text:
Janise Ghidotti
On July 17, 2011, I was diagnosed with stage IV Melanoma. Who would have ever thought the beautiful ball of fire we worship every summer day, "The Sun", would give me such a terrible disease. Growing up, my summer days consisted of 8:00am swim team practice, snychronized swimming, and tennis, all at the worst times of the day! Sunscreen was not even in my family's vocabulary. Our Italian skin was a good enough base (or so we thought). Needless to say, I couldn't get enough of The Sun!
I just finished my last round of radiation - five double hits (which leaves you very exhausted). I've had many conference calls to Duke University Medical Center and many visits with my oncologists. I've decided to go to Duke University to have surgery and de-bulk most of the disease.
One thing I can say through all of this is that the majority of my strength is coming from the big man upstairs. I asked Father Grimes one day if God gives you as much as you can handle, why me...Has he forgotten how much he's already given me? He answered with a big smile and said to me "God doesn't give it to you". My problem is, I was losing trust in Him. From that day forward, I know I am not in this alone. God will continue to protect me and keep me strong.
To all my Family & Friends, I truly appreciate all of your prayers and kindness you have all shared with me. This is a challenge, but like I said, "Cancer picked the wrong girl!"
Re: Janise Ghidotti(5/30/2012 - 10:44am)
You can do it! Be strong and no matter what never lose faith!
God Bless you!
Re: Janise Ghidotti(9/3/2012 - 8:51pm)
My favorite answer to the statement that God won't give ou more than you can handle is "He may give more than you can handle, but He will never give you more than He can handle. We just have to learn to trust Him to handle it."
This ain't no hill for a stepper.
Re: Janise Ghidotti(5/16/2013 - 11:23pm)
Since 1984, I have asked God to help me with this disease and I truly believe fully God has. Good wishes.


