Don’t believe all the hype about Labradoodles.

They are definitely cute, but keep in mind that they are not yet considered a breed and therefore, the puppies that come from the breeders are still coming out every which way but loose. The coats are hard to guarantee when it comes to color, texture, and curliness.

My sister recently got a Labradoodle puppy and she’s an absolute cutie. Honestly, I think she looks mostly like a typical Lab, only with a coat that feels longer and wilder. She is a first generation pup, which means her parents were a Poodle and a Lab, which many breeders feel gives the dogs more genetic diversity. It also means less chance for some of the breed-specific genetic disorders.

Super, the Labradoodle my sister and her family just got from a breeder here in Florida, has a great disposition. Nothing bothers her and she is brave and strong. But, she sheds and the hard sell some of the breeders are giving folks about the non-shedding aspects of the “breed” is what led my sister to choose a Labradoodle.

They absolutely shed. If you really want a non-shedding dog, stick to a full poodle or something like a Maltese.

I went last night with a friend to see the Batman Dark Knight movie. I will skip over the basic synopsis, since you can find that almost everywhere. I will not dwell on the fact that Heath Ledger’s role at the Joker was indeed brilliant, as most critics are exclaiming (though I have to stop and wonder if it would be deemed Oscar-worthy if he were alive right now).

What I was to focus on is what seems to be an ongoing debate about whether this film is suitable for children.

There was an article on one of CNN’s blogs where author Audrey Irvine put forth her opinion that the film is not OK for young children. She complained that the theater was full of children that were talking throughout the movie, babies who cried, and the ongoing chatter of kids asking their parents questions about a film that was decidedly too sophisticated for a younger mind.

Readers basically blasted Irvine, reminding her that the film was rated PG-13, which means that any child under the age of 13 may attend with a parent. What those same readers overlooked is that Irvine was focused on the distraction the children caused in the theater. She reminded parents that a movie like Dark Knight is not appropriate for dropping off your pre-teens and that other moviegoers aren’t here to babysit your kids.

I agree with Irvine. The theater was packed shoulder to shoulder. Everyone was there after purchasing an expensive ticket, standing in line just to ensure a decent seat, and filled with anticipation over seeing the second film in the newest Batman franchise. Nobody was there to listen to a baby crying who should have been home in bed.

I understand the dilemma of the new parent. My daughter was an infant once, too. However, if I could not find a sitter, we just did not go out. That is one of the sacrificed you make as a parent. There is an entire season’s worth of films I missed.

I want to add to that, though. I do not even think it was just about children being a disruption in the movie theater. I think Dark Knight is way too complicated for kids under 13. And, although this is not necessarily a gory film, when Harvey Dent becomes Two Face, the imagery is startlingly realistic and in no appropriate for a young child.

Even a young teen may not be able to fully grasp the motivation of the Joker and Two Face. This film packs so much information into two-and-a-half hours that my head was nearly spinning. You have to do some thinking to keep up with the action. I would never have taken my 5-year-old to this movie. I would not have taken my 6-year-old nephew, either – even though he loves the super heroes. Dark Knight is just not a family film. My daughter was with her dad last night, so I got a rare evening out.

There is a LOT of violence. There are deaths of main characters, emotional scenes with children being held hostage, lovers having to say goodbye before one dies, and the very troubling mental state of the Joker. The themes are just too mature for children. You have to look PAST whether or not a film has fore or sex of language. Children can still be harrowed by things other than the obvious. Our children are only hours for a short time and it is our job to protect them and retain their innocence. It is unwise to expose them to some of the films many parents allow their children to watch.

To answer my initial question – is the firm Dark Knight suitable for children? – I would have to adamantly say that if your child is under the age of 13, keep them at home.

We have not had a massive hurricane in Florida in years. On top of that, home prices have gone down – WAY down! Despite all of that, State Farm) currently Florida’s largest private property insurer) has filed a request with the Office of Insurance Regulations requesting a rate hike that would average 47.1%

Are you kidding me?

The insurance company says they are requesting the rate change simply so they can afford to stay in the market. But, as I pointed out – there have been no massive weather disasters of late. Homes cost less and need less coverage. Nonetheless, State Farm wants us to believe they cannot stay in business here in Florida unless they raise rates almost 50%?

There were computer models that predicted that 2006 and 2007 would be record years for catastrophic storms and hurricanes. Insurance companies immediately responded by hiking prices in preparation However, the storms never came. Let State Farm, and other insurance companies, operate off the price increases they have ALREADY applied.

