My laptop power cord has died... so my infrequent posts are about to become much less frequent for the next two weeks or so!

My dentist's office has wi-fi... wow.

Right now I'm toying with the idea of trying to be published, or to sell my work.

If anyone knows of a writer's magazine, either an e-zine or other, that takes contributions, whether it pays or not, I'd be interested. I'm writing short stories, poems, and some short nonfiction.

I love photo editing... :-) 

R.C. Sproul's recent post reminded me of how surprised I was myself when I found that in Germany, the unemployed on benefits are required to take whatever employment is available.

A second cousin of mine, a woman, middle aged, was unemployed when I was over there this past summer, and talking to her it emerged that she was told she had to work at an esc0rt service, since it was what was available.
Whatever is available, she has to do— whether backbreaking labor, ill suited to her age, or humiliating work, such as esc0rt services or worse. She was obviously unhappy with the situation, the product of a socialist government.
(I'm not in direct contact with my German relatives, so I don't know whether she found another position. I would imagine so, since I think my Oma would have mentioned it otherwise.)

I wonder now... will our own government take the example given by Germany? If you're paying unemployed people, it seems only fair that they be required to actually work, not just make a token “effort” to find work.

I think the root problem is not only that the government pays you to be unemployed, but that you took the money. He who pays the piper picks the tune, right? Government money comes with strings attached.

R.C. points out that the "real problem isn’t legalized prostitution, the selling of bodies, but the welfare state, and the selling of souls."

Hmm.