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Freedom in the World
You are here
Tibet *
2012 Scores
Freedom Rating (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Liberties (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Political Rights (1 = best, 7 = worst)
The security clampdown established after an uprising in 2008 was generally maintained during 2011. Between March and the end of the year, 12 Tibetans set themselves on fire to protest Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule, mostly in the Tibetan regions of Sichuan Province. The authorities responded with mass detentions, "patriotic education" campaigns, and communications blackouts, continuing a trend in recent years of growing repression in Tibetan areas outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) where government policies had previously been less severe. Also in 2011, the top CCP official in the TAR was replaced, though the change appeared unlikely to significantly reduce state repression in the region.
The Tibetan plateau, or a substantial portion of it, was ruled by a Dalai Lama or his government from the mid-17th century onward. Chinese Communist forces entered Tibet in 1950 and defeated the Tibetan army. The region was formally incorporated into the People's Republic of China the following year. In 1959, Chinese troops suppressed a major uprising in Lhasa, reportedly killing tens of thousands of people. Tibet's spiritual and political leader—the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso—was forced to flee to India with some 80,000 supporters.
During the next six years, China closed 97 percent of the region's Buddhist monasteries and defrocked about 100,000 monks and nuns. Most Tibetan territory was reorganized as the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in 1965, but some eastern portions of the Tibetan plateau were included in separate Chinese provinces. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76), nearly all of Tibet's estimated 6,200 monasteries were destroyed.
Under reforms introduced in 1980, limited religious practice was allowed again. Between 1987 and 1989, some 200 mostly peaceful demonstrations were mounted in Lhasa and surrounding areas. After the antigovernment protests escalated in March 1989, martial law was imposed until May 1990.
In the 1990s, Beijing reinvigorated its efforts to control religious affairs and undermine the exiled Dalai Lama's authority. Six-year-old Gendun Choekyi Nyima was detained by the authorities in 1995, and his selection by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama was rejected. He subsequently disappeared from public view, and Beijing orchestrated the selection of another six-year-old boy as the Panchen Lama. Since one of the roles of the Panchen Lama is to identify the reincarnated Dalai Lama, the move was widely seen as a bid to control the eventual selection of the 15th Dalai Lama.
China hosted envoys of the Dalai Lama in 2002, marking the first formal contact since 1993. The Tibetan government in exile sought genuine autonomy for Tibet, particularly to ensure the survival of its Buddhist culture, but the Chinese side said repeatedly that it would only discuss the return of the Dalai Lama and not broader conditions in Tibet. Meanwhile, other Tibetan exile groups increasingly demanded independence.
Under Zhang Qingli, who was appointed as secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the TAR in 2005, the authorities amplified their repressive policies. In March 2008, after security agents suppressed a march by monks to mark the anniversary of the 1959 uprising, a riot erupted. Some Tibetans attacked ethnic Chinese residents and burned Chinese- or Hui-owned businesses and government offices. Over 150 other protests, most of them reportedly peaceful, soon broke out in Tibetan-populated areas of the TAR and other provinces. The government responded with a massive deployment of armed forces, who opened fire on protesters on at least four occasions, according to Human Rights Watch. The authorities reported that 19 people were killed in Lhasa, primarily in fires, and admitted to the death of three Tibetan protesters in the city. Overseas Tibetan groups claimed that between 100 and 218 Tibetans were killed as security forces suppressed the demonstrations.
Although the region was accessible to tourists and journalists under special conditions for parts of the next three years, the high level of repression established in 2008 was generally maintained. Security measures were especially tight surrounding politically sensitive dates. In 2011, these included the March anniversary of the 1959 and 2008 uprisings, and the 60th anniversary of Chinese rule in July. On both occasions, the authorities imposed a month-long ban on travel to the area by foreign tourists.
In the Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province, repression intensified beginning in March 2011, after a young monk set himself on fire to protest CCP rule. By year's end, 10 more Tibetans in Sichuan and one in the TAR had self-immolated, and at least six of them died from their injuries. The crackdown after the first self-immolations spurred clashes between security forces and Tibetan residents, and according to some observers, was a motivating factor for the subsequent acts of protest.
The intermittent talks between the government and representatives of the Dalai Lama ceased again in 2011, as the atmosphere for dialogue deteriorated. At a July rally in Lhasa to mark the 60th anniversary of Chinese rule in the region, Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, expected to become China's top leader in 2012, touted the CCP's deeply unpopular policies in Tibet and praised the work of security units that have played a leading role in violent crackdowns. Both state-run media and "patriotic education" campaigns continued to vilify the Dalai Lama, and Beijing continued its aggressive policy of pressuring foreign leaders to refrain from meeting with him and endorse the official Chinese position on Tibet.
The government's extensive economic development programs in Tibet have disproportionately benefited ethnic Chinese and increased Chinese migration to the region, stoking Tibetan fears of cultural assimilation.
The Chinese government rules Tibet through administration of the TAR and 12 Tibetan autonomous prefectures or counties in the nearby provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan. Under the Chinese constitution, autonomous areas have the right to formulate their own regulations and implement national legislation in accordance with local conditions. In practice, decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of senior, ethnic Chinese CCP officials. In August 2011, Zhang Qingli was replaced as TAR party secretary by Chen Quanguo, a CCP veteran with no previous experience dealing with ethnic minorities. Some observers speculated that Chen might not pursue repressive measures with as much zeal as Zhang, but such a shift appeared unlikely without a policy change in Beijing. The few ethnic Tibetans who occupy senior positions serve mostly as figureheads and echo official doctrine on Tibet. Padma Thrinley (known as Pema Choling in the Chinese press), a Tibetan, has served as chairman of the TAR government since January 2010.
Since 1960, the Dalai Lama has overseen the partial democratization of the government in exile in Dharamsala, India. Current institutions include an elected parliament serving five-year terms, a Supreme Justice Commission that adjudicates civil disputes, and—since 2001—a directly elected prime minister, also serving five-year terms. The unelected Dalai Lama, who served as head of state, renounced his political role in March 2011, and the parliament made the necessary changes to the exile government's charter in May. Separately, Lobsang Sangay was elected prime minister in April, replacing a two-term incumbent.
Corruption is believed to be extensive in Tibet, as in the rest of China. Nevertheless, little information was available during the year on the scale of the problem or official measures to combat it.
Chinese authorities control the flow of information in Tibet, tightly restricting all media. International broadcasts are jammed. The internet has provided educated residents with more access to information, but the online restrictions and surveillance in place across China are enforced even more stringently in the TAR. Security forces periodically confiscate communications devices and raid internet cafés, and routinely monitor calls in and out of the region. Tibetans who transmit information abroad often suffer repercussions including long prison sentences, while some internet users have been arrested solely for accessing banned information. Near the sites of self-immolations in 2011, the authorities at times cut off the internet entirely. Several Tibetan websites and a social-networking site were shut down within days of the first self-immolation. Also during 2011, security forces continued a recent campaign of arrests aimed at cultural figures whose work—often circulated by hand within Tibet and shared with the outside world—emphasizes Tibetan identity. According to overseas Tibetan groups, more than 60 writers, intellectuals, and musicians have been arrested since 2008, with some sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including a number of convictions in 2011.
Authorities continued to restrict foreign journalists' access to the TAR in 2011. Like other foreigners, they were denied entry around politically sensitive dates in March and July. During other periods, they were required to travel in groups and obtain official permission to visit the TAR. Foreign journalists periodically report being expelled from Tibetan areas of Sichuan and other provinces, though no permission is technically required for travel there. Residents who assist foreign journalists are reportedly harassed.
The authorities regularly suppress religious activities, particularly those seen as forms of dissent or advocacy of Tibetan independence. Possession of Dalai Lama–related materials can lead to official harassment and punishment, though many Tibetans secretly possess such items. CCP members, government employees, and their family members are not allowed to practice Buddhism, at least within the TAR. The Religious Affairs Bureaus (RABs) control who can study in monasteries and convents. Officials allow only men and women over age 18 to become monks and nuns, and they are required to sign a declaration rejecting Tibetan independence, expressing loyalty to the Chinese government, and denouncing the Dalai Lama. Regulations announced in 2007 require government approval for the religious recognition and education of reincarnated Buddhist clergy. The government manages the daily operations of monasteries through Democratic Management Committees (DMCs) and the RABs. Only monks and nuns deemed loyal to the CCP may lead DMCs, and laypeople have also been appointed to these committees. New regulations in effect as of August 2011 in approximately half of the Tibetan areas outside the TAR will further increase government control over the personnel decisions and daily affairs of monasteries in those regions.
Ideological education campaigns that had been conducted sporadically since 1996 began to escalate under Zhang Qingli in 2005 and intensified after 2008. They have occasionally been extended beyond monasteries to Tibet's general population, forcing students, civil servants, farmers, and merchants to recognize the CCP claim that China "liberated" Tibet and to denounce the Dalai Lama. Monks and nuns who refuse face expulsion from their religious institutions, while others risk loss of employment or arrest.
University professors cannot lecture on certain topics, and many must attend political indoctrination sessions. The government restricts course materials to prevent the circulation of unofficial versions of Tibetan history.
Freedoms of assembly and association are severely restricted in practice. Independent trade unions and human rights groups are illegal, and even nonviolent protests are often harshly punished. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focused on development and public health operate under highly restrictive agreements. Despite the risks, Tibetans continue to seek avenues for expressing dissatisfaction with government policies. In 2011, a new form of protest took gained prominence as 12 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, set themselves on fire and shouted slogans calling for freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama. In March and April, police detained numerous people tangentially linked to the first self-immolator, Phuntsog, a monk from Kirti monastery in Sichuan's Aba (Ngaba) prefecture. A tighter lockdown was imposed on the monastery in April, sparking protests by local residents who tried to stop police from taking monks away for "patriotic education." After a standoff of several days, security forces suppressed the protests and detained 300 monks; two lay Tibetans reportedly died in the clashes. At least 100 of the detained monks were later released, but were required to return to their homes in Qinghai rather than continue their monastic studies. In September, six people linked to Phuntsog were sentenced: three monks accused of aiding and sheltering him received 10 to 13 years in prison, while three others received two to three years in "reeducation through labor" camps.
In addition to the self-immolations and related protests in Aba, clerics and lay Tibetans in Ganzi (Kardze), also in Sichuan, staged a series of small protests throughout the month of June. On an almost daily basis, a pair or small group would go to a public space, distribute leaflets, and call for the return of the Dalai Lama. By the end of the month, between 40 and 60 people had reportedly been arrested. Seventeen were apparently released in August, while the whereabouts of the others were unknown at year's end. Meanwhile, rural Tibetans in the TAR continued to stage periodic protests against Chinese mining operations on the plateau.
The judicial system in Tibet remains abysmal, and torture is reportedly widespread. Several cases of detainees dying in custody or shortly after release were reported in 2011. Defendants lack access to meaningful legal representation. Trials are closed if state security is invoked, and sometimes even when no political crime is listed. Chinese lawyers who offer to defend Tibetan suspects have been harassed or disbarred. Security forces routinely engage in arbitrary detention, and the families of detainees are often left with little information as to their whereabouts or well-being. A partial list of political prisoners published by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China included over 500 Tibetans as of September 2011.
Heightened restrictions on freedom of movement—including troop deployments, roadblocks, and passport restrictions—were employed sporadically during 2011, particularly surrounding politically sensitive anniversaries and in areas of Sichuan where self-immolations took place. Increased security efforts kept the number of Tibetans who successfully crossed the border into Nepal at around 700 during the year, compared with some 800 in 2010 and over 2,000 in 2007.
As members of an officially recognized minority group, Tibetans receive preferential treatment in university admission examinations, but this is often not enough to secure entrance. The dominant role of the Chinese language in education and employment limits opportunities for many Tibetans. Private-sector employers favor ethnic Chinese for many jobs, especially in urban areas. Tibetans reportedly find it more difficult than Chinese residents to obtain permits and loans to open businesses.
Since 2003, the authorities have intensified efforts to resettle rural Tibetans—either by force or with inducements—in permanent-housing areas with little economic infrastructure. According to state-run media reports, by July 2011 a total of 1.4 million farmers and herders had been resettled within the TAR. Many have reportedly tried to return to their previous lands, risking conflict with officials if they are discovered.
China's restrictive family-planning policies are more leniently enforced for Tibetans and other ethnic minorities than for ethnic Chinese. Officials limit urban Tibetans to having two children and encourage—but do not usually require—rural Tibetans to stop at three children. As a result, the TAR is one of the few areas of China where the prevailing preference for male children along with the restrictive regulations has not led to a skewed sex ratio in the population.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
FLORENCE, S.C. (May 8, 2002) -- CP&L has announced that as part of its plan to ensure a continued reliable flow of electricity in the Pee Dee Region, the company will invest about $19.5 million in upgrading electric transmission facilities in Darlington, Florence and Lee counties over the next three years.
CP&L plans to build a 32-mile, 230-kiloVolt electric transmission line to better serve customers in the area. The line will run from CP&L's Darlington County Plant, near Hartsville, to an existing 230-kiloVolt electric substation in Florence.
The project is one of several major transmission upgrades under way throughout CP&L's service area. The company expects to spend about $200 million on transmission system enhancements over the next several years.
"Electricity usage in this area continues to grow at a significant rate, and the electric system must keep pace," said Emerson Gower, vice president of CP&L's Southern Region, which includes the Pee Dee Region. "In addition to building a number of new power plants to serve our customers, CP&L must continue to enhance the transmission and distribution systems to ensure a continuous supply of electricity to homes and businesses in the region.
"Our studies show that the transmission system upgrades will enable us to continue meeting the needs of our customers in Florence and Darlington counties and the surrounding area well into the future, without potentially creating the types of electric system concerns that have plagued other parts of the country in recent months."
Public information meetings scheduled
CP&L will hold two public information meetings for area residents to learn more about the project. The meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, at the American Legion Post 13 building, 1752 Harry Byrd Highway (next to the National Guard Armory) in Darlington; and Thursday, May 23, at Williams Middle School, 1119 N. Irby St. in Florence.
Both meetings will be from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and will follow an open-house format, allowing residents to come and go as they please. CP&L representatives will provide information on the need, route alternatives, schedule and other aspects of the project. The company also is seeking input from area residents about prospective routing options for the power line. Property owners located within 200 feet of an identified route alternative are being notified of the project and public information meetings by mail.
"We're really looking for two-way communication at this meeting," Gower said. "We're making a significant investment in ensuring the long-term reliability of the electric system that serves our customers. But we recognize that our neighbors in the study area know things about the region that we might not, and the information they can provide us is extremely valuable as we work to site new facilities."
More about the project
The new power line will be attached to transmission poles, spaced approximately every 500 to 700 feet and standing 85 to 100 feet tall. It will begin at a substation located at the Darlington County Plant (4030 W. Bobo Newsom Highway). The line will terminate at a substation at 1200 N. Douglas St. in Florence. Substations are facilities that reduce the voltage of electricity to a level that can be distributed to homes and businesses.
The project calls for the new transmission line to be operational by June 2005. Power line route selection, right-of-way acquisition, additional engineering and design and other milestones will occur before construction begins. The construction process is expected to begin in early 2004 and take about 16 months.
The process of route selection is under way, and the information gathered at the public information meetings will aid that process. A final route will be chosen this summer. Acquisition of the transmission line right of way (about 50 feet on either side of the line) is scheduled to begin in late 2002. CP&L purchases easements from property owners to allow for construction and maintenance of the power line. The property owners retain ownership of the land.
CP&L will work with local governments and agencies to ensure that the project complements local growth plans. The company will comply with all regulatory requirements related to the construction and operation of the facilities. CP&L's paramount objective is to ensure the health and safety of our customers and employees during construction and operation.
CP&L, a subsidiary of Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN), provides electricity and related services to more than 1.2 million customers in South Carolina and North Carolina. The company is headquartered in Raleigh and serves a territory encompassing more than 33,000 miles. For more information about CP&L, visit the company's Web site at: http://www.cpl.com.


