show called "Between the Lions" though. While we were all hanging in the kitchen, getting dinner ready after graduation, we got to talking about all the shows the kids grew up watching - although "Between the Lions" was more BP's generation, it was LX and the Boyfriend (who has younger siblings) who remembered it most, and both loved it. It was one of my favorites too (had plenty of stuff adults would find entertaining; thank goodness for producers who know adults will have to sit through these shows multiple times!)...and among the seven kids of varying ages in the kitchen at the time, it was voted as having one of the best kids' show theme songs ever.
It's been stuck in my head since!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 5, 2019 23:53:58 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Jun 7, 2019 5:19:51 GMT -6
Ooooph! <slaps forward>
Of course. Forgive my brain-slip. Since you mentioned that the girls couldn't be that old already though, and because all the kids were talking about shows they watched when they were little, not to mention singing all the theme songs, I had kid shows and their songs stuck in my head. It's all their fault!
I wonder how much longer I can claim that?
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 7, 2019 15:48:48 GMT -6
Out of sight, out of mind. Even the favorites are forgotten when enough time passes.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 11, 2019 5:00:20 GMT -6
My new phone came yesterday...finally! It was only three days after I ordered it, but it seemed like forever!
My old phone was probably 5 or 6 years old, and I must have dropped it a million times on all kinds of surfaces. A couple of weeks ago though, I was at the bank, pulled my wallet out of my purse, and the phone came with it, fell on the marble floor and bounced multiple times. The screen cracked; it looked like a spider web.
That wasn't the problem - swiping, I couldn't even feel the cracks through the screen protector, and it was hardly visibly noticeable except at certain angles. The hard hit must have damaged the inter-workings though. What started off as a minor annoyance, got progressively worse until I wanted to throw the d@mn thing against the wall - I'd be texting, and my keyboard would disappear. It got to the point that I'd type a couple letters, the keyboard would disappear, it'd take about thirty seconds to come back to let me type a couple more letters before it would go away again. Or I'd get the Black Screen of Death in the middle of a phone call; though I'd still be connected to whoever I was speaking with, it was impossible to hang up with just a black screen.
The new phone is the same make and model, but four generations newer. The Phone Goddess at the Boost Mobile store, who has solved every phone issue we've had since we've had cell phones even though it's a Virgin Mobile phone and we haven't used Boost in 10 years (except most recently, BP's phone) was able to transfer all my contacts, and photos (and who I'm sure was ready to throw the old phone against the wall before it was all done too) without losing anything. Even though it's the same type of phone as my old one, some things are way different, and still trying to figure out how they work - like anything new that has improvements, sometimes the old way seems a lot better.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 22, 2019 5:38:26 GMT -6
Hubs and I are now empty nesters - BP moved out yesterday.
She's spending the summer before she leaves for college down at LX's and the Boyfriend, planning to get an assembly-type job in a factory in northern Indiana. She turns 18 next week, old enough for factory work, and has been mulling factory work over since the end of last summer. If you're a teenager around here, you pretty much have a choice of working a summer job in food service, or driving (usually up to Holland) for factory work, which pays a lot more than food service.
She had initially thought she'd keep her jobs here - she buses tables at a restaurant in town throughout the year, and when the country club opens, switches to at the restaurant there; both restaurants are owned by the same people. She applied for and got the coveted "beer cart" job at the country club, once she turns 18 - which is basically like a drive through snack bar that also serves beer to the golfers who can drive up to the window in their golf carts. It's a coveted position because the servers receive a large amount of tips. She figured it out though - she'd only be working about 15 hours a week, and even with the increase in tips, she couldn't come close to making what she could in an entry-level factory position. Since LX and the Boyfriend's apartment is a three-bedroom, they've got more than enough space and are closer to the factories in northern Indiana than it would be for her to drive from here to Holland in her beat-up ragtop (which hopefully, will at least make it through the summer!)
If it was me, I'd rather spend my last summer before college working a cushy job at a country job at a country club and hanging out at the beach with my friends than working 40 hours in hot sweaty factory! She wants to bankroll as much as she can before leaving for college though.
Gonna miss having her around!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 23, 2019 2:17:19 GMT -6
I guess y'all should start dating again ... maybe take some dance lessons or something. Y'all aren't gonna know what to do with yourselves. They're always gonna need their parents though, so ... .
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Post by Phalon on Jul 10, 2019 5:15:25 GMT -6
<Sigh.>
Yesterday, Hubs took Ranger to the vet to be euthanized. I dunno. Maybe we waited too long. Maybe he could have lived comfortably a little longer...not much longer it was for certain. He was just soooo skinny - scary skinny, and so very fragile. We had decided within the last year though, that as long as he seemed happy and content, we'd put off making the appointment, hoping he'd die peacefully in his sleep.
Last week, he didn't seem himself - one day, he'd go off and sleep in seclusion in places he never lays, and the next he'd be all cuddly and never wanting to leave our sides. Hubs and I thought maybe it was because he missed BP - he was "her" cat, only because they grew up together.
Monday though, he had a few extended incidents in which his dementia seemed to take over - it seemed he didn't know where he was or who we were, and was very panicked-looking with dilated pupils and his head moving every which way as if he was struggling to focus on any one thing, but was too confused to do so. It broke my heart. He was not happy and content anymore.
