text:
Spidi H1 Life Vest
Quick Look by Rick K. for webBikeWorld.com
Reviews Home
| Owner Comments (Below)
Summary: Lightweight vest is a "4-in-1"
deal with high visibility; reflectivity; a built-in back protector
and four pockets!
Easy to use, easy to wear, comfortable...and a great idea!
BackgroundWe've reviewed some interesting high-visibility
clothing items over the years. Some were specifically designed
for motorcycling, while others were not.
But we're always on the lookout for unique products that
might be useful to motorcyclists, no matter where they come
Here's a very interesting piece of reflective gear that actually
was designed specifically for motorcycling and it's a
real winner! And surely it fits into the "Why didn't
I think of that?" category too?
The Spidi H1 Life Vest starts out with a Spidi Warrior back
protector, but the twist is in the packaging. This back protector
is designed to be worn over a motorcycle jacket, rather
than under.
The packaging, if you will, is a high-visibility vest that
takes its cues from the (so-called) "Mil-Spec" orange
and yellow vests that have recently become popular with motorcyclists
made by Icon and others. The Spidi H1 Life Vest combines the
visibility and reflectivity of a motorcycle reflective vest
and adds protection and utility, in the form of four separate
The utility factor is important, and it may be the hook convinces
riders who might not normally wear a reflective vest to do so.
Spidi said that the H1 vest was developed with the 3M company
to help improve rider visibility and safety, and adding the
pockets definitely puts a new spin on things.
The Spidi H1 vest comes in one size and it doesn't weigh
very much at only 455 grams (1.0 pound). Put it on and it pretty
much disappears into the background from the rider's point of
view, but hopefully other drivers will indeed take notice.
The back side of the vest is dominated by the high-visibility
yellow/green fabric and four big reflective patches (seen as
the silver wedges in the photos).
The front side of the vest is comparatively bare, with only
the belt, chest straps and around-the-shoulder straps. Some
of the high-viz material peeks over the top of the shoulder,
along with a sliver of the 3M reflective material.
Front pockets, belt and belt loop.
The rear pockets slide back and forth on the belt to the position
of your choosing.
Rear-facing part of the Spidi back protector (L) and the side
facing the rider (R).
Spidi H1 Life Vest PocketsSo far, so good.
But here's where it gets interesting: the Spidi H1 vest
includes two small pockets in front and two larger pockets
in back. It gives the vest a quasi-military load-carrying
suspender look.
The front pockets are permanently attached to the chest
connector, which has a single zipper up the middle to secure
the vest across the rider's body. The left-hand front pocket
zips across the top, while the right-hand pocket opens along
the top and one side for wide-mouth access.
These pockets are handy for carrying little things like
a cell phone, ID card and maybe a wallet or change purse
for tolls. The zipper pulls are big enough to find even
when wearing gloves and the front pockets are right out
there in the open, very easy to access. They don't appear
to be waterproof however, so a Ziploc bag may be in order.
The two rear pockets mount to the waist belt, similar
to the way a cell phone holder slides over a street belt.
Each rear pocket has a flap that surrounds the belt, then
secures the pocket with Velcro and two snaps on the inside.
Since the belt slides through the pocket flaps, these pockets
can be moved around from front to rear as desired. When
riding solo, I find that it best to keep them in the rear
where they travel unnoticed.
The rear pockets offer relatively easy access if the
pocket is first pushed around to the front or side. The
front pockets on the H1 Life Vest are easy to access, although
difficult to see when wearing a helmet, but I think they're
more useful even than jacket pockets.
Although I usually try to minimize the amount of junk
I carry -- especially hard stuff that could poke me in the
ribs if I fall -- it's so easy to stuff things in these
pockets that I've found myself all of a sudden carrying
more gizmos than I really need.
wBW Video: Spidi
H1 Life Vest
Sizing and FitI had my doubts at first about
the one-size-fits-all approach to the H1 Life Vest, but
the model shown in the photo is a definite size XL and he's
wearing a thick Fieldsheer 3/4-length jacket that's currently
in the evaluation process, and the vest fits him with no
problems. In fact, there's still a bit more room in the
waist belt and chest adjusters, so the H1 vest will probably
fit up to an XXL size rider.
The belt has an easy-to-use plastic buckle up front,
covered by a small tube of what feels like neoprene, which
slides over the buckle to keep it from scratching the tank.
The loose end of the buckle fits in a belt loop or it can
also be tucked under the pocket.
Sounds good, right? Well, the Spidi H1 Life Vest
has one more trick up its sleeve: it includes a Spidi "Warrior"
back protector, which fits in a zippered pocket in the rear!
OK, so maybe it's not a
Forcefield Pro Sub 4 (review) level protection, but "it's
better than a sharp stick in the eye", as we say around
The back protector actually meets the Level 1 standard
and the pocket it slides into is mesh, so the waffle-like
surface of the protector sort of acts as a styling touch,
you could say.
I'm not sure what might happen if the rider does go sliding
down the road on the old backside; I'd have to assume the
asphalt will eat through the mesh in a matter of seconds
(or less), although Spidi says the mesh is up to the task
. But at least it should cushion the initial impact, and
any back protection is probably 100% better than none.
ConclusionI like multiple-use tools; I like
gear that's easy to use and stays out of my way until I
need it; and I like ingenuity and the Spidi H1 Life Vest
has it all.
If this is what it takes to get riders to combine good
visibility with utility and maybe even some back protection,
I couldn't think of a better way to do it.
I'd guess that Spidi and 3M had the same idea when they
developed the H1 Life Vest. Spidi has staked out a market
niche with their Spidi "Safety Lab" line of protective
gear, with cool items like their Airbag DPS 03 jacket. The
Spidi H1 Life Vest is definitely worth a look.
Product Review: Spidi H1 Life Vest
Note: For informational use only. All material and
photographs are Copyright © webWorld International, LLC - 2000-2013. All
rights reserved. See the webBikeWorld®
Site Info
page. NOTE: Product specifications, features and details may
change or differ from our descriptions. Always check before purchasing. Read
Terms and Conditions!
►Your Comments and Feedback
From "B.Z." (10/09): "I
just read the review and I wanted to ask a couple of
clarifying things.1) The rear/side pockets -
I am assuming from the way you describe them that they
are removable if desired?
Editor's Reply: Yes, this is demonstrated
in the video.2) The closure for the chest
under those front pockets, not exactly pictured, is
it such that the zipper between the 2 pockets is required
for an integral part of securing the whole unit, or
is it such that the zipper for the pockets is for the
pockets only?
Editor's Reply: The front chest zipper
is integral to the vest and it opens the front of the
vest, also demonstrated in the video.3)
The pocket for the back protector, is it sized for ONLY
that protector, or could it possibly be replaced with
an upgraded or other protector?
Editor's Reply: It's sized for the
Spidi Warrior, but it's possible that other back protectors
might fit; I'm not sure. We discussed the issue of standardizing
back protector sizes in other webBikeWorld articles.
Although probably not possible for every type of back
protector, we'd like to see motorcycle clothing manufacturers
develop a standard size/shape for one or more back protectors
and then make the pocket in all motorcycle jackets to
fit that standard.4) In regards to the front
pockets, how much flapping from wind do these seem to
experience or catch?
Editor's Reply: The front pockets
are not removable and they're tight to the harness.
I haven't noticed any problems with them when riding.
5) I think the military vests that you refer to
are marketed to the requirements for military personnel
for how much safety/reflective material they have to
have on them while on a motorcycle in uniform or on
base. I think there is a minimum required number of
square inches of these type of materials, and I wonder
how close this vest comes to these requirements.
Editor's Reply: The "Mil-Spec"
vests I'm referring to are the vests with that name
sold by Icon, Yoshimura and others. These are not true "Mil-Spec"
products; the companies use that terminology for marketing
purposes.Anyway, thanks as usual for your
diligent discoveries and reviews of some of the most
fantastic garments and equipment available to our motorcycling
habit, whether recreational or otherwise."


text: You know that button on the top that you press in and something in the back moves? What the f_ck is it for? It looks like it fits onto something(Im thinking a belt buckle because I've seen some geek with it and I guess thats how he got it on) Thanks in advance