text:
Story highlights
- CBS News' "60 Minutes" airs a report looking at lawmakers' investments
- Pelosi defends her record on fighting credit-card companies
- CBS also looks at investments made by Boehner and Rep. Bachus
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi fired back Sunday at a CBS News' "60 Minutes" report that highlighted several instances of what it suggested could be "soft corruption."
The show looked at the investments of various lawmakers -- including Pelosi, House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama -- who reportedly bought stocks around the same time legislation involving those investments was being discussed.
Pelosi and her husband participated in an initial public offering of Visa in 2008, according to CBS. They bought 5,000 shares at the initial price of $44; two days later, shares were trading at $64, CBS said.
The network reported the investment came at the same time a piece of legislation that was opposed by credit-card companies was making its way through the House.
"Congress has never done more for consumers nor has the Congress passed more critical reforms of the credit card industry than under the Speakership of Nancy Pelosi," Pelosi spokesman, Drew Hammill, said in a statement soon after the report aired Sunday night.
"It is very troubling that 60 Minutes would base their reporting off of an already-discredited conservative author who has made a career of out attacking Democrats," he added.
CBS said it used as a starting point for its story the research of Peter Schweizer, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank at Stanford University.
About a year ago, he began work on a book about "soft corruption" in Washington, CBS reported. The network said it had independently verified the material it used.
Pelosi's spokesman criticized the CBS story for failing to note that the "legislation in question was reported out of the Judiciary Committee on October 3, 2008 -- the day the House was consumed in passing TARP and also the last day the House was in session before the November election."
It also failed to note that in September 2008, the House passed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, Hammill said.
"In the next Congress, the House and Senate passed and President Obama signed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights and the Dodd-Frank legislation, which included a stronger, more direct approach to addressing swipe fees," the spokesman said.
In addition to Pelosi, the CBS report took a look at the investments of of Bachus and Boehner.
In mid-September 2008, Bachus, then a ranking member on the House Committee on Financial Services, met with then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and lawmakers about the imminent collapse of the global economy, CBS reported.
At the same time, Bachus bought options funds, betting markets would go down, CBS said. He also traded General Electric stock, and roughly a third of GE's business is in financial services, CBS reported.
Bachus declined to talk to CBS, but his office provided a statement that said the representative never trades on non-public information, or financial services stock.
Meanwhile, Boehner, who in 2009 was the House Minority leader, bought health-insurance stocks during the health care debate, all of which increased in value after the so-called public option was killed, CBS reported. Boehner was very much against the public option.
He also declined to be interviewed, but spoke to CBS' Steve Kroft at a press conference.
"I have not made any decisions on day-to-day trading activities in my account -- and haven't for years. I don't -- I do not do it, haven't done it and wouldn't do it," he said.
A senior House GOP aide told CNN that Boehner's financial adviser bought a range of blue chip stocks around the same time -- not just health care stocks -- after he closed out the retirement account from his small business.
"The idea that the Republican leader in the House opposed the public option -- policy favored by the left of the left -- for personal profit is, frankly, stupid," said the aide.


text:
It was thirty years ago, more or less, on a balmy evening not unlike this one, when a group of men—six to 10 of them, witnesses recall—were gathered in the Crown fuel station parking lot near Mondawmin Mall. Just the men and their custom vans.
They were coming up with a name for their club.
"I remember the meeting," says David Jones, aka "Carpet Bagger." "We were sitting around talkin', people kicking out different names and what-not. I said, 'Let's name the club "Nomads."' I kind of explained it. You are a wanderer. You don't belong to anyone."
And so it was that the legend, which lives to this day in camping trips up and down the East Coast, was born. The Nomads, all African-American, mostly men ("Ramblin' Rose" Pryor Trusty was a member too) formed part of a custom brotherhood animated by beer and music, crazy paint schemes, wild wheels, CB radios and gratuitous nudity.
They're still truckin' today, in the midst of what might be a vanning comeback.
Custom vans were the new thing in the late '60s and early '70s. The VW microbus—cheap, roomy, often fit-out for camping, and horrendously under-powered—inspired legions of others to grab at bigger, more muscular American-made vans and fit them out likewise.
"Back then the van, you know, it was a thing for work," Jones says. "But you know a conversion van, the kind you can get today? That's what we were trying to do back then."
The men installed plush carpeting, trick lighting, cookstoves, sinks—and, of course, beds. Captain's chairs and bubble windows, mega-stereos, TVs, bad-ass paint jobs, fender flares . . . some vanners—among them Willie "SWAT" Godfrey, the club's current president—even put extra axles and wheels on their vans, stretching the boxes three feet and giving them a semi-truck look.
It was something like Monster Garage meets Woodstock. "We elevated what the hippies done," Jones says.
The Nomads were a black hippie gearhead nudist club, trucking all over the Mid-Atlantic and deep into redneck white-folk territory. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
"The important thing at the meeting was, people wanted to use CB handles instead of names, because we knew each other by those CB names," Jones says, recalling one of the most important rule-setting arguments in the club's history. "But I wanted to use real names. And I won that argument. I wanted to use our real names because if something happened to a club member, if they got in an accident or they were on the news, people in the club needed to know that 'Carpet Bagger' was Davy Jones.
"For the longest kind of time we didn't know his name," Jones says, nodding to SWAT, whose shop, Godfrey Auto Works, at 3605 Woodland Ave., the Nomads are gathered in. It's a spare space with a desk and a small table, and a shelf of van-topped trophies lining one wall. Through a swinging door is a vast garage housing a half-dozen cars, including an old Cadillac with new gold paint, a '72 Ford Maverick with a race motor in it, a classic Mustang, and some other customers' cars. Godfrey still bashes panels, sands, and sculpts with metal and filler back there.
Eric Nelson walks in. He's got a leather vest on with the name "Nasty Man" stitched on the breast.
He says he joined the club in the mid-'70s after seeing dudes roll through his neighborhoods in these tricked-out vans. "I had a car," he says. "I always wanted a van."
Nelson went to Lester Parker at Monument Ford and got a new car in 1975 that he needed his father to co-sign for. By '76 he was trading it in for a Ford van. He was 25 years old at the time. "When I got it there was nothing in it but carpet. I put a sofa bed in there. I already had an ice box," he says."SWAT painted it for me a couple of times."
SWAT left the fine work—the pinstripes, the murals, the flames and the wings—to others, he says.
"There was a guy back in the old times, his name was Butch; we called him Wandering Art," SWAT says. "He'd do your bug deflector or your tire cover. He had a school bus he used to ride around in."
SWAT's got a box out now with Nomads meeting minutes going back 30 years or more—and a bunch of old photos. There's a picture of one of the six-wheel vans he made. "It had four captain's chairs, a sofa bed, TV, everything," he says.
There's a photo of the club circa 1975—a band of young, black men looking like they had the world by the short and curlies. "Only trouble with that picture—most of them are dead," he says.
Lee Coleman—"Angel Wings"—is one who didn't make it. He was president of the club in '77. He had wings painted on his van. "He died a year after that," SWAT says.
Some of the custom work was wildly creative. SWAT's first van—the old, right-hand drive U.S. Mail truck whose boxy style, like that of a police SWAT vehicle, gave him his nickname—had a turntable hanging from the ceiling, he says, and a La-Z-Boy recliner for his aunt so she'd be comfortable on trips back home to North Carolina.
After that was totalled in a crash, he took a '74 Ford Van and grafted the rear hatchback from a '71 Pinto to its side.
"Before GM made the minivan, where the bottom doors flip out and the top door flips up, we were doing that in custom vans," SWAT says. "I wish I patented that."
SWAT did more than that, his friends say. They remember all kinds of reworked doors, with hinges anywhere they might go—gull wing effects, tilters, double and triple door arrangements.
"Don't forget the light show," Jones says.
It was partly about style but it was also about getting out of the city and going to a big state park or a big show field on the weekends. There was music, food, beer, and contests judging the best customizations on the vans—which the Nomads often won. Of the impressive raft of trophies in the office, "we threw most of them away," SWAT says.
And there were women, naked women. Also men—naked men.
SWAT: "It was like the hippies."
Nelson: "We'd get to a spot; in a few hours it was like a city." All the van clubs, trucking in to show and shine and eat and drink and gossip and brag.
"We had all the creature comforts," Jones says. The camp site would usually have showers, public restrooms, sometimes a hall with a kitchen, all for $5 or $10.
SWAT extracts a photo—maybe late '70s, early '80s. A huge field, groups of people, many, many campers. "That's Cumberland," he says. "That's a national event."
There were 1,300 vans, more or less.
"We really used to have fun," SWAT says. "Remember when we went to Danville, Virginia?"
"Remember burnt chimney?" Jones replies.
"I think my second wife burned my van," SWAT says. "We used to fix a pot of stew when we get up there and stay up all night. We didn't have much, but let me tell you, it was some kind of good.
"Most of this was about the people," SWAT says. "They would do a show and shine too."
"Streaking!" someone says.
"I started 'Dark Side of the Moon' down in Tallysville, Virginia, because they weren't used to seeing black people streak," SWAT says. But "we've been family oriented the whole time," he adds, shuffling another old Polaroid. "We used to bring the kids [pointing to a kid maybe 10 years old in a photo]—that one's 40 now."
"First one I went to was Fishersville, Virginia," Nelson says. "And when I got there the man at the gate was wearing nothing but a top hat." He busts out laughing. "I been back every year since then."
"But the truck-ins, they don't let us back!" SWAT says, referring to the huge all-van-club annual events where the movement's legend is extended and its by-laws are written. About 10 percent of vanners at any given time were African-American, SWAT says. There was no racial trouble. Indeed, the current controversy isn't about race but vehicle type—vans versus camp trailers and motorhomes.
"The people that had vans in the '70s and '80s," Jones says, "in the '90s they started getting pickup trucks to pull their trailer." SWAT did that. He's got a 42-foot diesel camper now, because the van movement for these guys was always all about camping in comfort and style—and vans are less comfortable as you get older. But motorhomes aren't technically "vans," say the club's keepers. The web site announcing the Van Nationals in July says the event is strictly "vans only," adding that "there is an area for non-vans and motor homes with water and electric outside the main gate."
"We've missed the last three council meetings," SWAT says. "They can't accept change. Here we have a thing that's dying, and you won't let the old-timers in?"
The Nomads are saddened by this.
And SWAT's heart is still a vanner's. "I told Eric, 30-some years ago—we will be the last Nomads. Didn't I say that?"
"There are thousands and thousands of people that know us, and they'll tell ya quick—them the Nomads!" Nelson answers.
"We have been towing trailers—we started the vanners, and we started towing the high-lows," SWAT says.
In a way, this kind of drama is not new. Over-commercialization, milking the movement, seems to affect all subcultures as they grow up. The cycle is the same: Start with grass roots, fun, in-group. Expand to a bigger, more visible group. Solve problems that come with bigness; make structure. Structure then takes over, confusing itself with the movement and culture. Then: splits. Splinter groups. Death. Revival.
There's an essay at Vannin.com on "The History of the 2%" by George Kettle, which tells of the conflict between hard-partying original vanners and a certain van show promoter. That particular controversy dates from 1976.
Still, the vanning subculture is as slow to change as the vehicles themselves. A 1998 or 2003 Dodge van was much the same design as the 1975 model. Ford is only changing its 1970s-based van platform this year.
But in recent years some new blood has entered the vanning world. A young Midwestern man known as "Matchstick" started a company making new panels out of fiberglass—plus a magazine to promote them. And in L.A. there's a young guns club called Vandeleros. Even The Wall Street Journal noticed the trend in a recent story.
"The Grand Funk-blasting, mobile rumpus rooms of yesteryear—have held on to some dedicated enthusiasts," the story reported.
That there are people still out there truckin' in the best 1970s style has been amazing people for a long time, the men say. Nelson remembers a trip the club took in 2003.
"We went to a meeting in Florida, or some place and they found this guy . . . and he said, 'I couldn't believe you guys were still around when they told me.' He was so excited. I think he did the first something—he did the Coca Cola van or something."
"He was more of a promoter," SWAT says. "He worked for a big car manufacturer, and he was in such awe."
But the conversation always turns back to the "splash parties" the club hosted at the Padonia Park Club up near Cockeysville for years. It'd be $10 at the gate for all the beer you could drink and plenty from the grill, the men say. Plus music, dancing and—oh yeah—the "teeny-weenie-bikini contest."
"Male and female," Nelson says. "It's amazing what people will do for a trophy."
SWAT says at least 20 each, men and women, would line up and be judged at these events "for their 5.6 seconds of fame, as I call it." The men are both cracking up again, and then Nelson remembers the most important thing:
"It was always outdoors," he says, "and it never rained on us."


