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Cocktail Chatter: March 8, 2013
What cocktails go best with all this car chatter? Automobilemag.com is here to help with weekly recipes. Remember, this is for talking about cars, not driving — always designate a driver. With the impending arrival of spring (and some spring-like weather here in Michigan) we're driving a sweet cocktail called The Bee's Knees. Combine two ounces of gin with 3/4 ounces of honey syrup and half an ounce of fresh lemon juice in a shaker over ice. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.
Anti-Veyron: Ignore the supercars that were shown in Geneva earlier this week. By far, the most interesting car on the show floor was the humble Volkswagen XL1. It takes almost 13 seconds to hit 60 mph, but that helps it record an incredible 261 mpg. I drove a prototype version of this car two years ago and was incredibly impressed by it. Now VW will offer a minimum of 250 units to buyers or lessees in Europe. It's more amazing that VW can build a 261-mpg car that passes crash tests than it is the same group can build the Veyron, Aventador, et al.
Phil Floraday, Senior Web Editor
Italy's Drag Race: This week's Geneva Motor Show heralded in the debuts of two new Italian hypercars – the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Lamborghini Veneno. While these two models are outrageous in both design and power figures (the Ferrari produces 951 hp, while the Lambo gets by with "just" 740 hp), there's been much talk about the names. As per the norm for Lamborghini, Veneno is the name of a fighting bull, this time an aggressive one killed by a Spanish matador in 1914; Ferrari's redundant nomenclature is supposed to represent the pinnacle of Ferrari, which makes sense given that LaFerrari literally translates to "The Ferrari."
However, some friends and I couldn't help but to note just how catchy, outlandish, and silly these names are – they're exactly the kind of names the contestants on the Logo reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race" would have. Who would win: Veneno Lamborghini or Madame LaFerrari? We'll have to have Stephan Winkelmann and Amedeo Felisa lip synch for their lives to find out.
Donny Nordlicht, Associate Web Editor
Sprinter, I Am Your Father: Geneva's not the only vehicular trade show going on this week. Although it lacks supercars and wacky tuner vehicles, the NTEA's Work Truck Show opened its doors in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Yes, I know; I am the only one on staff who still suffers from Tonka-itis, so I can't help but be interested in seeing Ford's new chassis-cab Transit, Mack's "baby" Granite, International's four-wheel-drive TerraStar – but by far, the highlight of the show appears to be an immaculate Mercedes-Benz L319 delivery van dating back to the late 1950s. Think of it as the Ur-Sprinter, if you will.
Evan McCausland, Associate Web Editor
Space for 16: I use to pass this 1919 federal-style brick building daily en route to my former job in Dallas. I recall it being neglected and for sale, and I feared, like many other Dallas properties, it would be leveled and some ugly structure would replace it. However, it was saved by someone with a big pocketbook who valued architecture and automobiles (Seriously! It has a 16 car garage!). The Manhattan-style, six-bedroom, 11 bath, 21,000-sq ft pad is on the market for the first time. Just shy of $10 Million, my friend and area real estate expert, Candy Evans, says it's worth every penny.
Kelly Murphy, Creative Director
Sécurité Routière: France is not a place for driving fast. The country has long been plagued by speed cameras and mobile speed traps, and in recent years the government has also banned any type of device intended to detect or reveal the location of a radar gun or camera. Now there's an even more oppressive attempt to catch speeders: starting in March, the flics will use unmarked cars equipped with cameras and radar equipment. The unmarked cars will drive on highways and freeways to automatically dole out tickets to anyone speeding. The idea is to scare drivers into following the speed limit at all times: why ever risk speeding when there could be a hidden speed camera around any corner?
The upshot is that a crackdown on speed has resulted in extremely safe roads: last year only 3700 fatalities were recorded on French roads, an astoundingly low figure for a country of nearly 66 million people. Meanwhile the U.S., with a population about nearly five times larger, reported eight times more road deaths in 2011.
Jake Holmes, Associate Web Editor
Collecting Corvettes: The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles celebrated the West Coast debut of the new C7 Corvette Stingray with the unveiling of a special display of historic Corvettes and a weekend of activities for Corvette owners. A key part of the display is the 1956 Corvette SR-2, which was designed by our own Robert Cumberford. The son of GM design chief Harley Earl told his father that he was going sports car racing with a Ferrari, so the GM executive built his boy something more politically correct. Cumberford designed the car with his friend, body engineer Tony Lapine, later chief designer at Porsche in the 1970s and 1980s. Earl frequently encouraged them, and as the GM design chief had learned his vocabulary from his father, who had built wagons for mule-skinners in Los Angeles in the 1890s, Cumberford reports that the language was quite colorful.
As part of the Petersen's gathering of Corvettes and Corvette people, a special seminar of experts discussed the current state of values for collectible Corvettes. They all agreed that the values of perfect, historically authentic cars are still going up, and said the Corvette is the most affordable investment-grade car on the market. At the same time, they acknowledged that values of hobby-style Corvettes are increasing only slowly and worried about the aging of the Corvette owner body and the retirement of Corvette restoration experts. They said C1, C2, and C3 Corvettes are the heart of the hobby, but also said people are afraid of the expensive electronic systems in the Corvette C4, which leaves these cars dramatically undervalued considering their collectible potential. They note that the Corvette ZR1 C4 has the most potential for an increase in value among collectible Corvettes.
Michael Jordan, Senior Editor
Penny-Pinching Car Owners: People will do just about anything to save a buck. And when it comes to lowering rates for car insurance, CarInsurance.com polled 500 drivers to see how far they'd go to save. Among those, the one that surprised me the most was that 37 percent would allow the insurer to disable their cell phone while in the car. I don't buy that for a second. Not only does my phone function as my GPS, but I'm also partial to making phone calls during long road trips through less than scenic midwest states (I'm looking at you, Ohio). I'd gladly take another alternative to cut my car insurance, like get married, than lose the use of my phone in the car.
John Kalmar, Graphic Designer
Shifting out of Neutral: As big and as wonderful the Detroit show is, the Geneva International Auto Show, in an automobile-brand neutral country, stands as the favorite of most auto journos, including me. Among the Mercedes-Benz Viano shuttles I used to the PalExpo from the Inter-Continental, fleets of Bentley Mulsannes pulled in and out of the hotel's parking entrance. You'll see more Mulsannes there than Volkswagen Eoses in the U.S. The parking lot had more McLaren MP4-12Cs than I've seen Corvette ZR-1s in Detroit. Super-exotics ruled in the PalExpo, too, where the Ferrari stand had the kind of waiting line that would make any nightclub owner envious, and it extended two full press days. Thanks to Ferrari PR, I got in on the second day for a full walk around of the impressive car with the silly name, the 951-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-12 with KERS-powered LaFerrari. My regret is I didn't have time to sit behind the wheel of one of the new production Alfa Romeo 4Cs parked on the show floor, where there were lines, too. On a more down-to-earth level, the Alfa is the car that most piqued my interest.
Todd Lassa, Executive Editor
Breaktime: I got an e-mail from Delta Airlines last week. That's not unusual, since I'm a member of their frequent flyer program and I get e-mails from them weekly. Usually I just hit the delete button without looking at them. But I opened this e-mail because the subject line said "Take a Break with Your 206,184 Miles," and I was feeling like I really did need to take a break. It looked like a standard e-mail about redeeming miles, really nothing special, and then I noticed something in the bottom right corner of the screen. Instead of using miles for a flight (how boring is that?), I could use them to bid in an online auction for a two-day class at the Porsche Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park in Atlanta. Alas, when I clicked on the link the bid was already up to 301,000 miles. I never had a chance.
Amy Skogstrom, Managing Editor
Love/Hate Relationship: I don't like our Instagram, yet I want to take pictures for the page nonstop. I enjoy using Instagram because it's an easy way to appease fellow car lovers with snapshots. In a world chock full of fancy, hot, and unique sheet metal, it's great to quickly share something you pass by on the street or see at a show. I strongly dislike Instagram, though, because it prioritizes content, not atmosphere and emotion. To me, photography is a tool that can transport people somewhere, make them feel something, and look at a subject in a way they haven't before. Instagram, however, prioritizes minimalism, close crops, and clear-and-simple subject matter. I like the art of photography, and it's easy to forget that photography is indeed art when you're snapping pictures left and right. So while I enjoy using Instagram and putting out content to fellow gearheads, I will never think that any of my posts are artistic or emotional. That's where real photography is needed.
Chris Nelson, Road Test Editor
Well, That Explains Why They Kept the Name a Secret for so Long: As everyone knows, at the Geneva auto show this week Ferrari finally took the wraps off its new supercar. And as great as looks—which is great indeed—it is to the same degree shamed by its idiotic moniker: LaFerrari. The Ferrari LaFerrari.
One imagines that the name was not released sooner because forces within the company were desperately trying to head off such stupidity. Or maybe they were just embarrassed. On its web site, Ferrari attempts to explain: "The name stands for the essence of the manufacturer from Maranello: working like a team." Oh, OK then.
Joe Lorio, Senior Editor
Rock Stars: Geneva Motor Show. Late Tuesday afternoon. Associate editor David Zenlea and I have gained admittance to the Ferrari stand, which is guarded and roped off, just like an exclusive nightclub. Crowds of people are pressed against the low glass wall that rings the stand, trying to get a better look at the new LaFerrari supercar. Suddenly there is a commotion, and Fiat Group supremo Sergio Marchionne, wearing his trademark black sweater, comes bounding by me with some unknown VIP (perhaps a trade minister or other politician) and an entourage. Marchionne and his guest open and close LaFerrari's doors, peer in, circle the car, all while photographers circle them, snapping away. The stand is tingling with excitement at the presence of the second most important man in Italian industry. Then the most important man, Marchionne's boss, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, strides onto the stand and ends up next to Zenlea (see photo). I've been in this Ferrari inner sanctum at various auto shows many times when Montezemolo appears, and I never cease to get a thrill out of it. After all, he's the equivalent of a rock star in Italy. Last fall at the Paris show, I was just a few feet away from him when he and McLaren boss (and fierce rival) Ron Dennis embraced next to the carbon-fiber tub that now underpins LaFerrari. McLaren, of course, introduced its own hybrid supercar, the P1, at Geneva this year, but I didn't see any sign of him near the LaFerrari. I wonder what he thinks of it. And I wonder what Montezemolo thinks of the P1.
Joe DeMatio, Deputy Editor
My Head Hurts: The EPA estimates that the Ford C-Max Energi achieves 100 MPGe thanks to its plug-in hybrid system; however, without using the on-board plug-in battery, it achieves 43 mpg combined. The 43 sounds about right—I drove the car for two days and plugged it in three times (roughly 2.5 full charges) and the trip computer showed roughly 43.5 total mpg—but that doesn't make sense: 43.5 mpg doesn't factor in the amount of electricity I used, just the amount of gas that was burned. Surely I should be able to achieve something like 70 or 80 MPGe—or perhaps I did, and didn't know because the Ford's calculators didn't account for those variables? As our cars mix electricity and gasoline in new and increasingly creative ways, the numbers we put on our fuel economy stickers are becoming less and less relevant, or even understandable.
Ben Timmins, Associate Web Editor
Kill the Manettinos: The other day I drove a Lexus LS 460 F Sport and was incredulous to find, on this large luxury sedan, a drive-mode selector that adjusts throttle response, power steering, and the suspension. I don't know why I was surprised. Ferrari Manettino-style adjusters have proliferated everywhere from Audis to Kias. I hate almost all of them.
Most of these systems make changes that are impossible to detect if you're not on a racetrack, which is to say "never" for most cars and owners. Indeed, I'm convinced that some of these systems do nothing at all and are included only so engineers can laugh at us auto journalists as we prattle on about the "discernible differences" between the "Sport" and "Sport ++" settings. Even when the changes are noticeable, they're often annoying and unsatisfactory. In the BMW 3 Series, for instance, one has to toggle the drive controller into "sport" in order to get higher steering efforts. In other words, you need to flip through menus to get your BMW to feel like a BMW. You need to do this every time you start the car.
In some respects, this fad is merely the latest sports car tic to trickle down to the masses. If the Ferrari 458 Italia has computer-adjustable dynamic settings then a Kia Sorento with adjustable steering effort must be Ferrari-like. More insidious, though, is the false allure of "no compromises." There are always compromises. A Nissan GT-R in its most comfortable setting is still punishing, and a 3 Series in its most dynamic setting is still a bit more remote than its predecessor.
My suggestion is thus that engineers stop trying to appease every possible owner and instead take a stand. Optimize a car for one setting and leave it there.
David Zenlea, Associate Editor