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sentimental Graffiti 2
Matsuoka Chie's Ending Translations by hooi
Version: 1.0 | Updated: 10/29/00 | Search Guide | Bookmark Guide
Matsuoka Chie's Ending Translations Version 1.0
Chia-Hooi Lim(firstname.lastname@example.com)
Sega Dreamcast's Sentimental Graffiti 2 is released on July 27, 2000 by NEC
Interchannel. Matsuoka Chie-chan is one of 12 female characters in the
game. This file contains the ending translations of all three of her
I am not a professional translator, and I am doing these translations for
the fun of it. I first apologize for any mistakes that I make in the
translation. I hope you will enjoy them and please feel free to give me
your comments on them. The purpose of my translations is to give you the
most out of the endings without losing the feel of it. Of course, to get
the best out of the translations, you have to own the game itself. Please
feel free to send me your comments at email@example.com :D
Spoiler Alert: This document contains spoilers for the game Sentimental
Graffiti 2.
Oct.28, 2000: (Ver.1.0) - Translations complete for all Chie-chan's ending.
[] - Place
P - Player
C - Chie-chan
() - Thoughts
{} - Describe the situation.
-->[] - Notes to understand the translation
"Fufu" - This means that she is giggling.
P: (... Hmmm. The place where Matsuoka-san live...)
P: (Just as I thought. I have to ride the electric train...)
{I headed for where Matsuoka-san live.)
[Outside Matsuoka-san's Apartment]
P: (I wonder... if she is going to open the door.)
B: Ding, Dong--- -->[Ring Door Bell]
P: (There is no response...)
P: (There is nothing I can do. I better head home...)
C: Ah--
P: Eh...?
P: Matsuoka-san... You went out.
C: You came again...
P: Yes...
{We look at each other, but said nothing.}
{I thought about apologizing to her. That is the reason I came here. But--}
{I find it hard to breath. I cannot get myself to say it.}
P: ... I am going home. It is better that way--
C: ... Hey.
P: Eh...?
C: I want you to come with me-- Do you have time?
P: Yes... I got the time.
C: I see... Well, let's go?
[Graveyard] -->[Yes, yes, we know the reason]
P: Here is...
{The place we are at is very big and have a lot of tombstones sticking up.}
P: This tombstone is...?
C: This is tombstone of somebody I know who died in an accident...
C: He is the person I wrote the lovesong for. My very first lovesong--
But, he died in an accident.
P: (... Matsuoka-san's sad love... The person that is in the lyrics of that
song... )
P: (The love... that is lost in the middle of happiness...)
P: (... I cannot beat this...)
{Honestly, I probably not the only one who thought of it that way.}
C: After that, I lost energy to do any other things...
P: ... Because of that, Southern Black is---
-->[Southern Black is the music band that Chie-chan is in
when the accident happen. After she met you, she tries
to get the band members back together. There was one guy,
who refused at first, saying that Chie-chan has betrayed them.
You brought up a very good point to him, saying that the members
are getting back together, and that he is the one betraying them
now because he don't want to be in that band anymore. In the
Sentimental Graffiti 2 Drama CD, the situation is much tense,
when the band members were really angry with Chie-chan because
she wants to quit the band, especially when their dream is nearly
archived. The dream to be a real professional band.]
C: Yes...
{Silently, I look at the tombstone.}
{This is the person who she wrote the lovesong to. After the death of this
person, she could not find herself to sing any more--}
{To that extent, I look at the name of the person she loves.}
C: Do you understand the reason why I bring you here?
P: ... I understand. This grave lies the most important person to
P: So... I better give up on Matsuoka-san-- That's what you want to say,
P: ...Wrong?
C: What are you saying...
P: Eh...?
C: Why don't you realized it!? I...
C: I... am attracted to you!
P: Matsuoka-san...
C: When I wrote the new love song, I look into my heart, and then, I finally
realized--- I have fallen in love with you.
{It feels as though this is a dream. I could not believe, she would confess
her love to me--}
C: With you being by my side, with you encouraging me, you save me... It's as
though I getting my grip on my dream again...
C: With that, I... slowly become in love with you...
C: But...
P: Yes...?
C: I used to like this guy for the past two years...
C: When he died, I thought I will never fall in love with anybody again...
C: Even that... I slowly fall in love with you...
C: ... I cannot trust... my feeling anymore...
P: Matsuoka-san...
C: ... I cannot trust it anymore!!!
{Matsuoka-san's face looked stress obviously.}
C: ... At first... I thought it is just my imagination. When I am lonely and
sad, you kindly approached me and I will become happy...
P: ... Yes.
C: ... After that... I thought it is normal to love a friend...
C: ... When I am feeling uneasy, I want you to be by my side. When I am
happy, I want you to be happy with me... I really want to be together
with you.
C: ... Not as a friend... With friends, it is not that kind of love!! Loving
you just like the way I love him.
C: ... After I thought of it that way... I... became afraid...
{Matsuoka-san, look up to me with her eyes holding the tears.}
C: ... Hey, how did I start falling in love with a person...? Is it
because he is by my side...? ...Is it because he is by my
side and being nice to me...?
C: ... If that so, if you are gone... will I fall in love with another
C: ... Just like when I was with him...
{I don't know how to reply her. Her confusion and worries is painful.}
{I am happy to hear that she loves me. But... because of that, she is
in pain.}
P: (... It's because she loves me...)
P: ... It is because I am by your side, I promised that I will always be
by your side forever...
C: ... I cannot believe that... I cannot even believe myself.
P: S, sorry.
C: ... Don't apologize, it's not your fault... ... When you told me that
you love me... I was very happy.
P: ...T, thanks.
C: But, even though I love you now, I still haven't forgotten about him...
{When Matsuoka-san said that, she looked at the tombstone.}
P: ... I understand.
{That is of course. It is not easy to forgot somebody who can shock her
enough to make her stop singing.}
C: In addition to that... I do not have the confident to continue to love
you forever...
C: That is why, I want you to come here. I want to you to know my true
feelings... that's what I plan...
P: I know... it.
C: Yes. What you had said...
C: ... At a confusing condition like this... am I still qualified?
--> [qualified to be your girlfriend.]
{I am going to reply... Even that, I love you.}
C: Please reply later... I also... want to think more about it...
P: ... Yes, I will also think about it...
C: Whatever is your answer, I will not held a grudge against you--
P: Matsuoka-san...
C: -- See you.
{Even after she have left, I stayed here for a while.}
{What do I want--- I keep asking that to my heart.}
Ending Song by Matsuoka Chie - "Eternal"
P: ((sigh)... It's already morning--)
P: (Hmm...? Something is in the mailbox...)
{It is a white envelope with nothing written on it-- Inside it, is a ticket.}
{"Southern Black, Live Concert, July 30, Fukuoka Music Hall"}
-->[Fukuoka is Chie-chan's hometown.]
P: (July 30, that is today...!)
{There is no mention of the sender. I bet, it is her who deliver it
P: (If the concert is going to be at Fukuoka... I have to leave now--)
P: (Fukuoka, huh...)
P: (The concert place is Fukuoka Music Hall, huh--)
{I found the concert hall almost immediately.}
{I visit the dressing room, to say my greetings to her.}
[Dressing room]
[Animation: Chie-chan tieing her ribbon.]
C: Ah--!
C: You really... came...!?
P: Yes--- I came.
P: Matsuoka-san...?
C: Huh... It's weird. I do not intend to have this kind of face facing you...
P: You don't have to force yourself to smile. The feeling that you have
holding inside you is not that easy to break away from---
C: Idiot...!
C: If you said, I am going to cry---!
-->[Tears come out of her eyes.]
P: Matsuoka-san...
P: Matsuoka-san--
C: What...?
P: About what I said just now, I take it back.
C: Eh...?
P: I... preferred to see Matsuoka-san smile.
P: I really want to see Matsuoka-san smile. If possible, for a very long
{That is my answer.}
P: So... Can you smile?
C: Sure...!
P: Have you finished your song...?
C: --- Yes. I really glad you came.
P: Eh...?
C: Because... It is the song that I wrote for you to listen...
P: Matsuoka-san...
C: I... will sing for you.
P: Yes... Thanks, Matsuoka-san...
C: -- Will you promise me only one thing?
P: What...?
C: When I sing on the stage, look at me...
P: Of course. I promised you, Matsuoka-san...
C: Thank you...
{We continue to look at each other--}
{At the moment, the concert staff appear to inform her that the concert is
going to start soon.}
C: I have to go--
P: Yes... I also have take my leave.
{After I left the dressing room, I was directed to the audience seats--}
C: Then---
[Animation: Concert begin]
[End Animation]
C: After I met you, I slowly recovered what I have lost one by one--
C: Standing on stage singing. My Southern Black band members...
C: And also... replacing the most important person by my side.
-->[This three are the things that she recovered, just in case it is
confusing to you.]
C: ... Thank you. I really glad I meet you...
[Animation: Chie-chan hug you. At the window shot, she kiss you.]
P: Well, I better leave for Fukuoka...
P: It looks like I am going to make it to the live...
[Dressing Room]
P: Matsuoka-san...
[Animation: Matsuoka-san tied her ribbon]
C: I am surprised... You really came.
P: Yes....
C: Rehearsal is going to begin soon, so I cannot slowly talk with you...
C: I will expressed my feeling now on stage...
C: It's because of your encouragement, I finish this song.
C: ... After you listen to my new song, you will understand.
P: Yes... I will be looking forward to it.
P: Well, I better not bother you anymore, I will leave--
C: Yes... See you.
{So, the concert begins. Matsuoka-san looks radiant on the stage.}
{Song with great strength, captivated the audience.}
{As though the sun shines onto her, she looks radiance.}
{... To me, she looks dazzling.}
{Emcee introduced Matsuoka-san's new song, titled "Eternal...?"}
{It is not what I want to expecting.}
{The tempo of the song is slow, and feel as though the sadness will
continue, but that it will come a time when it will end...}
{That's what she sing.}
P: (Ah... I see..)
{She does not planned to be hurt forever...}
{I bet, a day will come when her pain will be released.}
P: (I will be rooting for you, Matsuoka-san.)
{It's because I am your friend...}
Ending Song - "Tatta hitotsu no omoide" (Just one memory)
P: Matsuoka-san...
[Animation: Matsuoka-san tied her ribbon]
C: I am surprised... I could not believe you would come...
P: Yes...
C: But, even you have came, I have to start rehearsal soon...
P: I see... Have you completed your new song?
C: Yes.. Today, on the stage, I will sing to everybody.
P: I see... I will be looking forward to it.
P: Ah... I should not be bothering you, I will take my leave.
C: Is that so...? I'm sorry.
P: See you--
{"Southern Black"'s concert has begun. She look radiance on the stage.
Her song with great strength captivated the audience.}
{As radiance as the sun she stood, I feel as though we are in a different
P: (...Just as I thought, it's great...)
{... That's a lonely reality.}
{Emcee introduced her new song. The title is "Eternal", the song she wants
everyone to hear.}
{The song of lost love. That is sad song.}
{This sadness will remain forever... That's what the song feel like.
P: (Ahhh.. I could not do anything for her...)
{I could do nothing.... to reduce the pain on her heart...}
{I look up to the girl on the stage,... she looks lonely.}
Ending Instrumental Song - "Tatta hitotsu no omoide" (Just one memory)
Copyright 2000 Chia-Hooi Lim. I used my time and efforts to create this
translations. So, please DO NOT use or post it for your website or
anywhere. If you got any questions or feedback, please send e-mail to
"Sentimental Graffiti 2" and "Matsuoka Chie" are trademarks of NEC
The latest version of this file will always be at:
There should be only TWO copies of this file available on the internet,
they should be at:
If they are at anywhere else, please drop me an e-mail at
View in:


text:
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Congressional investigators have learned that the Homeland Security Department was told on Aug. 29 that a levee had broken in New Orleans, it was reported.
Bush administration officials have said they were caught by surprise when they learned on Tuesday, Aug. 30, that a levee had broken -- but the New York Times reports a Federal Emergency Management Administration official who witnessed flooding from the broken levee telephone a report to FEMA headquarters in Washington during the evening of Monday, Aug. 29.
The official, Marty Bahamonde, heard of a major breach Monday morning and caught a ride on a Coast Guard helicopter to see the flooding firsthand. Bahamonde telephoned a report to FEMA headquarters, which notified Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff's chief of staff in an e-mail at 9:27 p.m. on Aug. 29 that conditions "are far more serious than media reports are currently reflecting."
Michael Brown, director of FEMA until he resigned under pressure on Sept. 12, told the Times he notified the White House of the news that night, but he refused to name the official he notified.
White House officials have confirmed to congressional investigators that the report of the levee break reached the White House at midnight, the Times said.


text:
Arie Raye Asche
Arie Raye Asche passed away in his mother's womb shortly before his birth on Thursday, Feb, 11, 2010 in Brookings, S.D.
For nine months, as Arie grew in his mother's womb, he entertained us by kicking his brother Ayden off the couch and he was comforted by his sister Avery's voice. Although his time with us was short he will be held deep in our hearts forever.
Survivors include his parents, Matthew and Erin Asche of Brookings, S.D.; sister, Avery; brother, Ayden; grandparents, Vern and Sharon Grams of Storden and Don and Cindy Asche of Hancock; uncle and aunt, Bryan and Kris Asche of Brookings, S.D.; uncle, Kelly Asche and special friend Christine Rooney of St. Paul.
We entrust Arie to our Lord Jesus and his great grandparents that have gone before him: Ray and Clara VerSteeg, Al and Minnie Grams, Truman and Ora Erickson and Hank and Dorothy Asche.
Memorial visitation for Arie Raye Asche will be held 6 pm Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 at the Mission Coffee House at First Lutheran Church, Brookings, S.D. Rude's Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Condolences may be sent to the family through www.rudesfuneralhome.com


text:
As police continue the search for Nishad Radhay's killers, his Athletics Central club is planning a memorial run/walk in honour of his memory this Sunday.
You are here
T&T group returning to set up clinic in Haiti
Co-ordinator of local missionary group Is There Not A Cause (ITNAC) Avonelle Hector-Joseph says a team from the organisation will be leaving for Haiti on February 10 to continue humanitarian work at Montrouis. She also said a film, Angel Wings, will be screened next Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake which devastated that Caribbean nation.
Hector-Joseph, team leader for the Haiti mission, said: "We don't have any timeline. We are just trying to see what we could do to help. We just bought a piece of land and we are going to set up a clinic. We are going back for Carnival to get additional lands and to fence the property there. We have some proposals for funding and in the meantime we will continue doing the mobile clinics."
Asked about the ongoing restoration by NGOs in Haiti, Hector-Joseph said it was still a formidable task. Hurricane Sandy did not help the situation and they did not get any meaningful aid. A lot of the focus shifted from Haiti. Cholera was still a possibility since they never really capped the cholera disaster and there was a problem with sanitation.
"There has been some improvement. But the magnitude of the damage and the position the country was in before are adverse factors in rebuilding and reconstruction. Even though a lot of was done, it still pales in comparison to what needs to be done."
ITNAC has being doing humanitarian work in the Haitian communities of St Marc, Timourette, Gonaives, Cazeau and Chambrun. They have distributed clothing to children in La Garenne, St Mark and started reforestation projects in Gonaives.
INTAC also established a hospital and a clinic.
Citizens wishing to offer assistance to the Haiti project can reach ITNAC at 490-0261, or e-mail them at [email protected].


text: My husband made me order my meds then told me to take a Shopping spree for some quilting stuff. I have really been depressed. I got enough material in three patterns to finish Dustin's quilt. I hit up their scrap sale and FQ's and got a Christmas Tree skirt I am going to make and stuff the poinsettas around the outside. It came with 2 free Christmas stocking too. I got fiber fill for the little animals I am making. My turtle is so cute. I got bags of all kinds of handle and strap, ribbons, lace and rick rack, etc for only 99 cents a bag. I got 4 or 5 of those. I found a medium sized hoop I need for cross-stitching, bought some quilting thread and just picked up some odd and ends I found and thought I needed. I only spent $64.00 I am proud of my newbies. I pay for what I get and I get good deals in stores and on here. Thanks ladies and gentlemen for all your understanding. I have no one here to talk to and I have tovent somewhere.


text:
Milton High School Yoga Club helping members get physically, mentally healthy
MILTON Milton High School has an after school club where students can let their inner light shine.
Inner light is a good thing because in this club the room lights are almost always turned off.
Instead, LED candles flicker. Electric fountains trickle water and soft, New Age music floats from the speakers of a small CD player in teacher Mari Sroda�s classroom.
It�s the Milton High School Yoga Club.
�No pain. No anxiety,� Sroda said softly to 11 students at the yoga club, which meets Thursdays after school.
The students, all girls during the club�s meeting this week, were lying flat on their backs on foam rubber yoga mats rolled out on the floor of Sroda�s classroom. On the wall above them, a neon dry-erase sign read �Yoga Club Tonight!�
Except for one student�s tie-dye shirt, the neon sign was the loudest statement in the room.
Sroda opened and closed a flexible plastic sphere and told the students to match each expansion with a deep breath in and each contraction with a long exhalation.
�Do you notice any thoughts in your head?� Sroda said. �I want you to notice them, and then allow them to just float away.�
For about a half-hour, Sroda ran students through a yoga routine that involved stretching, technical yoga poses and balance exercises.
The students laced their arms under crossed legs, practicing a �butterfly� pose. They spread their arms and legs in a sort of Greco-surfer stance pose known as �the warrior.� The students balanced on one foot and swayed their arms as though they were trees in the wind.
At the end, the students lay on their yoga mats, listening to a recording of ocean waves crashing. Sroda asked them to imagine lying on a beach with saltwater winds blowing in their hair and the sun beating on their faces.
Then she rang a small bell.
�Take a minute to notice how relaxed you feel,� Sroda said.
Sroda, who teaches at-risk students at the school, is a certified yoga instructor. She started offering the yoga club as a way for students to be active, fit and flexible�and to manage the psychological stress that can come with life as a high school student.
The yoga club now has about two dozen members, Sroda said. They include male and female students�some are student athletes. A few girls have brought along their boyfriends to get them to try something new.
The club is free and open to all students at Milton High School�even those who have no experience with yoga.
Club member Amelia Faist, a freshman at Milton High School, has a full plate of honors classes plus band, show choir and cheerleading. Faist calls herself an overachiever, and admits she puts a lot pressure on herself to get straight A�s.
Finals were last week, and Faist said it was a rollercoaster ride. She said yoga club helps her manage.
�While I�m here, I�m a lot less stressed. This helps a lot,� Faist said.
She said after yoga she�s energized enough to dive into homework. And, Faist said, she�s learned to use deep-breathing and relaxation strategies from yoga to stay calmer and more relaxed through the school day.
Since she started going to the yoga sessions, Faist said she has noticed she�s more alert and focused in class.
�It just carries into the next day and through the week,� Faist said.
Studies show that yoga results in increased blood flow and increased brain activity, Sroda said.
A handful of players on the Milton High School football team heard about yoga club and decided to try it . Sroda said she has held a few sessions for the players, including one after the regular club meeting this week. They approached her at the end of football season.
Sroda and assistant football coach Matt Lee, who does yoga with the players, said the players are using yoga as a part of off-season training to improve their flexibility, balance and strength.
Sophomore football player Dion Weberpal was one of three football players this week at the yoga session. He said it was his second or third time doing yoga. He likes how yoga exercise seems to counteract the physical stress of lifting weights.
�The big thing is it helps to loosen me up after lifting, but it also really helps relieve mental stress after school,� Weberpal said.
Earlier this month, 15 of Weberpal�s teammates were going to yoga club after school. Only three showed up this week. Weberpal said the other players seemed to have fallen off the yoga wagon, but he plans to stick with yoga.
�It�s cool,� he said.
Last updated: 8:13 am Monday, April 29, 2013


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Gathering keeps cowboy poetry, music alive
RAPID CITY -- Jim Thompson has been promoting genuine cowboy poetry and cowboy music for more than 15 years. That made the South Dakota radio legend the perfect host for The Black Hills Stock Show's Cowboy Gathering Friday.
Starting in 2011, Thompson teamed with Open Range Cowboy Cookin' owner Rod Hoffman of Belle Fourche and cowboy poets from around the West to provide entertainment for Stock Show visitors. This year, with the help of Great Western Bank, those visitors were treated to real cowboy chili, peach cobbler and a taste of some genuine cowboy poetry from Yvonnee Hollenbeck, of Clearfield, and New Mexico's cowboy singer Randy Huston.
The event began around 1 p.m. when Hoffman started preparing his ground round in a genuine U.S. Calvary cauldron that was government issued to every Indian village around the turn of the century. His chuck wagon is the real deal, too, from the 1890s.
Thompson said he's always proud to promote an event that showcases the nearly-lost art of cowboy cooking, poetry and song.
"The music and poetry is a tremendous reflection of the lives these Stock Show guests lead," Thompson said.