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888.632.2633 (888.NEC.CODE) 3604 Parkway Blvd, Ste 3, Leesburg FL 34748
"... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" [Joshua 24:15]
Understanding the NEC Volume 2, 2011 Edition was written to provide insight into, and an understanding of, many of the technical rules of the NEC. This textbook, printed in full color, covers Article 500-820. Based on the 2011 NEC. Subjects include: Hazardous (Classified) Locations, Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities, Health Care Facilities, Manufactured Wiring Systems, Swimming Pools, Fountains and Similar Installations, Emergency Systems, Optical Fiber Cables and Raceways and more.
This book is the companion volume to Understanding the NEC Volume I which can be found here.
Answer keys are included with all Mike Holt books.
Due to the extensive content of Article 690, that article is covered in Mike Holt's Understanding the NEC Requirements for Solar Photovoltaic systems. You can view our products covering Article 690 by clicking here.


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With fall practice in full swing, Lipscomb baseball head coach Jeff Forehand announces the 2013 schedule including 31 games in the friendly confines of Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium.
The Bisons hit the road for 25 road contests including away games at Southeastern Conference powers Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
"Every year I feel like we have a really tough schedule," said Forehand. " Last year we were in the top-65 toughest schedules with how difficult it was. We try to put our schedule together that way to be prepared for the tough Atlantic Sun but even farther than that. If you're planning to get to that next step after your conference tournament and get into a regional, the schedule is what I think prepares you to do that."
Lipscomb opens with 12 of the first 13 games on campus at Dugan Field hosting Southern Illinois-Edwardsville for a three-game set to lift the lid on the campaign. A midweek trip to Tennessee Tech is sandwiched in between the games against the Cougars and the 2013 "Mule Mix Classic" that features a pair of games against both Bradley and Ball State.
After a midweek tilt at Middle Tennessee, the Bisons make the trek to Oxford, Miss. a trio of games against the Rebels. LU continues road action at UT Martin before returning home to face Austin Peay and another three games against Bradley.
Following a trip north across the state line to take on Western Kentucky, the Bisons open Atlantic Sun Conference play as North Florida comes to the "Music City". A trip across town to take on Vanderbilt follows before the first conference road trip of the season on Easter weekend to face Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers, Fla.
"We've got Vandy back on the schedule which is good," said Forehand. "That's a good game to play for us because year in and year out they've been so successful. And playing our cross-town rival two times in the middle of the week is going to be great. Hopefully those will be a couple of great crowds."
The Bisons continue the seven-game road swing to start the month of April with a return trip to take on Austin Peay before heading across state to take on ETSU in A-Sun action. The Purple and Gold returns home after the series with the Bucs for non-conference action against Belmont before USC Upstate comes in for the weekend league series. Western Kentucky then makes their return to wrap up the five-game homestand.
April action continues for the Bisons with a three-game set at Mercer and a return trip to Belmont before closing out the month with a home series against Stetson.
Lipscomb opens the month of May with another trip to the "Bluegrass State" to take on A-Sun newcomer Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights before UT-Martin comes to Nashville for a midweek tussle. LU then heads to take on Jacksonville in the final road trip of the season before rounding out the 2013 regular season by hosting Tennessee Tech and Kennesaw State in the final week of action.
The Bisons are set for a big week next week as "Family Weekend" approaches on Oct. 12-13. After the team scrimmages on Tuesday and Wednesday, the squad hosts the seventh-annual golf tournament fundraiser at the Legends Golf Club in Franklin. The team scrimmages again on Saturday.


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Pioneering bone marrow transplants to cure leukemia
There was a time when a leukemia diagnosis was a death sentence. Chances of survival were little more than zero.
But thanks to a team of pioneering scientists led by Dr. E. Donnall Thomas at Fred Hutch, tens of thousands of leukemia patients now lead productive lives.
Laboring in the basement of temporary facilities in Seattle four decades ago, Thomas sought to do what others were convinced would never work. He ventured to cure leukemia and other cancers of the blood by destroying a patient's diseased bone marrow with near-lethal doses of radiation and chemotherapy and then rescuing the patient by transplanting healthy marrow. The goal: to establish a fully functioning and cancer-free blood and immune system.
Today, the success of bone-marrow transplantation stands among the world's most significant medical advances. The technique has transformed leukemia and related cancers, once thought incurable, into highly treatable diseases with survival rates as high as 90 percent.
A medical visionary, Thomas received the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for this lifesaving work.
More Information


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Sun 9th Jun 2019 at 8:30pm
The Strawbs
@ The Robin 2, Wolverhampton
Featuring: The Strawbs
This event has been and gone!
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Check out the info below for future tour dates, and track them to receive alerts when they tour near you
50th Anniversary Acoustic Show: The Strawbs
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The Strawbs
The Strawbs comprise David Cousins, along with lead guitarist Dave Lambert, and the astonishingly versatile Chas Cronk, who together formed the front-line of the classic 1970s line-up of the band. As they move gracefully into their fifth decade of music making, it is still difficult to categorise the unique sound that has made them Britain's most successful international progressive folk-rock band.
The band started life as the Strawberry Hill Boys playing bluegrass, before moving into the mainstream by making the first Strawbs album with Sandy Denny in 1967, a year before she recorded her first album with Fairport Convention. The recording with Sandy attracted the attention of A&M Records in Los Angeles who signed Strawbs as the first British band on the label! Strawbs has a devoted fan base that continues to grow on the strength of albums like Grave New World, Bursting At The Seams, Hero And Heroine, and Ghosts, and classic songs such as Lay Down, A Glimpse Of Heaven, and Benedictus.
The Strawbs tour dates


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We offer an easy access campground on US 127 just north of Jamestown, TN
Just a short drive to these destinations:
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area
Pickett State Park
Sgt. Alvin C. York Historic Park
Borderland Expeditions
Dale Hollow Lake
and other local tourist attractions.
Open Year Around
Free Wi-Fi and Cable
Call for reservations 931-879-3025
Owned and operated by Ken & Valerie Edenfield
Maple Hill RV Park & Cabins
© Maple Hill rv park & cabins • All Rights Reserved


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The National Museums of World Culture are hosting the international cultural heritage in Sweden. Through our exhibitions and our extensive program activities, we are an active and up-to-date public debater of issues regarding globalization, cultures and cross-cultural encounters.
The organization consists of four museums with four different profiles. In Stockholm the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities are located. The Museum of World Culture, inaugurated in December 2004, is located in Goteborg. Together, our museums greet between 600 000 and 800 000 visitors per year. Hey