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Lowther Acousta info please!
Hi Guys,
Picked up a bunch of Quad Tube gear and a Lowther Acousta speaker.
Just 1 though.
It has a 8 inch full range speaker in it, and the Box is BIG
3 foot tall, 2 foot deep, 2 foot wide.
Bit like a Transmissionline style design.
Hooked it up and WOW!! the Bass is Incredible!!
Now I need to Find another one of these Speaks to make a pair or Buy a Pair of drivers and Make a couple of Matching boxes the same as the one I have here.
Will get some pics up soon to show you what I have got here.
Any info about these will be great. :thmbsp:
Transmissionline? Have you been living on Mars?
Incredible bass? So you don't hear under 70Hz? :)
If you google you will find that there were quite a number of different "acousta" cabinets over the years.
Can you supply more info as to size type model of driver etc.
The Norwegian Lowther Club has a lot of info.
Haven't heard of those for a while. They look like a TL in cross-section -they're actually more a constant-width, folded rear horn if memory serves. Stuff them into corners with a highish resistance wire and feed them off a good SET or PP valve amp etc and you should get more than enought mid-bass, though of course there won't be much down low.
Thanks for the input guys.
I am new to Valve gear and First time I have had a full range speaker.
So I have alot to learn, and no I have not been living on Mars.
Just been into SS Mosfet power amps and listening to them with my TDL transmissionline Speakers, B&W DM6 and several others.
tater :clown:
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Washington State Auditor's Office Commends
District 1 on Clean Audit
During the months of September and October 2016, the Fire District 1 had our bi-annual meeting with the Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO). The SAO conducted both a financial and accountability audit for compliance and accuracy. A financial audit consists of a review of financial statements and accounting practices, while the accountability audit consists of compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, key system controls, overall financial condition, etc.
On December 14th, Commissioner Downer and Chief Brundage met with staff from the SAO to present their findings. The District not only received clean audits, but the SAO wrote a letter commending us on our diligence in protecting public funds and assets. Bryson Bristol, Audit Manager wrote, "We believe it is important to recognize the District's commitment and accountability to its citizens."
More information and complete audit results can be found on the Washington State Auditor's webpage at http://www.sao.wa.gov/resources/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx.
Welcome to Fire District 1
Pacific County Fire Protection District 1 was officially formed on October 7, 1940. It is a progressive, full-service fire district providing fire suppression, emergency medical services, and public safety education to unincorporated areas of the Long Beach Peninsula including the State Parks, and the communities of Seaview, Klipsan, Ocean Park, Nahcotta, Oysterville, and Surfside.
Fire District 1 is a combination department, with volunteer and career personnel providing services over 30 square miles in South Pacific County. We serve approximately 6,000 full-time residents, and up to 35,000 citizens during the busy summer season. Two stations are staffed 24-hours a day within the Fire District 1 response area. Volunteers also respond from three additional stations that are strategically located throughout the Peninsula. Fire District 1 members responded to 2,009 emergency calls last year.


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'Hamilton exit weakens McLaren' - Horner
29 November 2012 – McLaren will be a weaker team without the services of Lewis Hamilton next season. That is the view of Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, who believes the 2008 Champion will be a major boost to Mercedes' hopes when he completes his move.
"I'm sure he will naturally add performance to Mercedes next year. So we'll see next year, but McLaren have had a great car this year and who's to say they won't have an even better one next year?"
In terms of Red Bull's approach to 2013, Horner has eyed further improvements and admits that his team will have to make steps forward if it is to defend both world titles.
"We will apply the lessons that we've learnt this year," he said, refusing to become complacent. "We can always improve as a team; we've improved each of the last three years and the lessons we've learnt this year we will look to apply next year.
"We are up against some formidable opponents, they won't be sleeping over the winter and we will have to improve further the car, further the team, to maintain the kind of performances we've achieved not just this year but the last three years."


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Sports Star of the Year winner: Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is most definitely on the A plus list in sport these days. He's up in the same stratosphere as Lionel Messi, Roger Federer and Usain Bolt. Some going for the cool kid with the curly hair from Holywood in County Down.
In the 2005 Belfast Telegraph Sports awards, Rory was Young Player of the Year. A few years later he won the George Best Breakthrough prize at the glittering ceremony and completed a unique treble in 2009 by claiming our premier award, the Sports Star of the Year trophy.
The outrageously talented 23-year-old has done it again — he now has two Belfast Telegraph Sports Star of the Year prizes to go with his two major titles.
Amid fierce competition for the 2012 award, golfing great McIlroy came out on top after having a brilliant year on the fairways and greens around the world.
Not only did he finish top of the money list in Europe, he finished top in the United States — a superb feat helping him become the world number one.
Rory enjoyed five tournament victories in 2012 and this in a year when some cast doubts over the Ulsterman's ability to fulfil his potential.
For the record those victories came in the Honda Classic in Florida in March, back-to-back FedEx Cup playoff events the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship in September and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November thanks to five birdies in the last five holes.
Best of all though was his second major, the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island when he blitzed a world class field to win by a record breaking eight shots in August. McIlroy was breathtaking in his final round shooting a 66 confirming that when he is on top of his game, nobody can touch him.
Sometimes he doesn't even need a proper warm-up as he showed in the Ryder Cup at Medinah. He just about made it in time for his singles battle with Keegan Bradley before playing some sensational golf to claim a crucial point in Europe's brilliant win against American.
Rory has become such an iconic figure in modern day sport. He has travelled a long way and the journey is far from over.
With so many outstanding performances by Northern Ireland's sporting stars in 2012, the judges felt they could not limit the shortlist for the Sports Star of the Year award to just four. Here's a rundown on all those who deserved their nominations for our top award.
Boxers Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan won Olympic bronze medals in the ring. Rower Alan Campbell took home the same colour of medal at London 2012 while Richard and Peter Chambers both have silver medals to cherish.
Michael McKillop and Jason Smyth each won two gold medals on the track at the Paralympics in London, where Bethany Firth secured gold in the swimming pool.
Away from the Olympics and Paralympics, Tony McCoy continued his incredible run of success by winning his 17th jockeys' title and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Synchronised to complete another thrilling season.
Portrush golfer Stephanie Meadow holed the winning putt in the Curtis Cup as Great Britain and Ireland beat a fancied American side and she followed up by triumphing in the much sought-after British Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.
Boxer Brian Magee became the WBA super-middleweight world champion after having his interim title upgraded by the governing body. Magee, hugely well liked in Ulster sporting circles, defeated Denmark's Rudy Markussen early in 2012 but lost his world title late in the year to another great Dane, Mikkel Kessler, ending a memorable 38-day reign as champion.
Belfast Telegraph


