Everyday Randomness

A New Way To Fundraise

I saw this site today that I decided is pretty neat. It’s called shoutback, and it’s a place where you can join together with others who support your same causes. If you’re part of a church group, school organization like booster club, PTA, Beta Club, Key Club, etc who needs to raise money for a function, Shoutback.com is also a great place to do that. It’s really easy to get started. You can sign up for a free account, then you either search for a group you would like to join, or you can create your own. Once you’ve got your group you can raise money by shopping, saving money, or even selling stuff on the website. They’ve got an auction section setup ready for you to sell your stuff.

As soon as I saw the site I thought about how our motorcycle group thought about raising money this year to help families of those who have lost their lives to motorcycle accidents. We’ve all lost friends, and we know how hard it can be for a family to lose a loved one, and it would be great if we could raise money to help. I think I’ll mention this to the group to see if they’re interested.

In the meantime, here’s a short little public service announcement I put together about Shoutback.com. It gave me a chance to try out the video function on my new camera!

Police Officer Arrested For Drunk Driving

I can’t say only in South Carolina for this one, but I sure will say “only in Pickens County”, and that’s just for you Sam!

People like our next subject really need their name, job description, and crime commited blasted all over the internet. It’s really makes you rethink the kind of people we have working on our police force, especially around here.

A Pickens County (next county over from me) police officer was arrested on New Year’s Eve after wrecking his patrol car while under the influence of alcohol.

Yep, I’ll say it again. He was DRUNK. Officer Irving “Rocky” Simmons hit a tree around 2 am after running off the side of the road, over correcting his steering, and crossing the road again. He had left his home with a blood alcohol level of .11 (.08 is SC’s limit) after a fight with his girlfriend.

What exactly did Officer Simmons do for the police department in the (less than 1 year) time he worked there? Someone please slap this man upside the head because he…get this…mostly worked DUI cases. Thankfully Simmons was immediately charged with a DUI and fired.

ProMeris Flea & Tick Treatment Treats Mange, Too!

A couple months back we decided to switch Bubba’s flea medicine from Frontline to ProMeris.  Frontline has been on the market for 11 years now, and that has given fleas plenty of time to build an immunity.  Our vet said it’s a new replacement for Frontline that’s only available through vets.  That means you can’t pick it up at any online retailer or pet store even with a vet prescription.  It’s cheaper than Frontline and new to the market, so we wanted to see how it worked.  There are two active ingredients in this new flea & tick treatment.  Metaflumizone is used to treat fleas while Amitraz treats ticks.

The results were amazing.  Being an Olde English Bulldogge, Bubba is prone to a lot of skin infections.  He’s dealt with demodectic mange and yeast infections for 14 months of his 16 month life time.  As soon as we put him on the ProMeris his skin cleared up completely. (minus this new bacterial infection caused by a scratch from another animal)

We were able to take him off the Ivermectin doses he was receiving 2-3 times a week, and we haven’t had any problems with mange or year infections since changing the meds.  He’s also got a severe flea allergy.  Normally around other dogs he picks up flea dander that can cause him to run a high fever and break out all over.  This has only happened once in the last 2 months opposed to almost every other week as before.

When Bubba went to the vet this morning we found out some interesting news.  Dr. Ross informed us that results were just released from a new study proving that ProMeris treats more than just fleas and ticks.  97% of dogs tested with either sarcoptic or demodectic mange saw less outbreaks and overall improvement in the health of their skin.  The results of this study have proven what hubby and I were already thinking.  The ProMeris has drastically improved Bubba’s skin condition.  Our vet visits have been cut in half.

This gives dog owners a new option.  Instead of having to treat severe mange of either type with nasty chemical dips, they can now use ProMeris to treat fleas, ticks, and mange at the same time!

Nickelodeon Star 16 & Pregnant

As if we haven’t heard enough about Britney and her poor babies who don’t have a mother fit to raise them, now we get to hear all about another member of the Spears family gettin’ knocked up.

Yes, Jamie Lynn Spears has confirmed to OK! Magazine that she is pregnant…at 16.

Ok, so there are a lot of girls out there in this world who get pregnant at 16. Of course most of them do so because they either think that having a baby is going to keep their boyfriend around, or they’re too lazy (or stupid) to use birth control. There’s also that small percentage that does everything right, uses birth control, and still get pregnant. But come on, what 16 year old should be having sex anyway?

I admit. I didn’t wait until I was married to have sex, but I wasn’t out getting laid at 16. I waited until I was old enough and mature enough to handle an adult relationship. Then again, we live in a day and age where there is sex everywhere. Kids today know far more about sex than I did as a young teenager…and I’m only 26.

I guess what pisses me off about this situation so much isn’t the fact that she got pregnant at 16. We all know how it happened. We know she made some bad decisions for her age, and now she’s got to live with the consequences. What pisses me off? She’s the star of “Zoey 101″ on Nickelodeon. My 12 year old sister in law watches that show. What kind of role model is she if she’s out having sex at 16. Shouldn’t someone who is a role model to so many girls, mostly in the under 12 range, have better judgment?

I know I sure as hell wouldn’t be letting my kids watch her after discovering this. Of course in true Spear’s fashion the press will have a field day with this. The issue of OK! Magazine with the 6 page exclusive interview announcing Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy hits the stands tomorrow, but Nickelodeon has already released a statement.

“We respect Jamie Lynn’s decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn’s well being.”

Yeah, and I’m pretty sure they’re concerned about keeping a pregnant 16 year old off their show as well.

What do you think about the situation? Who’s to blame? I think the blame should be equally shared between herself and her parents. This goes to show even rich teenage stars of Nickelodeon don’t always use the proper judgment….or protection.

The father is 19 year old Casey Aldridge who Jamie Lynn has been dating for some time, and she apparently met at church.  Go figure.