I just posted the question below on a digital picture frame website. I was polite in my message on the website but really wanted to say that I am pretty freakin' frustrated that all my attempted trickery has not thwarted the dastardly frame. If anyone has any ideas on how to solve this problem, please let me know.

"I have scanned and saved pictures over the years to several photo websites like Picturetrail, Photobucket and Snapfish. I recently purchased the Brookstone My Life 10″ Digital Picture Show. I copied photos from the different websites to my computer. Then I loaded them onto a 512MB SD memory card along with other photos that were loaded on my computer from my digital camera or a memory card at different times.

The photos copied from the 3 websites to my computer are not recognized by the digital photo frame. All of the other pictures show up and are displayed with no problems. I reformatted the card and put only the photos copied from the websites onto the card to see if these images could now be displayed. When I loaded the card in the frame, the frame showed the message “Media Empty” even though there were 30 pictures on the card. The images are visible when I view the card on my computer. I have looked at the properties of these photos copied from the websites and can see no difference.

I have tried to resave, rename or edit the copied images but no matter what I’ve tried the frame does not recognize them. I am at a loss about how to get these images to be recognized by the frame."

I do like the frame otherwise but it's making me crazy that these old pictures cannot be shown. There are some really cute ones of Juannie as a young tot that I really want on the frame. I have no other way to retrieve the photos because of flooding.

Four years since Hurricane Katrina. A day of memory and gratitude. A day of peace and hope.

A day for lighting candles to remember those we lost, what we endured and all we accomplished.

Anti-Hurricane Shoo Box Altar Safe Happy & Dry 2009

"The Human Development Index is a direct measure of the actual level of development of a country. The HDI combines measures of various social indicators, including life expectancy, literacy, education, and per capita GDP, to measure overall human development, which "refers to the process of widening the options of persons, giving them greater opportunities for education, health care, income, employment, etc." By this measure, the United States ranks rather high - 15th out of all countries, with an HDI of .950, according to this table, which is based on 2006 data. But the HDI of individual states varies quite a bit.

These are the 76 top countries ranked by human development index score, with the 50 states interposed to show their relative level of development."

Louisiana ranks just below #75 Bosnia and Herzegovina and above #76 Turkey. West Virginia and Mississippi are right there with us.

"There is a group of Southern States - Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Mississippi - that form a core region where human development index scores are well below the HDIs of any other country that would clearly be considered "highly developed." Among the nations that have a higher HDI than each of these states are Cuba, Mexico, Libya, Bulgaria, Panama, Malaysia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Four of these states rank below Albania, which has a per capita GDP of $6,000. In terms of human development, this clutch of states in the Upland and Deep South is well outside of the mainstream of developed economies."

1. Iceland - .968
2. Norway - .968
3. Canada - .967
4. Australia - .965
5. Ireland - .962
Connecticut - .962
Massachusetts - .961
New Jersey - .961
District of Columbia - .960
Maryland - .960
Hawaii - .959
New York - .959
6. Netherlands - .958
7. Sweden - .958
New Hampshire - .958
Minnesota - .958
Rhode Island - .958
California - .958
Colorado - .958
Virginia - .957
Illinois - .957
8. Japan - .956
9. Luxembourg - .956
10. Switzerland - .955
11. France - .955
Vermont - .955
Washington - .955
Alaska - .955
12. Finland - .954
Delaware - .953
13. Denmark - .952
Wisconsin - .952
14. Austria - .951
Michigan - .951
15. United States - .950
Iowa - .950
Pennsylvania - .950
16. Spain - .949
17. Belgium - .948
18. Greece - .947
Nebraska - .946
19. Italy - .945
20. New Zealand - .944
21. United Kingdom - .942
22. Hong Kong - .942
Kansas - .941
23. Germany - .940
Arizona - .939
North Dakota - .936
Oregon - .935
Maine - .932
Utah - .932
Ohio - .932
24. Israel - .930
Georgia - .928
Indiana - .928
25. South Korea - .927
North Carolina - .925
26. Slovenia - .923
27. Brunei - .919
28. Singapore - .918
Texas - .914
29. Kuwait - .912
30. Cyprus - .912
Missouri - .912
Nevada - .911
31. United Arab Emirates - .903
32. Bahrain - .902
South Dakota - .902
33. Portugal - .900
34. Qatar - .899
Florida - .898
35. Czech Republic - .897
Wyoming - .897
New Mexico - .895
36. Malta - .894
Idaho - .890
37. Barbados - .889
Montana - .885
38. Hungary - .877
39. Poland - .875
40. Chile - .874
41. Slovakia - .872
42. Estonia - .871
South Carolina - .871
43. Lithuania - .869
44. Latvia - .863
45. Croatia - .862
46. Argentina - .860
47. Uruguay - .859
48. Cuba - .855
49. Bahamas - .854
50. Costa Rica - .847
51. Mexico - .842
52. Libya - .840
53. Oman - .839
54. Seychelles - .836
55. Saudi Arabia - .835
56. Bulgaria - .834
57. Trinidad and Tobago - .833
58. Panama - .832
59. Antigua and Barbuda - .830
60. Saint Kitts and Nevis - .830
61. Venezuela - .826
62. Romania - .825
63. Malaysia - .823
64. Montenegro - .822
65. Serbia - .821
66. Saint Lucia - .821
Kentucky - .820
67. Belarus - .817
Tennessee - .816
Oklahoma - .815
Alabama - .809
68. Macedonia - .808
69. Albania - .807
70. Brazil - .807
71. Kazakhstan - .807
72. Ecuador - .807
73. Russia - .806
Arkansas - .803
74. Mauritius - .802
75. Bosnia and Herzegovina - .802
Louisiana - .801
West Virginia - .800
Mississippi - .799
76. Turkey - .798