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ACParadise Network: American Cosplay Paradise American Cosplay Experience American Cosplay Snapshots
Cosplayer Zalora > Costume of Summer Time Loving (Regular Show)
- Most Recent Photo
- 04-20-2013
- Series
- Regular Show
- Character
- Summer Time Loving
- Special Variation:
- (Loving in the Summer Time)
- Year Completed:
- 2013
- Construction Difficulty:
- Very Easy
- Costume worn at:
- Anime Conji 2013
About this Costume
- Construction Details:
A friend and I made this in less than four days. It's cardboard and tape with little tiny speakers on the front. He got to run around in it and it was amazing.
- Personal Thoughts:
- You can't touch music, but music can touch you.
See the video of him dancing http://youtu.be/xC9AEZkvFgM
Add a Comment


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Preparing for PrEP, Part 1: What Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Could Mean for Black Gay and Bi Men
The results of the clinical trials involving Truvada lend hope to the new prevention technology known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (pdf), or PrEP. The initial study results were announced in November 2010. Updated data were presented during February at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections and at a daylong meeting organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both meetings took place in Boston.
The number one question on everyone's mind at the conferences: How do you move PrEP from the pages of scientific journals to a viable, easily accessible option?
"And how do you implement it for the number one risk group for HIV/AIDS: African American men who have sex with men?" asks Detroit-based Hank Milbourne, director of prevention services at AIDS Partnership Michigan.
The study included nearly 2,500 participants, mostly men who engage in high-risk sex with other men, and was conducted in six countries: Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.
And there lies the "challenge," say some Black HIV-prevention specialists who are expert in MSM (men who have sex with men). "Only about 10 percent of the participants were residents of the United States," notes Milbourne. "A smaller percentage was African American. I have questions if there were cultural variances in treatment adherence, accessibility and taking medications."


