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Missouri residents volunteer to help with Sandy relief effort

Nov 1, 2012

Two Red Cross volunteers deploy on Thursday to the East Coast today with relief efforts still underway after Hurricane Sandy. The volunteers will be working in New Brunswik and White Plains, New York.

The American Red Cross, Heart of Missouri Chapter’s Mike Flanagan says the Red Cross deployed five volunteers with two American response vehicles last week. Now that the storm has calmed down, Flanagan says deployment will continue.

“We didn’t want to send people out there during the strength of the storm, didn’t want to put them in danger. So now that after storm has passed the calls come out for more volunteers and two of are going out today,” said Flanagan.

The American Red Cross deploys volunteers for a minimum of two weeks at a time, each person with a different assignment. For Hurricane Sandy, assignments include logistics, water and comfort kit distributors and mass feeding efforts.


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Management System Certification

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KBS is one of the indigenous organizations established with the aim to provide quality services in the field of certification, training and Inspection.

KBS has the distinction of being the first Indian body accredited by UNFCCC in non-forestation sectors. With a clientage in more than 25 countries, we have constantly endeavored to grow and develop our network around the globe.

Our vision is to be the one of the best certification bodies in the world with wide spectrum of services offering one-stop solutions to our clients.

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Monday Night Raw – March 10, 2003 (2017 Redo): HHH Can Dream All He Wants

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 10, 2003
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

With less than three weeks to go before Wrestlemania, it’s time to really start hammering things home. The big draw tonight is Rock vs. Booker T. and if Rock wins, he can either face HHH for the title or Steve Austin for pride at Wrestlemania. Why this is even happening isn’t clear as there’s no reason to think Rock would want the World Title but that’s Raw in general at times. Let’s get to it.

Eric Bischoff and Chief Morely give the midcard a speech about wanting to properly welcome Austin when he gets here. Bischoff: “NOT THAT KIND OF WELCOME!” The roster leaves and here’s Rock to interrupt. Rock thinks the match with Booker T. is a waste of time (because it is) because he only cares about facing Austin. Eric understands and can go with that but Rock still has to wrestle tonight. That’s cool with Rock, who will face anyone.

Rob Van Dam/Kane vs. Chris Jericho/Christian

Van Dam kicks Jericho in the face to start but eats the running forearm for his efforts. It’s quickly off to Kane to clean house with the top rope clothesline getting two on Jericho. The Canadians have to fight out of a double chokeslam so Kane settles for a backdrop to put Jericho on the floor. Kane follows him out but gets set into the steps to slow him down. Van Dam kicks Christian in the face and adds the Five Star, only to have Jericho come back in with the Lionsault for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere (a common problem around here) and I’m not sure why Van Dam and Kane needed to lose here. They’ve been pushed as contenders to the Tag Team Titles and now they’re losing clean in less than four minutes? The tag division isn’t exactly deep in the first place and this isn’t helping things.

Jericho goes to leave but walks into a superkick from Shawn Michaels. Shawn poses over him and says he’ll see Jericho at Wrestlemania. I’ve always liked that bit.

Here’s Booker T. for a chat. He’s disappointed about not facing Rock tonight but that’s not what he wants to talk about. Instead he’d rather talk about HHH calling him an entertainer instead of a contender. It’s true that Booker is an entertainer but there’s more to it than that. He’s the youngest of eight children and he comes from a single parent household. Booker got involved in some bad things over the years, including armed robbery which landed him in jail. If HHH thinks Booker dances, come down here right now and he’ll dance all over HHH, just like he’ll do at Wrestlemania.

This brings out Ric Flair, to say that Booker is no Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods and he’s certainly no HHH. The champ sent Flair out here to say that he’s not lowering himself to Booker’s level again. Next week though, Booker can carry their bags to the limo and drive them downtown, which is all Booker is qualified to do. Or he can make the mistake of a lifetime and show up for the beating of a lifetime. Booker decks Flair and goes to find HHH….who is in the bathroom. HHH throws money at him and says get him a towel. Booker lays him out too. So much for rolling back the racism angle.

Post break HHH says Booker jumped him. At least he lies like a heel.

Jeff Hardy vs. Rico

And hang on a second as we need to see Austin arriving and shoving a drink into a backstage worker’s face. Back to the match (or to it to the first time really) and Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind, only to have Jamal grab his foot. The Samoans get taken out and Jeff grabs a rollup for the pin. This was barely a minute and a half long and we missed fifteen seconds on Austin.

HHH yells at Maven and gives him a match later tonight.

Austin eats a hot dog and runs into Goldust, who stutters about Bischoff wanting to apologize for something. Since Goldust takes forever to get to the point, Austin shoves the hot dog in his mouth.

Rock is playing his guitar and singing about how Cleveland sucks when his opponent for the night comes in. It’s Hurricane, who asks if Rock is ready to go toe to toe with the superhero. Rock is ready and is even willing to make it any superpowers go. The Scorpion King will bring his heat vision, x-ray vision and cable vision. What about WrestleVision?

Rock wants to know if Hurricane is going to throw a cheeseburger at him but Hurricane says “I got my Hurripowers b****!” That makes Rock a bit more serious, but he DID NOT get thrown out of the battle royal two weeks ago and he DOES NOT have a tiny ding-a-ling. Rock offers a handshake and then punches Hurricane in the jaw like he should be doing.

Trish Stratus vs. Jazz

#1 contenders match and apparently this is after a very long break due to technical difficulties. Trish sends her into the corner to start and grabs the Stratusphere, only to have Victoria come in and hit both of them (Trish first) with the belt to give Trish the DQ win. Well it should be a DQ win but we’re officially going with no contest because disqualification rules only count when the story calls for them. The match was about twenty seconds long and of course we couldn’t just do it next week with the proper amount of time instead of rushing it like this due to the technical issues.

Here’s Bischoff to apologize for his actions last week but more importantly, he wants to apologize for firing Austin via FedEx back in WCW. Oh and sorry to JR for smashing his head with a cinder block. Bischoff deserves some credit for Stone Cold Steve Austin though because he got rid of Austin in WCW and caused him to come to WWE. They’re a lot alike when you think about it though. Neither of them are ever going to be caught dead in a three piece suit, they both love to hunt and fish, and they both went head to head with Vince.