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Posted by Editoress on 08/1/09
Brief results from Spain
|San Sebastian to San Sebastian, 237km
|1 Carlos Barredo (Esp) Quick Step
|2 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
|at s.t.
|3 Mickaël Delage (Fra) Silence-Lotto
|4 Peter Velits (Svk) Milram
|5 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream
|6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Katusha
|7 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
|8 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha
|9 Rubén Pérez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
|10 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Columbia-HTC
|all s.t.
|63 Michael Barry (Can) Team Columbia - Highroad
|64 Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin - Slipstream
Columbia-HTC preview
Columbia-HTC's Michael Barry started his second half of the season in the hilly Clásica San Sebastian one-day race in Spain on Saturday. After a break following the Giro d'Italia, the Canadian rider feels optimistic about his chances, even if the 237-kilometre event is one of the toughest and hilliest Classics of the calendar.
"It's been quite a while since I've been racing and this is quite a tough event to get going in again, but I've trained hard and I feel like I'm in good shape," Barry commented. "I've ridden the Clásica seven times and it's never easy to predict how this race is going to work out. You've always got to be very attentive. Last year the bunch split halfway round, all the favourites were in the front group and they stayed away to the finish. Other times it's a bit more formulaic and the early break normally gets pulled in on the Jaizkebel, the biggest climb of the race. But then you can't say what'll happen afterwards. Sometimes a little break tends to get away on the descent or close to the finish. Sometimes it's a bunch sprint. The weather's always a factor because it's so variable. Last year, when that big group of riders got away, it was really hot. This time it's forecast to rain."
"Other years maybe we've lacked some firepower in San Sebastian, but this time around, I think it's a different story," comments team manager Rolf Aldag. "George [Hincapie] would have been an obvious choice, but he's got to recover from his broken collarbone from the Tour. Fortunately we do have other options. Thomas [Lovkvist] has just won a stage in the Tour of Saxony and is in good shape, and Kim [Kirchen] was getting better and better as the Tour continued. One way or another, we'll have somebody up there in the action for sure."
Columbia-HTC for Clasica San Sebastian: Michael Barry (Can); Kim Kirchen (Lux); Thomas Lovkvist (Swe); Marco Pinotti (Ita); Morris Possoni (Ita); Frantisek Rabon (Cze); Vicente Reynes .
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


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The American Film Market (AFM) is the market partner of AFI FEST. The association between the two events connects art and commerce, broadening the opportunities for all participants, and collectively represents the largest gathering in North America.
The business of independent motion picture production and distribution reaches its peak every year at the AFM, when more than 8,000 industry leaders converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, premieres, networking, parties and conferences. Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world's press and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry. The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). More information is online at AmericanFilmMarket.com.


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Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union and Student Choice believe a private student loan is about more than numbers. It's about helping you fill the financial aid gap other funding can leave behind, leading to a brighter future and financial security. If a loan from Student Choice and your credit union has helped you (or your child) achieve your dreams of higher education, we want to hear from you! Simply visit www.lendyourvoicetostudentchoice.org to upload your story and photo before December 31, 2016, and you could receive a $50 Amazon gift card!
Tell us your inspiring store and view what other borrowers have shared on the Lend Your Voice website!
If you or a family member need help paying for college, check out our private student loan solutions we offer.
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Angela Batchelor / 1/14/2019 - 5/9/2019
This course presents a survey of the history of art from prehistoric times through the Gothic period in Europe. Slide lectures, gallery visits and discussions will be employed so that the visual literacy of students will be enhanced.
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Early March is an inhospitable time in most North American locations that are not in Florida. This is why the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, which kicked off the annual classic-car-show season for the 18th time this past weekend, takes place in the Sunshine State. Like its thoroughbred stable-mate, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Amelia (as it's called by the cognoscenti) is a convocation of the global lifestyle elite, organized—as these things often are—around indulgences devourable, imbibable, golfable, and swimmable.
Being righteously abstemious, we were there solely for the drivables. (Ha!) And this year, once again, they did not disappoint, either in their unparalleled beauty or in their connection to the well known and well heeled (or nearly so). Herein, please find our second annual collection of pedigreed vehicles from the field and auctions at Amelia.


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The effect LOWONE.mp3 is one of 77 sounds in the Zaps category. You could describe the content of this category as Zaps, as well as electric, buzz, beeps, power, plug, charge, lightning, storm, energy, pulse, shock, current, magnet, generator, and electron.
The full collection of 5,000 FX and music clips are organized into 70 separate categories. They are all 8-bit 22kHz mono in .mp3 format, making them easy to use with most programs. This collection is license and royalty-free for non-commercial use, and inexpensive for commerical use. Click here for detailed usage rights.
(If you don't have Shockwave, you can download the Plug-in Here.)
Free Sounds | Games | Clip Media | Education | Misc Stuff | Company | Order
© 1990-2007 BeachWare, Inc.


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Send Rakhi with Chocolates to East Sikkim
Express the unconditional love that you have for your brothers with the sweetness of chocolates, Send Rakhi with Chocolates to East Sikkim to them on the auspicious occasion. The best thing that can ever happen in one's life is getting a sibling, be it a brother or a cute sister. This is the relationship in anyone's life which is worth celebrating. And the day which celebrates this connection, Raksha Bandhan is coming soon.Talk of celebration and gifts spring to mind. We have an array of the finest online rakhi gifts in East Sikkim that you can send to your siblings. Send rakhi with chocolates to East Sikkim and commemorate this beautiful bond. Make this Rakhi the most exciting and memorable for your siblings with the best online Rakhi Gifts in East Sikkim. If you want to send rakhi dry fruits to East Sikkim, that also is at your service on the website. Just have a look at the vast catalog of ours and choose from the plethora of gift items that you have got at our portal.
Online Rakhi with Chocolates Delivery in East Sikkim on best price
We offer you an array of gifts like personalized coffee mug with rakhi, and rakhi sweets etc. Besides rakhi chocolates. We are expert at providing our customers with premium quality when it comes to online rakhi and chocolates delivery for their beloved brother. Celebrate this Rakshabandhan with your Bhaiya bhabhi, Send bhaiya bhabhi rakhi in East Sikkim from our comprehensive collection of Bhaiya bhabhi rakhi. One can send rakhi with chocolate online in East Sikkim smoothly with us as we are the best online gift shop in East Sikkim in terms of cost-effectiveness of the gifts. Just browse through the lovely gift items and get raksha Bandhan chocolates delivery online in East Sikkim at the doorstep of your loving siblings. Forget worrying about the prices, we have the best deals for you. Join our hands and avail our same day online Rakhi with Chocolates delivery in East Sikkim on best price.
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ONARCHITECTURE- Curb appeal: 'Skateblockers' slide by BAR
Fed up with skateboarders damaging the historic marble curb along their sidewalk, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society had the city attach a series of metal bars to the marble, a move skateboarders call "skateblocking." At least three dozen devices, spaced about two feet apart, now conspicuously cover the curb.
"The curb was in great shape until recent years," says Margaret O'Brien, a librarian at the Historical Society, "when skateboarders began chipping away at the marble."
O'Brien says Historical Society staff found the problem "extremely irritating" and have often run to the sidewalk to drive the teens away or to call the police.
"They serve the purpose well," says O'Brien, adding that the problem has finally been solved. "It would be better not to have them, but I don't think they stand out too horribly," she says of the blockers.
However, unlike countless other owners who must go before the Board of Architectural Review to make the slightest changes to a property, it appears that neither the Historical Society nor the City, who owns the building, notified the BAR before installing the devices, something City Preservation and Design Planner Mary Joy Scala says they were required to do.
In addition, some BAR members believe the impromptu cure may be worse than the disease, as the bars, of questionable aesthetic, were bolted into the marble.
However, there's no doubt the devices work, as one skater confirms.
"It's impossible to skate on the curb now," says a 13-year old skateboarder, who points out that the sharp, smooth, slanted edge of the curb was ideal for doing 50-50s, nose grinds, and krooks, tricks where a rider grinds the board and its trucks (axles) along the ledge.
Indeed, the devices work so well that nearby Holy Comforter Catholic Church decided to install similar deterrents of their own. Again, without BAR review.
"We haven't seen them around," says a church official of the skateboarders, "so obviously it's working." The official says the church asked the City for permission to install the devices, and was told nothing about the need for BAR review.
"We board all the time in Court Square, but no one ever complains around there," says the 13-year-old, mentioning that police generally just tell skaters to move along when someone complains. "It's usually pedestrians or people who own the business who yell at us."
The teen skater says that he and a friend were recently videotaped boarding outside the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, and were told by the cameraman that the tape was being used as evidence that the library steps were being ruined by skateboarders.
The teen says it's hard to resist the real streetscape obstacles downtown, as the City's skate park, located on McIntire Road, doesn't have sufficient ledges and stairs. "There's all sorts of things that skate parks don't have," he says.
Indeed, Historical Society director Douglas Day sympathizes. "I think our skate park is inadequate," Day says. But he also defends the new devices: "The skateboarders were ruining the marble."
Days says it was the City's decision to use the devices, which were installed by Facilities Management staff. However, Scala says a BAR review was still required, and she has since advised Facilities Management that any exterior changes like this need to be approved.
"This installation will be discussed at a future BAR meeting," Scala promises.
"I think the devices are unfortunate," says BAR vice chair Syd Knight. "I understand and share the frustration with the damage that skateboards cause, but I think there should have been discussion regarding the most appropriate solution for a historic site."
Indeed, for Knight, it's ironic that the Historical Society should have been so oblivious.
"The Historical Society, of all organizations, should have been more sensitive in several areas," he says, "by not permanently damaging the curbs and by supporting the process of historic preservation and going through the proper channels like everyone else."
"Aesthetically, I'm not excited about it," admits Day, "but it was the lesser of two evils." As he points out, the marble curb– donated to the City by Paul Goodloe McIntire in 1921– was being rapidly destroyed by the skateboarders. "It was a preservation move on the part of the City," he says.
However, if a BAR discussion had taken place, and if members had agreed that the devices needed to be installed, something other than aluminum-colored bars might have been chosen. The website skatestoppers.com offers a series of architectural devices shaped like flowers, vines, frogs, starfish, arches, and even trolley cars. The site also offers to custom-make the devices to buyers' own design.
The BAR discussed the installation, after the fact, at its last meeting, says Scala. "They were concerned that the architecture should not be modified to protect it from being used for which it was not intended," she says.
Scala says BAR members were more inclined to discuss options to discourage skateboarding in historic districts and encourage the use of the skate park. She also notes that BAR chair Fred Wolf plans to communicate this decision to police.
But Police Chief Tim Longo says the devices were news to him.
"I have no idea who installed them or recommended them," he says. "In fact, I didn't know they had been installed."
As Longo points out, per section 15-246 of the city code, riding skateboards on city sidewalks downtown is prohibited, something his officers regularly monitor.
So might there be consequences for the Historical Society, the Holy Comforter Church, and the City itself for not going through the proper channels?
"I think the consensus of the BAR was to let this one go," says Scala. "If the devices are removed, there would be holes left in the marble, and they could be further damaged by skateboarders. There's no good solution."