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Theology corner: Why is the ID guy at the open theology conference a pork chop at a Jewish wedding?
|November 30, 2006
|Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design
Recently, a caffeine-deprived friend was grousing about the fact that ID proponents don't tend to be welcomed at "open theology" conferences.
"Open theology" implies a much more limited sort of God than the Immortal, invisible, God only wise of the Western monotheist (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) tradition.
Now, it's unclear to me why the ID guys, who are mostly hard math and science types, should even want to hang out with these children of a lesser god. But my friend insisted on hearing the view from O'Leary's Point, so here goes. And I have followed it up with a testable prediction, too:
First, what is theistic evolution? Basically, its message is this: Our God is so powerful that you can see no evidence of his presence in the creation of life (though, for some reason, you can see such evidence if you look at outer space). That's genome mapper Francis Collins' approach.
As a traditional Christian, I am handicapped in even considering theistic evolution (TE), not because I have a problem with evolution as such, but by the many places in Scripture where the whole creation, including life – together with its imperfections – is said to provide evidence of God's work. Forced to choose, I consider the TEs more likely to be wrong than the Scriptures.
Now, TE is marketed to Christians mainly as an escape from, say, Kent Hovind vs. Lenny Flank. Many would rather spend an evening watching catfights in the back alley.
The devil, however, is in the details. Pressed to explain why God's work is not evident in the design of life, the theistic evolutionist announces that Darwin's theory explains how life comes into existence and develops into the plenitude of forms that we see today without any input from God.
But strangely, while life forms, which are staggeringly complex, can easily perform such a feat, the cosmos itself cannot. No no, the typical theistic evolutionist protests, that couldn't be done without God. The universe is fine-tuned for life to come into existence.
Yet many cosmologists think the cosmos can do just that. And their evidence is no better or worse than the Darwinists' evidence. Like the Darwinists, these cosmologists start with their conclusion and place enormous weight on some pretty slender branches of evidence. Then they command you to believe because materialism is true.
(Materialists are like all other sects, except for one critical difference: They generally do not hold out a collection plate or wave a sign on the street. They scalp your tax money to promote their philosophy in the school system and make your kids study from their books.)
So now what becomes of our dear old theistic evolution?
Well, up to now, we have been making certain assumptions about God, right? "Immortal, invisible, God only wise … " as the old song goes. We have assumed that we must decide between that God or no God.
And if we decide that the evidence from nature favours an omnipotent God, we must treat the Scriptural accounts as evidence too. We do not have to accept the Scriptures in a fundamentalist way, but we must consider them evidence. That means we must confront the fact that Scripture insists that God's hand IS evident in the design of life. So we should not be surprised to find such evidence, any more than we should be surprised to find that the cosmos is apparently fine-tuned for life. There is no reason in either case to feel compelled to explain away the evidence as arising accidentally from brute forces – let alone to accept large promises from the materialists that some day someone will prove such a proposition.
Materialists can currently compel your tax money, but they cannot compel you to accept their IOUs. Not yet, anyway.
So bye, bye TE. Put simply, what TE is trying to do doesn't need doing. So it has morphed mainly into an opposition to ID – an opposition which becomes less and less coherent as the materialist agenda becomes more obvious.
For example, one often hears TE's blaming the ID folk for starting trouble with materialists. Which raises the question of why they themselves haven't. With arch-Darwinist Dawkins planning to mail tons of anti-God crapola to Brit schools and an evolutionary biologist declaring that ID-sympathetic students should be flunked, the TEs are merely making their irrelevance plain to everyone.
But there is another possibility! Some reluctantly agree with ID that there is evidence for God – but guess what, he is NOT the God portrayed in Scripture. He bungles. He goofs. He's kinda smart, but he doesn't know what's going to happen.
What difference does that make? Well, if you got struck blind, the open God would say, "Crikey! What bad luck! I shoulda seen that coming, Awful sorry there, fella, I wasn't paying attention …. Tell you what, I'll … "
He would NOT say "Who gives [man] sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?" and inform you, with no further explanation, of your next tour of duty.
Okay, so where are we now? We have a god. Actually, why be exclusivist? We could have lots of gods. We could be back in pagan culture, with the lovable and irresponsible gods. They don't damn people, because they don't give a damn – but they do damage them. They are divinized celebrities. Watch the Ring Cycle and you will get the idea, especially Gotterdammitall, where the gods go up in smoke.
So, why might my ID friend's theology-prone buddies not be welcome at open theology conferences? Well, open theologians are their competitors! Open theologians can make the same claims as ID. They can go ahead and attribute the design of life, alongwith its apparent flaws, to the equivalent of Wotan or – better yet – to an anthropomorphized force.
Darwin, meet Carl Jung.
See, as materialism slowly throttles itself, anyone with a non-materialist idea sees an opportunity. It'll be wild and woolly.
Conclusion: If ID were not so closely associated with a traditional "Almighty" concept of God, ID guys would be more welcome at open theo conferences.
Testable prediction: The open-ists will probably permit the hearty priestesses of Gaia to declaim, and now and then they will host a pundit known as something like Thundercloud who claims to be a male witch, and assures you that he is in touch with himself, or some part of himself ….
Go ahead, I told my friend. Call me wrong – until they actually do it. Meanwhile, let the professoriat hold forth with predictions that do not come true – for example that the Dover trial was a curtain call for ID.
Now, for me, back to journalism. For him, back to teaching.
70 Responses to Theology corner: Why is the ID guy at the open theology conference a pork chop at a Jewish wedding?
Gaia could certainly fit into the big tent. Lynn Margulis (endosymbiosis fame and Carl Sagan's ex) is the other big flag carrier for it besides Lovelock. Allen MacNeil said she was a good friend of his. Both Allen and Lynn have proclaimed the death of NDE but still eschew ID. At least Allen does. I don't know about Lynn.
It seems that some in the DI are welcoming of cosmological IDists even if they believe in evolution.
These include deists like Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein who believe the universe was created and unfolded according to a plan. Deists don't have any particular argument about not being able to detect design in nature that I'm aware of.
I think my apologetics hero, William Lane Craig, considers himself an Open Theist. I could be wrong. Anyone know?
Ahhh, that's right Paul. Thanks. He's essentially a Baptist in that regard, it would seem.
This is a really, really poor and unfair reading of TE. TE's do not deny that God is evident in creation, nor do they deny the scriptures like Psalm 19 that say this. What TE's deny is that there is specific evidence of design in creation apart from the "ordinary" symmetry and beauty of the "natural" created order. TE's argue that their approach is more true to Biblical texts such as Psalm 19. After all, Psalm 19 says the "heavens" — the ordinary nature we see all around us — evidence God's glory. The assumption of Psalm 19 and similar passages is that God made all of creation and that all of it displays His glory. This is very different than an ID position that says "this particular aspect of the created order can't be explained by those beautiful natural laws and therefore proves God made it." The latter assertion may or may not have merit on its own, and may or may not be important as we try to interpret Gen. 1 and 2, but the argument that it is somehow more Biblical than a TE position based on passages like Psalm 19 is unfair bunk.
Further, you are ignoring a deep thread of theology that runs through TE here, which is the notion of the "hiddenness" of God and the Reformed aversion to natural theology. Luther and others in the Reformed tradition largely rejected the Catholic Scholastic approach to faith, revelation, and reason, which tended to give reason an autonomous status, such that people could know quite a bit about God based on human reason alone. The reformers (and some Catholic thinkers, notably Pascal), said this is not so: God is "hidden," in the sense that, although we can see something of God generally in creation, we cannot really know anything about Him apart from revelation. The TE position here arguably is much more in line with the Reformed tradition than the ID position. That doesn't make TE or ID right or wrong, but it illustrates that you're stepping on a deep fault line in Christian theology here — not something you can or should make into a polemic against TE.
Finally, as to whether and why TE's aren't invited to "open theism" meetings, if that's the case, I suspect it's partly because many TE's take a strong, Reformed view of God's sovereignty. The evangelical TE's I know hold that God sovereignly directs every little step of evolution. This obviously clashes head-on with open theism. OTOH, I've read some TE's who I think essentially are open theists or close to it, so frankly I doubt that this claim about being invited to conferences it sustainable.
The clash within the evangelical camp between ID and TE is stupid. I'm not convinced by every TE argument, but neither am I convinced by every ID argument. A third way needs to develop, and the ideologues in both the TE and ID camps need to lay down their rhetorical swords, stop misrepresenting each other, and cooperate.
I don't see the contradiction. Physical laws are not truly deterministic. They set boundaries, but various things can happen within those boundaries, and outcomes, particularly in complex systems, can't be predicted with any certainty (and can't really be predicted at all at the quantum level). Thus, we can use words like "random" and "chance" even though the universe is governed by natural laws. To the materialst, evolution truly happened by "chance," meaning not only that evolution is uncorrolated with observable outside causes, but also that there is no external force, intelligence, purpose, etc. guiding evolution.
The Reformed view (and really I'd suggest, generally, any orthodox Christian view) is that nothing happens truly by "chance" or "randomly." God is sovereign, which means that He knows and directs even events that we cannot correlate with any observable cause. Further, because God is sovereign, the universe is contingent on God's will and depends on Him for its continued existence (in theological terms, God continually "sustains" the creation).
This is where the notion of the "hiddenness" of God becomes important. We do not possess the mind of God, and therefore we do not expect to be able, ordinarily, to discern God's sovereign will and sustanance of creation, apart from appreciating the beauty and orderliness of physical laws. Generally, we need special revelation (the Bible) to instruct us concerning the specifics of God's plans — although we sometimes can see God working, or see how He has worked, in some limited ways through circumstances (for example, when everything "just happens" to line up just right so my friend for whom I've been praying gets that job he so desperately needs). So we are tying together here the doctrines of creation, providence, revelation, and scripture, and they fit together very nicely. I'd recommend to you here the work of Thomas Torrance, which traces many of these themes.
To make this a little more concrete, think of the End Cretacious extinction (and let's just assume for now it was caused by a massive meteor or comet strike and that the story of it making room for mammals is true). We can explain that event and its aftermath in purely natural terms. Yet, we could also say it was unlikely that a comet would strike the earth at just the right place and time to clear out the dinosaurs and allow mammals to diversify. The theological TE perspective is that this was one of those many events that happened in God's sovereign plan so that humans possessing the imago Dei eventually could occupy the Earth. Of course, this is a particularly dramatic event, and most events in natural history seem mundane. But the theological perspective is that the way this all came together, in a way that ultimately is unkowable by us, came together within God's sovereign plans for creation. In other words, it is not truly random or accidental that we are here blogging about it today.
And this leads to Tribune's question: many TE's find "strong" versions of ID incompatible with the foregoing expectations about how God works in creation, providence, revelation and scripture. Strong versions of ID, such as irreducible complexity, expect to find essentially revelatory evidence of God's existence in creation apart from the ordinary operation of natural laws — indeed, precisely by contrast to the ordinary operation of natural laws. This is what irreducible complexity, for example, tries to do.
I think most evangelical TE's would allow that God sometimes does this, and would call such actions "miracles." But the expectation is that, according to the pattern of scripture, miracles are relatively rare and usually are specifically part of redemptive history — the paradigmatic example being Christ's resurrection. Most TE's would argue that the Psalm 19 type passages in scripture don't lead us to expect to find super-natural miracles in natural history. To the contrary, such passages tell us we should see the glory of God in the ordinary working of nature.
That said, my experience is that some TE's are relatively comfortable with a more modest natural theology, which could in some ways be called "ID." For example, most TE's, including folks like Francis Collins, are comfortable with "design" arguments based on the anthropic principle. But again, that sort of argument says the "ordinary" operation of physical laws is so unique and amazing that it suggests design and teleology. There is no effort to make nature "miraculous" in the sense of having developed in ways that natural laws cannot accomodate.
Tribune said: IC doesn't try to show how something came about. It just points out a problem  possibly a fatal one  in the existing paradigm.
That's not correct. ID advocates bristle at the suggestion that their program is merely a negative critique of Darwinism. Read Behe's section on "Detection of Design" in Darwin's Black Box, pages 192-196. Here is his conclusion: "For discrete physical systems — if there is not a gradual route to their production — design is evident when a number of separate, interacting components are ordered in such a way as to accomplish a function beyond the individual components."
bj said: ID posits input-intervention by the designing intelligence during the process of life's development. TE does not.
This is not quite accurate, or at least the term "input-intervention" is imprecise. Many TE's believe God sovereignly directs and sustains creation continually. However, He does so in a way that involves, to our human perception, only the operation of natural laws. In the TE paradigm (at least TE not from an open theism perspective), God is always active in creation, but His activity is "hidden," except in the general sense that creation displays His glory. So, it is more precise to say that, from a TE perspective, God's actions in natural history are not seperably detectable by scientific method. ID, in contrast, says we can detect God's designing activity specifically by contrasting it to the "ordinary" operation of natural laws. Notice that this is exactly what Mike Behe's formulation that I quoted above does. If natural laws alone can't account for certain kinds of irreducibly complex systems, we can infer intelligent agency.
It is not, then, that ID posits ongoing divine action in creation and TE does not. It's rather (again, setting aside open theism) a difference in the type and scientific detectability of divine action we should expect to see in natural history. I think it's unfair for ID to try claim theological high ground here, because the TE view arguably is more consistent with the historic doctrine of creation, particularly the notion that creation is orderly, regular, symmetrical, etc.
IMHO, the place theologically / doctrinally where ID has traction is the doctrine of scripture and the understanding of the "kinds" in Gen. 1. If "after their kinds" in Gen. 1 implies some kind of fixity of species, then we should expect to see the sorts of "interventions" in natural history that ID proposes. If not, there doesn't seem to be any particularl theological reason to prefer ID.
bj — Right, I'm not intending to deny the conflict between ID's and TE's. For many ID proponents, IMHO the big problem is really the hermeneutical issue I identified. Many ID's who are evangelicals are also YEC's, others are OEC's who think macroevolution is barred by the "kinds" of Gen. 1.
Tribune — I think like most ID's, Behe claims the identity / nature of the designer is not immediately relevant. He says this also in Darwin's Black Box. Either way, IC is intended as more than merely a negative critique of Darwinism.
Tribune: true, the "designer" in ID doesn't have to be God. But it's hard to see who else it could be. And when you start identifying "designers" other than God, that opens other difficult questions, IMHO, about the theological implications of ID. What does Psalm 19 mean if the "designer" could be a space alien?
tribune, I understand your argument, but here's the theological problem I have with it: Psalm 19 and other similar passages say that all of creation is the "tracks" of God's creative work. It seems to me that when we look for some super- or extra-natural tracks — things that can't be explained with reference to the "ordinary" laws of creation — we deny the role and meaning God assigns to general revelation. In a sense, we're saying general revelation and special revelation aren't good enough — we need another "scientific" kind of revelation, that shows "tracks" both outside scripture and outside nature. I don't see any warrant for that in scripture or in historic Christian theology about revelation and creation.
You said: "Revelation is not involved even the tiniest bit" and to me that is exactly the problem. Revelation should be involved if we are approaching things from a Christian worldview. Otherwise, we're fighting misguided battles on the wrong battlefield.
You also said: Actually, logically, someone who believes in God would have to accept ID, which was the reason for my original question concerning TE way back. This is false, unless you are defining ID so broadly that it means simply "creation." Yes, anyone who believes in the Christian God must believe that God designed the universe. But ID says more than this. ID says God's design involves scientifically detectable "tracks" that are evident apart from the ordinary Psalm 19 type of general revelation. Not only is this not required for Christian theism, it's contrary to much of historic Christian theology about epistemology, creation and the relationship between general and special revelation.
Anyone who believes in the Christian God must believe that God designed the universe and that "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19). That is, all of creation reveals the glory of this God, the omnipotent, omniscient, all-loving, all-good God.
bj, you said: I have to wonder if there is a apologetic need, both personally and culturally, not to see it that way.
I think the need to separate design from God-as-designer is political. In the U.S., if the "designer" is God, there is no chance that design theory could be taught in a public school. If the "designer" is unhooked from any religious concept, however, arguably design can be taught in public schools.
And this is another reason I have serious reservations about some aspects of ID. Not only are we giving away the epistemic battleground, but we're doing so for political reasons. This is why I think a "third way" is needed — one that doesn't give up the epistemic (revelational and incarnational) basis of understanding creation at the outset, as both TE and ID (and also YEC) do.
tribune, I think we're starting to talk past each other a bit. I agree that people instinctively recognize the universe was purposefully created, even absent special revelation. I will niggle with you by saying that this in itself is a type of revelation — general revelation — which is available to all and is indeed "necessary." It is exactly this notion of general revelation, IMHO, that stronger forms of ID threaten, because stronger forms of ID essentially concede that God is not evident in creation except in super- or extra-natural footprints.
I admire Dembski's and Behe's work too, but it's pressing things too far to say they've "conclusively" proven anything. And that also illustrates a big part of the problem. Who says we're supposed to have "conclusive" prove of God's existence? And what is "conclusive proof" anyway? Who says the Enlightenment paradigm concerning what counts as "evidence" or "proof" is correct? Why play the game on the positivist's / atheist's epistemic field?
We can conclude based on rules of evidence that we did not establish that life is designed.
I don't think you can.
Because we can and God in His grace is letting us win.
I don't think we are. I think we've already lost by accepting the other side's ground rules.
And we have to, anyway.
No we don't. Christianity does not have to validate itself under the rules of positivist epistemology. The claims of our faith are radical; they supercede and refute this kind of epistemology.
Atheists do not own science.
That depends on how you define "science," and on the epistemic presuppositions you're willing to accept. I agree with you, BTW, but for different reasons: I don't think positivist epistemology properly defines "science."
What can be seen in nature does not indicate we are here by accident.
You think it unreasonable that life is designed?
No, I don't think it's "unreasonable." But neither do I think design can be proven. "Reasonable" and "proven" are very different things.
Exactly! It's time to correct it. What strategy do you advocate?
I really don't like the word "strategy," as it implies something more instrumental than substantive. I think theology has to reassert the primacy of revelation (general and special revelation) as categories that ultimately are not validated by / subject to human reason. Reformed epistemology has made some good progress here, as has the Radical Orthodoxy movement. See, for example, Michael Hanby's RO-flavored article "Reclaiming Creation in a Darwinian World" in Theology Today 62 (2006): 476-83.
But design can be proven/shown/established and the standards used to do so are used with success in archaeology, military intelligence and other areas.
Right, but in each of those cases, we know what human design looks like, and we can contrast it with the "background noise" of nature. With regard to creation, there is no background noise — our faith affirms that all of it is designed. What you're really trying to do is to identify "special" instances of design apart from "ordinary" design in creation — which is not directly analogous to identifying whether a pattern of scratches in some rocks was made by humans or just by water and wind.
Now, how do you get a judge to agree? And if you can't, how do you get a school to stop teaching we are all here by accident since that is the only thing that they can legally teach concerning origins?
Probably you can't. That battle isn't winnable, or at most, it's winnable only as a Pyhrric victory in which the doctrine of creation is so compromised that we could just as easily substitute a space alien as the designer. In this area, culture won't be transformed through lawsuits. The ID movement should accept that, drop the pretense of agnosticism about the identify of the designer, and work on developing a robust, thoroughly Christian understanding of creation that can penetrate the culture in other ways.
We know what design looks like. Now, if the criteria we use to find design in ruins and arrowheads is applied to biology and we find that there is a strong correlation, what does that mean?
It probably means you're making a category mistake. You aren't addressing the problem with this approach: we know what human design looks like in part because we can contrast it to phenomena that happen in nature without human intervention. There is no similar contrast when it comes to creation, because all of creation came about by God's action.
You are trying to contrast God's intelligent work with other aspects of God's intelligent work to see if an intelligent agent was involved. Of course an intelligent agent was involved! But you won't establish that if you presuppose that only certain bits of creation — the irreducibly complex bits, or whatever — bear the hallmarks of creation. All you are doing in that case is conceding that most of the creation doesn't appear designed at all.
If you want to say that all of creation generally appears to be beautiful and purposeful, and thereby to point to some transcendent source, that's fine, and I think Biblical and true — but that is not what ID in its strong varieties does.
There is no pretense! The claims are sincere. It's not a religous thing.
I'm sorry, but I don't agree that this is generally true, at least as applied to the troops on the ground. I'm no anti-religious outsider, mind you. I'm an evangelical Christian, and I believe creation was designed by God. And, I've read a great deal of the ID literature and followed the legal issues carefully (I'm also a lawyer). Moreover, I'm sympathetic to some criticisms of Darwinism, I think Judge Jones' decision about what constitutes "science" was ludicrous, and I'm also sympathetic to many general design arguments (e.g., arguments from the anthropic principle).
Yet, I have to speak truthfully: much of the agitation I see on behalf of getting ID into public schools is the work of YEC advocates who are trying to use ID as a way of getting around earlier creation science rulings. It is disingenuous.
I do believe some of ID's intellectual leaders, including Dembski and Behe, are sincere about designer-agnosticism, but as to them, I think their approach is mistaken. Even if sincere, I think it's bad to separate arguments from design from the Christian God, for all the theological reasons I've mentioned. They are theists; I would love to see them use their considerable minds to develop a specifically theistic and Christian philosophy of creation.
Some, like Billy Graham, have a gift for evanglization. Some, like Dr. Dembski, have a gift of using objective means to find design in nature. We should all use our gifts as we see fit.
Yes — or better, we should all use our gifts with rigor and excellence befitting the Kingdom of God. If Billy Graham preached that the incarnation and crucifixon of Christ demonstrates that there is a savior, but that we don't have to identify who the savior is, and in fact the savior could be a space alien, I think we'd all agree that this is bad. Christ, of course, is God's ultimate self-revelation; it's nonsense to speak of Christ's work on the cross without the particularlity and offense of Christ's exclusive claims to be Lord. Creation also is part of God's self-revelation, and it's equally nonsense to say the "heavens declare the glory" of some unknown agent who might not be God.
We have this phenomena that corrolates quite well with what we know to be human design.
Which phenomena are you talking about? Creation in general? I wouldn't say that creation in general correlates well with human design — creation as a whole is way beyond correlation with human design. IC systems only? What then of the rest of creation?
Should we presume it occurred by accident?
No, but you have the order of reasoning backwards. We don't observe the phenomena neutrally and then draw conclusions. We come to our observations with presumptions. The question is, which presumptions do we bring to the observation?
I believe most of those who want ID in the classroom are generally theists more concerned about moral relativism being forced on children via the claim that everything has an established material answer.
Yes, I think that concern is there as well. But I don't think that is what animates efforts to introduce ID into schools at the local level. It's mostly animated by YECism, unfortunately.
OTOH, if he said impossible to shingle a roof without specifically identifying Our Savior before one started, then Billy wouldn't be doing his job either.
You lost me on this one.
The phenomena that ID concerns itself with.
You have to be more precise than that. What in nature, exactly, correlates to human design? Nature in toto, or some particular piece of nature? Irreducibly complex systems only, or something else as well?
If you are practicing science  or any participating in any material investigatiion  you do exactly that.
Nonsense. All observations are theory-laden. There is no such thing as a "neutral" or "objective" observation. (See Kuhn, Polanyi, Lakatos, Feyerabend, etc.) I think most of the thought leaders of the ID movement would agree with me here. To his credit, Dembski has written some pretty good things about this. Check out, for example, his chapter "Science & Theology in Mutual Support" in Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science and Theology. Here is what Dembski says there:
My thesis is that all disciplines find their completion in Christ and cannot be properly understood apart from Christ . . . any view of the sciences that leaves Christ out of the picture must be seen as fundamentally deficient." (p. 206).
If YECers are doing the heavy lifting to get it done, God bless them.
If the thought leaders of ID don't distance themselves from YECism, ID will remain a backwater. One of the great tragedies is that ID was gathering some intellectual momentum when it was coopted into the YEC / religious right political agenda.
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WESTON, Fla., April 3 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a small plane carrying two people made an emergency landing on a road.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the pilot of the twin-engine Beechcraft 18 had taken off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on a training exercise Tuesday, but was soon forced to make an emergency landing, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
The plane successfully touched down at mile marker 44 on U.S. 27, near Weston.
"The pilot did a good job with the landing," Jachles said.
The pilot and passenger were not injured, Jachles said.
It was unclear whether the plane ran out of fuel or suffered a mechanical failure.


