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	<title>Todd Benatar &#187; General living</title>
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	<description>Seeds of thoughts from down on the farm</description>
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		<title>Pancake Restaurant Was Nasty</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2012/01/06/ihop-was-nasty/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2012/01/06/ihop-was-nasty/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:39:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drink]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=32</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning I went to a pancake restaurant in a town that I don&#8217;t usually go to.  I met a friend there for brunch.  I ordered what I usually order at &#8220;my&#8221; local pancake house - fried potatoes, and poached eggs.  I asked that the potatoes be fried without any onions, because I don&#8217;t like onions!  Well, this place just could not seem to get it right!  It was awful.  Poached eggs are supposed to be soft and runny in the middle, and these [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This morning I went to a pancake restaurant in a town that I don&#8217;t usually go to.  I met a friend there for brunch.  I ordered what I usually order at &#8220;my&#8221; local pancake house - fried potatoes, and poached eggs.  I asked that the potatoes be fried without any onions, because I don&#8217;t like onions!  Well, this place just could not seem to get it right!  It was awful.  Poached eggs are supposed to be soft and runny in the middle, and these were like hard boiled eggs.  The potatoes came out with more onions in them than potatoes, and the coffee and toast were stone cold!</p>
<p>When I complained to the waitress, she sent the breakfast back but still nothing was right.  She brought it back a piece at a time, and the potatoes still tasted strongly of onion, the coffee was still cold, and so were the eggs.  I was totally disgusted and left without eating any breakfast at all.  I won&#8217;t be going back to THAT place again!</p>
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		<title>Pause and Reflect</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/15/pause-and-reflect/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/15/pause-and-reflect/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:49:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Friends and/or family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=73</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, even though I have a little tree, I haven&#8217;t finished decorating it yet.  I ran into a little bit of a snag when I opened the boxes of ornaments.  These are the same ornaments that have decorated the family tree for many decades; perhaps even generations.  I found that every ornament that I saw brought back powerful memories of my family, and the sense of loss from having both of my parents taken from me so early in my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, even though I have a little tree, I haven&#8217;t finished decorating it yet.  I ran into a little bit of a snag when I opened the boxes of ornaments.  These are the same ornaments that have decorated the family tree for many decades; perhaps even generations.  I found that every ornament that I saw brought back powerful memories of my family, and the sense of loss from having both of my parents taken from me so early in my life, such a short time ago, made it difficult to actually decorate the tree.</p>
<p>I know I&#8217;ll get through it, and the tree WILL get decorated, but it is going to take a long time to do it!  I think now I have a better understanding of how emotional my mother would get at Christmas time, when she would decorate the tree.  Her mother had made many of the ornaments, and so has she.  It truly IS a family tree, and right now there isn&#8217;t much family around to enjoy it.  Maybe it&#8217;s time I started thinking about taking on a family of my own and stop rattling around by myself in this big old farmhouse.</p>
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		<title>Water Heater Blanket</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/10/water-heater-blanket/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/10/water-heater-blanket/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:20:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=43</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was surprised to notice when I went into the basement this morning that my water heater does not have an insulated blanket over it!  Seems to me that I put one on it a couple of years ago.  Last year I had some maintenance work done on my furnace and water heater; I have a contract with my propane company to do an annual check up.  I think that the maintenance man might have removed the water heater blanket [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was surprised to notice when I went into the basement this morning that my water heater does not have an insulated blanket over it!  Seems to me that I put one on it a couple of years ago.  Last year I had some maintenance work done on my furnace and water heater; I have a contract with my propane company to do an annual check up.  I think that the maintenance man might have removed the water heater blanket when he was checking out the water heater.  I wonder why he didn&#8217;t put it back on; maybe he ruined it when he removed it.  He should have at least told me about it!  I am guessing he didn&#8217;t tell me about it because he was afraid he would have to pay out of pocket to replace it.  Oh well, regardless, I am going to have to go buy a new one this week!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Where Does The Time Go?</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/01/where-does-the-time-go/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/12/01/where-does-the-time-go/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:53:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=64</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I cannot believe that it is December already!  Life on the farm has kept me so busy that the days seem to stretch on forever but they fly by.  I know that doesn&#8217;t make any sense at all.  Its just that I am so busy every day, doing really hard work that it just seems to never end, and I go to bed exhausted almost every day.  The alarm goes off in the morning way too early and before you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I cannot believe that it is December already!  Life on the farm has kept me so busy that the days seem to stretch on forever but they fly by.  I know that doesn&#8217;t make any sense at all.  Its just that I am so busy every day, doing really hard work that it just seems to never end, and I go to bed exhausted almost every day.  The alarm goes off in the morning way too early and before you know it another month has gone by!  I cannot believe that I turned the calendar page to December this morning!  I have mixed feelings about winter, some of the work of farming slows down, but tending the livestock in cold weather isn&#8217;t much fun!  At least I know how to dress for the cold weather, and I can spend a little bit more time relaxing a little bit here and there!</p>