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The type of wax that you select for candle making is very important to your end product. Wax has a direct affect on the overall quality of the finished candle. This is the secret to making the perfect candle; you have to have a good, high quality wax. The novice belief in candle making is that as long as they add more fragrance, it can compensate for a lower quality wax, and still produce a strong candle. This is absolutely not true.
To help you understand the importance of wax in candles, let's think of wax as a sponge and fragrance as water. Sponges are very porous. And, when you pour water over a sponge, the sponge fills each pore with water. The sponge will swell as it fills. However, as you will notice eventually when the sponge is filled, it can no longer hold any more water. What then results is an overflow of water and the water will start leaking out from the sponge. The same concept is true for wax. Once the pores of the wax have been filled with their maximum capacity of fragrance oil, any additional fragrance oil that is added will settle out of the wax.
What you are left with in this scenario is wasted fragrance oil in the bottom of your pouring pot and a candle that is possibly a fire hazard. You should never use more than 1.5 ounces of fragrance oil per pound of wax. Adding additional scent to your candle wax will not increase your scent, instead it is nothing but money down the drain. That is why the quality of wax that you select for your candle making endeavor is so important.
Pre-blended waxes
Yes, it is true that there are a variety of wax additives that you can include in your candle recipe to manipulate certain qualities in your candles. But, in our experience, we have found that purchasing a pre-blended candle wax that already includes these additives is the best route to go. Not only are you saving time, money, and the hassle of testing, but your end product will be exactly what you are looking for in a candle. Analyzing it, by the time you purchase all of the extra ingredients you need to make a low quality wax into a high quality wax, you will spend more money than if you just purchase the high quality pre-blended wax (like JOY wax) to begin your candle making venture. Not to mention all the time you just saved yourself too.
Another key factor to remember in candle making is that temperature is extremely important. Anytime that you are working with wax, it is crucial to know the directions for use. The temperature of waxes varies according to the wax you are using. And, in candle making temperatures are vital to the process. Never heat any of your waxes above 250 degrees Fahrenheit. On a molecular level, heating wax to this extreme temperature will start to break down the wax on a molecular level. You will also notice if you get wax too hot (above the instructed degrees) the wax may burn, resulting in discoloration of the wax, as well as a burnt smell. If this does occur, the wax is done. It cannot be used for candle making any longer. DO NOT attempt to scent the wax, or over scent the wax to compensate for the burnt smell.


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The $100 ESP 3.2 is Kodak's beginner's multifunction device that can print, scan, fax, and copy, but a week of testing is all I need to give it a thumbs down. I'm especially disappointed that this entry-level device still suffers the same mechanical design issues of legacy models like the
Design and features
"Small-in-Ones" notwithstanding, the ESP 3.2 still has a compact footprint relative to other multifunction printers at 16.5 inch wide, 12.4 inches deep, and 7 inches tall. Its multifunction moniker means it prints, scans, and copies, but you don't get an auto-document feeder so you have to endure scanning large stacks of documents or snapshot photos on a sheet-by-sheet basis. The Epson NX430 doesn't have one either, but the $80
Unlike on the ESP 5, the input and output trays sit on opposite sides of the device, and the 100-sheet input tray in the back folds down on top of the scanner lid when not in use. Still, I prefer the Canon Pixma MX372's folding auto-document feeder for the streamlined look it lends to the machine.
The paper output tray sits flush within the unit and folds down with an extendable plastic arm that pulls out of the edge to corral sheets of paper as it completes each job. On the whole, the printer is made of a light plastic that reminds me of a Playskool toy and gives the device a flimsy and delicate feel.
A thin plastic arm props up the cover when you raise it to expose the ink cartridges, similar to the hood of a car. The mechanism requires two hands to close and is a terrible design choice, almost guaranteed to break over time. I'm unsure why Kodak didn't just use a standard spring-mounted lid like the rest of the industry. Another serious complaint is the cover on top of the scanner bed folds on a fixed hinge and subsequently can't reach over thicker items like large books.
The ESP 3.2 retains the standard-size ink cartridge bay: one slot for black and another for color. This setup is common for printers in the low-end price range, and the Kodak Web site reports yield prices on par with the average inkjet printer. Additionally, the company also sells extra-large cartridge capacities that cost slightly more up front, but save you money in the long term.
The top of the device has a small 2.4-inch LCD display that walks you through installing the printer on your wireless network at home, and a glowing light on the front shows your network status in relation to the host computer network. Unfortunately, the screen sits at a fixed angle that may not be easy to see on taller shelves, so be cautious during the set up to ensure usability.
Kodak keeps the rest of the buttons on the control panel to a minimum, with virtual buttons on the side for power, cancel, navigation, and start. Just below the buttons you'll find a multimedia card reader for Memory Stick, SD, and MMC, but the printer lacks a USB port for printing directly from a digital camera.
By contrast, the Canon Pixma MX372 offers the additional benefit of a fax machine and a host of buttons on the front including auto-dial buttons and a full set of numerical buttons for dialing. While the Canon's two-line dot matrix display isn't quite as fancy as the Kodak's color LCD, I see no added benefit to a full-color LCD on a printer that isn't designed to print a large volume of photos anyway.
Kodak offers several ways to print to the Kodak aside from the standard USB connection -- you can hook it up to an office network using wired Ethernet or distribute it wirelessly using its 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi server. Headaches quickly arrive when it's time to connect a printer to a wireless router, but I'm impressed with Kodak's streamlined handshaking. The printer is set up for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) computing standard that boils the process down to a push of a button, if you have a compatible wireless router. It's just as easy to connect without WPS, however, but you'll need to create an ad-hoc connection using the USB cable first. Unfortunately, Kodak doesn't provide this cable in the box.
The ESP 3.2 is also accessible on the run using the free Kodak Pic Flick App for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry device. Though the app doesn't offer the opportunity for heavy photo editing, you can specify the print quality and canvas size from 2 inches by 3 inches all the way up to the standard 8.5 inches by 11 inches.