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Additional Efforts Could Increase Municipal Recycling
GAO-07-37: Published: Dec 29, 2006. Publicly Released: Jan 29, 2007.
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Although recycling can generate environmental and economic benefits, the national recycling rate has increased only slightly since 2000, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While local governments have the primary role in operating recycling programs, EPA and the Department of Commerce (Commerce) have some legal responsibilities for encouraging recycling. GAO was asked to (1) identify key practices cities are using to increase recycling, (2) describe what EPA and Commerce are doing to encourage recycling, and (3) identify federal policy options that could help increase recycling. GAO interviewed recycling coordinators in 11 large cities about key practices and 13 additional recycling stakeholders about policy options. GAO selected both groups based on geographic representation and recycling expertise, among other factors.
Recycling coordinators with whom we spoke in selected cities across the country identified several key practices they are using to increase recycling in their cities. The three practices they cited most frequently were (1) making recycling convenient and easy for their residents, (2) offering financial incentives for recycling, such as allowing residents who produce less waste through recycling to use smaller garbage cans and pay lower fees, and (3) conducting public education and outreach. In addition, both recycling coordinators and the recycling literature identified other ways to increase recycling, such as targeting a wide range of materials for recycling and extending recycling programs to the commercial sector. As a part of its Resource Conservation Challenge strategy, EPA operates several national and regional programs that are designed to increase recycling and help EPA achieve its national municipal solid waste recycling goal of 35 percent by 2008. One of EPA's principal national recycling programs, WasteWise, creates voluntary partnerships with groups, such as universities, states, and businesses, to help them increase their recycling. EPA also provides competitive grants to support projects designed to increase recycling. The impact of EPA's programs is unknown, however, because the programs lack performance measures and comprehensive data on program performance. Although Commerce is required under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to stimulate the development of markets for recycled materials, the agency is not currently taking any actions to do so in the United States. For example, Commerce is not identifying the location of markets for recycled materials, identifying economic and technical barriers to recycling, or encouraging the development of new uses for recycled materials in the United States. However, agency officials told GAO that Commerce supports increased international trade in recycled and recyclable materials as part of its general trade promotion responsibilities. The recycling stakeholders we interviewed identified various federal policy options that they believe could help municipalities increase their recycling rates. The three federal policy options cited most frequently were to (1) establish a nationwide campaign to educate the public about recycling, (2) enact a national "bottle bill" in which beverage containers may be returned for money, and (3) require manufacturers to establish systems that consumers can use to recycle their products. Other identified policy options included facilitating the sharing of recycling best practices among municipalities, expanding EPA research on the economic and environmental benefits of recycling, and providing additional grant money for recycling projects.
Recommendations for Executive Action
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: EPA has established a performance measure to evaluate the impact of its recycling programs--pounds of municipal solid waste reduced, reused or recycled. The measure will be reported under the Government Performance and Results Act at least through fiscal year 2011. In fiscal year 2011, EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recycling shifted its approach from waste management to sustainable materials management. Recycling is only one component of this new approach and as such there is no performance measure dedicated to recycling alone. However, EPA has developed a new performance measure-tons of materials and products offsetting use of virgin resources through sustainable material management. Results from EPA's sustainable material management strategies will feed into this new performance measure and will include results from recycling efforts.
Recommendation: The Administrator, EPA, should establish performance measures and gather comprehensive performance data to evaluate the impact of EPA's recycling programs to ensure that the agency's available resources are utilized in the most effective and efficient manner.
Agency Affected: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Closed - Not Implemented
Comments: The Commerce Department has not developed and implemented a strategy to stimulate the development of markets for recycled materials in the United States.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Commerce should develop and implement a strategy to stimulate the development of markets for recycled materials in the United States to fully meet its responsibilities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act subtitle E.
Agency Affected: Department of Commerce
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EA and Samsung bringing Dead Space to Android this fall
When will Electronic Arts take Android seriously? The developer already has several games available on the Android Market, but most have been disappointing and received more 1-star reviews than 5-star reviews. Hopefully things get turned around this fall when the classic survival horror game Dead Space is ported to Android.
No press releases ... Read More »


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looking for FREE ) owner manual source. looking for manufacturer & any information regarding this machine. found at estate sale - asking price 75$. bought for 10$. either belt of shaft issue. took to local machine guru. new belt, completely cleaned, lubed & gneral serviceing. i worked on my truck for years, never my sewing machines except gen'l clean/lube. anyway total now is 95 + 10 into it. started looking for feed dog/darning foot cover. then got absorbed in finding anything at all about this machine. did some more interior cleaning. the belt disentegrated w black rubber dust all inside belt area including the stitch thingy for the discs. thought that might become an issue later, so cleaned as much of the black rubber dust from all around moving parts as could.
i have found info about sources for wards machines up thru national it's subsequent names etc and on to the erra of wards machines produced in japan by "Happy" sewing machine manufacturing. seems they made for brother, sears, wards & more?
anyway, this is my first post to this forum even tho i have read every page here and looked at every picture - some dozens of times. love this forum! thanks if you can lead me to any more search wordings, etc. have done the usual searches by ser #, model #. thanks in advance.


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Compensation talks will begin soon
CHICAGO — The Cubs and Red Sox have not begun their compensation discussions regarding the departure of Theo Epstein, who has agreed to a 5-year, $18.5 million deal with the Cubs, according to a team source.
For the deal to be final, the Red Sox will be given compensation in the form of a player or two.
While it's been suggested here that the Red Sox be tough in holding out for a top player, the chances of extracting shortstop Starlin Castro or righty Matt Garza appear slim. The Cubs don't exactly have a plethora of big prospects either, but they do have a few who might be of interest.
Their top prospect is Brett Jackson, a speedy lefthanded hitting center fielder who was a 20-20 guy in their system this year and not far from the big leagues. Matt Szczur, an A-ball outfielder and righthanded hitter, is also highly regarded. Third baseman Josh Vitters, a former top pick, hasn't panned out, but is now playing some outfield in the Arizona Fall League. The Cubs' top pitching prospect is righty Trey McNutt. Other pitchers they might part with are Jon Jackson or Alberto Cabrera.
The Red Sox like utilityman Jeff Baker, but that would not appear to be enough for Epstein.
The assistant GMs of both teams — Ben Cherington and Randy Bush — will do the bulk of the negotiating for the players while Larry Lucchino and Tom Ricketts will sign off on whatever the deal may be.
The Sox would love for the Cubs to take John Lackey, but that is also a long shot.


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Cox: Beachy best option on short notice
Cox: Beachy best option on short notice
Obviously, Atlanta could have opted to ask Kenshin Kawakami to make his second emergency start of the month. His first one proved disastrous when he started in place of Derek Lowe on Sept. 3 and allowed the Marlins five earned runs in three innings.
"Kawakami hasn't pitched in a long time," Cox said. "This kid [Beachy] is better prepared than he would be going out there right now."
Considering that Beachy also hadn't started since completing six scoreless innings for Triple-A on Sept. 3, Cox seemed to be characteristically protecting Kawakami.
But this seems to provide further reason to wonder if Kawakami will still factor into the Braves' plans for the 2011 season -- the final year of his three-year, $23 million contract.
Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor and Jurrjens are projected to once again fill the rotation next year. Even if Atlanta trades one of these pitchers, it could choose to fill the vacant spot with Beachy instead of Kawakami.