Cue Austin to get in Eric’s face and ask about the desire for a handshake. Instead Austin flips him off and calls Eric boring. The threat of violence brings out the Rock, who gets Austin’s attention. Austin points out the 15,000 people chanting ROCKY SUCKS but Rock wants to slap Austin in the face. That’s cool with Austin but Rock won’t come down there just yet. Instead he brings up their two previous Wrestlemania matches, both of which Austin won of course. Rock says Austin is nothing so Austin literally lays down in the ring to entice Rock to come to the ring right now. Rock: “Nah.” JR: “NAH??? NAH???”

Rock wants to wait until Wrestlemania but Austin isn’t leaving without beating someone up so Bischoff gets a right hand. Rock tries a sneak attack but Austin stares him away. The match is going to be great, though it really does feel like Austin is coasting through this. There’s something missing in him and it feels like he’s just acting like Stone Cold instead of being in that same place again.

HHH vs. Maven

Non-title. JR calls HHH the best in the game. So the Game is in the game? I mean I know HHH is full of himself but that’s a very different way of saying it. HHH is also in the very rare red trunks this week and it still doesn’t quite work. HHH jumps him to start and Maven is sent outside, followed by going into the steps.

Back in and HHH drives an elbow into Maven’s head as JR casually mentions that Batista and Orton are both going to be out THREE MONTHS each. So much for Evolution until the summer then. HHH grabs a sleeper to make sure the crowd doesn’t get interested in the match but lets it go a few seconds later. Maven gets in a jawbreaker and some right hands….but HHH cuts him off with the spinebuster. The Pedigree ends the dominance.

Rating: D-. And that’s HHH for you ladies and gentlemen. Rock comes back in between movies and makes Hurricane look like a star. HHH on the other hand insults his #1 contender last week in a racist angle and then squashes Maven, who got in a total of no significant offense. But hey, HHH gets to look like a big deal by beating up a jobber before he goes on to beat Booker and crush his fan base at the biggest show of the year. Such is life in HHH’s WWE.

I’m not saying that HHH should have gotten pinned by Maven and I’m not saying Maven should have given HHH a run for his money. I’m saying there’s really no reason for this match to have happened. HHH just randomly started yelling at Maven backstage and then beat him up in a nothing match. This doesn’t really boost HHH and it’s really just a way to fill in time with HHH having one of his usual boring matches. How does that help anyone, other than maybe HHH?

Post match HHH wraps the ropes around Maven’s neck to choke him out. Al Snow runs in for the save and eats a Pedigree too. Did you get that HHH is amazing? I didn’t know if that was coming through yet or not.

Bischoff rants to Morely about his issues. Morely says Bischoff went even further than Vince did to make amends with Austin, which gives Eric an idea. Vince isn’t going to be paying attention to Raw because he has to deal with Hulk Hogan going into Wrestlemania. Therefore, next week it’s Austin vs. Bischoff II under Bischoff’s Rules. Not only is this not the best idea, but good job on saying that Vince isn’t going to be watching Raw for the next few weeks.

Stacy Keibler calls Test, who is at South Padre Island, and hears a girl in the background. She’s not happy.

Austin is with Scott Steiner and laughs off the idea of facing Bischoff. Steiner didn’t get to say a word and really could have been a cardboard cutout here.

Chief Morely/Lance Story vs. Dudley Boyz

Hang on a second as Morely says this is going to be a handicap match and if D-Von loses, the team is still suspended. So is this like on Smackdown where Brian Kendrick keeps wrestling but doesn’t officially have a job? Bubba goes to swing at Morely but D-Von cuts him off, earning Bubba an ejection.

Chief Morely/Lance Storm vs. D-Von Dudley

D-Von slugs them both down and grabs a rollup with trunks for two on Morely. The Chief gets sent outside and D-Von hammers on Storm with a flapjack getting two. Morely gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and a leg lariat sets up the Money Shot for the pin on D-Von in short order.

We look at Shawn Michaels getting beaten down last week.

And now, a wet t-shirt contest to promote the Girls Gone Wild show. Naturally Lawler gets to host and he’s got a Super Soaker. Lawler promises puddles on the puppies but here’s Stacy to interrupt. She’s going to handle the soaking actually but Lawler says don’t shoot prematurely. He introduces each one and Stacy sprays them down in turn.

The fans are about to pick a winner but Stacy cuts them off. She’ll be at the show too and has Lawler spray her shorts to end this waste of time that made me long for the PG Era. I get that the women are good looking and I certainly get what they’re going for but this has NOTHING to do with wrestling and the #1 contenders match was cut to 21 seconds. That sums up the issues that the women have had to fight through, which Trish has brought up for years.

The Rock vs. Hurricane

No DQ and JR suggests that you send the women and children to bed. We just watched HHH vs. Maven, D-Von in a handicap match and hyping soft core porn but we shouldn’t watch the Rock? Come on JR. Rock doesn’t think much of Hurricane to start so Hurricane knocks him outside to give Rock a breather.

Back in and a Samoan drop puts Hurricane down but stops to put on his cape. Rock pretends to fly so Hurricane slugs away, only to eat a hard clothesline. We hit the chinlock for a good while until Hurricane fights up and hits a jumping clothesline. This sends JR into a rant about how this is AMERICA and we never give up on anything. That’s why we needed to send the women and children to bed?

A Shining Wizard and a high crossbody give Hurricane two, followed by a Blockbuster for the same. Rock gets in a DDT for a breather but stops to pose again, allowing Hurricane to kick him low. The chokeslam gets two more but Hurricane walks into the spinebuster. The People’s Elbow is loaded up and heeeeeere’s Austin. Hurricane rolls up the distracted Rock for the pin while Austin’s music plays to end the show.

Rating: D. The match was junk but this is a great example of someone being unselfish in wrestling. Rock doesn’t lose a thing by putting Hurricane over here because he knows he’s getting Austin at Wrestlemania in one of the show’s main events. This was hardly Rock laying down for the chokeslam and losing clean. He had Hurricane beaten, got distracted, and was pinned on a fluke.

The loss doesn’t hurt him in any way because he’ll cut a promo next week and no one will remember this. Hurricane on the other hand can now say he went toe to toe with Rock on the mic and then pinned him. Compare this to HHH squashing Maven and you’ll see why Rock is just that much more awesome (among the other obvious reasons).

Overall Rating: D-. The wrestling is horrible and boring for the most part, the women are treated more like sex objects every single night, HHH is a MAN and Austin isn’t acting like himself. That leaves us with the Rock, who is trying his hardest to make this work but you can only have him do so much. He’s trying so hard to get people over but when you have HHH and the sledgehammer of dominance, even Rock’s greatness is limited. Setting up Rock vs. Austin is what matters, but sweet goodness they’re trying hard to ruin the Wrestlemania buzz.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

  1. Heyo says:

    What you think of the dirtsheet report that the Rock was originally going to face Booker T, but changed it to face the Hurricane because HHH planned to bury whoever the Rock beat to look better than him, so the Rock picked someone lower on the card as a response?

    klunderbunker Reply:

    Really not surprising and that’s sad.