This is sometimes a technique some insurance companies use to get their current poly holders to drop policies. That way they can say they have offered the coverage to home owners and still get away with mostly just covering car and life insurance here in Florida – something often referred to as “cherry picking”.

And, while I am at it – I take offense that insurance companies want me to take up the slack in a shared risk with homeowners who make a personal choice to live on the beach or in a high-risk flood zone. What good is it doing me to live inland, in a less risky area?

You are not fooling anyone, State Farm. We know you are looking at record profits. We know that infernally you are not operating independently in Florida. We know that the high rates here are funding your upper level employee’s pockets with nice bonuses and pay increases.

I am reading with blessed out awe this article on CNN’s website about the Global Catastrophic Risk Conference being held at Oxford University in Britain. One of the topics will be “unintended consequences of new technologies, such as superintelligent machines that, if ill-conceived, might cause the demise of Homo sapiens.”

I might not live to see the day that human will be more robotic than human, but if you listen to the theories in this article, it could be possible that my daughter will live to see it.

My awe lies mostly in the medical breakthroughs that are being attempted: nanobots that can go in and cure diabetes, cancer, and even enable a body to go without breathing for a half an hour. The idea is astounding and exiting – thrilling and at the same time a little frightening.

Scientists point out that the use of technology will change faster than most of us can imagine; that it is not a matter of hundreds of years before these things are a reality, but rather 8 or maybe 20 years. The use of technology and electronics operates at an exponential growth rate.

Most interesting is Dr. Ray Kurzweil’s idea of Singularity –”the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots.”

It sounds like an interesting read. I plan on picking up a copy — The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence.

If you were to ask me what my favorite bodily sense is, I would say scent. I love the way the world smells, most of the time. Better yet, I love filling my own world with delightful smells. I love the smell of rain (it is pouring rain outside my window right now and I just opened it a crack so that the smell of the wet earth would waft inside), ripe blackberries, my daughter’s clean hair, orange blossoms, and so many other smells. Scent is the one thing that can launch me into vivid memories.

When I cook a meal, I pay careful attention the aromatic elements. I choose my lotions and shampoos and soaps carefully, for both quality and scent. I am choosy about my perfumes, preferring Champagne by Yves Saint Laurent. I even make sure my laundry smells a particular way – roses and violets. A house that smells pleasant is a sign of how much you care about your environment.

I recently tried the Renuzit TriScents scented oil air freshener. Between you and me, this is ideal for me. I am actually that person who changes the oil cartridges in my other air freshener systems back and forth, before they actually run out. I like variety and I get in the mood for one type of scent or another and I take charge and just switch it out.

This particular TriScents rotates through some of my favorite Renuzit fragrances: Waterfall Mist, After the Rain (my absolute favorite), and Pure Breeze. They call it the Morning Meadow Collection. I love these scents, because they’re crisp, clean and natural smelling. What happens in the unit, when plugged into an electric outlet, cycles through the fragrances in 45 minute intervals. It’s divine, honestly!

(I even kept the little blue, green and yellow lids that came on the oil containers just so I can have them here at my desk to add a little yumminess to my office!)

I’m not talking about the kind of compulsive labeling some people do in their kitchens. I don’t do that. I label files for my filing cabinet. I label the plastic storage bins out in the garage. Unfortunately, I did not label about 10 years worth of VHS tapes. That’s a mess to talk about some other time. You see, I’m not much of a label person.

However, my daughter is beginning kindergarten this fall! I can hardly believe it. She learned a lot in pre-kindergarten (a Florida thing) and she is ready to read. I know that some kids can read by her age. In fact, I was reading by her age. She just hasn’t been ready yet.

So, these two weeks that she is at her dad’s house for his summer block of time with her, I am labeling everything. I started with labeling the dresser drawers with the word for what goes in each drawer (shirts, pants, socks, etc.) and beside it I put a picture of the item. So, she has the word, a picture and the actual items.

I’ll move onto other mundane things like doors and beds and her bike. She needs to see those words on the items, to engage her mind and get her ready to mentally file away sight words (words we learn to take in mentally in one chunk, rather than sounding them out).

So, that’s my current project. Wish me luck as I turn the entire house into one big kindergarten classroom.

Some examples:

For the love of God, Florida, pay your teachers more.

Teachers are professionals, with years of difficult classes and degrees behind them. They have to continuously take training and classes in order to keep their certifications. They are asked to adhere to a stringent ethics statement and can lose their jobs for brushes with the law that occur outside of school hours and school parameters. They are held to higher standards, work under a great deal of pressure and pour love over your children year after year.