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Bob Dole's gift for backseat statesmanship aside, the Senate isn't too keen on ducking its constitutional duty in favor of some tangled joint-resolution-and-a-fine scenario. It's getting ready to go to trial. "We do no service to the country to operate in denial," Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., a supporter of Dole's proposal, told the New York Times. "It is now very likely a trial is going to be held in the United States Senate for the removal of Bill Clinton." Few would bet now that Republicans -- or the evidence -- could ever muster the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction. But then again, few ever guessed that they would land the roundhouse they're about to on Thursday.
Clinton Can't Duck This One
WASHINGTON: No President has ever hit the canvas and bounced up again more often than Bill Clinton. But even if a missile strike on Iraq pushes back the House impeachment vote a few days, "I think it's over," says TIME congressional correspondent James Carney. "I don't think there's anything he can do to change the dynamic now." After GOP moderates Sherwood Boehlert, Jim Leach, Bob Ney and Brian Bilbray all announced they were toeing their party's line Wednesday, it was time for the White House to stop waiting for a miracle and start getting ready for a Senate trial.


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New York Post Columnist Mike Vaccaro said the current New York Knicks have set a new standard for losers.
Wrote Vaccaro: We've had our share of bad teams in New York City. Hell, we had the platinum standard for bad teams here once, the '62 Mets, who elevated losing to an art form, who lost three out of every four games they played. The Jets, who now sit at a relentlessly unremarkable 2-9 after Thursday's brutalization in Dallas. They do not inspire much of anything within the souls of their fans. They're just bad.
Added Vaccaro: The Knicks inspire something else. They inspire anger. They inspire hatred. Knicks fans have long since left their hand-wringing on the table. There is an unmitigated loathing for this team, for the men who run the operation, for several key components of the roster. That's when you know you've really done something around here, when sadness turns to fury. Knicks fans hate these Knicks. HATE them. Period.