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Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements (Project completed)

Completed: Yes
Jurisdiction: City of Eugene Mode: Road

• This project will construct bicycle and pedestrian improvements at eight locations across the City.
• This project will construct a pedestrian refuge island with a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) on Irvington Drive at Revell Street near Spring Creek Elementary School.
• This project will construct a pedestrian refuge island and improved sidewalk access ramps on Royal Avenue near Throne Drive.
• This project will install enhanced school zone speed limit signage near the Village School on Willamette Street.
• This project will complete striping changes on 24th Ave between Amazon Parkway and Hilyard Street including a buffered bike lane and marked cross walks.
• This project will install signage on the West Bank Path to provide improved information about street and path connections.
• This project will implement neighborhood traffic calming on Polk Street, Chambers Street, and Crest Drive.

Business Access During Construction? Yes
Traffic Impacts:

• Drivers should expect lane closures and lane shifts during construction.
• Pedestrians should expect sidewalk detours during the sidewalk ramp work at the intersections.
• Bicyclists should expect to merge with motor vehicle traffic depending on available lane widths during construction.
• With any construction, drivers should expect equipment and workers in the roadway leading to congestion and delays during the work.

Work Schedule:

• This project is scheduled for construction in the summer of 2017.
• Prior to the start of street construction, the City’s arborists may be on-site trimming trees to prevent overhead limbs from being damaged by construction equipment.
• Also prior to construction, utility companies (water, electricity, gas) may be on-site adjusting their facilities in order to avoid conflicts with the work and prevent damage to their facilities.

• This project is primarily funded by the street repair bond measure passed by voters in 2012 as part of the City’s Pavement Preservation Program.

Contact: Katie Marwitz
Project Notes: Working together to keep you moving


text:
Our Carli is a Blessing - A Gift From Heaven Above

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Ava Birthday

Ava's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year which meant it was a school day and just happened to be the same day as Carli's Pre-K graduation.  It was a busy day celebrating our girls.  Ava requested a cookie cake to share with her classmates and picked out pretty much the same design as she had last year.

Her friends at school were pretty excited to eat all that icing!  I managed to snag a quick picture of the birthday girl with her cake before they dug in...

Her class did sing Happy Birthday to her and she ate up the attention and then more than one piece of her birthday cake.  :)

After singing and cake, I took Ava out of class so she could go watch Carli graduate.  After graduation we had lunch and then ran home to change into our gymnastics gear for class.  When we got done with class and Keith got home from work we gave her our gift.  It was a big girl car seat that she has been asking for.  It's not the color that we wanted but they changed the design and we were hoping we could change out the cover to match but that didn't work.  Ava doesn't seem to care and is estactic to have a seat like Carli's.  These seats are their Daddy's truck.  The car still has them both in the 5 point harness seats but they are working on wearing me down to let them start using the seat belts.

It was Wednesday so after church we had a mini celebration with Grammy, Pa, Uncle Tone and Deborah at Dairy Queen.  I think Pa bought her french fries and ice cream this time.  :)  And then she got to open presents.  She got a beautiful Hello Kitty watch and a cute summer outfit.  Uncle Tone gave her some Busy Town DVDs for the car - and they have been watching them ever since!  It is a nice break from Frozen.

We celebrated Ava's birthday as a family on Thursday.  We started the day off signing papers at our house closing.  And then went to Chick-fil-a for an early lunch and some play time.  Then Daddy had to go to work so the girls and I ran home for our swimming gear before going to Discovery Science Center to play some more.  Then it was off to the mall for a quick snack of a cookie - per the birthday girl's request and bought a couple new swim suits for swimming lessons.  We go out to swim lessons but they had been canceled, oops!  So we went and had some pedicure's instead.  We ended our birthday celebration day eating at Taco Bueno after Daddy got off of work and then took the girls home and promptly put the two tired little ones to bed!

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FREE 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership MasterMind Group

Our Pay it Forward GIFT to YOU!

One of the ways we introduce our MasterMind Groups is to invite you to a FREE MasterMind Group study on The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell. This 7-week in-depth study focuses on enhancing results in every area of your life. By attending, you will get support and ideas from other driven people so that you can see things differently and get a new perspective on goals and action plans.

Together, we will learn how to effectively improve our leadership skills by understanding and implementing the principles of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

I offer this MasterMind process to you as a gift to learn and discover the power of the MasterMind. Plus it’s pure, world-class proven success content. Test it for yourself!

While we don't always get what we want, we always get what we choose. Choose to say YES to your success in 2017!

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Friday, April 14, 2017

This man allegedly killed his wife over infidelity.

Windy Ridge, a suburb of Takoradi in Ghana was thrown into pandemonium, when one of its residents, a 48-year-old woman was allegedly beaten to deatth by her husband over infidelity. The suspect, identified as Francis Kwofie, a private security officer who already has been arrested is said to have beaten his wife to death following an accusation of infidelity.
Confirming the incident to Graphic Online, the Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olivia Adiku, said at about midnight Wednesday, one Fuseina Ali a resident of Windy Ridge reported to the police that her neighbor, Francis Kwofie had attacked and brutally assaulted his wife, Akoley Klotey
She said the police rushed to the scene in an uncompleted building and met the woman, aged about 48 years lying naked and unconscious on the floor.

According to the ASP the deceased was rushed to the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

She said upon inspection of the body, multiple marks of injuries were found on it.

The body has since been deposited at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital Mortuary awaiting autopsy

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Monday, December 7, 2009

Politicking amid price rise

Gulf Today

Prices of food grains and other essential items have risen sharply in Kerala in recent weeks, imposing a heavy burden on the people. Vegetable prices have gone up by about 30 per cent in six months.

Kerala depends on other states for most of its requirements. Tamil Nadu is the main source of supply of vegetables. Trade sources attribute the spurt in vegetable prices to the damage to crops by rain in that state.

To help the people tide over the situation, the government decided last week to distribute vegetables through the state-owned Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) in the urban centres.

In the five cities, Supplyco will make available kits with two and a half kilograms of vegetables for Rs25. This will involve a state subsidy of Rs7.50 per kit as the cost of procuring the vegetables is estimated at Rs32.50.

In the municipal towns, vegetables will be distributed through fair price shops at 15 to 30 per cent below the market rates. Mobile shops will also be commissioned to sell vegetables.