However, I just read an article about the new Aldi supermarkets that are coming to Florida. People are flocking to apply for jobs, and no wonder – cashiers there will make around $10/hour and manager trainees $20/hour. A manager will start out making more than most teachers in Florida.

I applaud Aldi for paying fair wages. I’m impressed and thankful. I wish all who applied for jobs lately the best of luck. However, I think the state of Florida should be ashamed at how poorly they regard their teachers. This one financial example shines just a tiny bit of light on a harsh reality. You might have an amazing teacher instructing your kindergartner only to lose them to a 2nd career in the supermarket industry.

I think I mentioned that I bought a new digital camera: an Olympus SP-570UZ. I just wanted to give an update about the camera.

Quite simply, I love it.

I had an older Olympus D series camera and loved it as well, but was ready for more megapixels and more zoom and more handling options. The 570UZ has a 20x optical zoom, room for the use of additional professional lenses and filters, the option to use the hot shoe for the flash and the option to go fully manual.

As of yet, I have just used it as a point and shoot. It’s comfortable in the hand, quick on the mark and super easy to navigate around the menus and such. It helps that I am already intimate with the typical Olympus buttons and symbols. I had to get used to a whole new type of data card. I used to use a Smart Media card and reader. Once I struggled through the difference between SD cards, micro sd cards, Xd cards (both M and H types) then I was ready to go.

The camera is what I consider to be just one step below a digital SLR. I am not ready to invest the time into learning to use an SLR right now, but once I am I can go fully manual on this. It’s lacking some of the finer, more sensitive imaging components you will get in a fully SLR cameras, but you’ll hardly notice.

I want to share with you a panoramic shot I took in Harpers Ferry, WV. In the picture you can see Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as both the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. I’m also including a pretty cool picture I took through glass, using a flash, or Abraham Lincoln’s life mask.

Remember when Ethan Hawke was cute? He was (though I hesitate to actually use the word) dreamy in Dead Poets Society and freshly lovable in White Fang. Back when he married Uma Thurman, he still appeared to be a catch. Somewhere along the line, though, it looks like he just plain stopped bathing.

The Great Unwashed. That’s my name for him.

I cannot tell you how many times I had a friend up in New York mention they had seen him here or there and almost flipped him a buck, assuming he was homeless and desperate. Reportedly he often smells so fetid that he could melt the door hardware off a building.

The guy’s got talent by the truckload. He just needs to get back to the basics when it comes to grooming.

Anyway, all this is to say that Hawke got married again last month, to the mother of his future child, Ryan Shawhughes.

I just hope bathed for the occasion.

I understand that nobody is 100% blameless in the face of a divorce, but I admit I was 100% on Christie Brinkley’s side throughout all of the media coverage of her most recent divorce.

My first thought was how in the WOLRD does a barely attractive man like Peter Cook dare to cheat on a woman like Christie Brinkley? Are you kidding me? He was beyond lucky to have her. He is not even close to the kind of man most women will give the time of day and there he was, married to a woman who keeps herself in shape, maintains a career, and sings his praises.

His time in the sun is over now and I cannot even imagine what good could be in store for him.

Of course I am not privy to the nature of their relationship. I do not know how they treated one another. HOWEVER, it is NEVER acceptable for a man to cheat on his wife. It is also not acceptable for a man to spend thousands of dollars a month on internet sex. Beside the fact that cyber sex is soulless and apt to make you a pariah, it’s also a sign that you have problems beyond the level of surface sexual addition.

Brinkley is blessed to be rid of the man and I am thrilled that he did not get away with her money. He was given a minimal payout and some visitation with the children. In the end, Brinkley won the freedom of her family, the right to her money, the presence of her children, and the respect of all the women out who agree that once you find out your man is cheating, there are no second chances.

Well, at least there appears to be one good thing coming form the bad economy here in the United States. It seems to be keeping more of our men home at night.

Strip club owners are reporting a downturn in business. The regrettably famous Mons Venus club here in Tampa is down 25 percent, that according to owner Joe Redner.

Redner also says that the bad economy is leading more women to give stripping a go. So, does that mean it is sort of like a couple of years ago when the real estate mushroomed and we had 9 Realtors living on every block?

*shudder*

I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with every third person I know taking up pole dancing.

All I know is that if the financial pinch people feel is keeping the men at home and away from spending cash on booze and strippers, that’s a good thing. Maybe the divorce rate will go down.

Well, that is unless now the women aren’t home at night because they are out stripping.

Ponder that one.

And, we’re off! Bertha welcomes in hurricane season.

