My pixies family who have the flu, take care of yourselves!

Yes, and don't send any over here, please.

Tis here already, was sposed to go out to lunch with a friend, she rings me this morning sick as with the flu....told her i aint going near her lol She can stay home!

USS Guardian was warned that they were entering closed waters.

USN says that any complaint needs to be referred to the Embassy.

Ship grounds on fragile reef (UNESCO listed) and is still stuck there.

Gmmuursgh!!!! The Philippines are unhappy.

A badly damaged minesweeper that has been stranded on a World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for nearly two weeks may need to be dismantled before it is removed.

The US Navy says the drastic measure of pulling apart the 68-metre USS Guardian has been proposed in a salvage plan to Philippine authorities.

"This was determined to be the best option and would involve the least damage to the Tubbataha Reef," navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander James Stockman said in a statement.

The Guardian became grounded on the Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a remote part of the Sulu Sea, on January 17.

The US Navy has previously said the boat, which has a wood and fibreglass hull, was too badly damaged to be towed away.

But it had not come up with a firm alternative plan as to how the vessel could be moved off the reef.

Thousands of litres of oil on board the Guardian have been removed but the vessel is being battered by huge waves.

Angelique Songco, the superintendent of the Tubbataha marine park, says that is causing it to gouge a destructive trail along the reef.

She says dismantling the ship will further damage the reef but letting it remain there longer will lead to even more harm.

"It will cause more damage the longer it is left there," she said.

The head of the Philippine office of the World Wildlife Fund, Jose Maria Lorenzo Tan, agrees the ship should be dismantled if there is no other way to shift it off the reef.

"If this is the only option, then the sooner they can remove it, the better. They cannot risk that the ship simply breaks apart," he said.

The US Navy has repeatedly apologised for the incident but has refused to explain publicly why the Guardian was sailing so close to the reef.

This has fuelled anger over the incident in the Philippines, a former American colony and important US ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vessels sailing into the marine park need permission, but Philippine authorities said the crew of the Guardian had made no request to enter and had even ignored radio messages from government rangers that it was about to hit the reef.

AFP

The little guy with Autism who was kidnapped off his school bus. His bus driver was killed in front of all the kids and the little boy is still in a bunker with the killer. They sent him coloring books, crayons and his meds through a pvc tube.

Holy shit!

Disfunctional family?

Nope. Stranger attack. Crazy person with access to weapons.

Police in Alabama hostage standoff for six-year-old boy

I'm not sure. I'm just kinda down.

And not just because Lil is kicking my ass at Songpop. :p

There's no joy in up if you don't know down. Savour the moment.

the boy is still being held

:(

Waiting.

Not being able to fix my computer myself, don't wanna spend money to have someone else do it.

Why do we always have to wait for things.

Well, the cliche to answer that is good things always come to those who wait. Then they tell you the early bird gets the worm. I don't know which cliches to believe anymore.

Depends on whether you want a fixed computer or a worm, I guess.

Finding out that my very good friend's spot on the lung is cancerous along with other spots on his liver and other organs. Lot's of prayers and good wishes are needed. He's a terrific guy with a really great family!

:(

Our prayers are with your friend in his time of trouble.

Thanks, OF! Your support means a lot.

This has really shaken me. Times when we've really needed somebody to be there for us ... he has been. Now, I only wish there was more that I could do. :(

((hugs))

Thank you, Lilith. You guys are great examples of why I love Pixies-Place so much. Thank you.

My mother ruining what had been up 'til then a perfectly lovely family dinner by choosing to take offense where none was meant.

Again.

Not being able to find my own place at a faster pace. This whole thing of rent must be 30% of income is BS!!!!

Is that 30% a general rule or just one agent?

Most want you to have a salary of 3 times the rent. The one guide line is 30% of salary for rent. There are no places that have a 30% rent rate. Everything is 100 to 200 higher then the what my salary is wanting to pay. Did I word this to make sense?

People with elitist attitudes about their views.

People who want to be certain that even if there is a hiccough in your earnings, they still get their money. The concept of social contract is dead.

Made sense to me.

My head is pounding and my sinuses are killing me. The cold I have been fighting may in fact have me on the ropes.

Fight well.

One part fresh lime juice (or lemon), four parts soda (seltzer) water and sugar to taste. Vodka optional.

A friend of mine, very active in the local S/F Fandom, died yesterday. According to her husband, she died peacefully in her sleep.

But since she was the director of the Darkover science fiction convention, it kind of scrags a lot of fandom.

For any of you into classic Brit comedy, Captain Peacock's gone.

For those of you who aren't, it's a nice day here today.

ice wine toes- because a bottle I was chilling fell out of the fridge onto the laundry room floor. There was not even a drop left in the shattered bottle to taste. :(

Kitchen funnel, upside down, breathe the fumes often, try not to fall down in the glass when the alcohol hits you.

Just a suggestion LOL.

Another confirmation I'm getting old when I wake up to a couple inches of fresh clinging snow that makes everything look like a Christmas card and say "FUCK! I don't want to go out in that.". :(

I've been at work for almost five hours and have had only one customer, who didn't want to talk or buy from me.

I'll go downstairs and stoke the furnace, LOL.

If I don't warm up and warm down when training, bits stop working for days.

Only having 2 days of vacation left. :(

Could be worse. I go back to work Wednesday night.