Today's question about what our ads say has made me ask another question:  ''what do our pictures say about us''?  i just closed out a profile of a woman who has a pic showing a profile closeup.  her hair is pulled back, she has a smile on her face that is the most wonderful, open, and genuine i have seen in a long time.  this pic made me instantly want to get to know her better.  i went to leave a comment on it, only to discover that i had already done so, a month ago. ( if you want to, but your memory will grow a few holes in it as time passes)(especially if some of your enjoyment of life has been chemically enhanced)  anyway, if we want others to take the time to visit us, play with us, meet us, and maybe fuck us into next week, for your own sake, make a profile picture that grabs everyone's attention.  if it's a head shot, try to SMILE!  i recall some pics showing frowns or worried or harried looks.  they do not make me want to find out any more about their owners.
i think this is perhaps more important for guys than girls.  i suspect that a great smile on your profile pic will encourage more girls to investigate further.  (girls - you can jump in and comment on this)  guys probably will click on the other pics of women, looking to see if the funbags are well-developed. 
wrapup?  let's try to eliminate our hangdog, melancholy, oh-woe-is-me, sad sack profile pics.  i bet it'll improve your hit #'s.  after all, the more clicks, the better the chance of positive outcomes.  in order to make a sale, we have to get the customer through the front door.  i submit to you that a profile pic with a genuine smile on your face will be effective.

the fuzzy teddy bear,

Bill

i am once again amazed at the breadth of knowledge of us sa'ers.  within 1 1/2 hours of my posting a poetry question, jessamine answered tit.  then mezmy came along and reinforced the answer a little while later.  thanks to you guys!  jess, it might be a while before i can get to you, but mezmy - now i plan to get to you asap: better make that ASAP! 
now, on to today's stuff:  the el cheapo teddy bear.  i have an aversion to paying retail for anything.  that's why the goodwill, salvation army, potter's house, and other thrift stores get so much of my business.  good stuff at inexpensive prices.  since i like to read, $25 - $30 for a hardcover book is way out of my price range.  at all these places, i can get $1 books.  that lets me read 2-3 books a week. 
who goes to pawn shops?  that would be me!  cd's for $1, must have about a zillion of em.  tools of all kinds, yep!  of course, you DO have to know something about what you are doing.  a snap-on wrench for $1 is intuitively obvious to the casual observer, but is $15 for a drywall t-square a good buy?  i thought so a few years ago, but that's retail at lowe's now.  it's kind of like going down to the frog pond looking for prince charming:  you have to kiss a lot of toads before you find him. 
where else?  well, how about the used bread store?  today i bought 2 loaves of roman meal 100% whole wheat bread for $1.  in the past i have found pecan spins for $.20 for a package of 6, and yesterday 6-packs of english muffins were 4 for $1. 
anywhere else?  there's sam's club (bj's or costco for some of you), sav-a-lot grocery stores, aldi's grocery stores, and consignment shops.  just look around, opportunities to be frugal are all around us!

the frugal teddy bear,

Bill

Calling all sa'ers!  the fuzzy teddy bear needs help.  from high school days (about when the dinosaurs were being trapped in la brea's tar pits), i remember a poem about a union patrol coming across a house displaying a rebel flag.  the union officer wants the occupant, an old woman, to take it down.  she refuses, saying, ''shoot if you must these old gray hairs, but............''.
i cannot remember either the author, title, or the rest of that line.  i do not believe it is a first line,since i have searched both on and offline for first lines that matched.  who can help?  i know we have plenty smart folks here who know the answer. it's only a matter of getting the question before you.
as a reward, if you live within 2 hrs driving, i'll take you to lunch.  hugs and kisses,as appropriate,will also be offered.  further away, and you will have to make do with the figurative xoxoxoxo's symbolized byand.

the fuzzy teddy bear,

Bill

Hot damn!!  guess what came in the mail today?  an official census letter.  they wanted me to know that the real form would show up in about a week.  this probably is no surprise to all the rest of you, as you have one of these things in your hands already, or will soon.

the fuzzy teddy bear,

Bill

You know, having the best of intentions, and having purchased cloth bags in which to carry the groceries home, has no effect on the green effort unless one ACTUALLY takes the damn things back to the store when it's time to buy more groceries!  that is the situation in which the green teddy bear found himself tonight when he arrived at Quality Foods to do some resupply.  fortunately, the shopping cart full of $.59 bags was still in place, so i now have 7, yes 7 of these ever-so-handy bags.  they really ARE more better (sounds like muffie, doesn't it) :  more capacity, better handles, don't fall over and spill the contents. 
i'm sold on the idea.  now, if only i can remember to take them next time!  maybe if i preposition them in the car?  damn i hate those plastic bags!!!!!! 
ok, everybody, i encourage you to follow the teddy bear's green lead.  i will lead by example.  i will not try to push legislation to ban plastic, or to subsidize cloth.  i think the marketplace can deal with this well.  will you join me?  remember, i only bought them because of the price:  $.59.  bet you can find some inexpensively, too.  let me know if you have other ideas about going green inexpensively, eh?

the green fuzzy teddy bear,

Bill