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VICTORIA— A wily gang of about eight remaining feral rabbits is evading capture at the University of Victoria.
A death sentence now hangs over any new rabbits dumped on campus as the university works at becoming rabbit-free.
But the sentence is commuted for bunnies already on site and traps are being set in an effort to catch them and send them to the Earthanimal Humane Education and Rescue Society's (EARS) sanctuary in Coombs, B.C., where more than 550 sterilized former UVic rabbits live.
"This group of eight seems to be more skittish than the others," said UVic spokeswoman Patty Pitts. "We are trying to safely remove these rabbits."
Since September, the university has trapped more than 900 rabbits and sent them to sanctuaries. For years, the feral bunnies — most of them abandoned former pets and their offspring — had run rampant on campus grounds, damaging landscaping and digging holes in playing fields.
Victoria Times Colonist


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A motorcyclist died after being involved in an accident along the A27.
The collision took place on the eastbound carriageway of the A27 between Slindon and Arundel onSaturday (May 30)
The accident took place at around 1.55pm involved a silver motorcycle and a red Volvo estate car.
The fire service, South East Coast Ambulance crews and Sussex Police were sent to the scene.
The male driver of the car was taken to St Richard's Hospital with a head injury.
The 18-year-old motorcyclist, rom the Chichester area, was taken by air ambulance to King George Hospital in London with serious injuries.
Witnesses to the accident are being urged to call 0845 60 70 999, quoting Operation Walworth.
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ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Karen Handel returned April 30 to her North Fulton roots for a breakfast meeting with an upbeat message for supporters that included Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle and Councilmen Jim Gilvin and D.C. Aiken.
Belle Isle welcomed Handel to the 8 a.m. breakfast meeting warmly.
"We need to do what needs to be done in these last weeks for the candidate who will be effective in getting the job done in Washington," Belle Isle said. "Early voting has already started. We need to support [Handel] as the strongest candidate against Democrat Michelle Nunn, who will be making a strong bid in November."
Belle Isle noted Handel first proved herself in the business world, working for such global companies as CibaVison and KPMG before taking the job as president of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
Next, she accepted the challenge to run for the office of Fulton County chairperson in a special election. She won her spurs by reversing a proposed 3 mill tax increase, convincing the County Commission to cut spending instead.
She then successfully ran for Georgia secretary of state and confounded the experts by not only getting Georgia's tough voter ID legislation passed, but passing court scrutiny as well. During her term as secretary of state, she also slashed her own budget by 20 percent.
Handel narrowly lost her bid to be governor to Nathan Deal in 2010. From there, she began a controversial stint as vice president of public policy for the breast cancer nonprofit agency Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She resigned from Komen after a public battle in which she had proposed cutting Komen's funding of Planned Parenthood over its support of abortion.
After adopting the Handel initiative, the Komen Foundation reversed its position and Handel resigned in protest.
She also served as deputy chief of staff for Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Now Handel is in the race for the GOP nomination for Senate, and says she is in it to win it as the conservative with the best chance to defeat Nunn in the November general election.
Handel wasted no time telling her supporters that she is the candidate who will go to Washington with a plan to cut spending and revitalize the economy.
"You do that by looking at the 'must do' in the budget and not the 'nice do.' I believe in zero-based budgeting," Handel said. "Even if we did it only once every decade, it would force Congress to re-examine spending."
Federal spending is not all pork barrel spending, but represents 40 percent of Georgia's annual budget.
"I am a big fan of the Fair Tax, which lets people control how much tax they pay," she said. "And I know firsthand how to build a strong economy. You lower taxes and lessen regulation."
She scoffed at meddling with the minimum wage, saying that is approaching real economic growth from the wrong end.
"Increasing minimum wage doesn't build a stronger economy. Creating more and better jobs is how you build a strong economy," Handel said.
Handel said with the low requests for absentee ballots for the May 20 primary, she is convinced there will be an unusually low turnout. So it is important for every voter to cast a ballot.
"It is also interesting that the candidate who has spent $3 million has lost ground in the polls, the candidate who spent $1.5 million hasn't moved and the woman who has spent 20 cents is moving up like a rocket," she said.
Diane Smith said she came out to support Handel because she was the candidate who talked about solutions, not "positions."
"I think she will go to Washington and lower the budget. And she is woman who has faith, and I like that," Smith said.
Handel said later that the "buzz" around her campaign is accelerating.
"There is three weeks left, and it is all about working harder. The plus for me is the core of supporters I have all across the state," she said. "We had 200 people turn out in Murray County last week up in North Georgia. That was amazing."
Handel said she is approaching the primary with confidence and determination.


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Tuesday, 12 December, 2000, 14:38 GMT
Seagram's drink race nears end
The alliance between UK drinks firm Diageo and France's Pernod-Ricard is emerging as favourite to win the long-drawn-out auction for Seagram's wines and spirits business.
Analysts believe the level of cash reserve the two firms can muster puts them in pole position to win the drinks arm, which Canadian-based Seagram is selling to focus on the media sector.
Industry sources said the value of the winning was likely to be in the range of $8bn-8.5bn. Analysts had earlier estimated a sale would fetch at least $7bn.
"We have at this time two very competitive proposals for the sale of our spirit and wine business," a Vivendi spokesman said on Tuesday, one day after bidding closed. "We are confident that the process is on the right track and a definitive agreement will be signed before the end of the year."
Bacardi and Brown-Forman was thought to be the second bidder for the Seagram portfolio, which includes brands such as Captain Morgan rum, Chivas Regal whisky and Martell cognac.
UK-based Allied Domecq, the world's second ranking drinks firm, had also been interested in buying Seagram. It declined comment on Tuesday on whether it had submitted a bid but industry sources said they believed it had not.
'Deal of a lifetime'
A source said: "This is the deal of a lifetime in the drinks world and Diageo and Pernod appear to have been working very confidently towards victory."
Seagram is selling its drinks empire to concentrate on its entertainment holdings, including Universal Pictures, and a merger with French-based Vivendi cleared by regulators in October.
Shares in the merged company, named Vivendi Universal closed 1.20 euros lower at 74.00 euros in Paris on Monday, their first day of trading.
Diageo, which includes Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff in its portfolio, is believed to be particularly interested in acquiring Captain Morgan rum and Seagram's California wines business.
Pernod-Ricard is thought to want the Chivas Regal and Glenlivet whisky brands.
Insiders said the winning bidder might be chosen as early as Friday, although 18 December looked a more likely date.
See also:
30 Oct 00 | Business
Watchdogs clear $24bn media merger
13 Oct 00 | Business
EU clears Vivendi-Seagram merger
18 Aug 00 | Business
Drinks firms mix for takeover bid
04 Jul 00 | Business
Rum row turns sour
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text:
Use of Public Sector Marketing and Leadership in Romania's Local Public Administration (English version)
Both marketing and leadership are subjects of high interest especially for private sector organizations, with countless research done regarding their influence on organizational performance. However, their meaning and use changes when put in a public context. Taking into consideration the last 3 decades of NPM reforms both marketing and leadership got a new meaning for public organizations. The present paper explores the theoretical relation between public leadership and marketing as a managerial tool. The second part of the paper concentrates on testing, through qualitative research, whether basic marketing elements are present and used in the management of local public administration in the North-Western Region of Romania. Results show that public marketing is not yet present significantly in the local public institutions that where part of the study.
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Volume (Year): 34 (2011)
Issue (Month): (September)
Pages: 212-233
|Contact details of provider:
| Web page: http://www.rcis.ro/
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text:
Christmas, a time for giving, eating plenty of food, family traditions and a poor line up of Only Fools and Horses repeats. "Not this year" claims BBC spokesperson for scheduling. "2008 is going to be a landmark year in Christmas television, as we are proud to announce that President Elect Barack Obama will appear in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special".
The BBC show, which has been running for six years airs its Christmas special on 21st December where Mr Obama will sing 'Changes', original performed by David Bowie, with professional dancers Claudia Densse and James Orderlorder. Last year almost 59 million people tuned in to watch the Christmas special, a staggering 96% of the population.
Bruce Forsyth, the shows key talent and aged comedian, said today that he was delighted to hear that they have secured Obama, and that he hasn't signed to "those f****** c***** at X-Factor".
The BBC has also confirmed that for Christmas it will be airing 'An Audience with OJ' and a feature length documentary on 'Gary Glitter, the age of innocence'.


text:
This ultra lightweight and incredibly compact MY DEAR Baby Buggy folds so small you can store it in the overhead locker of an aeroplane, or under the seat on a bus or train in its very own carry bag.
- 3 level adjustable handle height
- Comes with it's own carry bag for easy transportation
- Lockable with back wheel
|Buggy Dimension:
|610mm (L) x 570mm (W) x 990mm (H)
|Foldable Dimension:
|370mm (L) x 220mm (W) x 630mm (H)
|Blue / Purple
|Product Code:
Credit Cards (Mastercard & Visa)
We currently accept Mastercard and Visa credit cards. Your credit card information is secured and safeguarded when shopping at Youbeli.com. All information are encrypted and sent through secured and protected channels. As we are employing Mobile88 (iPay88) as our payment gateway, Mobile88 will be stated in your credit card statement.
Financial Process Exchange (FPX)
We also accepts FPX payment method as it is an ideal payment solution for customers who does not have a credit card. All that is needed to make an online payment is an online banking account. Payment is directly linked and connected to the customer's specified online banking account, transactions are usually instant and fast. Supported banks includes:
Cash Bank-in / Online Fund Transfer / Cheque
You may bank-in cash or cheque into the selected bank account below:
Bank : PUBLIC BANK
Account Name : YOUBUY ONLINE SDN BHD
Account No. : 3194858935
Bank : MAYBANK
Account Name : YOUBUY ONLINE SDN BHD
Account No. : 514048612629
Once you have successfully bank-in the amount, email the bank in slip to email@example.com with the stated Order No.
PayPal lets you send payments quickly and securely online using a credit card or bank account.
Not valid for cash only items.
|Delivery Fee (RM)
|West Malaysia
|First 5.00 kg
|West Malaysia
|Additional 1.00 kg
No Available For East M'sia