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		<title>Herd animals detecting magnetic field</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/23/herd-animals-detecting-magnetic-field/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/23/herd-animals-detecting-magnetic-field/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Computers/Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=26</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was reading that there was a study done about animals detecting the earth&#8217;s magnetic field.  The study showed that cows and deer tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction.  The scientists say they are surprised that hunters and herdsmen and farmers didn&#8217;t notice it.  Who says farmers didn&#8217;t notice it?  Did they ask any farmers?  Maybe farmers noticed it but were too busy farming to care about something like that and get all excited about it and report it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was reading that there was a study done about animals detecting the earth&#8217;s magnetic field.  The study showed that cows and deer tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction.  The scientists say they are surprised that hunters and herdsmen and farmers didn&#8217;t notice it.  Who says farmers didn&#8217;t notice it?  Did they ask any farmers?  Maybe farmers noticed it but were too busy farming to care about something like that and get all excited about it and report it to a scientific community.  I mean really, why would a farmer even think that anyone would care about something like that?  Big whoop!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Mending fences</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/16/mending-fences/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/16/mending-fences/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:09:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society/Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=22</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well yesterday was a little more work than I had planned on.  Some drunk lost control of his truck and ran off the road and through one of my fences.  Some of the cattle escaped the pasture.  So I had to spend several hours rounding up the escapees and moving them to a different pasture while I mended the broken fence.  This happens from time to time, so I always have the materials on hand to mend the fences, but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well yesterday was a little more work than I had planned on.  Some drunk lost control of his truck and ran off the road and through one of my fences.  Some of the cattle escaped the pasture.  So I had to spend several hours rounding up the escapees and moving them to a different pasture while I mended the broken fence.  This happens from time to time, so I always have the materials on hand to mend the fences, but it is always an aggravation when it happens.  I wish all cars and trucks had a meter in them that tested the breath of the driver and if they register as having too much alcohol in them the vehicle wouldn&#8217;t start.  It was a drunk driver that caused the accident that killed my parents, so I don&#8217;t have a lot of patience or empathy for any of them.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Used Parts are Good for the Environment</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/01/used-part-are-good-for-the-environment/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/11/01/used-part-are-good-for-the-environment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:06:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Computers/Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electronics/Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment/Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance/Monies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel/Transportation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=226</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As someone that likes to take in consideration the environment when ever possible or able to do, I like to use used parts for things that are in need of repair. Used car parts are a great in many ways, availability, cost effective, and good for the environment as well. The days are gone that you have to go roaming through several distant junk yards in an effort to locate your desperately needed used car parts for your vehicles, what a difference [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As someone that likes to take in consideration the environment when ever possible or able to do, I like to use used parts for things that are in need of repair. Used car parts are a great in many ways, availability, cost effective, and good for the environment as well.</p>
<p>The days are gone that you have to go roaming through several distant junk yards in an effort to locate your desperately needed used car parts for your vehicles, what a difference the computer and the Internet have made in the used car parts business. Now you can go online and locate most parts for any type of vehicle with just a few key strokes, such as the website of 247spares.co.uk offers to the public. 247spares is rated number &#8220;6&#8243; in the hitwise category for &#8220;Automotive Shopping Online&#8221;.</p>
<p>Not only can you locate used parts for cars, but SUV&#8217;s, pick ups, and vans as well as gear boxes, engines and so much more, by taking a few minutes and filling out the few short questions with your relevant vehicle information for their Free Instant Online Quote.</p>
<p>Good news articles to read also. Interesting to read what is happening on the roads on the other side of the ocean in the U.K., no issues with a language barrier to deal with here.</p>