Will the plan work? Doubts prevail in view of the failure of the scheme the state government launched three months ago to set up a chain of far price hotels.

The scheme envisaged setting up of 140 hotels, 10 each in the 14 districts. They were to supply tea and snacks for Rs3 and meals for Rs12.

Only about 50 persons came forward to run hotels under the scheme. And only18 of them actually opened hotels. Five of the hotels have already closed down.

The scheme failed because the authorities did not do the necessary homework before taking it up. Supplyco could not provide grains to the hotels at low rates, as promised.

The ruling Left Democratic Front and the opposition United Democratic Front are trying to derive political mileage out of the price rise by laying the blame at the doors of different governments.

The UDF has announced plans to stage protests outside state government offices. The Kerala Congress (Mani), a constituent of the UDF, has already held some demonstrations on its own.

Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan said that if the opposition is sincere it should stage protests outside the offices of the central government, which was responsible for the price rise.

He also claimed that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had commended the state government's efforts to hold the price line and held it out as a model for others. UDF spokesmen questioned the claim.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy put the ball back in the chief minister's court. He asked the state government to make good the LDF promise to commit Rs400 million to hold the price line with the help of 40,000 cooperatives.

Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac used the opportunity to press the LDF government's long-standing demand for restoration of universal coverage under the public distribution system. The UDF countered the demand by pointing out that the state had failed to lift 20,000 tonnes of rice allotted by the centre.

As a state with chronic food shortage, Kerala developed decades ago a public distribution system capable of serving the entire population. After the centre decided to limit subsidy to persons below the poverty line, those above the poverty line stopped using the PDS outlets as they can get good quality rice in the open market at comparable prices.

Many ration shops started diverting unsold grain stocks to rice mills. The state government turned a blind eye to this clandestine trade.

The centre, taking note of the decline in the requirements of the public distribution system, slashed the state's grains quota. The LDF routinely cites this as proof of discrimination against the state.

As the people reel under the impact of the price rise, the state government is promoting crass consumerism under the banner of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival.

About 5,000 shops spread all over the state are participating in the 45-day shopping festival, which was formally inaugurated on December 1.

According to the government, the festival aims at linking trade and tourism. It claims that the festival will help find markets for the state's traditional products like spices, handlooms, cashew, coir, handmade mirror and bamboo items.

However, the government's partners in the venture are commercial houses with no interest in traditional products. They include a jewellery, a private sector bank, a super bazaar, a home appliance manufacturer, an automobile firm and a soap manufacturer. The bank and the jewellery are the only institutions from the state. -- Gulf Today, December 7, 2009.

1 comment:

Philip said...

Traditional hostel format involved dormitory style accommodation.

Cartagena in Colombia


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Thursday, November 03, 2011

Pin It

Don't Forget Gift Vouchers

to suggest for presents for yourself or to purchase for your papercrafting friends.  I've been decorating my gift voucher wallets lately using the 'Cottage Garden' stamp set.

So easy to put together a quick collage as a background in the recipients favourite colour.

Send me an EMail with the amount you want the voucher to be for and the recipients favourite colour with the date the voucher is required for and we can take it from there.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Words - Not Now

Just put some on the page.  Break the seal.  Let em flow.

It's strange how much I've changed over the past month.  I was so full of words they practically oozed out of my ears.  I couldn't stop the words from filling my head constantly.

I have fewer words filling my head, cluttering my existence.  Let me tell you - it's bringing a lot more peace to my life.

Do I shut down the incessant stream of words running, running, running through my brain?  It's pretty simple, actually.  I do two things:
1) Stop    2) Pay attention

1) Stop - This means I stop my unconscious reactions.  I've conducted some research into what responses are negative to me.  I also have had to uncover what triggers these responses.  Now that I know, when I find myself close to a negative response, I can stop.  I shut down my normal reaction.

How?  By focusing on what I'm sensing at the moment.

2) Pay attention - This means that after I stop, I immediately focus on my physical being.  I pay attention to all of the automatic systems in my body - breathing, blood flow, movements, etc.  I also key into my emotions.  We experience our emotions through physical sensations.

Emotions are what they are.  I'm working on not judging myself for the emotions I am experiencing.  Instead I just pay attention to them.  It's like I'm just taking note of them.  When I pay attention to the physical experience of the emotion, it immediately shuts off the flow of words.  The words normally carry judgments.

Once I've stopped and paid attention I am then ready to act.  I have broken the ineffective cycle of negative thought and negative response.

Why -

Would I feel the need to shut off my thoughts?  Because those thoughts are destructive.  They keep me trapped in a vicious cycle of negative thoughts, negative reactions.  I'm like Pavlov's dog, salivating at every bell I've conditioned myself to respond to.  It's exhausting.

Actually, not so much any more.  I'm still a work in progress,

every day

at focusing on the NOW.  That is the only time frame I can impact.  I can't change the past, and I can't travel to the future.  Doing what is better for me at this moment will undoubtedly make my future better.

I can only get to the future  (and reach my goals) one NOW at a time.

1 comment:

Diana said...

Great post! I use this very same thought process with eating. I used to weigh a lot more and I know that I could easily go back to that way of life if I don't stay focused on my thoughts of eating. When I get a "feel" for eating something that I shouldn't, I stop and get a sense of all things mental and physical going on. I can then usually within a few minutes get "over" my craving.
I did the same with quitting my dt mt. dew addiction-I won't let such trivial items run my life-it's mine to live.
Continued success on your goals!


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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Big Feet Are In Her Genes

Her great-grandma wears size 12 shoes, her aunt wears size 11 and I wear a size 10. Watch out kid...

I just love this little girl. Can your heart explode if you love someone TOO much???

Easter... better late than never.

Well, here's my Easter post. A whopping week and a half late! =) Things have been busy for me recently, but I imagine life doesn't ever really slow down, now does it?

We didn't have any plans for Easter day until a few days prior when we were invited over to our friends Dave and Jill's for lunch and an egg hunt. They live right on the water and the view is just beautiful (although the picture didn't come out that great)....

It was such a NICE afternoon and Natalie really enjoyed hunting for eggs.

Seriously... I had to take a picture of her in the car because her hair was completely FULL of static. It reminded me of being a kid and going to the Magic House in St. Louis. Somewhere I have a button with a picture of me there and my hair standing on end as I plaster my hand to the static ball. *Whoa... I just looked at the website and it is SOOOO much bigger than when I went as a 10 year old. Hmmm... I guess that WAS like 20 years ago. CRY!*

So I was commenting to a friend of mine here that we (as a family) don't really have any Easter traditions. Sure, we go to church, but we don't do the Easter basket thing or the big dinner thing (Kevin's parents are out of town on Easter usually) and we don't seek out Easter egg hunts (although we've had our own before).