text:
12/21/1999 (3:21 pm) by admin
Value America is offering a Celeron machine for $99 after a Compuserve 3 year REBATE. Tell me what you think of this and these computer REBATES in general. Also, check out the calculations that Joel did in the related news item.
12/21/1999 (4:19 pm) by Anonymous
If you look at all the new "high speed†connections that a consumer can purchase rather than dial-up, these so called "Rebates†are smart idea for the ISP. If it is not already, dial-up is dying and to keep it alive the ISPs turn to the contract rough hiding the terms and conditions behind a seemingly large rebate or trinket you can't refuse. Think about it if the ISP just said
'Hey! We are cutting the price of dial-up access in half, all you need to do is sign up for a 3 years.'
what would most of us say?
"Hell NO!â€
However, if you jump at these so called deals you are only getting the internet access for a lower price with out paying the lower monthly bill! Bottom line is there is no "Rebate†or "Deal†when you sign up for any long term contract because you end up paying for everything you get.
12/21/1999 (4:49 pm) by admin
Yeah right.
I agree with the chiefgeek. The growing tendency of selling products through REBATE deals is just another commercial scheme to sucker naive shoppers into throwing money into a deal that looks more enticing on the outside than it really is. Especially if you make the math and figure out that the numbers give you the chills.
So who gets the good deal? Well Compuserver of course - not only because they get to sign you up but because it looks extremely good in their 3 year revenue projections to add your monthly 'donation' to the success of their already obsolete network.
Also think about the committment that one would make especially in the face of exploding broadband access. By 2003 25% of Internet users will have access to some kind of high speed connection and with increasing competition broadband will become a commodity and prices will plummet. Now here you are, having to dish out a hefty monthly chunk of change while you would probably be able to buy 100 times the access speed for a lot less.
A lot can happen in three years - nobody in their right mind makes these kind of commitments especially in the computer industry.
Hey, I could be wrong, but these are my 2 cents.
12/21/1999 (4:50 pm) by Anonymous
If you look closer at Value Americas page you can
see that the monitor is sold seperately which adds
at least another $150 to $200 to the total price.
What a deal! Just go out and buy a real system and
get a good ISP and save yourself the headache.
12/21/1999 (9:41 pm) by admin
Even if somebody were inclined to do one of these rebate computer deals, why would they order it through Value America? You can get the same deal locally. If there is a problem you have about zero chance of ever talking to Value America or getting a response to your e-mail (I've been trying for six weeks).
12/21/1999 (10:53 pm) by Anonymous
This is somewhat related to the topic of so called rebate deals. Where I live, a major retail store is selling computers AND other appliances (such as kitchen appliances) with the Compuserve $400 rebate. Frankly, I really HATE this kind of advertising. I mean, the rebate sounds good, but then you have to pay for $hitty internet service? And the cancellation fee for Compuserve can basically cancel any rebate it originally offered. And of course, the retail store will most likely advertise with the $400 rebate added in and the actual price you pay in fine print. What i find weird is the fact that the rebate applies to appliances other than computers like dishwashers. What kind of stupid deal is that? You end up paying for the appliance and internet service (which the person may not need or not want. Get off the messed up rebates from Compuserve!
12/22/1999 (12:55 pm) by admin
I PURCHASED AN eMACHINE MONITOR AND PRINTER FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 149.00.I WAS PAYING 21.95 PER MONTH FOR AOL ANYWAY. SO IT WAS A NO BRAINER. I ALSO HAD ONE OTHER PC THAT I JUST PURCHASED BUT MY WIFE LIKED IT SO WELL I JUMPED ON THE DEAL. THE ONLY ONE TO NOT SEND ME BACK THE REBATE WAS THE COMPUTER MAKER,eMACHINE. I THINK THEY DO THIS ON PURPOSE AS I COMPLIED WITH ALL THE PROVISIONS AND FAXED THEM THE RECEIPTS SEVERAL TIMES.THE DEALS ARE A WAY TO GET A SECOND PC OR AN INEXPENSIVE FIRST ONE. BUT I WOULD CAUTION YOU ON THE MAKER OF THE PC. COMPUSERVE CAME THROUGH WITH THE BIG REBATE OF 400.00 FAST NO PROBLEM. CANNON THE PRINTER PEOPLE 2 WEEKS ONLY, CIRCUIT CITY NOT ONLY CAME THROUGH FAST WITH THEIR OWN REBATE BUT THEY ARE TRYING TO ASSIST ME WITH eMACHONES. IF YOU DO REBATES KEEP TRACK AND HAVE BACKUPS FOR ALL THE INFORMATION YOU SEND. WE SCAN AND STORE EVERYTHING IN THE PC,BUT I ALSO HAVE PAPER BACKUPS TILL I RECEIVE THE CHECK. HOPE THIS HELPS ANYONE OUT THERE WHO IS LOOKIN AT THESE OFFERS
12/24/1999 (4:07 am) by Anonymous
where's the website of Microcenter? I'd like to get a Celeron 333 with 32meg, 3 gig, 56k and 24x CD-ROM for $299
12/27/1999 (2:12 pm) by admin
I found Microcenter at: http://www.microcenter.com
Not sure this is the same site, but they have cheap computers. Be wary of the rebates there too!
12/28/1999 (1:14 pm) by admin
The site above is the correct site. Microcenter has a store in Cambridge, MA but also is on the 'Net.
12/28/1999 (5:56 pm) by admin
The rebates are generally a ripoff for the consumer, but very good for the business. Rather than giving everyone the $$$ up front, they offer to rebate some of the $$$ back to you if you buy something, send in a UPC code, fill out a form, and wait 6-8 weeks.
Generally speaking, people will purchase the device with the intention of getting the rebate, and then either forget to send in the info, will accidently destroy the box with the magic UPC code on it, or some percentage of the rebate forms will get 'eaten' by the Postal Service... Of the people who do send in forms which are eaten, they almost never call because they've forgotten whether or not they got the damn rebate check or not... The company also gets to work with the $$$ that hasn't been rebated back yet as well...
My personal peeve are the schmucks at Diamond MultiMedia with the Rio... I've been waiting for over 8 weeks now for a rebate on my rio, and from what I understand, so have numerous other folks...
It's almost time for a nice class action lawsuit to get the $$ out of them...
My advice - screw the rebates - keep searching for a real deal... Maybe if enough of us get pissed off at these things, there will be a regulatory law passed saying that you have to be paid within X period of time (say less than 4 weeks)...
12/29/1999 (1:49 pm) by admin
I have a P166 with 40 MB of RAM. I'd really like to get a faster system, but cannot afford it at present. However there's no way I'd want to pay for Internet service in order to get a cheaper PC. With Netzero, FreeI.net, AltaVista and whatever other free ISP's out there, paying for Dial-up seems like such a waste and commiting to 3 years, when dial-up is phasing out...be serious.


text: The first Web2.0 conference which I attended was in 2005, and that one had a very authentic feel to it. It's interesting to look back at notes from those sessions and the conclusions like "tagging is a short word, but requires a long explanation." By last year, the conference had grown up to become an extravaganza, for lack of a better descriptive term. And this year's elevation of the moniker to a "Summit" should continue with that trend. Regardless, conferences are for conversations. The important business is about connecting with people, as opposed to the content in the sessions themselves. Along those lines, if you've been meaning to reach out or just want to ensure that we reconnect while we're both at the show, drop me an e-mail at [david at genuinevc dot com].


text:
This homemade pie is real southern comfort food and a thanksgiving classic.
- pastry Ingredients
- 225g Plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 100g Cold butter cut into pieces
- Cold water
- pie filling Ingredients:
- 450g Sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/8s and boiled
- 110g Dark brown sugar
- ½tsp Ground cinnamon
- 4 x Eggs
- 165ml Evaporated milk
- 15g Butter melted and slightly cooled
- You will also need a 22cm loose bottomed fluted tart tin which has been lightly greased, some greaseproof paper and baking beans.
Cooking Instructions
- Add flour and salt to food processor followed by butter and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
- Tip mixture into a bowl and add a little cold water, just enough to bring dough mixture together in a ball
- Cover with cling film and chill for approx. 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 190C, Gas 5
- Roll out pastry onto floured surface and line tart tin
- Prick the base of the pastry lightly all over with a fork and bake blind for 15 mins
- Remove beans and paper and return to oven for 5 mins
- Remove pastry from oven, set aside and reduce temperature to 180C, Gas 4
- Puree cooked sweet potatoes in food processor and add brown sugar and cinnamon
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and evaporated milk together
- Blend egg and cream mixture and add cooled melted butter with sweet potato, brown sugar and cinnamon mixture
- When blended thoroughly, add mixture to par baked pastry and bake for approximately 45 mins until browned, risen and cooked through
- Remove from oven and cool slightly before cutting.
Gaynor's Tip: Although traditionally served at festive times, this pie is delicious all year round. Try garnishing with toasted pine nuts and serving with a dollop of freshly whipped cream as a treat.
Please Note: Whilst all our recipes are developed, tried and tested by our Executive Chef, variances in native and rare breed animals can differ immensely, therefore cooking times are a guide only. Please ensure all products are cooked through and hot before serving.


