A Staffordshire Terrier was injured so severely at human hands some years ago that it did not survive. Now the sentencing of the criminal is in the news.

What a society we live in when people who murder dogs and that they can walk around free thereafter. What the criminal penalty should be for dog murder I do not know, but it certainly pains many people to see that the dog has died and the murderer doesn’t seem to feel their pain.

There was one woman with some severely-flawed taste in a boyfriend. This man hit her deaf son’s helpless dog so hard and for such a duration of time in the beating that the poor dog had to be put down by police.

The woman from Melbourne, Vanessa Hansen, cursed the man saying, ”You rot! You piece of s—,” when his 14 month sentenced was reduced to 12 months of which the first 2 months were to take place right away. Then the remainder were suspended for 2 years. I assume that was only if the dude, Storm Oxburgh, 32, stays out of further trouble.

I’m sure Mr. Oxburgh raised in his defense an argument of diminished capacity at the time. It seems he’d consumed some 10 beers and then taken morphine before he beat up on the now-deceased-thanks-to-him dog named Rocco.

So sad it is for this family that they no longer have their Staffordshire Terrier. For the deaf son, especially, the loss of a dog, Staffordshire Terrier or whatever breed is especially sad.

Man barbecued dog. Ate it with his wife. Humane society investigates. Nothing happens.

Here’s a story that is hard to believe.

A man got tired of his dog and so decided to do away with it.

Bought a little BBQ sauce maybe. And ate the poor creature. What? Roasted dog. Pit on a spit, you could say.

Don’t yell at me. I didn’t make this up.

Apparently the “rest of the story” is that the gentleman comes from Tonga where such things are customary.

After determining that the dog was killed humanely (hmmm… wonder what that means), the officials have now decided not to press charges for this event, which reportedly occurred back in February.

So, it looks like in this instance BBQing a defenseless dog is okay, as long as one barbecues the dog in a municipality friendly to such things, and as long as one does away with the dog in a manner acceptable to officials. Note: Do not barbecue your dog!!! I repeat, do not do this!!!

Rancho Bernardo Inn is a luxury resort in San Diego. You can normally expect to pay $250 a night, at a minimum, to stay there. In these tough economic times, people aren’t aren’t travelling as much as they used to and it’s effecting the luxury accomodations industry. What’s the solution? For the Rancho Bernardo Inn, it’s offering cut-rate prices, along with cut-rate services.

A room at the Rancho Bernardo Inn can be had for as little as $19 a night, if you don’t mind a little inconvenience. For that price you get a room. That’s it. They call it the “Survivor Package” and it sort of like Gilligans Island. No phone, no lights, no toilet paper, no nothing.

Here’s how they do it: a normal room is $219 for two. That includes deluxe accommodations and two breakfasts. From that point they start whittling it down. No breakfast? Knock off $20. No honor bar? Another $20. No air conditioning or heat? You just saved another $20. And on it goes as they drop pillows, sheets, lights, linens, toiletries and finally the bed itself. For a mere $19 you can have a room at the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Most people realize when they hear about the “Survivor Package” that it’s a gimmick. There’s a limited number of room available and it’s for a limited time, but it’s a great way for the Bernardo Inn to generate some relatively free publicity. Plenty of news organizations and bloggers are writing about them and it costs them next to nothing.

Most of the people who take advantage of the package aren’t going to take the lowest price available. Don’t get the free breakfast or the honor bar and you’ve cut $40 off the price of the room. Air conditioning? In San Diego in August. That’s something most people are still going to want so the price cutting stops right there. The people running the Rancho Bernardo Inn know that so it’s a smart move on their part to put air conditioning near the top of the options list.

There will be a lot of people who do take advantage of the lowest price available though. It’s a chance to visit San Diego and it’s tourist attractions without having to spend the majority of your travel budget on a place that you’ll only be sleeping in anyway.

Your best bet? Bring along your camping gear, no campfires allowed, and you’ve got most of the benefits of a luxury resort with none of the cost. You still get to use all the facilities of the complex, three pools, three tennis courts, a spa and restaurant, you just don’t have to spend a lot on your room. How much time do you spend in your hotel room when you are on vacation anyway? Sleep, shower and change your clothes. That’s pretty much it for me. For $200 I’ll bring my own cot, lantern and towels.