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by Louis Navellier | June 6, 2013 1:57 pm
A favorite activity of many investors is watching China. The country has been the leading driver of global growth for many years now, and each economic release from the country is watched closely by investors. And for good reason — signs of renewed growth can drive markets higher while any signs of reduced economic activity can cause prices to head lower.
[1]Despite a blip of recent weakness — recent PMI reports show that both the services and manufacturing sectors have been slowing — China is still expected to be one of the world's fastest-growing economies. But the upward trajectory may be running out of momentum. This volatile situation creates some problems for investors in the largest emerging market.
When I put the 40 largest U.S.-listed stocks into Portfolio Grader[2], some clear trends become visible. The total portfolio earns just a mediocre "C" grade, as corporations in the nation are seeing slower earnings momentum and cash flow generation. Let's look at some individual names through the prism of this powerful screening tool.
It is clear from the ranking of materials and energy companies that demand has been slowing. PetroChina (PTR[3]), the largest U.S.-listed Chinese company, was downgraded to a "strong sell" in the past week as analysts downgrade the stock and slash estimates. Aluminum Corporation of China (ACH[4]) is another economically sensitive stock that is not doing well in the current Chinese economy. That stock is currently rated "sell" by Portfolio Grader.
China Life Insurance (LFC[5]) is the largest financial services company listed in the United States. This issue had been one of the great growth stories as investors embraced the idea of billions of citizens buying life insurance and annuity products. In recent months, however, it has become clear that the growth is slowing — the Chinese middle class of consumers is not being created as quickly as many had hoped. The stock was downgraded by Portfolio Grader to a "D" rating back in February as fundamentals weakened, and it remains a "sell."
China Telecom (CHA[6]) is the fourth-largest U.S.-listed company, and it's not seeing strong results in the current economic environment either. Profits fell last year by more than 10% and analysts are not expecting too much of an improvement this year. The stock has been ranked "D" by Portfolio Grader for most of the past year and remains a "sell."
Of the five largest Chinese stocks that are listed in the U.S., four of them receive a rating of "sell" or "strong sell." Only China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP[7]) has fundamentals that do not merit a sell rating. The shares have been rated "C," or "hold," by the stock-grading service for some time now as earnings growth has been mediocre at best. Better than the other four, but still nothing to write home about.
While many pundits will try to guess the direction of China's economy, it's clear from the fundamentals of the largest Chinese companies that the economy is struggling to regain momentum.
Louis Navellier is the editor of Blue Chip Growth[8].
Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/06/chinas-big-run-is-done/
Short URL: http://invstplc.com/1nvRDbk
Copyright ©2017 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.


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Aker Solutions Q4 Net Profit Surges 20%
Aker Solutions ASA (OTC: AKKVF) reported a 20% surge in its fourth quarter net profit.
Aker Solutions' quarterly net profit rose to NOK675 million, from a profit of NOK561 million, in the year-ago quarter. However, analysts were expecting a net profit of NOK339.8 million. Aker Solutions' revenue surged to NOK11.6 billion, from NOK9.79 billion, versus analysts' estimates of NOK9.08 billion.
Aker Solutions' EBITDA rose to NOK1.05 billion, from NOK808 million, versus analysts' expectations of NOK778 million.
Aker Solutions proposed to pay a dividend of NOK3.90 for 2011.
Aker Solutions shares closed at $13.86 yesterday.
Posted-In: EarningsEarnings News Dividends
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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What little hope the Marlins had left for the sake of their franchise was crushed by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig Thursday, when he indicated he would not block the trade that would basically decimate their whole team. Selig said that since there was really no precedent for such a thing, there was nothing for him to do. Owners will be owners, amirite?
No need to get down on Selig, though. Jeffrey Loria remains Miami's Public Enemy No. 1. If Selig started dabbling in the art of arbitrarily blocking trades, well, Supreme Leader David Stern has showed us what kind of shit storm that can lead to. Better for Selig to contain the shit storm to Miami, and better to leave it squarely on Loria's shoulders. So theoretically, he could've stopped it, but better that he didn't. There is an alternative, however, and we'll get to that once we get to Selig's reasons for reviewing the trade, via the New York Times:
"I want to think about all of it, and I want to review everything," Selig said. "I want to be my usual painstaking, cautious, slow, conservative self in analyzing it. There's a lot of variables here."
…and why he subsequently let it go through:
Despite the upheaval, Selig gave no indication that he had any plans to block the trade, saying there was no such precedent. He also made an effort to defend the deal. Selig said he talked to two independent baseball people who thought the Marlins did "very well" with the prospects they received from the Blue Jays.
"Clubs have to make their own decisions, and that's not up to the commissioner," Selig said.
"I am aware of the anger, I am," Selig said. "The questions are fair about the Marlins fans. I want you to know that. It's a subject that I'm extremely sensitive about."
OK, so that part about the Marlins doing "very well", yeah, that's pretty much bullshit. Predicting how prospects will turn out is about as easy as running a baseball team is for Jeffrey Loria, and we all know how that goes. The Marlins got skindicked. But it's not the skindicking that should perturb MLB fandom — that's not unprecedented. It's a matter of the owner's particular motives, and the fact that he's holding his fanbase and city financially hostage.
So what can Bud do? Take fucking care of Loria. Fine him. Suspend him. Cut the head off his prize horse and put it in his bed, I don't care. But you can't let owners run around, hijacking their franchises and their fans. Vetoing the trade wouldn't have sent the right message, I agree. So it's time to come down on Loria and figure out the Marlins.
[New York Times, Getty Images]


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Dig In: Winter One-Pot Meals Cooking Class
Teachers: Kath Gallant, owner of Blue Moon Evolution and Tracey Miller, health coach
Venue: Blue Moon Evolution, 8 Clifford Street, Exeter, NH 03833 @ Dig In's headquarters on the 2nd floor
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015
Time: 7-9pm
Fee: $50 per person
Are you tired of stressing about what to feed your family dinner? Need some ideas for simple, but flavorful meals? Don't stress over your meals, create menu plans with whole food ingredients that your family will love.
Meal times are more than just an opportunity to fuel up. It's a bit of slow time in a really fast world. It's a time to connect with your family, and to enjoy home cooked food. Join us for an evening to renew and refresh your family dinner!
Learn and taste some simple one-pot meal recipes prepared on top of the stove and in the oven; uncomplicated formulas for delicious soups, basic cooking techniques; cost savers and some menu planning strategies to save you time and alleviate stress. Each participant will receive a packet of one-pot meal recipes, last minute dinner ideas, and the health tips.
Kath Gallant will demonstrate some of her favorite one-skillet meals and baking techniques and Tracey Miller will give show you some simple meals with five ingredients or less that the whole family will love.
For more information: https://www.diginrealfood.com/winter-one-pot-meals-cooking-class/


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Ten Spoon's story ~
Saving habitat and enjoying good wine go together in Missoula, Montana—proof you do both is almost required to get a drivers license. So naturally, when Connie Poten and Andy Sponseller, a founder of Save Open Space (now part of Five Valleys Land Trust), got together in 1996, they found themselves in a new career—throwing rocks into a pickup to clear a pasture Connie bought to preserve from development, a mile south of the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area.
Preparing the pasture, a 1,000-foot deep glacial outwash made of cobble rocks, for a vineyard soon called for high school soccer teams, a visiting doctor from New Zealand, young lads earning money for their first cars, strong Russian emigrés and numerous friends who happened by. And finally, a tractor and a big yellow rock picker.
The Geology of it all…
We were excavating the exposed top of the remains of Glacial Lake Missoula, part of the ice expansion 15,000 years ago. Geologists believe Lake Missoula formed at least 41 times, and each time it left behind a deep layer of colorful argillite cobble in the Rattlesnake Valley. These rocks, and the pure water flowing out of the Rattlesnake Mountains are the source of the clear, vibrant flavors that grace our wines.
The Grape Growing & Wine Making Part…
Andy studied with U. C. Davis' oenological department. He visited wineries and vineyards in Minnesota and Wisconsin and stayed with the venerable Elmer Swenson, father of North Country grapes, just before he died. We planted an acre a year with French-American hybrids: Maréchal Foch, Frontenac, Leon Millot, Swenson Red and St. Croix (reds), and St. Pepin, a white grape.
Even though we have a short growing season at 3,450 feet elevation, we have the Far North's advantage of long hours of sunlight. That gives us well over 2,000 degree days, the amount necessary for the commercial production of grapes. (Degree days are the sum of average temperatures each day over 50 degrees Fahrenheit.)
In 2012 we planted another vineyard, with a space between the two for a wildlife corridor. Fertile soil, pure water and an evening wash of air from the Rattlesnake Mountains help nurture our 7 acres of vines.
Early History of the Place
The older tradition of this valley is that of the Salish Indians. To avoid Hellgate Canyon where Blackfeet waited in ambush, Salish buffalo hunters crossed this land for generations, camping at a nearby spring on their way to and from the buffalo grounds east of the mountains. They named the creek 'Rattlesnake,' not because any rattlesnakes live here—they don't—but because the charging spring runoff tumbles the rocks, sounding like the snake's rattle.
In 1812, David Thompson, British surveyor and one of the greatest practical land geographers of all time, mapped the region from the top of Mt. Jumbo, a commanding view because the Salish burned Mt. Jumbo every ten years to clear off brush and trees to prevent enemy cover. On the valley's western flank lies an unmarked Salish burial ground. The ancestors of the Salish, who live to the north on the Flathead Indian Reservation, remain here, watching over their valley.