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Education, Leadership & Public Service, School of
Contact Information
Education at NMU
The School of Education, Leadership & Public Service offers professional studies courses leading to the Michigan professional or provisional teaching certificate at the elementary and secondary levels as well as courses for continuing professional development through the master's degree. Students must be eligible for admission to the School of Education in order to enroll in education courses.
All NMU education programs are accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council and approved by the Michigan Department of Education.
Northern's School of Education carries primary responsibility for:
- Curriculum for elementary school teachers
- Curriculum for teachers of children with cognitive impairment
- Curriculum for teachers of children with emotional impairment
- A sequence of professional courses in education for secondary school teachers.
In cooperation with other departments, the school also sponsors graduate programs for teachers and school service personnel leading to the master of arts in education. These programs are described in the Graduate Studies Bulletin.
Most education courses at Northern Michigan University include field experience in K-12 classrooms. A number of education courses meet in public school buildings to expand teaching opportunities. Another learning opportunity is an apprenticeship in special education, which provides students with a chance to refine goals and polish skills.
Student Organizations
- Michigan Student Council for Exceptional Children
- Student Michigan Education Association
Elementary Education Programs
Special Education Programs
Secondary Education Majors
Post-Degree Teacher Certification
Baccalaureate degree graduates without teaching certification may complete a provisional certification plan of study for teaching at the elementary or secondary level by enrolling in undergraduate courses. If a student has completed courses as an undergraduate that are applicable to a teachable major or minor, the undergraduate credits may be counted toward the state requirement for provisional certification. If additional credit hours are required, they may be obtained through enrollment in undergraduate courses. In addition to the major and minor requirements, the student must complete the State of Michigan requirement in professional education. Provisional certification programs are available in elementary education, secondary education and special education.
Post-degree students who qualify for a Michigan provisional certificate do not automatically receive another Northern Michigan University degree. In order to do so, all requirements for earning a second degree must be met and verified.
Department/Program Policies
Admission to Teacher Education Program
Admission to Northern Michigan University does not necessarily imply full admission to a teacher education program. Admission to teacher education is determined by the director of teacher education student services or the certification counselor in the School of Education or, on appeal, by the teacher selection and retention committee.
Students are not eligible to enroll in any ED prefixed courses above 100 level until they have gained full admission to the School of Education. Full admission requirements to a teacher education program of study are as follows:
All undergraduate and post-baccalaureate applicants must have:
- a cumulative GPA of 2.7 in undergraduate level college credits with least 28 credits; and
- passing scores on SAT or appropriate equivalencies. Please see the Teacher Selection and Retention Standards for details.
Applicants may be denied admissions if they do not meet the above requirements or if they have:
- more than five repeats in college courses;
- a combination of excessive repeats and withdrawals from classes.
All students who indicate teacher education as their intended curricula will be advised by the School of Education until they meet the standards for full admission or are denied admission. Applicants who are already attending NMU or who are applying for re-entry must submit to the Director of Teacher Education Student Services an application which verifies that all entrance requirements have been met. An NMU transcript and transcripts and transfer evaluations from all other colleges attended will be required.
New transfer students must apply and have all transcripts submitted to the Transfer Admissions Office at least eight weeks prior to the beginning of classes so that eligibility requirements may be determined.
Students with a baccalaureate degree must apply and submit all transcripts by May 1 for the fall semester and October 1 for the winter semester. Students who do not meet all entrance requirements and the prescribed deadlines will not be authorized to enroll in education classes.
Admission to Methods Phase
Admission to the methods level of the program enables students to take courses in their professional education sequence numbered from ED 306 through ED 406, ED 353, and secondary education methods courses as long as deficiencies do not exist and prerequisite courses have been satisfactorily completed.
The screening of candidates for entrance to the methods phase of the program is extremely important. The Teacher Selection and Retention Committee is responsible for overseeing this function. The faculty is interested in determining whether or not the applicant possesses the characteristics that are necessary for effective teaching. Just as important, however, is the faculty's interest in identifying students who need or should be given opportunities for remediation, further academic preparation, special assistance, or special consideration of some kind. In pursuit of these objectives, application forms, portfolios, recommendations, correction of deficiencies through remedial courses, etc., may be required. The information gathered about the student is combined with the information outlined below in reaching decisions about continuance in the program. Applicants who have deficiencies may be advised about suitable courses of action.
Methods Phase Requirements and Policies
Prior to entering the methods phase of the program, students must:
- Submit an application before registering for any methods level courses. Applications are available in the School of Education and online at www.nmu.edu/education.
- Possess a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
- Successfully complete required pre-methods level field experiences at the appropriate K-12 level.
- Declare a major and/or minor.
- Possess a GPA of 2.7 in the pre-methods education sequence (ED 201, ED 230 or 231, and ED 301); with no grades below "B-."
- Complete EN 111, EN 211, MA/MSED 150 and MA/MSED 151 with a grade of "C" or above in each course where required in the curriculum.
In the event that more students qualify for admission to the methods phase of the program than University resources can accommodate, a selection system may be established. The criteria to be used in selecting students will include (but not be limited to), GPAs, faculty recommendations, representation from under-represented populations, and subject area demand.
Retention in the Program
To retain eligibility in the professional teacher education program, a student must:
- Maintain a GPA of 3.0 overall, in major and/or minor(s), and in the planned program and required cognates combined;
- with no grades below a 'C' in major, minor, planned program and required cognates; including HS 126/221, CS 255 and 15 credits of Social Studies for elementary students;
- and no grade below a 'B-' in any ED course;
- Have no more than five repeats;
- Maintain minimum standards of behavior as prescribed in the section addressing professional integrity.
Students who are denied admission or are academically dismissed from the program may appeal the decision to the teacher selection and retention committee by contacting the committee's chairperson or the director of teacher education student services. Hearing procedures are stated in the document titled "Academic Dismissal from the Teacher Education Program," available in the School of Education.
Limitations on Acceptance of Transfer Courses and Validity of Courses
Students are expected to take their professional education sequence courses at Northern Michigan University. Guidelines for specific courses are:
A. ED 201 Introduction to Education
Transfer credit will be accepted but given only a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade designation. An "S" grade will be assigned when the grade earned is "B-" or greater, and a "U" grade will be assigned when the grade earned is below "B-."
B. Methods-level courses: a minimum of 20 credits of methods-level courses must be taken at NMU, including the following:
Elementary Education
ED 311 (3 credits)
ED 316 (3 credits)
ED 420 (11 credits)
ED 450 (1 credit)
Secondary Education
ED 319 (3 credits)
ED 380 (2 credits)
— 350 (3-4 credits)
ED 430 (11 credits)
ED 450 (1 credit)
Special Education
ED 311 (3 credits)
ED 316 (3 credits)
ED 401 or ED 408 (4 credits)
ED 406 or ED 409 (2 credits)
Elementary Base (Special Education)
ED 423A (5 credits)
ED 423B or ED 423C (6 credits)
ED 450 (1 credit)
Secondary Base (Special Education)
ED 423B or ED 423C (6 credits)
ED 423D (5 credits)
ED 450 (1 credit)
All education courses are invalid after six years. MA/MSED 150 Mathematics for the Elementary Teacher I, MA/MSED 151 Mathematics for the Elementary Teacher II, and ED 353 Methods and Materials in Teaching Elementary School Mathematics Education are also invalid after six years.
These requirements apply to all provisional certification programs of study. Exceptions to the requirements may be made by the director of teacher education student services or the certification counselor in consultation with the appropriate faculty member.
Repeats of education courses must be taken at NMU.
Eligibility for Student Teaching Placement
Students should plan to do their student teaching when they have completed all prerequisite course work. Students should notify the student teaching office of their intent to do student teaching two semesters in advance and must submit a complete student teaching application one semester in advance. Forms, policies, procedures and other information are available in the Field Experience Office.
Student teaching placements are made by the university. Students are not to contact school personnel to arrange student teaching placements.
Occasionally the university finds it difficult to secure a student teaching assignment. Although the university may request an assignment, school districts are under no obligation to accept a student teacher. Reasons such as a poor academic record or a lack of a suitable supervising teacher are responses typically given by districts when not offering a student teaching placement. Students should be aware of this possibility as they progress toward a degree in teacher education.
Eligibility for Recommendation for Certification
To be eligible to be recommended for certification, students must satisfy the following requirements.
A. Comply with all of the previously stated admission and retention requirements.
B. Complete the baccalaureate degree in accordance with the above criteria and any additional criteria as established by other academic departments, where applicable.
C. Satisfactorily complete the student teaching assignment with a recommendation for certification by the supervising teacher and the university supervisor.
D. Satisfactorily complete all Michigan Test Teacher Certification subject area competency tests as required by Public Act 451 as amended (major, minor(s), and elementary education where applicable).
E. As of July 1, 2004, in order to be certified, new teachers must possess a valid certificate of course completion for first aid training that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This training must be from the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association.
Other Requirements
All education majors must complete EN 111 College Composition I and EN 211 College Composition II (or equivalent) with a grade of "C" or better.
Students who do not meet requirements for continuous enrollment (e.g., those who drop out for one or more semesters or withdraw from all courses in which they are enrolled) are required to re-apply for admission to the level of the teacher education program that they were enrolled in at the time of their departure.
Students may be required to complete other tests or evaluation procedures for admission to any phase of the teacher education program, for removal of any suspension from the program, or for teacher certification.
Title II Requirements
Information for Elementary Education Majors
The Academic and Career Advisement Center advises new freshmen elementary education majors for three semesters. Other students will be advised through the School of Education once they have been admitted into the teacher education program. Students are required to adhere to state standards that do not necessarily apply to students outside the program. We strongly encourage students to maintain contact with their advisers and to be familiar with the teacher selection and retention standards that they receive upon admission to the program. Detailed planning sheets for the various major/minor options are available in the Teacher Education Student Services Office.
Social Studies Component
All students in the elementary education curriculum must complete a 15-credit-hour social studies requirement. Any AN, EC, HS, PS or SO prefixed course fulfills this requirement, as well as ED 101, GC 100, GC 101, GC 164, GC 300, GC 305, GC 360, FR 310, NAS 204, NAS 315, PL 270 and SN 314. These credits can be double counted with other program requirements.
Major/Minors Program Guidelines
A major or two minors are required. Majors are available only in the four core content subject areas listed below. If two minors are chosen, one of the minors must be selected from the four core content subject areas.
Core Content Subject Areas for Majors and Minors
- Language Arts (group) contains English, journalism, speech and reading courses.
- Integrated Science (group) contains biology, earth/space science and physical science courses.
- Social Studies (group) contains economics, geography, history and political science courses.
- Mathematics (straight) contains math and computer science courses.
Minor Subject Areas
- French
- German
- Reading
- Spanish
Minors that overlap in content (e.g., reading and language arts) are prohibited.
Information for Secondary Education Majors
The School of Education contributes professional studies courses in education to the secondary education curricula. Information about entrance, test and certification requirements is available from the Teacher Education Student Services Office.
Prospective secondary school teachers are advised on course selection and other academic matters by faculty members of the department or area in which students plan to major.
Approved Secondary Education Majors and Minors
- Art and Design
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth Science
- English
- French
- Geography
- History
- Industrial Technology
- Integrated Science
- Mathematics
- Music
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Political Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Special Education
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth Science
- Economics
- English
- French
- Geography
- German
- Health
- History
- Journalism
- Mathematics
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Political Science
- Spanish
Bachelor Degree Programs
- Applied Workplace Leadership Major
- Elementary Education - Two Minors
- Elementary Education Integrated Science Major
- Elementary Education Language Arts Major
- Elementary Education Mathematics Major
- Elementary Education Social Studies Major
- Elementary Education Special Education Major
- Secondary Education Special Education Major


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The Hope College Symphony Orchestra will perform on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The program will open with the "Dance of Comedians" from "The Bartered Bride," by Smetana. Continuing with the program, Dorival Puccini, instructor of trumpet at Hope, will perform the "Arutunian Trumpet Concerto." To close the program, the orchestra will perform the "Symphony No. 5 in e minor" by Tchaikovsky.
Richard Piippo, who is an associate professor of cello and chamber music at the college, conducts the orchestra. He has taught at Hope since 1999.
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.