Prefab homes, prefab houses, prefabricated homes or prefabricated houses, which ever you prefer to call it, are simply homes or houses that are mass produced. Like the cars that we drive, these prefab homes comes in various sizes and models to suit your living needs. Choices are of course limited and since they are mass produced, you do not have the privilege of having your own unique design. Nevertheless, popularity of prefab houses are slowly but surely gaining popularity.

One obvious reason is due to the cost and time of building such houses. Since all sections of a prefab house is fabricated in the factory, the need of construction workers for this traditionally labor intensive industry has been drastically cut. For one, the need for bricklayers has been brought down to the minimum if not done away with totally. For housing estate developers who builds on a large scale, this can mean considerable cost savings. Houses thus can be sold at a lower price and at a faster pace.

Many countries, especially those which are faced with housing shortages have adopted this method of building. Time of construction can be reduced to half and prices are affordable for even low income earners. Even the building of high rise apartments using the prefabricated method is getting popular. Since every unit is identical, prefabrication these homes are also made a lot easier.

Of course there will be some disadvantages of buying such a home. For one, owners will have a tougher time putting in additional electrical or plumbing outlets as all this has been pre-done at the factory. To add more points and outlets will mean a lot of hacking and mending. However, some developers do give the chance for buyers to have additional socket or light points, but this has to be done and planned out before the actual fabrication starts. Suffice to say, it will cost twice as much as a normal installation.

You can of course order your own prefabricated homes according to your own design and fancy. However, that would mean a whole new set of plans and moulds for the manufacturer. By the time everything is finalized, it might well cost more that building it the traditional way.

Materials used to fabricate these houses differs from country to country. Some countries needs heat retaining materials due to harsh winter conditions while some in tropical countries will need something that is heat repelling, yet strong enough to withstand years of torrential downpours. The more common material uses is of course concrete and steel. Prefabricated homes built with these will last for generations, earthquakes and tornadoes notwithstanding.

Due to the ever escalating cost of building materials and workmanship, the demand for prefabricated homes can only go upwards. There will come the day when every home owned by a normal wage earner will be a prefab home. Only the rich will be able to afford custom designed homes. The trend is already there.

Cisky Terrier? Nope, the breed is actually the Cesky Terrier. It is pronounced “ches-kee” in case you were wondering. I’m not sure what happened that has everyone searching for information on this rare breed of dog but everyone seems to be typoing the breed name. I am a huge fan of Terrier dogs. They are amazing pets so I thought that I would write an article to make sure this wonderful breed can capitalize on its sudden fame. I happen to be owned by an adorable toy terrier. His name is Ovid and I love him to death. I’ll do anything I can to help more Terriers find loving homes. Be sure to check your local animal shelter if you are in the market to adopt a pet. Read the full story

Napoleon Bonaparte birthday celebrations should occur today, if that is your thing.

Born August 15, 1769 Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as an emperor, politician, and French general.

What does he have to say to us today?

Do his thoughts still hold true?

Let’s see!

Sometimes coming to conclusions when you have lots of information to filter isn’t easy, but it is an important skill. Napoleon is quoted as saying, “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.”

Don’t stay frozen sitting on the fence. Take action. “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in,” said Nopoleon Bonaparte.

Shake it up to stay fresh and competitive! “One must change one’s tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one’s superiority,” he said.

Let it go when day’s done. There is wisdom in recognizing that what’s past is past: “Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night.”

The most dangerous and elusive enemy we have is the clock. Another bauble from Bonaparte is, “Throw off your worries when you throw off your clothes at night.”

Women are inferior? Oh mercy, if Napoleon Bonaparte really said this, he would have a hard time finding dates in today’s society: “Women are nothing but machines for producing children.”

Like all strong personalities, Napoleon is alternately revered and reviled according to your point of view.

The only thing everyone might agree on is something non-controversial like that he was born. LOL!!

Napoleon Bonaparte– great general or great jerk because he’s said to find women, as a group, to be less than men?

I’ll let you decide how we regard him today.