It’s been raining off an on all day here in the Tampa Bay area, and that is due to little Miss Bertha. Bertha started out as a storm and hurricane predictors said she might escalate to a Category 2 Hurricane. Instead, she has come all decked out as a Category 3. She is the first hurricane of the 2008 season, marching along right at the beginning of the season itself.
Last year we had some storms show up early. At least this year things are only heating up after the official start date.

And while Berta is not supposed to maintain Category 3 status for long, this particular weather pattern has already proven that forecasters are not always right. People in the Bay Area are hunkering down; watching warily. Even though we have not really had any major hurricanes in the state in a few years, the insurance companies just keep hiking our prices. Nobody here wants those companies to have even more reason to bleed us dry.

I stayed home for the 4th of July fireworks lat night. One street over, there were some people setting off high-end fireworks. They were the ones that look professional and they were setting off A LOT, in short succession. It was amazing.

Across the street from me, kitty-corner and across the intersection (I’m on a corner lot) the neighbors were out with their multiple children and scads of grandchildren. It was quite a crowd and they were setting off firecrackers and sparklers and a lot of cheapie fireworks that stay low to the ground and sort of roll around and sputter in the street. The kids were making more noise than their own fireworks.

Those neighbors are dodgy. One day the guy who lives there told one of my other neighbors he could teach him to shoplift. That other neighbor promptly told him he would not be speaking to him again and walked off. It’s no great comfort to know you are living across the street form someone like that.

Anyway, around 10 pm we heard this massive explosion and when we looked outside, those neighbors across the street had evidently set a pile of brush in yet another neighbor’s yard on fire. That brush pile had been there for a couple of months getting dry and perfect for a fire. I suppose the owners of said brush pile thought the county would pick op the sticks in the trash pickup eventually, but in all actuality they did not have it bundled properly so the odds are it would have remained there indefinitely.

Anyway, I called the fire department and they sent a truck. Within minutes of the fire being set, that neighbor had all his kids and grandkids racing to their cards, beers and covered dishes in hand. Once they were gone. The guy set out a hose on the fire, turned off all his lights and shut all his doors. Talk about guilty behavior.

He never showed his face when the fire truck arrived. Coward.

This morning we overheard him talking to the neighbor who owns the charred brush pile. He told them he had no idea what might have happened. Creep.

For two months now I have been in and out of doctors’ offices trying to get someone to diagnose my daughter’s skin issues. We were told it was nodular eczema by the first dermatologist and her pediatrician agreed. That same dermatologist saw her two more times, increasing the strength of the steroid creams she prescribed.

Things did not get better.

She finally sent us to one of her colleges who immediately said it was scabies. So, my poor kid has had multiple scabies treatments and while her skin continued to get worse, the medications and steroids caused her to break out in massive blood blisters.

She has been miserable. I have been perpetually worried and her itching has kept us up most nights.

Today I finally got desperate. I was unwilling to wait for the follow up visit with the second dermatologist, so my pediatrician got us in with the lead guy at the same dermatology practice we had been using.

He told us that without a doubt it is psoriasis and she has been misdiagnosed in the past. Many of the medications she has taken have only served to make her psoriasis worse.

So, now we are on yet another medical regimen. This one could come with some very serious side effects.

After today’s back-to-back doctor visits, the skin biopsy they did, the procedure to drain her blood blisters and assorted other horrific things, I took my daughter to the store and let her choose a new baby doll.

I just wanted comfort food. So, I just ate home made macaroni and cheese with apple-maple chicken sausages.

Now, if we can just see this skin thing get better before she starts kindergarten.

I had the middle seat today on the airplane, because my daughter wanted a window seat. And because I would not want her to have to sit next to a stranger while she is in her squirmy stage.

The guy who sat on the aisle seat was one chatty fellow. I do not know his name, but I know everything about his work history since he was 18. I know how much he makes an hour, how many hours he works, what he does in detail, all about his current relationship and his 10-month-old daughter. I have the goods on this guy, I’m telling you.

Chatty seatmates on an airplane are not necessarily a bad thing. However, if I am wearing headphone and watching the in-flight entertainment, laughing out loud at the funny parts even – it is probably a sign that you should not continue to talk to me whenever you feel the urge. Every now and then I would see this guy out of the corner of my eye and he would be animatedly talking to me. Of course, I would feel awkward and pull off one of the headphone sides so I could hear him.

I’m not an impolite person. I’m just not the type to chatty-chat-chat for two hours on a plane. I thought I was sending all the right signs to show that I was cozying up to some quite time with the in-flight NBC-fest.

Any thoughts on what else I could have done without resorting to rudeness?