Source.

I felt like hearing "At The Zoo" by Simon & Garfunkel and found this cute homemade video featuring the song. No mention of pandas but it's still a catchy tune.

Horses Get To Work During Mardi Gras. How the New Orleans Police Department prepares their horses for the "Blaring bands and waving flags, stumbling drunks and splashing beer, glittery trinkets flying toward curb-to-curb crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands."

Some pictures from the parades we saw on Thursday night.

	Waiting for The Next Float
	Pussyfooter

http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x275/dolche65/Chaos%20and%20Muses%202009/

Sloppy Kisses from Bess & Rocky!

I needed a reminder today.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in
a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the two cups of
coffee.

=============================

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things in life. Your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions: things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else: the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

My sister-in-law, Renee, gave me such a thoughtful gift. She ordered Election 2008 Front Pages a book commemorating Barack Obama's election from The Poynter Institute.

The book is a collection of front pages from November 5th showing the varied presentations across the United States and the world of Obama's historic victory. I've been saving Time and Newsweek magazines throughout this year as Obama's campaign progressed from the primaries to the general election. I am so proud to have this as part of my memories of this election year.

Here's one of my favorites:

America Comes To Its Senses

Tonight, some friends from work and I will be uncorking our creativity. We are going to spend the evening at Corks N Canvas. None of us can draw or paint but we like to drink so we are giving it a whirl. I'll post the result of my foray into the art world later this weekend. We'll see if it looks anything like this...

No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else.

Place names that appeal to the naughty child in all of us... Crapstone in Devon; East Breast, in western Scotland; North Piddle, in Worcestershire; Crotch Crescent, Oxford; Titty Ho, Northamptonshire; Wetwang, East Yorkshire; Slutshole Lane, Norfolk; Thong, Kent.

Road Sign

I was really not feeling well because of a stomach bug as I watched the coverage of the Inauguration. But there were quite a few moments when I was transported out of myself because of pride, awe and joy. I am posting this link to pictures from The Boston Globe so I can remember how I felt yesterday.

Inauguration Day

Barack Obama's letter to his daughters, Malia and Sasha.

"...America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be."

Joe Biden bids farewell to the Senate.

The thoughtfulness and humility demonstrated in this speech give me great pride in our new President and his choice for Vice-President. Joe Biden shares his hopes for the future of the Senate and our nation in this speech.

"This is an incredible place, I say to my colleagues, an incredible place, and it's left me with the conviction that personal relationships are the one thing that unlock the true potential of this place.

Every good thing I have seen happen here, every bold step taken in the 36-plus years I have been here, came not from the application of pressure by interest groups, but through the maturation of personal relationships.