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I have a list of IP address that I need to SSH to and log if I could get to them. I would use a Ping script, but DNS might have already reassigned the address. I do not care about the ones I can't get to. If the SSH works I need to log that IP address, I shouldn't have to worry about passwords or keys because I don't want to log in to the box's. I just want to see if I can SSH to them. So far i have:
touch logfile_$(date "+%Y%m%d%T")
LOGFILE="path/to/logfile_$(date "+%Y%m%d%T")"
if [[ ! -f ${IP_FILE} ]]; then
echo "Cannot find IP address!"
exit 1
for IP_ADDRESS in `cat $IP_FILE` ; do
ssh $IP_ADDRESS >> $LOGFILE 2>&1
I am still new to scripting and any help would be great. I have looked at "How to check if I can log in to server via ssh?" posted by LanceBaynes but its not really what I need.
I can't install anything on this boxes. Or I would have downloaded a nice scanner. Like Netcat or Nmap both of which are great options.


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Delicious, locally-inspired Key West cuisine? The freshest seafood? Creative cocktails? You'll find it all at Southernmost Beach Cafe, one of Key West's most popular local restaurants. Located right on South Beach, it's one of the most desirable settings in Key West for oceanfront dining and cocktails.
Join us for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or let us cater your event. It's the most picturesque setting for beach weddings and receptions, Key West corporate events, or any other special event you want to have. Whether you're hosting 15 or 150, we can do it all – from accommodating all of your guests to making your dream wedding come true to making your event a success. We'll plan your menu, set up the tents, bar and buffet, bring out the tiki torches, and cater your special occasion – right on the most beautiful beach in Key West.


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There is a lot of miss information on gear selection and cadence for mountain biking and I would like to clear some things up for you.
As for cadence we are mountain biking, not road riding! This means we have a lot more variables to deal with (than road riders), roots, rocks, loose conditions, etc often requiring us to use a slow cadence to maintain traction and balance. While Lance Armstrong popularized the idea of spinning an easy gear I have never seen a study that proves this is the most economical way to climb for all body types and it can be every hard to maintain control on trail why spinning a high rpm. Many of the best mountain bikers (Tinker Juarez comes to mind) and even some road racers (Jan Ullrich) push really hard gears. So use a cadence that is comfortable for you, taking into account your fitness, power to weight ratio, traction and balance demands.
Always while riding adjust your gearing to the speed you are going!
When going from a downhill to uphill do not shift into an easier gear before necessary as you will lose precious momentum while coasting (unable to pedal) uphill and often lose your balance (by pedaling with no resistance throwing your weight forward). This means if you are in your hardest gear at the bottom of a hill stay in that gear as you start climbing to keep your momentum up! Then, shift as needed (do not shift under power, do a "soft pedal" (a full revolution with no power to the rear wheel) when shifting on a climb) maintaining your momentum! By only shifting when needed you can often maintain a much higher pace while using less energy on a climb (see previous article on going faster with less energy).
To accelerate a bike we need to be an an easy gear, not a gear we are straining to push. As you are slowing to enter a corner (where you will be coasting through) shift into a gear to match your speed on the exit of the corner (this takes some practice to learn what gear feels good at what speed).
Power modulation is also important! Sudden surges in power can cause wheel spin (wasting energy and possibly loosing balance/control) while climbing as can just plain applying too much power for the conditions. I often see super powerful riders crank uphills at speeds I am envious of but I can hear their rear slipping, if they backed off on power just a little bit they would climb just as fast or faster using less energy! Have you ever spun out on slippery root while climbing? Next time trying slowly increasing your power for a pedal stroke or three before the root then doing a "soft pedal" over the root and getting back on the power once passed the root. In short, producing a lot of power is great but relying on power instead of finesse wastes energy and often causes you to stall or crash.


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Hi there, I was just wondering if there were any major differences between the LP and ST versions of the Touchstream?
I have always used ST's in the past. The only obvious difference I can see is the connecting cable on the LP is larger and the LP model is older that the ST.


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Caution: This article contains spoilers for the finale of "The Night Of." Proceed at your own risk.
That wasn't quite the ending we expected, but we ain't mad about it.
The HBO mystery series everyone's been talking about all summer just concluded its first season, and finally put an end to the mystery of who killed Andrea (Sofia Black D'Elia)...probably.
Fortunately for those of us who had become invested in Naz's (Riz Ahmed) innocence, it truly appears that he is innocent. At essentially the last possible minute, Box (Bill Camp) uncovered some seriously damning evidence against Andrea's financial advisor, Ray.
Just before she got into Naz's cab, Andrea and Ray — who apparently had some romantic history — got into a heated argument. Box also discovered that Ray had recently taken a huge chunk of change out of Andrea's account. While this in and of itself wasn't quite enough to convict Ray, especially when, as Weiss (Jeannie Berlin) said, "we've got more on the kid," it was enough to put doubt in even Weiss' mind.
Examining "The Night" Of Suspects: Did We Get It Right?
Chandra (Amara Karan), meanwhile, had a real bad night.
Her decision to put Naz on the stand ended with him responding, "I don't know," to Weiss asking if he had killed Andrea, and everyone was just sure the case was done.
Then, Stone (John Turturro) got a hold of the footage of Chandra kissing Naz, and she was demoted to second chair while he had to deliver the closing argument.
And what a closing argument it was.
That speech, which outlined the crimes Naz definitely was guilty of, as opposed to the crime everyone just felt like he must be guilty of, completely split the jury, six to six. The jury basically quit, and Weiss decided not to restart the trial, so Naz went free.
The problem is that he's not actually free, since he's now a drug addict and a prison murderer. And now Chandra's out of a job (because of a whole host of idiotic decisions), and Stone's still sadly dealing with his eczema and taking whatever cases come his way.
In some brighter news, it seems like Weiss coaxed Box right back out of retirement in order to go after Ray, and Andrea's cat is now happily living with Stone, whether he's allergic or not.
So what do you think? Time for season two? Head to the comments to talk about it.
Renewed or Canceled? Find Out the Fate of All Your Favorite Shows


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'What came first - The chicken or the egg?'
But no, I could not do this alone (can anyone ??). I needed some help (but obviously!) and am very thankful to the few other
Anyhow, the list of contributors (and probable future research assistants) are as follows :
Anu, Jean, Teena, Bini
To tell you the truth, I'm actually regretting every moment of her comeback. Madam just can't seem to stop abusing me and on top of that, sounds drunk most of the time which makes her an eligible candidate to answer my question:
Anu : k**** kutty!!!
Me : *sigh*… so what do u think ?
chicken or egg came first ?
Anu : obviously chicken
did adam come first or did adam's kid come first? :p
don ask stupid qns
Next contributor is Mr. J George. Super sophisticated J is also super intelligent and can answer almost any question with a highly thought provoking answer:
For example:
Me : i feel like singing... do u ?
jεnε : i wana burp actualy..
can we do it in sync?
The answer he gave to the 'chicken or egg' question was also equally thought provoking :
me : so temme did the chicken come first or the egg ? :)
jεnε : the goo.. came first
me : what ? the goo ???
jεnε : the one with the amino acid based chemicals
that comprised the primordial ooze
me : enufff
Teena : it's obvious that the egg came first
Me : Ok you pichakaari!!! stop joking around
Teena : heyyyyy!
u are using way too much 'fowl' language okay ?!
Bini : Chicken or Egg....
Brilliant answers, no? I have to work with one of these people for my 'chicken and egg' research but have yet to figure out who's the
Miles to go before I sleep…
Miles to go before I sleep…
Note to Anu : Told you there'll be another post abt you again :) Hope you liked this one. Did I skip any details ? :D


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On Dec 26, my dog and her buddy next door got out and went roaming. Within a half an hour, my neighbor and I were out looking for them without success. I slept very little that night and drove around about every two hours looking for and calling for them. By 8 a.m., both my neighbor and myself had called Animal Control to report the dogs missing. Shortly after, Animal Control received a call about an injured dog two blocks from my house and it was my dog. My dog was severely injured, covered in blood and dirt but coherent enough to recognize my neighbor who got to her first and took her to my vet.
The next couple of hours were tough, thinking that my dog, Lexie, had been in a horrible fight and watching while she was being sewn up. She was struggling to breathe, her tongue was so swollen that she was grasping for air and a lot of the blood was already dried and caked on her, even though she was still bleeding. After 3� hours of stitching, the vet was satisfied that she had done the best that she could. We were still frantically looking for Monkee, her buddy, who had not been with her when she was found. Monkee was found much later that day, terrified and dirty but otherwise unhurt.
X-rays proved that not only had Lexie been in a fight, but she had also been shot with birdshot at fairly close range. I try very hard to be a responsible pet owner and do not let my dog roam and feel responsible for the fact that she got out. I apologize to anyone whose dog that she may have gotten into a fight with but did you really need to shoot her in the face at close range? Wouldn�t a water hose, broom, or stick have been a better option?
I want to thank Mrs. Allred who called Animal Control about an injured dog, Laura at Animal Control who called to let me know that she had been found and Mike Trollinger, my neighbor, who got her to the vet so quickly. Lexie would probably not be alive without all of their help and that of Dr. Cates and the staff at Westbrook Animal Clinic.
To the person who shot her, it is illegal to fire a weapon within the city limits. Please know that Lexie is alive and healing and her joyous personality has returned. The skin on her left cheek was so damaged that it had to be removed and she ended up with a large hole in her face. Her nasal cavity was exposed along with her gum and teeth. She may need a skin graft or dental surgery later.
I hope your dog is alive and well.