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ProgenoX enlarging robotics portfolio with ARGO UGV
ESA BIC Bavaria alumnus progenoX is supporting the rollout and sale of ARGO J5, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designed for harsh environments. ARGO J5 serves as a support tool, especially for public authorities and organizations that work in public safety (police, fire brigade, emergency services). In these cases, progenoX cooperates closely with space companies in order to ensure the transition between environments with and without GPS coverage (tunnels, garages, etc). For further use cases, please see
ProgenoX is using Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) systems and services to provide firefighters with technical and logistical support, thus they are ensuring safer firefighting operations. ProgenoX's robot systems are designed and built for operation under challenging firefighting conditions. Multi-wheel drive and tracks provide for high mobility and can overcome most obstacles on difficult terrain, while an array of sensors and cameras enable firefighters to perform reconnaissance and exploration. Finally, the systems' high-speed capabilities, tremendous lifting and handling capacity, and wide range of special tools provide firefighters with essential technical and logistical support.
ESA Business Incubation Centre Bavaria
ProgenoX was incubated at the ESA BIC Bavaria from February 2012 to July 2013. The ESA BIC Bavaria seeks entrepreneurs using space technologies in a non-space environment. That doesn't mean rocket science, but applies to multiple application fields such as navigation and positioning, communications techniques, Earth observation, materials, processes, signals or robotics.
ESA's Business Incubation Centre Bavaria was launched in 2009 and is since managed by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO). ESA BIC Bavaria and its renowned partners - DLR, Airbus Defense and Space, Fraunhofer IIS and Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Berchtesgadener Land - provide startups with financial and technical support at four branch offices: Oberpfaffenhofen, Ottobrunn, Nürnberg and Berchtesgadener Land.
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Alfonzo Tucker
Hello World, the summer months are approaching and the weather is starting to offer higher temperatures. I hope that gives you a reason to start a physical training program. Trust me, physical exertion will help you overcome many of the stressful situations that cause issues in your life. Personally, I need to keep up my training routines, they truly maintain my sanity.
Anyway, the title and topic of this article is "Hope". If I may, allow me to share with you all the experiences I gained from my last speaking engagement, which took place Friday April 23. I was fortunate to meet with three different groups of youth offenders who are currently incarcerated within the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center. Thanks to a woman by the name of Amy Cheney (she heads the "Write to Read Juvenile Hall literacy Program", twenty of my autobiographies now belong to the Alameda County Juvenile Library. I have been blessed to speak at many detention centers and youth programs throughout the State of California, trust me they are all unique. What brings a special concern and the desire to share this event with you is this, I was witness to a complete lack of hope within the energy that exuded from these young men sixty-seven total, the majority of which were Black/African American). Since the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant on New Years of 2009 by a B.A.R.T police officer, many of the Bay Area youth feel as if their lives are not safe within any realm of society; be that dominion, school, the streets or common public areas, such as Transit Stations or neighborhood shopping centers.
The young men that I spoke with offered me no positive emotion in regards to achievement and looking forward to an optimistic future. My lecture focused on finding a reason to live and discovering outlets, which help combat the stress of life. One question offered to me was typical as I am asked this often, "What kept you motivated and off the streets when you were younger?"
My reply is always the same, my desire to not be responsible for the demise of another human being (by robbing someone or selling them drugs), in spite of my hunger and materialistic wants. Yet, that answer does not always suffice, so I often elaborate and explain situations of a heinous nature that I think they can relate too. Then I explain to them humility in such a way that they can understand also.
Yet after all that conversation and emotional giving on my part, I saw in the eyes of those young detainees hopelessness. It hurts to see potential in the form of young life and those young men not believe that they can still accomplish their dreams, in spite of the obstacles that detour their current path. So how I plan to help these young men and the future men and women I strive to inspire is simply this. I have one year left of graduate school and after I have completed my studies as a clinical psychologist with and emphasis in counseling, I will offer hope via wisdom and education. Expectantly then, I'll better be able to inspire and offer those who read my words and listen to me speak, HOPE!


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Enter at your own risk. That's the message from Capitola police after several shark sighting.
Police posted warning signs along the Capitola coastline late Wednesday morning, warning swimmers to be on alert.
A pair of surfers reported a possible great white just beyond the kelp line Wednesday. They estimated the sharks were around 6-8 feet.
On Tuesday, some fishermen told cops they also saw what they thought were great whites swimming around their boat in the same area. One of the sharks was about 20-feet long, according to the fishermen, the other was a bit smaller.
The beach is still open but most everyone is staying on land. The warning signs will stay up until further notice.
The owner of a Capitola bait shop told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that shark sightings were also reported on Friday or Saturday.
Shark sightings are not uncommon in that area, according to great white expert Sean Van Sommeran. But normally, a smaller great white would not travel with a larger one because of fears the smaller one would become prey, according to Sommeran.
It's basking shark season, Van Sommeran said, and basking sharks are often mistaken for great whites.
The reports are still unconfirmed and the beach will stay open for now. Lifeguards have been warned to keep an eye out upon news of the shark sightings.
In August 2009, officials closed access to beaches at Capitola and New Brighton after visitors spotted a shark eating a porpoise off the coast. Then, in October, Van Sommeran spotted a great white off Manresa Beach in the Capitola area. He estimated the shark to be about 16-feet long.
A Capitola man captured video of a great white off Seacliff Pier the day before Van Sommeran's sighting. Van Sommeran said at that time that he didn't think the two sightings were of the same great white.


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Time is running out for the White House and congressional leaders to reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, The Post's Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane report :
...[W]ith written proposals from both sides now on the table, senior aides say the elements of a deal are coming into focus:
• Fresh tax revenue, generated in part by raising rates on the wealthy, as Obama wants, and in part by limiting their deductions, as Republicans prefer. The top rate could be held below 39.6 percent, or the definition of the wealthy could be shifted to include those making more than $375,000 or $500,000, rather than $250,000 as Obama has proposed.
Obama wants $1.6 trillion over the next decade, but many Democrats privately say they would settle for $1.2 trillion. Boehner has offered $800 billion, and Republicans are eager to keep the final tax figure under $1 trillion, noting that a measure to raise taxes on the rich passed by the Senate this summer would generate only $831 billion.
• Savings from health and retirement programs, a concession from Democrats necessary to sell tax hikes to GOP lawmakers. Obama has proposed $350 billion in health savings over the next decade. Boehner has suggested $600 billion from health programs, and an additional $200 billion from using a stingier measure of inflation, reducing cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients.
• Additional savings sufficient to postpone roughly $100 billion in across-the-board agency cuts set to hit in 2013, known as the sequester, and to match a debt-limit increase. The sequester, perhaps paired with an automatic tax hike, could then serve as a new deadline, probably sometime next fall, for wringing additional revenue from the tax code and more savings from entitlement programs.
Wonkblog's Ezra Klein looks at where things actually stand in the cliff talks:
For the White House, the key to any deal is tax revenues — delivered at least partly through higher rates — and a long-term solution to the debt ceiling. Additionally, any big deal will have to include some stimulus, including an extension of unemployment insurance and either an extension of — or more likely, a replacement for — the payroll tax cut.
For Republicans, the key is some give on tax rates, as well as a few high-profile entitlement cuts, namely an increase in the Medicare eligibility age and chained-CPI.
It's by no means certain the two sides will come to a "grand bargain" before the end of the month. But if they do, the bargain will likely include either those policies outright, or instructions for Congress to work on those policies over the coming months.
But any deal will include much more than those top-line items. It will also include deficit-reduction and tax reform targets for Congress to hit in the coming months. That gets to a deeper problem in the negotiations: When you drill down to the granular policy level, Republicans aren't sure what Republicans want. Democrats complain that the Republican offers are bare of policy detail. They lay down targets — say, $600 billion in health savings — but say nothing about how those targets will be achieved.
Republican staffers admit that they need more time to come up with specific cuts — and, for that matter, specific tax reforms. But they argue they'll have that time. Any deal is expected to include a two-stage process: Targets for spending cuts and tax revenues now, combined with consequences that force Congress to hit those targets later.
If the White House and lawmakers fail to reach an agreement to avoid the cliff, how will the financial markets react? The Associated Press reports:
WASHINGTON — Congress and the White House can significantly soften the initial impact of the "fiscal cliff" even if they fail to reach a compromise by Dec. 31. One thing they cannot control, however, is the financial markets' reaction, which possibly could be a panicky sell-off that triggers economic reversals worldwide.
The stock market's unpredictability is perhaps the biggest wild card in the political showdown over the fiscal cliff.
President Barack Obama's re-election gives him a strong negotiating hand, as Republicans are increasingly acknowledging. And some Democrats are willing to let the Dec. 31 deadline pass, because a rash of broad-based tax hikes would pressure Republicans to give more ground in renewed deficit-reduction negotiations.
A chief fear for Obama's supporters, however, is that Wall Street would be so disgusted or dismayed that stocks would plummet before lawmakers could prove their newfound willingness to mitigate the fiscal cliff's harshest measures, including deep, across-the-board spending cuts that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says could significantly damage the nation's military posture. Some Republicans believe that fear will temper the president's insistence on a hard bargain this month. Obama and GOP House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday held their first meeting between just the two of them since the election, and spokesmen for both emphasized afterward their lines of communication remain open.
Sign up for The Showdown, a daily guide to Washington negotiations over the fiscal cliff.


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Here at Review Centre we work hard to make sure we are the best place on the internet for honest, unbiased consumer reviews - we are grateful for your help in keeping us that way!
Written on: 02/03/2008
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No Frills DIY is a great DIY shop. They are part of the Focus chain. A great store!!