Happy Independence Day India! It was a hard struggle and well worth it. When I visited India in 1997 there was a new movie being shown, called in English simply “Indian.” This movie gave some insights into just how hard that struggle was. It was a bit uncomfortable being in the theater that day Read the full story

The Prince William County Fair is open to everyone this weekend and is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Mannassas, Virginia. Back in 1949, the Prince William County Fair was setup by veterans of World War II who wanted to promote the county’s rich agriculture industry that had been ‘put on hold’ during the war effort. However, it wasn’t without a lot of hard work from the Prince William Veterans Farm Club that was setup to run the Prince William County Fair, by the fair’s four founders Robert Beahm, Robert Tyrrell, Kemp Clemen and Joe Johnson. Read the full story

Jade Goody and her what? Poppadom? No, I am going to write about Jade Goody here. She has passed on and I shall let her rest in peace. However, I will want to talk about that thing called “poppodam” though. Now what on earth has this thing called poppadom got to do with Jade Goody? What was it that got more than half of the population of Ireland and United Kingdom slamming their computers for information about the poppodom?

Apparently, not long after Jaded Goody died, The Spoof (thespoof dot com) ran a spoof that was titled, “I want a poppadom, Jade Goody’s last wish.” That spoof by The Spoof was where the curiosity was aroused about this thing called poppadom. Let he tell you here, what this thing called the poppadom is all about.

Poppadom is an Indian delicacy, if you can call it that. Now Indian here is Indian as in people from India or whose ancestors originated from India and not Indian as in those you see in John Wayne movies. Those are called Red Indians, though I will never know why and as far as I know, Red Indian do not eat poppadom. Indians from India loves poppadom, and so do I.

I come from a country where more than 10 percent of the population are Indians. I have close Indian friends whom I love knocking pitchers with. I love Indian food, thus I love poppadom. It makes great tidbits when you are enjoying your mug of the golden brew and it is a super appetiser when you are eat it with your traditional Indian Banana Leave Rice, which again not to be misunderstood. Banana Leaf Rice does not mean you take your rice and chow down with banana leaves. It is rice served ON a banana leaf that has been cleaned. To enjoy it to the fullest, you have to eat it with your hands. Banana leaves do not exactly stand well against a fork and a spoon.

I have to remind you that when eating with your hands, it is good table manners and “hand eating” ethics that you use your right hand. Why is that so? Well, you see, the left hand is traditionally used for washing.. how should I put it.. your butt? your err.. arsehole? Whatever. You use your left hand to wash away your shit, if you want to put it that way. So it will be really repelling to eat grab your food and stick it into your mouth with that hand.

Okay back to the poppadom. This crispy, prawn cracker-like thingy is a compulsory item in a traditional Indian meal. Walk into any restaurant that serves banana leaf rice, you will be served with unlimited portion of rice mixed with gravy and 3 different type vegetables, beans and the 3 pieces of poppadom . There will be no extra charge should you request for more.

Now what you do is, you mix the gravy and the rice thoroughly, with your right hand of course. Take a little bit of the vegetable with your rice, hold it nimbly on the tip your 4 fingers, with your thumb folded in behind the lump of rice. Place your fingers with the rice carefully in front of your opened mouth and with your thumb, push the rice inside. Mmmm… yummy. While chewing, use your curry stained right hand fingers, pick up the poppadom and take a bite. Ahhh… heaven..that crackling sound. I am starting to believe that Jade Goody really wished for a pappodom with her last breath.

Miley Cyrus Pole Dance has caused quite a stir amongst parents and communities. Miley Cyrus performed at the teen choice awards which aired on august 10th, but the question that everyone is asking is, did Miley Cyrus go to far with the Pole Dancing? I for one as a parent would have to say, without a doubt, YES! For crying out loud, Miley Cyrus is only 16 years old, and here she is dancing away on a stripper pole. I know, everyone is saying that it was just a pole and not necessarily a stripper pole, but come on, who else dances on poles other then strippers?

The thing that gets me the most is that the whole Miley Cyrus Pole Dance was performed at the TEEN choice awards. Who do you think was watching it? Teens of course, and younger audiences no doubt. But I guess that is what our society has come to, when we can just play off something as racy as a pole dance and say it is all in good fun. I for one think it is sad, and I hope that if the day comes when I have a teenage daughter, I will have the sense and wisdom to keep her off a pole.

I think we as parents need to stand up against things like the Miley Cyrus Pole Dance. I know that if I had teenage daughters, I wouldnt let them get near a pole, let alone dance with one on national television. If we as parents dont stand up to this kind of garbage, we will slowly let hollywood corrupt our youth. Because I can tell you, hollywood and the Miley Cyrus’s of the world arent going to stop anytime soon. In fact, it will probably only get worse.