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		<title>The energy crisis</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/10/04/the-energy-crisis/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/10/04/the-energy-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:25:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Computers/Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment/Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Farm Life & Home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance/Monies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=12</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the cost of fuel increasing, and it is increasing once again, it is getting harder for the farm to be making enough money to pay for the fuel I need to run the tractors to tend the farm.   I&#8217;m growing enough crops to feed my own livestock, assuming that the weather cooperates I won&#8217;t have to buy too much winter feed. I&#8217;m thinking about putting in a windmill and some solar panels to try to generate some of my own [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the cost of fuel increasing, and it is increasing once again, it is getting harder for the farm to be making enough money to pay for the fuel I need to run the tractors to tend the farm.   I&#8217;m growing enough crops to feed my own livestock, assuming that the weather cooperates I won&#8217;t have to buy too much winter feed.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m thinking about putting in a windmill and some solar panels to try to generate some of my own energy to cut down on electricity costs.  It&#8217;s hard to find ways to conserve energy when you are running a farm!  I&#8217;ve been reading articles on the Internet about how different plants like algae can be used to create biofuel instead of using corn (which I think is a great idea) and how many areas of the country are looking into wind farms and solar farms, too.  I think that all of these areas are good investments into the energy futures of the country.</p>
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		<title>Charity Comes From the Heart</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/09/29/charity-comes-from-the-heart/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/09/29/charity-comes-from-the-heart/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:11:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Computers/Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electronics/Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Finance/Monies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends and/or family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society/Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=215</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My sister&#8217;s husband and his co-workers are always getting involved with some sort of community service or a fundraising activity. Like at Christmas, they all pitched in and adopted a local low income family to supply all kinds of goods to help them get through the Holiday Season easier and they say that you can always find a booklet or two or pamphlets in the break room for people to order things for some type of fundraising for their kids [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My sister&#8217;s husband and his co-workers are always getting involved with some sort of community service or a fundraising activity. Like at Christmas, they all pitched in and adopted a local low income family to supply all kinds of goods to help them get through the Holiday Season easier and they say that you can always find a booklet or two or pamphlets in the break room for people to order things for some type of fundraising for their kids from school, church, or sports.</p>
<p>I think that it is a very good positive attitude to have when there are so many people out there that need help. Their latest approach is in a lupus fundraising attempt, in which they have gone &#8220;high tech&#8221; and have enlisted the assistance of the World Wide Web through a company called Firstgiving, the link to their home page being Firstgiving.com. Firstgiving makes it possible for anybody to raise money on-line for any cause that they see fit to. You actually go on-line and make your own on-line fundraising page that can then be emailed to people to enlist them into giving an on-line donation. I find this whole idea fascinating and couldn&#8217;t wait to bring it up on our PC at home. And when I did bring up the site I really was impressed with what I saw, and I would encourage anybody to check it out also, it is a site that is full of good positive things, we need more of these, don&#8217;t you agree.</p>
<p>The reason for choosing this horrible disease by the name of Lupus, apparently is because one of the top management guys has a teen-age daughter inflicted with this health issue and he is very popular with all of the workers and they want to show him their respect by coordinating this fundraiser because of his daughter. I wish them all the luck in the world and give them nothing less than respect that they so highly deserve for their efforts.</p>
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		<title>Mending fences</title>
		<link>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/09/25/mending-fences-2/</link>
		<comments>http://toddbenatar.com/2011/09/25/mending-fences-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:41:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society/Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toddbenatar.com/?p=39</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today I spent all day mending fences &#8211; literally.  Last night a drunk driver ran off the road and through a large section of my fence.  Thankfully the police notified me that the fence was broken before I let the cattle out into that pasture.  I would have been really upset to have to try to herd the wayward cattle back after they had escaped!  So today I had to spend most of the day mending fences.  The worst part [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today I spent all day mending fences &#8211; literally.  Last night a drunk driver ran off the road and through a large section of my fence.  Thankfully the police notified me that the fence was broken before I let the cattle out into that pasture.  I would have been really upset to have to try to herd the wayward cattle back after they had escaped!  So today I had to spend most of the day mending fences.  The worst part about it was the memories it brought back about how my parents were killed by a drunk driver.  I think that all cars should be equipped with a breathalyzer box and the car refuses to start if the driver has had too much to drink!</p>
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