February 19, 2024

My favorite critters. Discovered I had to keep the thread for it to be in my journal.

February 19, 2024

Passport Renewals Just Got Easier With This App

https://www.fodors.com/news/travel-tech/how-and-why-to-use-itseasy-passport-renewal-photo-app

Meet ItsEasy Passport Renewal & Photo App, a way to simplify the process. The mobile app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play) is the only contact-free way to renew an adult passport, all from the comfort of your home. You read that correctly. Fill out your renewal form, take your new passport photo, and pay in the app. You can also apply for a second passport and order a new passport when there is a name change. There are even options for obtaining VISAs.

One of the common causes of delays in passport processing is application or photo errors. When you submit your information, one of the specialists will review your documents to be sure they are error-free before forwarding your application to the state department. If they find any errors, a concierge will give you step-by-step directions on how to correct the issue.

While there are way more benefits to using ItsEasy, the last one to mention is the visa widget. This feature lets you know if the country you are visiting requires a visa. If so, you can apply for a visa in-app.

Your base price follows the U.S. Department of State’s schedule of fees for passport services. For instance, to renew a passport and passport card, the cost is $160. It costs an additional $60 for expedited processing.

They offer two service plans, economical and expedited. There is a nominal price difference, both under $40. However, if you need their other services, that price does increase. For instance, if you require a passport, ItsEasy charges $99 on top of the cost of the visa.

December 31, 2023

There's several interesting verses in the first chapter of James.

James 1:10-11

But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.


James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

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For clarification, I'm an atheist. I just found these two, especially James 1:27, would be useful when arguing with some Christians.

December 7, 2023

This is my 50,000 post on DU.

I want to thank EarlG and Eland for keeping DU available. I have posted from many different countries without a problem. The only lapse in availability was on election night 2016. DU was attacked, but wasn't killed off.
I want to say a warm thank you to everyone here. I enjoy political discussions, getting new recipes, and I watch as many animal videos as possible. DU covers all my bases and I enjoy being here almost every day.

August 28, 2023

Trump faces a crowded trial calendar. Here's a breakdown of the dates so far

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-indictment-2020-election-08-28-23/index.html

Donald Trump and his lawyers may be the busiest people in the country next year. The former president faces criminal trials in four different cities — Washington, DC, New York, Atlanta and Ft. Pierce, Florida — as well as an active campaign schedule.

Here is a breakdown of the current calendar:

October 2, 2023 – Scheduled start of New York attorney general’s civil trial alleging fraud by Trump and Trump Organization
October 23, 2023 — District attorney's proposed start of state criminal trial in Georgia over 2020 election subversion
January 15, 2024 – Scheduled start of second defamation case brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll
March 4, 2024 – Scheduled start of federal criminal trial in 2020 election subversion case
March 25, 2024 – Scheduled start of state criminal trial in New York over 2016 hush money scheme
May 20, 2024 – Earliest scheduled start of federal criminal trial in Mar-a-Lago documents case
Remember: Most of these trials have been scheduled already, but one has a proposed trial date and its start could still change.

August 3, 2023

Want to see my 2023 State Fair Decorated Cake entry?

This is Victor, a koala I met in Australia last fall.

June 26, 2023

Can anyone identify this tree growing in my backyard in Central Illinois?

The leaves arearge and velvety. This one is 7 1/2 inches by 6 inches wide. It's full of these empty hulls. They are fairly thin but not papery. Tree is somewhere between 20 andv25 feet tall.

Thanks.

January 8, 2023

This looks like the 'Freedom Caucus' working document...

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/5/2145513/-The-Real-Reason-the-Freedom-Caucus-Hates-Kevin-McCarthy-Is-Larger-Than-You-Think?detail=emaildkdpre&pm_source=DKRE&pm_medium=email


In 1980, David Koch ran for vice president with the Libertarian Party, an organization created by the real estate lobby to give an air of legitimacy to their efforts to outlaw rent control and end government regulation of their industry.

His platform included a whole series of positions that were specifically designed to roll back and gut FDR’s “big government” programs (along with those added on by both Nixon and LBJ’s Great Society) that had created and then sustained America’s 20th century middle class:

— “We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.
— “We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.
— “We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.
— “We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.
— “We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.
— “We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service.
— “We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.
— “We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.
— “As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.
— “We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.
— “We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.
— “We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.
— “We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.
— “We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
— “We support abolition of the Department of Energy.
— “We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.
— “We demand the return of America’s railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.
— “We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called ‘self-protection’ equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.
— “We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.
— “We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.
— “We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.
— “We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.
— “We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.
— “We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
— “We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
— “We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”

August 14, 2022

Here's the last quilt I made. It's unique in that the kimonos are

folded like in origami.

August 5, 2022

Okay, I lost my mind this year and decided to do 3 fair cakes.

Now I'm not too happy with any of them. First attempt at buttercream palette knife decorating..



Next, a take off from a Debby Brown design.



And the last was a complete failure. Attempted to do this cake, wrapped in a sugar sheet, but found it was too humid and sagged. So, I had to go with a plain fondant instead.



Will be taking them 60 miles to Illinois State Fair on Sunday. No chance of championship this year.