text:
Play free online games!
Ice Age 2 - Glacial Break
Ice Age 2 - Glacial Break
Play with your own profile by registering yourself for this fun game. You can also play as guest, but your scores and account will not be saved then.
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Ice Age 2 - Glacial Break
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Score: 5 (2 votes)
DescriptionTake away all the cubes to free your friends! Scratch can destroy cubes of the same colour as the one he is holding, by dropping his cube on or next to the other ones.
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text: Banana 101.5 [ Fair To Midland Performs at The Machine Shop Tonight [VIDEOS] By Tony LaBrie March 25, 2011 This show is sick every time! Fair to Midland will hit the stage tonight at The Machine Shop. Tickets are still available for $10 in advance or $12 at the door, get your tickets here. If you've never been to a Fair To Midland concert, this is a little of what you can expect. Read More Category: Concerts, Events, The Machine Shop, Videos Tags: darroh sudderth, fair to midland, Flint, The Machine Shop Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


text:
2.5 km from outdoor pop-festival Paaspop (Eastern-pop) near village Schijndel in Holland. This is the first outdoor music festival every year. Normally it is 10c, now it is 3c, cold, but as you can hear the music goes on. The festival has a lot of stages, the noise has a nice mixture. If the timetable is correct you hear this: Lapegatina, Balthazar, Puur Geluk, Electro Guzzi live, hardrock karaoke, Glow in the dark ft. mc. vk., Agent Side Grinder, Frank Lammers, Guerilla Speakerz, De Sluwe Vos, FS Green.
More info and pictures of the festival: http://www.paaspop.nl/
Around me just the farmland and some farms. Dogs barking, ducks in the ditch, some local traffic, a cow, people walking around .
This is the farmland where I am recording.
A 3-minute track of this here.
Recorded: March 31th 2013, 6pm, rural area on the corner of De Bus and Woudseweg, near village Schijndel in Holland
Festival area: 2.5 km East of me, De Heikampen Schijndel, NL Holland.
Weather; 3c, 1015 hPa, cloudy, wind NE 2 bft.
Rode NT4 xy90 microphone in Blimp, pointed East > Sony PCM D50 recorder. No EQ.
When you use this sound it would be nice if you spent a voluntarily donation to freesound.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO CREDIT/ATTRIBUTE me (klankbeeld) and freesound.org in your work if you use this sound. Do it like this: sound from http://www.freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/
Do not use an indirect link.
Please log in to comment


text:
Lawrence Eliot "Lawrie" Marcus, the last surviving member of the generation that built the Neiman Marcus retail chain to international prominence, died Friday of kidney and heart disease at UT Southwestern-St. Paul Hospital. He was 96.
Services are pending.
Marcus and his brother Stanley assumed leadership of the family department store in 1950 after the death of their father, Herbert Marcus. Stanley had a higher profile, but the men shared a passion for quality and service.
"He wasn't the showman that Stanley was, but he didn't care, he was looking for the best," said his wife, Shelby Marcus of Dallas. "He was looking for what would make a customer happy."
Although Marcus retired in the early 1980s, he kept his passion for quality to the end of his life.
Dr. Peter Ivanovich, a noted Chicago nephrologist, came to Dallas on Thursday to spend the day with Marcus.
Marcus said he liked the color of the doctor's tie and asked to feel his shirt fabric.
"He said, 'It's not very good quality, but you look great,'" Mrs. Marcus said. "He died the next day."
Marcus was born in Dallas, where his father and his aunt, Carrie Neiman, founded the iconic department store in 1907.
A graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, he earned a bachelor's degree at Harvard University in June 1938 and a master's in business in 1940. His Harvard studies included military science and a summer of training at Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont during the summer of 1937. He joined the Field Artillery Reserve Corp.
He returned to Dallas, where he used his flair for fashion to do commentaries for the Neiman Marcus fashion luncheon shows. He also was an assistant buyer.
In January 1942, he married Nancy Filgo. They divorced in the early 1960s.
During World War II, Marcus was sent to England in August 1942 and to North Africa that fall.
In a January 1943 battle in southern Tunisia, Marcus, 25, was cut off from his unit but crawled 150 yards under machine-gun fire to reorganize his troops and direct 75 mm gunfire at the Germans. The battery was forced back, once again trapping Marcus between the Germans and Allies.
"I was afraid I would be captured, so I ripped out sections of my notebook having confidential information and ate them," he said one week after the battle. "They weren't too digestible."
He dug a shelter using his mess spoon but decided to attempt to rejoin his unit when the Germans set up a mortar and command post yards from his position.
"I decided it was better to die than to be captured, so I decided to walk slowly through their lines, figuring if I went slow they wouldn't suspect I was one of the enemy," he said. "It was an awful temptation to hurry, but I got up and as calmly as I could and strolled to a cactus patch and down into a gully."
His trek back to his unit took two days. He had no water, only four sugar lumps and two small pieces of candy.
"When I got back to my unit everybody was surprised, as one of my men had reported that I was apparently killed," Marcus said. "They told me they were already about to divide up my baggage, but I got there in time to save my cigarettes."
In May 1943, after the battle of El Guettar, a bomb from a German fighter plane bombed Marcus' halftrack, splintering his left arm between the elbow and shoulder.
His World War II decorations included the Purple Heart and the Croix de Guerre, which he received on two occasions from the French.
In 1944, after completing his military service, Marcus returned to Neiman Marcus. After their father's death, Stanley Marcus became president of the company and Lawrence Marcus vice president and secretary.
Marcus was known for his wit. When smoke and water from a 1964 fire heavily damaged the flagship store in downtown Dallas, he remarked: "We've got one of the finest stocks of drip-dry suits you've ever seen."
In 1966, he moved to Houston to run the downtown Neiman Marcus there.
In 1970, he opened the Neiman Marcus store that anchored Houston's Galleria. A company advertisement described the attention Marcus gave the store "right down to the last light bulb."
Marcus flew to New York to approve the yarn for the new store's carpet before weavers started. He worked with sculptor Stanley Landsmann throughout the design and construction of the glass and light sculpture for the store's escalator well.
"His secretary scarcely sees him anymore," the ad read. "The barber phones him for appointments."
Marcus returned to Dallas in 1978 to manage the downtown store and serve as executive vice president of company.
In October 1978, he married Shelby Stroope.
"When I met him, I though he was a most unusual man," Mrs. Marcus said. "He was handsome, he was dapper."
Marcus never stopped learning or thinking, his wife said.
"He was reading Benjamin Franklin's papers to prove a point that the American flag was at one point red, white and blue-striped," she said. "In France one summer, he found all of the flags from a certain period and there was the American flag with red, white and blue stripes. He never gave up on anything."
Marcus "wasn't just retail," his wife said.
He once wrote a ballet to a Tchaikovsky concert he was listening to at the Dallas Symphony.
"He thought 'This should be a ballet,'" his wife said. "He took his program and started writing the ballet."
He owned an impressive collection of Oriental art, contemporary paintings and a "warehouse full" of photographs he took, his wife said.
In addition to his wife, Marcus is survived by a son, Cary Marcus of Clear Lake; a daughter, Judy Marcus of Dallas; a stepson, James Stroope of Houston; two stepdaughters, Lisa Browning of Dallas and Tinna Stroope of Troy, Mich.; one grandchild; and two great-grandchildren.


text:
Life Provides Fertile Sci-Fi Ground for CFE FCU Accountant Steve Costas
ORLANDO, Fla. -- While he may be in Accounting at CFE Federal Credit Union, as a science fiction writer Steve Costas transforms the everyday into the extraordinary.
"I minored in creative writing in college, which was years ago but I've always liked science fiction since I was young," said Costas. "As a writer I like taking familiar ideas and concepts putting a new twist on them to create something that has never been done before."
He picked the right entry point. Recently out of some 500 submissions Costas' short story, The Book of Fulfillment was one of 22 selected for Star Trek Strange New Worlds, which is a collection of short stories set in the Star Trek universe.
"I've tried to get in for a few years and when the deadline came and went for the winners I was disappointed because I really thought I had a shot this time," said Costas. "Then I got a message on my answering machine telling me I'd been selected and I went nuts. It was just the right time, I was getting depressed and was thinking about quitting. It was a real rush to finally accomplish this."
A religious convention provided the spark for the winning story. "During the sermon my mind wandered and I started thinking about what holy writing would look like on other planets and how an ancient civilization encountered by familiar Star Trek characters would preserve their own legends," said Costas.


text:
BU Wins Brain Bowl Competition
From answering the first question correctly to the very last and nearly all points in between, Baylor University's Brain Bowl team coasted to its fifth-consecutive title on Tuesday, April 11, in San Antonio. Baylor's team, made up of four students all of whom are neuroscience and psychology majors, competed against the University of Texas - Austin and the University of Texas - San Antonio to claim the top spot.
"I think this shows we have a very strong neuroscience major," said Dr. Brad Keele, who has been the Brain Bowl team's faculty advisor for the past five years. "We came out with a win and that's what we came down here looking for."
The annual Brain Bowl is a Jeopardy-like quiz show competition that tests the knowledge of undergraduate neuroscience and psychology students from Texas universities. Teams must buzz-in to answer the question. As the questions increase in difficulty, the number of points awarded for guessing correctly increases as well. Baylor scored 532 points, while UT scored 111 points and UTSA scored 55 points. Brain Bowler Michael Dyer, a senior from Missouri, said he knew they were going to win during the third round, when the team answered five questions correctly in a row.
"After we got our nervousness down, we started to take over," said Dyer, who along with Lorena Maili, Megan Uhelski and Aaron Chaloner made up this year's Brain Bowl team.
The team received a small trophy for their efforts, but all involved say they had fun.
"We had a great time, good competition and I wish we could do it again," Dyer said.
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