When I mentioned the part about us "not doing Easter baskets" my friend's eyes got big and incredulous. Hmmm... am I missing something? I've noticed that Easter baskets are a BIG DEAL out here on the East Coast. Well, maybe they are a big deal EVERYWHERE and I just haven't noticed it until now. Kevin's pretty anti-candy for himself and Natalie, so I'm not sure what I'd put in Easter baskets if I couldn't fill them with candy. Since he's not much into candy, the only time I can really expect it FROM him is at Christmas. Luckily, my grandma came to the rescue and sent a care package for the three of us: chocolate bunnies, cadbury and caramel eggs and a singing sheep for Natalie. Natalie LOVES the sheep and can now sing along to the tune of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" with nothing but "Baaa's". What talent!

Things We Have Yet to Learn

*while reading Spot Goes to the Farm*

Me: Natalie, how does a rooster say "bye, bye"?

Natalie: Doodle Doodle!

Me: Natalie, how does a cow say "bye, bye"?

Natalie: Moooooo!

Me: How does a doggie say "bye, bye"?

Natalie: Ruff Ruff Ruff!

Me: How does a sheep say "bye, bye"?

Natalie: Baaaa!

Me: How does a pig say "bye, bye"?

*long pause*

Natalie: Bye!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Meltdown, Aisle 28!

Are you ever in denial that everyone is "REALLY staring at you" at the store because your toddler is SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER? Let's just say that when perfect strangers start ripping open the toys that they just purchased for their grand kids because a pregnant woman has completely lost control of her 19 month-old and is juggling all of her purchases in an effort to force said-tantrum-thrower into the stroller against her very will then you KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that "YES, THE ENTIRE STORE WAS STARING AT YOU AND CRITIQUING YOUR PARENTING SKILLS".

Life Lesson #940234: Don't take your toddler out on errands around nap-time the day AFTER you let him or her stay up until 10pm. It's just not a good idea.

Glucose Test

This morning Natalie and I were at the hospital for my glucose test. I had to wait an hour after drinking a sugar drink to get my blood taken so we were pacing the hallways trying to find something to keep a 19 month-old sane. Recently Natalie has been acknowledging my belly by saying "baby" and patting it or giving it a kiss, so I decided to try to explain to her what was going to happen this summer.
It went like this.

Me:So, Natalie, this summer we're going to come back here and Mamma is going to have a baby. The little baby boy inside of Mamma's belly is going to come out and say "hi".
Me:Uh, that sounds a little scary.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Mom and Dad, This Is For You

I accidentally took this video on the memory stick instead of the tape. So the quality isnt very good, but it was easier to put on You Tube. It's 10 minutes of home video, so beware!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tea and a Tyrant

Natalie has been boycotting naps the past couple days and, as a result, has been a little tyrant. But yesterday, in the midst of all of the whining, I got a bit of fun in with her as we had tea.

I pulled out the tiara she wore for her first birthday and put it on her bear. But, she was insistent that SHE wear it. I was pretty surprised as she's constantly pulling barrettes and the like out of her hair.

We only have a few tea supplies, but hopefully we'll pick up some more this spring at yard sales, etc. She has enjoyed playing make believe more and more lately. It's fun watching her "pretend".

Here are all of the guests of the party. Did you know fish liked bananas? Yeah... it's a little known fact.

I'm not sure she fully gets it yet, though. Notice here she's sitting on some of the guests to get to the plate she wants. Or maybe that's just how she runs things!

And now we have a break for a story. She really loves this one.

Today we played a bit of hide and seek. She really enjoys finding me and the look on her face is priceless when I jump out and surprise her. I'm afraid I didn't get the BEST pictures of her reactions, but these still made me smile.

Natalie's latest thing is saying "no" and whining. A LOT. Of course, the whining has been amplified by the lack of naps but it's been grating nonetheless. Every dinner has been a battle as we try to get her to eat what we put in front of her. One day she'll totally be into chicken salad and the next day she throws it on the floor. She's definitely developing a sense of what she likes and what she doesn't like and perhaps that's just part of being a toddler and entering the "terrible twos" (even though we have 6 more months until she's officially there). I keep saying that this is payback for all of the grief Kevin and I gave OUR parents.


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Saturday, August 28, 2010

UFOs and the Negative

The other day I was reading something and it told me that scientists ignore us because we attack the problem of UFOs from the negative. In other words, we say that there is alien visitation because five percent of the sightings remain unidentified. You simply can’t get to the extraterrestrial from that direction.

While I agree with the sentiment, I disagree with the underlying premise. I don’t believe I have ever suggested we must have alien visitors because X-number of sightings remain unexplained. I have always approached this from the positive. There are some sighting events that suggest alien visitation because of the evidence gathered.

As one example, let’s look, briefly, at the photographs taken by Paul Trent in May 1950. There are two possible explanations, given the clarity of the photographs and the story told by Trent and his wife. The pictures either show an unknown craft of a type not flown on Earth, or the pictures have been faked. There is no third possibility.

This case provides us with two chains of evidence. First is the witness testimony about what they saw. The second is what can be deduced from the photograph. They can be considered independently and they can either support or undermine one another. Is there something that can be observed in the pictures that suggest the witnesses are lying? Some skeptics will say yes. Some UFO investigators will say they are not.

As I have mentioned before I also think of the Levelland sightings of November 2, 1957as good, positive evidence. Here we have, at least, three chains of evidence. Of course there is eyewitness testimony from witnesses in thirteen separate locations who were not aware that anyone else had reported the UFO.

The second chain is one that his hotly disputed and this is the reports of the UFO affecting the electrical systems of the various vehicles. Somehow, the approach of the UFO, according to the witnesses, caused engines to fail, lights to dim and radios to fill with static. The UFO was interacting with the environment in what is now known as electromagnetic effects.

Skeptics will tell you that the Condon Committee attempted to suppress the electrical systems of cars using the most powerful magnets available and they failed... which tells us a number of things. The magnets weren’t powerful enough or those electromagnetic effects are something other than just powerful magnetic fields, and the witnesses, without consultation with one another invented this rather interesting detail in an amazing coincidence.