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Csaba is my Agent in Hungary. Several boat plans are available in Magyar – the translation is a huge job because my plans are quire wordy.
There is an English page on his Hungarian Wooden Boat Website too.
This last weekend the group on the forum held their first wooden boat messabout.
This is Csaba's report.
Dear Michael,
Yesterday we had a wonderful day at Lake Velence with approximately 30 Hungarian boat builders and 10 boats.
As a first try of such meeting it was a definite success. Everybody was very interested to participate and show their boats.
We had 4 OZRs, 2 Eurekas, 1 GIS, 2 (home built) Optimists, and a Shetland fishing boat at the lake. Many future boat builders came to have a look at the boats – many got further enthused.
The weather was not ideal (bit chilly with showers) but the shore, water and the horizon with the clouds had such a contrast that it was almost surrealistic (see photos). We had light breeze ideal for most of us being beginner sailor.
I organised a nice lunch (goulash) made on open fire, boat beauty contest and an OZ Racer competition. Most of the builders brought their families; the atmosphere of the whole event was very friendly and relaxed.
A strong need of such events was expressed. Thank you for giving me the tool to create such a great community. I have very positive expectation about the future.
Feel free to share my short report and photos wherever you wish.
If you have any questions I am always at your service.


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« October 2009 |
| December 2009 »
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 05:13 PM | Permalink
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What's your theory of the Tiger Woods case? Your theory should explain all the data as simply as possible, i.e., without making extravagant assumptions.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 04:22 PM | Permalink
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Here is another case of scientists telling us what we already know, namely, that human beings, like other animals, are capable of both competition and cooperation. May I help? No two individuals have identical interests. Divergent interests make competition (and conflict) inevitable. Convergent interests make cooperation possible. Politics is the art of managing these forces for the good of the community.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 03:58 PM | Permalink
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We have finally to examine a fundamental superstition relating to the seat of domestic authority. In so far as the feudal principle, or the theocratic principle, or the autocratic principle, or the plutocratic principle, survives here and there, owing to the conservatism of the home, the father does manage to retain some semblance of authority. But patriarchy is on its last legs. There is little to it now but outward form and old court ritual. The father still gives his name to the family, sits at the head of the table, and—oh, yes, pays the bills! But there is more service than authority in the second and third of these prerogatives, since someone has to carve, and it is the making rather than the paying of bills that really counts. Of course, he can still tyrannize over the family by making himself so disagreeable that he has to be bought off; but in a family anybody can do that. It is not a power that attaches to the male parent as such. As father, he is still the titular monarch, and that is about all. If he were formally to abdicate, it would not alter the actual balance of domestic forces in the least.
Meanwhile, it is to be feared that he to some extent exploits the pathos of his fallen greatness, and wrings from the feelings of his wife, children, or sister-in-law various minor concessions affecting his comfort. Nothing can exceed the scrupulousness with which appearances are preserved in public. He still takes the curb when the family uses the sidewalk, and is the last to enter and the first to leave a public or private conveyance. But to one who knows life as it is, the irony and bathos of the modern age are summed up in two spectacles: Kaiser Wilhelm chopping wood at Amerongen, and the paterfamilias washing dishes in the pantry.
If the father has fallen from authority, who has superseded him? The mother? Not at all. The popular impression to that effect has no basis except the fact that the power of the mother has increased relatively to that of the father. But this is due to the fall of the father rather than to any notable rise of the mother. No, the new domestic polity is neither the patriarchy nor the matriarchy, but the pediarchy.
That the children should encroach upon, and eventually seize, the authority of the parents is not so strange as might at first appear. After all, it is only the domestic manifestation of the most characteristic social and political movement of modern times, the rise, namely, of the proletarian masses. Within the family the children constitute the majority, the unpropertied, the unskilled, and the unprivileged. They are intensely class-conscious, and have come to a clearer and clearer recognition of the conflict of interest that divides them from the owners and managers. Their methods have been similar to those employed in the industrial revolution—the strike, passive resistance, malingering, restriction of output, and, occasionally, direct action.
Within the family, as in the modern democracy, the control is by public opinion. It is government of the children, by the children, and for the children. But this juvenile sovereignty is exercised indirectly rather than directly. The officeholders are adults, whose power is proportional to their juvenile support. The real (though largely unseen and unacknowledged) principle of domestic politics is the struggle for prestige among the adults. Some employ the methods of decadent Rome, the panem et circenses; others, the arts of the military hero or of the popular orator. But all acknowledge the need of conciliating the juvenile masses.
The power of juvenile opinion is due, not merely to its mass, and to the boldness and unscrupulousness with which it is asserted, but to its reinforcement from outside. It is more than a domestic movement: it is an interdomestic movement. The opinion of the children is thus less provincial than that of domestic adults. It has, furthermore, a force which it derives from its more intimate contact with the main currents of history. The domestic adult is in a sort of backwash. He is looking toward the past, while the children are thinking the thoughts and speaking the language of tomorrow. They are in closer touch with reality, and cannot fail, however indulgent, to feel that their parents and resident aunt are antiquated. The children's end of the family is its budding, forward-looking end; the adults' end is, at best, its root. There is a profound law of life by which buds and roots grow in opposite directions.
The domestic conflict is in many of its notable features parallel to the industrial conflict; and they may be of common origin. It is natural that similar remedies should be proposed. The Taylor system and other efficiency systems have already broken down in both cases. Conservatives will propose to meet the domestic problem by higher allowances and shorter school hours, with perhaps time and a half for overtime and a bit of profit sharing. Liberals will propose boards of conciliation with child representation, attempts to link study and chores with the "creative" impulses, and experiments in divided management. Radicals and domestic revolutionists will regard all such halfway measures as utterly ineffectual, because they preserve the parental system in its essentials. They will aim to consummate the revolution as soon as possible by violence, and then to bring a new order into being through a dictatorship of a sectarian minority.
This new order would be an almost exact inversion of the parental order. Whereas, under the present system, the parents are supposed to control the home for the benefit of the children, providing them with the necessities of life, and giving them work and advice for their own good, under the new system, the children would control the home for the benefit of the parents and other adults, assuming full responsibility for their living, and employing their expert services only as might be required. However difficult it may be to put such a change into effect, there is, from the adults' point of view, much to be said for it.
(Ralph Barton Perry, "Domestic Superstitions," in Atlantic Essays, ed. Samuel N. Bogorad and Cary B. Graham [Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1958], 239-48, at 246-8 [italics in original; editorial footnotes omitted] [essay first published in 1921])
Note from KBJ: Perry is my philosophical great-grandfather. Let me explain. My teacher (dissertation director) was Joel Feinberg (1926-2004), whose teacher was Charles Leslie Stevenson (1908-1979), whose teacher was Ralph Barton Perry (1876-1957), whose teacher was Josiah Royce (1855-1916), whose teacher was George Sylvester Morris (1840-1889), whose teacher was Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg (1802-1872), whose teacher was Karl Leonhard Reinhold (1757-1823), whose teacher was Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), whose teacher was Martin Knutzen (1713-1751), whose teacher was Christian Wolff (1679-1754), whose teacher was Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716). I'm not making this up!
Note 2 from KBJ: See page 13 of this document for my name. Trace upward until you find Leibniz.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 10:22 AM | Permalink
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In regard to "The Jobless Gender Gap" by David Paul Kuhn, op-ed, Nov. 27:
The reality that unemployment is growing these days at a faster pace for men than women confirms that we are now living in a world defined by knowledge work and no longer by manual labor. In the knowledge society and economy, there is no "men's work" and "women's work" because the requirements and tasks of today are gender-neutral.
What we are now seeing is what Peter Drucker perceived decades ago when he coined the term "knowledge work" and wrote that the disappearance of sex roles in the workplace would profoundly affect our way of life.
This may seem simple and obvious to a good many people today. But does any of it occur to those who lobby for or against government stimulus proposals that prop up short-term salves and serve yesterday?
Lee H. Igel, Ph.D.
New York
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 08:53 AM | Permalink
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90125 (1983). Two hearts are better than one.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 08:18 AM | Permalink
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Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Monday, 30 November 2009 at 08:14 AM | Permalink
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I leave you this fine evening with a column by Christopher Booker.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 07:47 PM | Permalink
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Don't be surprised if it transpires that Tiger Woods was assaulted and battered by his wife. Why? Because women commit more domestic violence than men. See here. Key paragraph:
Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women. This finding surprised Whitaker and his colleagues, they admitted in their study report.
Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women. This finding surprised Whitaker and his colleagues, they admitted in their study report.
For feminists, who perpetuate the belief that men are bullies, these are inconvenient truths.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 06:48 PM | Permalink
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I feel sorry for the Packers, Vikings, and Bears. Yes, I'm a Lions fan. I have to be; I was born in Michigan. Matthew Stafford, who hails from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (by way of the University of Georgia), is going to lead the Lions to the promised land. I'm thinking 2012, but it could be as early as 2011. By the way, this is as good a place as any to tell the world that my colleague Lewis was right about Stafford being a high draft pick and an NFL quarterback. I was wrong.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 06:34 PM | Permalink
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Here is a recent post by Peg Kaplan, who is playing bridge in San Diego. Here is a recent post by Bill Vallicella. Here is a recent post by Ed Feser. Here is a recent post by Steve Burri. Here is the latest batch of posts by John Ray. You're welcome.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 05:36 PM | Permalink
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Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 05:04 PM | Permalink