He was two weeks shy of 16 years old.
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Post by stepper on Jul 10, 2019 18:33:35 GMT -6
I'm sorry to hear about Ranger - it was always hard on me when one of the kitties passed on. Our Cuddles was the last of ours and the situation was very similar to the one described for Ranger. Cuddles was a few days shy of his eighteenth birthday on the day it became obvious we had to act, and like you, we had to act. It wasn't what we wanted, but like with Ranger, it was necessary and we cared too much for him to let him suffer. From your description, I believe you did what was best.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 11, 2019 0:42:16 GMT -6
So sorry for your loss. It's never easy losing a pet, or trying to know the right thing to do for them.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 11, 2019 5:05:15 GMT -6
Thanks guys, for your sympathies. It doesn't mean Ranger was any less loved, or that it isn't difficult, but there isn't any doubt in my mind that we made the right decision. Once so big and rotund, we called him 'the basketball with a head', he got so shockingly skinny that BP would look at him and ask, "How are you still alive?" Always very talkative, he'd answer with his typical, "Brrrr-rrreow!"
She took it very hard; as I said, he was her cat. There is a gorgeous photo of them both - the most recent photo of Ranger. She is holding him, looking at him with the sweetest smile on his face, and he is looking out the window. Even the light coming through the windows and the shadows behind them in the room is perfect. I'm debating having a copy made to frame, and giving it to her for her dorm room at college - only debating it because I don't want to make her sad or more homesick during that first difficult period away from home.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 11, 2019 15:22:09 GMT -6
Put it in her room at home? She can take it if she wants to?
When my sister and I finally called Hospice for Mom, we knew it was the right thing to do. We probably should have done it sooner. One Hospice woman who had come out months earlier got very upset with us that we chose to keep Mom alive. But at that time, Mom wasn’t in any pain, and she could walk from the bedroom to the bathroom and living room on her own. She may have called my sister Mom on occasion, but she was never afraid of us, or asked us who we were. Whoever she thought we were, we were still family to her.
It wasn’t until she stopped eating, getting out of bed, her health started declining, was moaning and groaning, and we were told she needed to be in a nursing home that we finally called Hospice. I think I’d rather err on the side of life, than on the side of death. It isn’t an easy decision, but I feel like we did right by her. And I think we owe our beloved pets the same kindness and respect. I’ve no doubt you did right by Ranger. Living a life in fear and confusion would have given him an unhappy ending, and that he did not deserve.
I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I’ve had kittens show up out of the blue, and give me the impression that they are my beloved dead pet returning to me. Very strange. Only happened a couple of times. Maybe it was my way of dealing with the loss. Or they just happened to have the same personality of the other. Right now I just need a break from loving and losing pets. When Mom’s dog is gone, that’ll be the last pet until I’m ready. Or just the last pet period.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 14, 2019 8:55:48 GMT -6
It's such a difficult decision - the most difficult, I feel, that any adult child has to make regarding their parents, but "being there with you" via all your posts and pms during your Mom's decline in health, I feel you did right by her, Joxie.
Haven't been here in a couple of days because I've been late getting up in the mornings - because after I turned off my alarm, I haven't had a cat in my face, begging, "FEED ME NOW!"
Same...at least for now. We still have Quetta, of course, but she's getting old too. Kinda funny - Hubs sent a group text to all the kids (LX, The Boyfriend, BP and her Boyfriend), saying please respectfully refrain from getting us a kitten; we will decide when it's time. We have never been without at least one cat since before we were married. And don't you know it - LX already had plans in the works to get us one for our anniversary next month.
We are though, giving serious thought to fostering when I'm off work for the winter. Our local Humane Society has been a "no kill" shelter for a few years now, and even though they have a big new facility with a huge cattery, they still don't have enough space.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 14, 2019 21:49:07 GMT -6
Yeah. For the most part, I feel we did right by her ... but that Hospice worker who was visibly ticked off with us because we decided to keep Mom around a little longer riles me whenever I think of it. I'd hate to be one of her 'loved' ones who she has control over when Hospice comes in. Mom was sitting right there when she huffed, jumped up and stormed out. I could see in Mom's eyes what she was there for didn't register. So glad Mom didn't have to see how little her life meant to that woman. No one having to decide life & death for a loved one should have to deal with someone like that. Ever.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 4, 2019 7:40:53 GMT -6
WTF. Gilroy, El Paso, and not even 24 hours later, now Dayton.
A quote from a friend, "Thoughts and prayers and ham and eggs are equally effective in this situation." When is our country going to actually to do something that curtails these types of things from happening, and what can be done that gets us to that point? Seriously.
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Post by stepper on Aug 5, 2019 9:56:10 GMT -6
When is our country going to actually to do something that curtails these types of things from happening, and what can be done that gets us to that point? Seriously. Perhaps some day, in a distant future, people will realize that blinding rage, fear, hate and alcohol are not good motivations to do anything. Sadly, until then, whether it's twenty people, or nine people, or a single person, using a gun or a knife or a vehicle it's going to continue happening here and elsewhere.
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