Pressure groups can and are strong and important advocates. But they're not often -- they're not often vehicles for compromise. A personal relationship is what allows you to go after someone hammer and tong on one issue and still find common ground on the next.

It is the grease that lubricates this incredible system we have. It's what allows you to see the world from another person's perspective -- and allows them to take the time to see it from yours.

I'm sure this is not -- this has not been my experience alone -- in this sense, I'm probably preaching to the choir -- to the very men, women who are sitting here on the floor -- you've experienced similar things.

One of the most moving things I ever saw in my life, was on the floor of the United States Senate. The year was 1977, we were about to adjourn for the year. There was a vote cast, and as we all do, we assembled in the well to vote. And one of my personal heroes, Hubert Humphrey, was literally riven with cancer. He died very shortly thereafter. He showed up like Dewey Barton (ph) of Oklahoma -- he showed up every single day, knowing he literally had days to live.

He walked down this aisle, because I was standing back there, I've been in this back row for years with my good friend Fitz Hollings for 34 years, and he walked down the aisle and as he did, Barry Goldwater came in through the doors and was coming down the aisle to vote.

Barry Goldwater and Hubert Humphrey virtually shared nothing in common philosophically. They had a pretty tough campaign in 1964. It got pretty rough. Barry Goldwater saw Hubert and walked up and gave him a big bear hug and kissed him. And Hubert Humphrey kissed him back.

And they stood there, in tight embrace, for minutes, both crying. It brought the entire Senate to tears. But to me -- to me -- it was the mark -- the story of the history of this place. Hubert loved it here. He wants that night, quote, 'The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions. And if the road to hell is paved with them, then this is a pretty good detour.'

Friendship and death are great equalizers. Death will seek all of us at some point, but we must choose to seek friendship. Our ability to work together with people with whom we have a real and deep and abiding disagreements, especially in these consequential times, I believe is going to determine whether or not we succeed in restoring America. I think it is literally that fundamentally basic."

"Entertainment Weekly's fun list of recession-friendly films that'll have you in hysterics."

Not really sure about the recession tie-in but I've seen all of these except #24 (just not a Leslie Nielsen fan) and #25 (need to see this one). I love all the ones I've seen except for #2 (just not a Chevy Chase fan) but the other 22 are movies I watch over and over again.

1 Ghostbusters (1984)

2 National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

3 Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

4 This Is Spinal Tap! (1984)

5 Office Space (1999)

6 South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

7 There's Something About Mary (1998)

8 The Big Lebowski (1998)

9 A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

10 Dazed and Confused (1993)

11 The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)

12 When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

13 Waiting for Guffman (1997)

14 Wedding Crashers (2005)

15 Trading Places (1983)

16 Superbad (2007)

17 Tropic Thunder (2008)

18 Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

19 Clueless (1995)

20 Best in Show (2000)

21 Clerks (1994)

22 Old School (2003)

23 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

24 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

25 Withnail and I (1987)

I've been tapped by yellowdoggrl to join in on the happy.

Day 8 - I am happy that we have Bess and Rocky. Life would be so boring and lonely without them.

	Bess & Rocky
	Extra Foot

It took longer than 8 days but it's now complete. I wish I could access LJ at work.

I've been tapped by yellowdoggrl to join in on the happy.

Day 7 - I am happy that our President-Elect has a genome that is global, a mind that is innovative, a world that is networked, and a spirit that is democratic.

I've been tapped by yellowdoggrl to join in on the happy.

Day 6 - I am happy about the possibilities presented by this new year. Happy 2009!

Ring In The New Year!

I've been tapped by yellowdoggrl to join in on the happy.

Day 5 - I am happy about seeing all of the brown pelicans, the Louisiana state bird, flying around in my neighborhood lately.

I've been tapped by yellowdoggrl to join in on the happy.

Day 4 (Delayed by Christmas festivities) - I am happy for my family. We always have a great time when we are all together for holidays, Saints games or any gathering.

Pic 1 - The little ones posed themselves for this photo.

Pic 2 - The aftermath of the Christmas game "Make A Santa Suit Out of Crepe Paper". 10 minutes, 2 teams, 2 willing victims, a lot crepe paper and some masking tape.

	The Kids Are Alright!
	Little Santas

New treats, new toys, new beds! Where is Santa Claus?

Waiting for Santa