There was the possibility of a third chain of evidence and this is one that Don Burleson discovered some forty-three years after the event. Apparently, there was a landing that left markings on the ground. This was investigated by the sheriff at the time, but he was told not to mention it. Burleson learned about it by talking to the relatives of the sheriff. Of course, forty-three years after the fact is the same as no evidence at all in this specific case.

What all this means that an amazing series of sightings, if investigated properly when they happened, might have provided some clues about the nature of UFO sightings. The problem is the agendas of various organizations, the Air Force, NICAP, APRO, the news media, got in the way. Everyone was looking to prove his or her point and the evidence didn’t matter all that much.

I could go on. Take the Tremonton film from 1952. A Navy officer filmed some objects in the sky in Utah. There are no foreground details. Just the white lights in the sky (frame of the film seen here). The officer, Delbert Newhouse, said that he had seen the objects at closer range and they had a definite shape. The Air Force and others rejected that testimony, writing the case off as birds. But here is an intriguing case in which some of the evidence is ignored because it simply doesn’t fit with the offered solution.

And I could point out, as I have before, that Ted Philips has catalogued some 4000 landing trace cases. What would have been the result if the academic community had spent the time attempting to learn something from these landing traces? We would be having a different conversation.

Or take the Washington Nationals in which there were observers on the ground, observers in commercial airliners, fighter pilots (seen here with their aircraft), and the objects watched on radar sets... and at one time, three different sets at three different locations. Multiple witnesses with various levels of training and instrumentality involved in the corroboration. What is one of those on the ground had thought to take pictures, or what if one of those fighters had been equipped with gun cameras? What might we have learned? Another opportunity lost.

My point here, however, is that I haven’t argued the reality of UFOs from the negative, meaning that X-number of sightings are unidentified. I argue from the positive. Here is the evidence. Let’s look at it carefully and see where it leads us. The criticism, then, that we somehow, unfairly, reach our conclusions, based on a negative premise, is disproved. Now, let’s see where the positive evidence takes us... something to explore at another time.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Trindade Island UFO - The Numbers Game

I had other things on my mind, but I seem to have been drawn into the Trindade Island numbers game. This isn’t about the pictures, but about the people who allegedly saw the object in the sky when the pictures were taken. If the numbers hold up, then this is an important case. If they do not, then it falls from the ranks of the credible and could easily be the hoax that many believe it to be.

As I have mentioned before, and as has appeared on this blog before, the sighting took place on January 16, 1958. The photographer, Almiro Barauna, shot six pictures of a "Saturn-shaped" object as it passed over the small island of Trindade, some 600 miles from the Brazilian coast. According to him, there were dozens of witnesses... or maybe I should say, implied by him. He suggested that he lost the opportunity to take additional pictures as he was "pushed and pulled" by the crew and others on the deck, amazed by the sight. Apparently only four of the pictures he did manage to take held the object.

Barauna was well known as a professional photographer and had illustrated an article about faking UFO photographs for a magazine at some point. During his career, he had also faked photographs about a treasure. But the Trindade photographs couldn’t be faked because of all the eyewitnesses, or, at least, that was how the thinking went in 1958.

There are apparently some technical problems with the pictures, but that is an argument for another time. Here we’re all about the numbers.

Over the next few days several Brazilian newspapers carried reports of the photographs, as well as other sightings made during the research that was being conducted at the island as part of an international effort. I suspect that some of the numbers confusion might have arisen here.
Anyway, Coral Lorenzen suggested there might have been as many as 150 witnesses. Other sources put the number at something like 40. The question became, how many witnesses were there... or more importantly, how many named witnesses were there? How many gave statements to the press?

Going through the files, including that from Project Blue Book, various reports about the pictures, web sites, and other books, I have been able to identify three people other than Barauna who saw the object, or might have seen it. These are Amilar Vieira, Jose Teobaldo Viegas and Homero Ribeiro.

But here’s where it all gets tricky. A Brazilian Naval officer, Commander Paulo Moreira da Silva, interviewed in a couple of Brazilian newspapers gave a statement that could be interpreted as him seeing the UFO as it flew over the island when Barauna took his photos. Or, maybe he had seen something similar during one of the other, earlier sightings and assumed it was the same object that he had seen. His statement is confusing but that might simply be the translation of it. What I have seen suggests he saw a Saturn-shaped UFO. I just don’t know if it is the one that Barauna photographed as he photographed it.

The ship’s captain, Corvette-Capt Carlos Alberto Ferreira Bacellar, in a report to the higher headquarters, said that another UAO alarm was sounded by members of the crew on the stern and in the bow of the ship. Bacellar didn’t see the object himself, but was on the deck right after the UFO disappeared and mentioned the reaction of the crew which seemed to be consistent with the sighting of a UFO.

While none of this gets us to 150 witnesses to this particular object, nor even close to 40, it does change, to a degree, the argument. There might have been additional witnesses available, but no one bothered to find and interview them, at least in the records I can find. Or, for those in the Brazilian Navy, they might have been ordered not to talk about what they saw... though that prohibition would have expired long ago. We have yet to hear from any of them, as far as I can tell.

On the other hand, I’ve added a couple of names to the roster, running that total to five. And, as always, there is a complication to this. It seems that the main witnesses, that is Barauna, Vieira, Viegas and Homero Ribeiro were all close friends in 1958. In other words, they weren’t the disinterested third parties we would hope for in such a case. They might have been working together in the creation of the hoax.

Again, we have the skeptics suggesting there were only the three but I have indications and names for two others. We have the statement of the ship’s captain that the crew, at separate ends of the ship sounded an alert, and that while he didn’t see the object, he did observe his crew’s reaction. Finally, of course, are the photographs, again thrown into dispute.

No, I have not resolved this issue and the additional names might not even be all that important. Those in Brazil might be able to do something about the numbers, through we’re now more than 50 years after the fact. The point here, as it was before, is simply we don’t have all the necessary information. Yes, it is looking grim for the Trindade photos, but we still haven’t eliminated them

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Trindade Island UFO Revisited

Back on January 1, 1958, a photographer on the Brazilian ship, Almirante Saldanha, took four pictures of a "Saturn-shaped" object as flew over the island of Trindade off the coast of Brazil. Almiro Barauna developed the film about an hour later. He and Captain Viegas entered the ship’s darkroom together. After developing the negatives, Barauna at first, thought that no image had been picked up, but Viegas, looking carefully, spotted the UFO. (One of the photos seen here and another below.)

That, in a nutshell, is the story. There are, according to some sources, many witnesses to the craft. Skeptics suggest that few others saw anything at all. That is a matter for another time.