The saddest thing of this all is that so many young minds look up to Miley Cyrus. So many young girls will now think that pole dancing is cool. Who knows how many strippers were made from that one, irresponsible perfomance of Miley Cyrus and the pole dance. And pole dancing has its place, Im not trying to rag on pole dancing. But in front of little kids, being performed by a 16 year old. Not so good.

What do you think? Do you have kids? Do you have a teenage daughter, or daughters? Is something like this ok? Or is the Miley Cyrus Pole Dance trully a sad sign of what our society has come to allow?

For many couples shopping for wedding favors can be a difficult task especially when they are doing this together. This may sound strange but shopping for wedding favors is actually one activity which may cause a great deal of disagreements during the wedding planning process. It may sound like such a trivial detail but in reality shopping for wedding favors can actually be quite stressful and involved. There are a number of reasons for this. One of the main reasons is the large number of options available. There is such a wide range of wedding favors available that selecting just one can be an incredibly daunting task. Furthermore having two people agree on the same favor out of the many options available can be even more difficult. This article will provide some information on how couples can reduce the stress involved with shopping for wedding favors together.

One of the easiest ways to avoid the stress and arguments which are likely to ensue while shopping for wedding favors with your fiancé is to simply avoid the situation altogether. You and your fiancé can discuss the situation beforehand and if he is not very interested in helping to select the wedding favors he may be more than willing to give you free reign to select the wedding favors. If you have similar tastes he will likely be confident that you will select something great and will be more than happy to allow you to do so. This makes the shopping process incredibly easier because you simply have to choose something you like and will be confident your fiancé will be happy with the favor as well. However, if you want your fiancé to feel included in the shopping process you can do the shopping beforehand and then have him take a look at the favors before you make your purchase just to be sure you both love the favors you have selected. Read the full story

While wedding favors may be one of the simplest part of planning a wedding, they can also be the part of the wedding which is often left until the last minute. This can make shopping for wedding favors quite stressful. However, fortunately, there are a number of different options for wedding favors which are very easy to do at the last minute. This is important because it can take a great deal of stress out of realizing the wedding is rapidly approaching and wedding favors have not yet been purchased. This article will provide a few simple ideas for really easy wedding favors.

Using flowers as wedding favors is undoubtedly one of the easiest wedding favors you can give to your guests. There is virtually no preparation involved in this wedding favor and depending on how many guests you have at the wedding you may not have to order the favors well in advance. You might consider giving your guests a single red rose as a favor. This is extremely appropriate because a rose is a symbol of love. It is also very easy because it does not have to be wrapped. You can simply purchase one rose for each guest and have a member of the catering hall staff or a friend or family member place one rose across each place setting after the tables have been set for the wedding. You can also select a flower which is used in your centerpiece and instruct your florist to place one flower at each place setting when they arrange the centerpieces. Read the full story

The Casserole Queens have become stars overnight after the Bobby Flay throw down. If this is the first time you have heard of the Casserole Queens let me tell you they are a pair of dybano ladies that can cook there behinds of.

Bobby Flay by far is one of my favorite TV Chef’s and his TV show Throw Down is a sweet show to watch with the family even though my home scale would disagree. For the non TV Chef connoisseurs Robert William “Bobby” Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, Iron Chef, and television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of eight restaurants: Mesa Grill and Bar Americain in New York City; Mesa Grill in Las Vegas; Mesa Grill in The Bahamas, Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Bobby’s Burger Palace in Lake Grove, New York; Paramus, New Jersey; Eatontown, New Jersey and Uncasville, Connecticut.

Bobby Flay has hosted seven Food Network television programs and appeared regularly on an eighth. He has also appeared as a guest on other Food Network shows and hosted a number of specials on the network. Bobby Flay is also featured on the Great Chefs television series.

Sandy, a graduate of the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York City, derived the idea for the Casserole Queens during a holiday visit with her family. After making the Pollocks’ signature dishes with her mom and siblings, she realized that everyone in the family (all the way down to the tiniest Pollock) was indubitably satisfied. Sandy has happy memories of her family gathering at the dinner table to eat a casserole, and she hopes that Casserole Queens will help build memories for other families, too. Drawing from a diverse culinary background, including stints at Austin restaurants Jeffrey’s and Cipollina, Sandy has a knack for enhancing the taste of an old favorite—as well as serving up some uniquely different dishes of her own.

Read the full story