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My friend and former student Carlos is a die-hard fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who used to dominate college football. While Carlos loves his team, he is far from insufferable, like fans of the Boston Rat Sox. (Steve Walsh, who comments frequently on this blog, is an exception.) Husker fans are among the most loyal and civil in all of college football. How can you root against such people? I'm delighted for Carlos—who will be attending the Big 12 Championship game Saturday in Arlington—and will do my best to root his (our?) team to victory over the hated Texas Longhorns. Sorry, Randy!
Addendum: Carlos happens to be a fan of the Boston Rat Sox. When we went to a Texas Rangers game against the Rat Sox a couple of years ago, Carlos wore a Rat Sox hat and bought a Rat Sox jersey. This shows that everyone is insane just a little.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 04:53 PM | Permalink
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Among the intuitions that shape ideology and make ideological differences impossible to bridge by reasoned argument are metaphysical presuppositions, such as free will versus determinism, natural equality versus natural inequality, man as ensouled versus man as big-brained monkey, and original sin versus the original goodness of Rousseau's "noble savage." These presuppositions influence a person's evaluation of severe punishments, welfare programs, high taxes, national security, and paternalistic government. For such an evaluation is likely to depend on whether one thinks a crime a willed evil or an accident of the genes or of upbringing, whether one thinks poverty a deserved state of irresponsible people or a failure of society, whether one thinks altruism a trustworthy motivator of public officials or a false pretense. Metaphysical disputes cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the disputants, and this is a clue to the existence of unbridgeable disagreements at the core of American law.
(Richard A. Posner, How Judges Think [Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2008], 98)
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 03:59 PM | Permalink
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Here's what bothers me the most about the global-warming scandal: Scientists have politicized their field, and thereby harmed it. The purpose of science is to describe the world. It is not to evaluate the world. If you want to evaluate things, you should not go into science. Go into law, religion, moralizing, or politics. I understand that scientists are also citizens, but these are distinct roles. As scientists, individuals are supposed to be value-free. "Just the facts, ma'am." As citizens, they are entitled to express their values (whatever they may be) and try to get them embodied in law. Scientists are revered, to the extent that they are, precisely because they are "out of the fray." They are disinterested (as opposed to interested) and detached (as opposed to engaged). Their aim is not to make policy but to make sure that policy is informed.
The scientists involved in the global-warming scandal have confused their roles. They have put their political values ahead of their scientific work. They have adopted an us-against-them mentality. They want so desperately to influence public policy that they have distorted and hidden data, played fast and loose with statistical methods, and made personal attacks on those of their fellow scientists who are not "on board" politically (or who are suspected of not being "on board"). To their discredit, they have acted like gang members or thugs rather than as disinterested pursuers and purveyors of truth.
It's sad, disgraceful, and, because of what is at stake (the integrity of science), distressing. It shows that many scientists are ideologues first and scientists second. They view science as a means to the end of changing the world. They care less about getting things right than about setting things right. Perhaps worst of all, they view science as a form of battle rather than as a collaborative, respectful activity that is designed to elicit the truth. I'm sorry to say that many philosophers are in the same boat: ideologues first and philosophers second. I find it increasingly difficult to read philosophical literature. Issue after issue of the periodicals to which I subscribe contains intemperate and unprofessional attacks on the Bush administration, for example, or on conservatives. Instead of trying to clarify the moral issues involved in torture, terrorism, or war, jabs are taken. A whole generation of philosophers has come of age thinking that philosophy is war by other means. They view their discipline as fighting the good fight, which, invariably, means the advancement of progressivism.
I can't stomach it. As I age, I'm drawn more and more to the philosophy published before 1970. Philosophers then were serious, adult, balanced, charitable, and committed to discovering the truth. They were respectful of those with whom they disagreed. They viewed their discipline as nonideological. It wasn't about changing the world to conform to some political vision; it was about clarifying concepts, identifying fallacies, resolving paradoxes, and reconciling disparate realms, such as science and religion. I hope one day that philosophers come to their senses. They are not lawyers; they are not preachers; they are not moralizers; they are not politicians; they are not scientists. Their analytical and critical skills are practically useful, but not in the way many philosophers today imagine them to be. The skills are designed to shed light, not generate heat.
Sad as it is to say (because I love science), science is going to suffer mightily as a result of this scandal. Mark my words. In the long run, it may be for the best that this occurs. People's reverence for scientists, which has been extraordinarily high, will decrease. Blind trust in what scientists say will end. Scientists will have to earn back the public's respect and trust by staying clear of politics and by making their work transparent to all. In short, scientists will have to learn, or relearn, how to be scientists.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 11:54 AM | Permalink
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Blame the Doritos! Unbelievable. Why is it so hard for people to understand that body weight is a function of three things: (1) metabolism, (2) caloric intake, and (3) caloric expenditure? There's little a person can do about his or her metabolism, which slows with age. The two things that can be controlled are caloric intake and caloric expenditure. If you take in more than you expend (via exercise), you gain weight. It's a law of nature, folks! You can't fight it! To lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than you expend. To stay at the same weight, you must take in exactly what you expend: no more and no less. Is there a connection between people's inability to live within their budgets and their inability to regulate their diets? Perhaps there has been a decrease in self-control during the past few decades, but why would that be? Oh, wait; it's the Doritos!
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 11:24 AM | Permalink
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Regarding the Nov. 12 letter from Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley ("U.S. Defends Freedom of Expression") defending the sponsorship by the U.S., together with Egypt, of a resolution in the U.N. Human Rights Council denouncing any "negative religious stereotyping" that constitutes "incitement to discrimination":
Mr. Crowley's letter ignores the dangers to free expression inherent in any such resolution. It is perfectly true, as Mr. Crowley observes, that the U.S. continues to oppose any resolution (and the U.N. has already adopted many of them) seeking to impose direct legal sanctions against what has been referred to as "defamation of religion." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken out unequivocally against such efforts and the Obama administration has already cast the first of what is likely to be many votes against such efforts.
The problem is that the resolution the U.S. supported can too easily be used to justify the very attempts at speech suppression that we otherwise opposed. The resolution is studiously ambiguous, a trait that sometimes serves the international community but disserves all in the area of free speech. Everything about the resolution is hazy. We cannot know what negative "religious stereotyping" will be construed as meaning. Would it include, as Stuart Taylor has asked, statements that "the world's most dangerous terrorists are Islamists?" Will it be read to include much of the recent discussions in the press about the religious fanaticism of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan? Nor can we know what "incitement to discrimination" will be understood to mean or whether either of the two examples I have just cited would or could be read to meet that standard.
What we do know is that the many nations in the world that still treat blasphemy as a crime, mostly states that treat Islam as a state religion, will hardly shy away from treating banned books such as Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" as the most threatening of incitements.
Most threatening of all, what will the language be treated as meaning that "urges States to take effective measures, consistent with their obligations under international human-rights law, to address and combat" negative religious sterotyping and advocacy of "religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination"? Whatever international human-rights law may be understood to require (and the recent Goldstone Report provides little comfort in that respect), it certainly is not the same or even close to the far more permissive and protective First Amendment.
So the question is this: Has the U.S. government really signed on to a resolution that may plausibly be read to urge or even to seek to require our own nation to substitute international norms that permit the suppression of speech for our own?
Floyd Abrams
Note from KBJ: In this country, with its tradition of individual liberty and its special commitment to freedom of expression (as codified in the First Amendment), there should be a legal right to say anything one pleases about any religion, however obnoxious it may be. It is shocking that our government is even discussing these United Nations resolutions. But suppose, for the sake of argument, that there are legal restrictions on what may be said in disparagement of religion. They must apply to Christianity and Judaism as well as to Islam. Militant atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett love attacking Christianity and Judaism. They must be punished for doing so if anyone is punished for attacking Islam. One standard, not two. Perhaps if atheists and progressives fear punishment for disparaging Christianity or Judaism, they will stand up against these United Nations resolutions instead of coddling Muslims.
Note 2 from KBJ: Sometimes I think that in the ideal progressive world, it would be permissible to disparage Christianity and Judaism but not to disparage Islam. It makes no sense, but then, when has progressivism ever made sense? It is an album of confusions, inconsistencies, and idiocies.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 10:44 AM | Permalink
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Here is a New York Times editorial opinion about, of all things, the Bee Gees, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary. Here is a great song by the Brothers Gibb.
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 10:26 AM | Permalink
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I have some questions for you. Don't do any research; just give me your sense. Let's focus on the class of married couples. In what percentage of married couples (or rather, married couples in which both spouses vote) do the spouses vote for candidates of different parties (Republican and Democrat; forget about third parties)? Next question: In those marriages in which the spouses vote for candidates of different parties, what is the percentage in which the husband votes Republican and the wife Democrat (as opposed to the husband Democrat and the wife Republican)? I ask these questions because I recently became aware of two interesting websites: Women for Obama and Men for Palin. Final question(s): How much of women's support for Barack Obama comes down to sexual attraction? How much of men's support for Sarah Palin comes down to sexual attraction? Is it about equal?
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 09:59 AM | Permalink
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Man of Colours (1987).
Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson on Sunday, 29 November 2009 at 09:42 AM | Permalink
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I am a cheeky elf who likes to pick fights with people bigger than me, i may seem dumb and stupid im not im just a bit full of myself. I am a talented archer and i can stick an arrow in the enemy's head from any range. On a bad day.
Obsidian Portal takes the pain out of managing your tabletop RPG