What brings all this up is that a Brazilian TV network, Fantastico, just broadcast a story that suggests, finally, an answer about authenticity of the pictures has been found. According to Fantastico, "This Sunday (August 15), for the first time Fantastico reveals the truth about the Trindade Island UFO. A friend of the family told what she heard from the photographer himself [Almiro Barauna] he had hoaxed the images, it was a montage. ‘He got two kitchen spoons, joined them and improvised a spaceship, using as a background his fridge. He photographed the fridge door with the object in perfect illumination. He laughed a lot about it,’ revealed Emilia Bittencourt. Barauna’s files are in possession of his niece, who didn’t want to record an interview, but confirms the hoax."

The idea that the pictures were faked has been around almost from the moment they were taken. Donald Menzel, the Harvard astronomer who never met a UFO case he liked, claimed, at first, that an aircraft, "flying through humid but apparently super-cooled atmosphere," could become so completely enveloped in fog that it could take on the appearance of a Saturn-shaped object.

Okay, but I’m not buying this.

And apparently Menzel wasn’t either because later, in his book The World of Flying Saucers, he wrote that the case was a hoax. He said that Barauna had faked the pictures with a double exposure.

More likely than the fog-shrouded airplane but a statement without a fact to back it up. You can’t just declare something a hoax because you don’t like it and have no other evidence except your opinion that it is a hoax.

My first thought on reading this latest revelation from Fantastico was that the explained the case.

My second thought was, "Not so fast."

Yes, I’m aware of work done by many researchers in their analyses of the pictures and that some have said they found evidence of fraud in the photographs. Some of it is impressive work.
But I’m also aware of the claim that there were many witnesses to the object’s flight, and it would mean that a couple of dozen were in on the hoax and never breathed a word about it... until now.

But the person making this new claim of hoax is not a relative, or a witness for that matter, but a neighbor and she has no evidence to back up her accusation. There is also a niece, unidentified other than as a niece, who says she has Barauna’s files and she confirms it is a hoax.

Here’s the deal... and I’m sure even the skeptics will agree with this. Let’s wait on the final pronouncement until the files surface and prove the hoax. In the last few years, we’ve had several people come forward explaining that their UFO photographs, none quite as famous as these, were faked. I have no problem with the photographer telling me he or she faked the pictures. That seems to be solid evidence.

In this case, however, we don’t have the photographer, but a neighbor. And the niece who has the files. Let the documentation from the files be reviewed before we completely close the case. If it is a hoax, so be it, but let’s wait until we have the absolute proof before we label it. That might be coming soon.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Levelland UFO Sightings

At the most recent MUFON Symposium, I talked several people about creating multiple chains of evidence for our UFO cases. I based this on the study done in France in 1803 that proved rocks could fall from the sky... rocks we now call meteorites. The French Academy of Sciences had rejected the idea until a French researcher, Jean-Baptiste Biot, put together a study, with multiple chains of evidence, that proved in at least one instance, rocks had fallen from the sky. (As we say in ufology, it only takes one).

Which leads to another point. I had been discussing UFOs with a skeptic (Hey! I talk to them... most are reasonable people) and I mentioned, as one series of good sightings, the Levelland events of November 2, 1957. There were many reports of the close approach of the UFO interacting with the environment, meaning that it stalled car engines, dimmed headlights, and filled radios with static.

My skeptical friend said something like, "Oh yeah. The Condon Committee investigated that but even with the most powerful magnets available could not duplicate the alleged effects."

To him that meant the case had no merit because the electromagnetic effects (EM) claimed by the witnesses could not be replicated in the laboratory. But as I thought about this, I realized it could be taken another way. If the witness statements were accurate, then the UFO was displaying a technological capability that was beyond our science and could therefore be seen as proof that some UFOs were superior technological craft and were of alien manufacture.

In other words, we had a second chain of evidence, the first being the eyewitness testimony. See, in the French case, the eyewitnesses, who described the rocks falling from the sky and the resulting sound effects and smoke trail were counted as reliable. No one then thought to reject the eyewitnesses simply because they had only seen the rocks in the sky. Their testimony was collected, regardless of social station. None was rejected because he was merely an uneducated farmer, or because she was only a farm wife, or they were only children or because they might have talked to one another about the fall. All testimonies were carefully recorded so that a complete record could be made.

In Levelland, and contrary to what the Project Blue Book files allege, there were witnesses in at least thirteen separate locations who reported the EM effects without the time necessary for the news media or the local grapevines to pass that nugget. Although you could argue that one or two of the witnesses who surfaced the next day might have heard or read something about the sighting prior to making a statement, the majority of them told their tales without knowing there were other witnesses in other areas who had seen, heard, and experienced the same things they had.

Now, today, it is impossible for us to make any sort of meaningful measurements to corroborate, or disprove, this bit of observation. That so many made it, in such a restricted time frame, it seems reasonable to conclude that most, if not all, such reports were made without contamination. These EM effects are not reported in most of the UFO sightings, so we have something here that might provide a clue about the nature of some of the UFO reports.

The third chain of evidence is one reported by Don Burleson, based on his reinvestigation some forty years after the fact. Burleson said that he had talked to the daughter of the sheriff, Weir Clem, and Clem had been called out to a ranch north of Levelland where there were markings on the ground. In other words, a "footprint" of the UFO.

Had this bit of evidence surfaced in 1957, meaningful measurements might have been made. Coupled with the work of Ted Philips, who has cataloged some 4000 landing trace cases, we might have had the UFO sighting that would have moved UFOs from myth to accepted fact, just as the French study moved thunderbolts (rocks from the sky) into the realm of science.

But here is the problem... The French were interested in the truth, and in 1957, the Air Force was interested in explaining all UFO sightings in the mundane. It mattered not what the facts were. If they could generate an answer that stopped the interest in the case, they were happy. They had fulfilled their mission.

Yes, the Project Blue Book files prove this. On a Joint Messageform prepared by Captain G. T. Gregory and dated November 3, 1957, in PART III, paragraph a., it says, "Contrary to Keyhoe’s and Washington Press reports only three, not nine persons witnessed the incident."

Later, in his book, The World of Flying Saucers (and found in the Levelland papers and reports in the Project Blue Book files), Donald Menzel would write, "Three persons, not ‘dozens,’ had seen the phenomenon near the ground. Some ten or fifteen others (including the sheriff) had not observed it at close quarters but had merely seen brilliant flashes of light in the sky."

Neither the Air Force statement nor Menzel’s words reflect the reality of the situation. There were people at thirteen, widely separated locations who were close enough to the craft to report EM effects. And, there were more than fifteen people who saw the object at a distance but none of them described the UFO as a flash of light in the sky.

