Translation of % chance of spring/summer percipitation, Kansas/Missouri style

0% - Bone dry, folks. No percipitation east of the Rockies or west of the Mississippi.

10% - Bone dry, folks, but we're hedging our bets because hey, it's Kansas and Missouri.

20% - You know humidity? Yeah, it's up there, but that dang jet stream isn't cooperating. It's not gonna rain, but we're in CYA mode.

30% - The radar, we don't like it. There's some highs and lows doing a dance, but they may or may not make it here with rain, and our asses? We like them covered.

40% - It's probably going to rain, unless those lows and highs decide to switch from waltzes to the jig. Then your guess is as good as ours. Take an umbrella, but don't bother carrying it.

50% - Pshaw. Who does 50%? We're right either way, and if we were, we wouldn't be the National Weather Service! *deletes 50% from menu*

60% - It's gonna rain. We just don't know where, how much, or when. Well, except it'll be in the next 24 hours. Probably. That's if the lows and highs don't switch from jigs to doing the twist.

70% - The twist? We hear it's popular. So is rain. Except when it's flooding. And even then, can we hear it for rain?! Yeah. It's going to rain. More than likely.

80% - See those clouds? Yeah. Them. They're rain clouds. They're raining on you right now. Probably thundering and lightninging on you, too. But hey, it's only 80%! We don't dare go higher.

90% - We, however, do do double dog dares. Yes, it's raining. Yes, it's raining right now. But it might not be! We always have to hedge our bets because hey, it's Kansas and Missouri.

100% - Hey, look! You don't have to take a shower today! Soaked to the bone, we are, yes, yes, yes! *orgasm*

That my husband find an excellent job doing something he loves.

Sorry, no pics. Just a cute moment...

Puppy was sleeping next to me, and he started yipping at who knows what...was sooooo cute. He sounded like his squeaky toy. Yipyipyipyipyip.

*mush*

"Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you believe in marriage between any people who wish to marry, be it a man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, man and woman and woman, whatever; and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow."

This answer is going to be longer than most people's.

Honestly, in the U.S., we don't have religious marriage any more. It's ALL civil unions. Marriage licenses are all issued by the state, not the religious institutions. At one time, yes, that was different. But these days, nope. All civil unions, no matter who says the words or what words are said. People who think otherwise are lying to themselves.

Marriage used to be about reproduction, yes. But with birth control, vastly lower infant and child mortality, many mass disesase under control, a rising focus on later reproduction, and lower birth rates due to rising wealth, defining marriage as strictly between a man and a woman for reproductive rights becomes moot. Plus, with the rise of single parent households and the acceptance of single mothers raising children on their own, I see marriage being defined for reproduction as a ridiculous, outdated concept.

My husband and I certainly didn't get married less than two months after meeting because of any reproductive issues. We got married that quickly because I needed health insurance desperately. That's why people marry today, for civil and human rights. Health insurance, life insurance, inheritance, parental rights, hospital visitation rights, death benefits, visitation rights all over the place--those are the things marriage is about now.

Frankly, I think the word marriage is due for either a serious overhaul or to be dropped from the language. It no longer means what it used to mean. We need new definitions, new ways of looking at the issues. We can't rely on religions that are thousands of years old any more because our situation in this modern world is vastly different than anything they could have imagined. We need to change. WE need to redefine ourselves. I am tired of these limitations.