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Entry bubble My Halloween Revenge

By: Ginger | October 30, 2009 | Category: Fun

Boy and girl dressed up for HalloweenNormally, I am a law-abiding citizen and not prone to perpetrating Halloween pranks. However, earlier in the week my trainer, Mike, made me do push-ups. He claims he did not get my memo stating my “No Push-Ups Policy”, but when he denied it, he had a shifty look on his face. Anyway, I am very sore. I can't even lift my arm to offer a friendly wave or other friendly gestures. I want some payback. This friendly gal is going to get some revenge by toilet papering Mike's yard on Halloween night.

I like to bring professionalism to everything I do, so I have done my homework and I have come up with a plan:

  • I have hired some of the best toilet papering commandos in my neighborhood .
  • My team has done reconnaissance in Mike's neighborhood. We know where the street lights are located, how to handle the barking dogs, and which neighbors are prone to nosiness.
  • We have identified an escape route should things go south.
  • I have purchased black face paint and selected the perfect black outfit, with matching accessories, for the big event.

The surprise element in my whole plan is the actual papering medium we will use. Now that I have been forced to perform push-ups, I am “strong like bull.” Instead of cheap, wimpy, toilet paper, we will be going hard core and using double rolls of 2-ply!

For those who have been following my blog regularly, you know that I am kidding... or am I? Bwah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Have a scary, but safe Halloween. The Halloween page on USA.gov features links to Halloween facts, healthy Halloween treats, safety tips, and pumpkin carving tips. For those of you who are interested, here is my Halloween blog from last year and the Halloween blog from 2 years ago by Samantha. Enjoy!

P.S. To Lazy Ghoul, who left this comment last year,

“I live on a hillside in a suburban community, my front door is a good 20 feet above street level. Rather than subject the children to climbing my steps i sit and throw candy to (at) them from my porch. Some kids really get into it. I've learned to judge candy by it's loft to drag ratio and found that Dum Dums get the best range, followed by Tootsie Pops, then Blow Pops...”

I hope to hear from you again. Did you try my suggestion to build a candy catapult with a mouse trap, some duct tape, and a bobby pin? Let me know, because I can think of all kinds of uses for that thing if it works!

| Post a Comment | View Comments [8] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: ginger   halloween   halloween_safety   pranks  

 

Entry bubble Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend

By: Jess | October 29, 2009 | Category: General

ClockHere's a big reminder if you don't have it on your calendar yet.

Don't forget to change your clocks this weekend!

Starting on Sunday at 2 a.m. Daylight Saving Time will end (for the places that observe it) and we'll all need to set our clocks back one hour.

Personally I love the extra hour of sleep, but hate the shorter days that come with switching back to standard time. I'm also not always the best at remembering to change the clocks. I usually remember at the last minute Saturday night. Forgetting to change your clocks can cause mild chaos for some people, like a friend of mine who went the whole day without remembering to switch her clocks and almost ended up being late for work the following Monday. (This was in the spring, when we were supposed to spring our clocks ahead an hour.)

Curious as to why this whole Daylight Saving Time and changing clocks thing even exists? National Geographic did a nice job explaining the history of DST.

Have you ever forgotten to change your clocks? Feel free to share your stories in the comments.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: changing_clocks   daylight_saving_time   jess   sleep   time  

 

Entry bubble Behind the Scenes at the National Zoo- and our First Podcast

By: Colleen | October 28, 2009 | Category: Fun

**Arlene Hernandez is the manager of Kids.gov, the U.S. Government's webportal for children, their parents, and educators. zooToday she steps in for Colleen to talk about Kids.gov's first podcast.**

Do you remember your first trip to the zoo? Seeing a live elephant or giraffe for the first time? It's moments like this that inspire kids to become veterinarians.

Earlier this year, Colleen and I visited the National Zoo in Washington, DC to meet Dr. Carlos Sanchez, Veterinarian. We were lucky to interview him for the Career Spotlight on Kids.gov. We found out about his duties, his training programs, and took a tour of the animal hospital. Colleen was most impressed by the wide spectrum of a zoo veterinarian's knowledge. They have to know all sorts of anatomy- from a butterfly wing to an elephant's knee!

You can listen to Dr. Carlos talk about his adventures as a zoo veterinarian in our first podcast. Find out what a "typical" day is like, how he ended up at the National Zoo, and his advice to aspiring veterinarians. You can also read the whole interview.

When you were younger, did you want to work with animals? Do you have special memories from trips to the zoo? Please share them with us!

| Post a Comment | View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: animals   kids.gov   national_zoo   podcast   veterinarian  

 

Entry bubble Visa Lottery

By: Joanne | October 27, 2009 | Category: General

statue of liberty

Would you, or someone you know, like to become a U.S. citizen? Then you should know that the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is accepting applications until November 30, 2009. Some call it the Green Card Lottery, but the official program name is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Each year, this program makes 50,000 diversity visas available to people who want to be U.S. citizens. Winners are drawn by a random selection among all entries.

The eligibility requirements are strict, and to qualify, there are work experience requirements, education requirements, and a prospective immigrant has to come from a country that has low immigration rates to the United States. Still, it’s a great opportunity.

Over the years we’ve seen many websites posing as official U.S. government websites that charge a fee to help people enter the Diversity Visa Program. Don’t be fooled, you can apply for free.

Good luck!

| Post a Comment | View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: card   citizen   diversity   green   immigration   joanne   lottery   visa  

 

Entry bubble Hand Washing or Hand Sanitizer?

By: Jake | October 26, 2009 | Category: Health

Hand washingThe men's bathroom here at the Federal Citizen Information Center has two signs reminding guys to wash their hands. The sign hangers probably should read the recent study that found men aren't as vigilant about hand washing after going to the bathroom as women are, even with signs.

Since I religiously wash my hands after going I ignored the signs until someone pointed out some inconsistencies. For instance one simple sign says wash your hand for 20 seconds and the other says you  need 40 seconds to complete a 12 step hand washing process. The second sign also states that if you don't have any visible dirt on your hands, you should use an alcohol based hand sanitizer. There are now two large bottles of hand sanitizer in our bathroom for this purpose.

Unless you are a doctor, I'm not sure if a 12 step hand washing process is necessary. I did find the part about the hand sanitizer intriguing. I checked to see what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says and they suggest the 20 seconds of hand washing but they agreed that if your hands aren't visibly dirty, you can use hand sanitizer.

I find this surprising since I've had bad experiences with hand sanitizer. One winter when I was working in a restaurant the owner thought it would be a good idea to have a big hand sanitizer dispenser for the kitchen and waitstaff to use. It worked fine for a while but my and some of my co-workers hands started to break out. I still use hand sanitizer if nothing else is available, but given the choice I will always use old fashioned soap and water.

 How do you clean your hands? Do you use soap and water or sanitizer?

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