The other evidence of this is that the Air Force explained the sighting as "ball lightning." In 1957, you could get any number of scientists to argue that there was no such thing as ball lightning. In other words, the Air Force was attempting to explain one phenomenon with another that had yet to be proved. And they forgot to mention that ball lightning was short–lived and rarely larger than eight inches in diameter.

The real point here, however, is that this case, the Levelland sightings, had they been treated with any sort of scientific curiosity at the time, would have yielded a report with multiple chains of evidence. We would have been able to develop some very interesting evidence, if the government in the form of the Air Force and the scientific community in the guise of Donald Menzel hadn’t been more interested in proving themselves right than they were in gathering the information. In other words, we would have had those multiple chains of evidence that would independently lead us toward the extraterrestrial. Instead, we have another controversial case that has been compromised by those who know that there can be no aliens visiting Earth.

Monday, August 02, 2010

The 2010 MUFON Symposium

So, as many of you know, I was at the MUFON UFO Symposium in Denver recently and have to admit I had a good time. Most of those attending were serious researchers, investigators, writers, and interested parties who wished solid answers based on evidence rather than wild speculations based on imagination. I was disappointed when one retired military officer seemed to be an exception to this rule. He seemed to embrace everything without worrying about evidence, but he was in a very small minority.

The programing was exquisite. The first was Richard Dolan who talked about what would happen after the government disclosed UFOs were extraterrestrial craft. He preached gloom and doom and I tend to be more optimistic about it. Dolan, however, made a good case for the changes faced by society, especially if the disclosure came at a time when the alien craft were landing. I know that no technologically inferior society has ever survived contact with a superior technology. Even the introduction of the horse to the plains radically alter the Indian way of life.

I looked forward to the presentation by Linda Moulton Howe because it dealt with the Bentwaters UFO landing and she had brought John Burroughs (seen here) with her. I had met him years ago while I was in Phoenix at a UFO conference. We traveled together to do a early morning radio talk show and I gained some insight into the case. Howe has spent a great deal of time investigating this case and she presented some very interesting points, including one that seemed to remove a skeptical explanation from the mix... though I suspect few believed that the airman and officers were fooled by the spinning of a lighthouse beam that had always been there.
I also enjoyed the talk by Marc D’Antonio but only because he lets his personality loose while on the stage. His presentation was interesting as well as informative.

Stan Friedman was, well, Stan Friedman. Say what you will about him, he’s very good on the stage and he presents his information in a very entertaining way. He’s been at it for decades and the polish shows. John Greenewald had the hosting duties again and was as brilliant as ever. He takes the job seriously and tries to provide each speaker with a build up that will impress the audience. He’s a fine and entertaining speaker in his own right.

I had a chance, brief though it was, to talk with Nick Redfern (seen here), who is going to review my latest book. I couldn’t help but ask what he thought and was pleased to learn that he had enjoyed it... which, of course, doesn’t mean that he won’t have some criticism about it (and provides me an opportunity to another plug of Crash: When UFOs Fall from the Sky).

And I sat next to Frank Salisbury (seen here) in the vendor area, who was there with a couple of his books, including an interesting update on his The Utah UFO Display: A Scientist’s Report. I had first run into him many years ago at a UFO convention sponsored by APRO. He had this book with him then. I didn’t know that in the new, updated version, I would actually find my own name, but there it was, in a short discussion on the Roswell UFO case in the introduction.

I didn’t know what a funny guy he was either. We had a couple of nice chats about UFOs, computers, and stealing customers from one another... He would often point them toward me, and if I couldn’t sell something to someone, I’d point them back to Frank.

One thing I did notice was a preponderance of geezers, which, for a moment troubled me but then I had an epiphany. The problem wasn’t that the youngsters weren’t interested in UFOs, or that they didn’t care what we geezers had to say, but that they probably couldn’t afford the time or money to attend the symposium. In this shaky economy, the youngsters, just starting out, might not have had the disposable income for a rather expensive weekend in Denver, not to mention children at home and a work schedule that might intrude.

Which is not to say that there weren’t many younger people there. There certainly were and they were just as excited about the symposium as were we geezers.

If I had a complaint, it was only that the WiFi connections in the common areas, the lobby, the vendor area (seen here), the restaurants, was not as reliable as it could have been. Of course, it seemed that every time I managed to logon, someone would appear to ask a question or two. Before I could get back to the computer, the connection was lost.

Next year they have decided that the symposium will be held in Orange County, California. I’m sure it will be a fine venue and I’m sure they’ll have no trouble transferring the expertise from Denver to Orange County. It might be good to move the symposium around, as they have done in the past, but frankly, I’ll miss Denver. I grew up there and I like the chance to get back into the old stomping grounds again.


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Friday, February 19, 2010

On the Road Again Soon

We just received word  that Kevin is scheduled to be back at UCSF on February 26th for pre-screening and then to be admitted to the hospital on the 27th to begin the first transplant process.  We've been told to expect to stay for a month.  Once we get there we will have a better understanding of exactly what's going to happen.  It's our understanding that he will receive four days of 'super chemo' that really kills everything.  Their original plan was to include two of these rounds just to get him into remission, but we were blessed to skip those as the 'regular chemo' did the job.  But it must be done before the stem cell transplant.  He will have two tandem transplants with a period of rest in between.

After the four days of chemo, I'm guessing he will be very sick.  It takes about a week for everything to die off.  That will make him neutropenic, which means he will have NO immunity.  They will leave him there where they can monitor him and jump on top of any infections or complications.  After a period of recovery they will put a batch of his stem cells back into him and see how that goes.  We just don't know the schedule yet.

He had a chest X-ray today.  We need that to be clear & healthy for all this to proceed.  He has no indications of any infection now, but aside from a fever he wouldn't have known he had pneumonia in the first place!  I'm sure it will all happen.  We are packing and getting ready to leave as scheduled.

We can't thank you enough for your prayers.  We keep running into people who didn't know Kevin had cancer who are now praying or people who tell us about someone they ran into who are now praying.  We have much faith in prayer.  It has already brought us many miracles and countless tender mercies. We know this is going to work!  But I think this is definitely going to be the hardest part of Kevin's treatment so far.  I don't really know what he's in for.  Maybe ignorance is bliss! Dale

1 comment:

  1. Let us know if you want Larry and I to come up and give him a blesssing before you leave....You don't need to call 911 to get me up there. Ken


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Sunday, September 29, 2013

Local high school student volunteers participate in Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup

Keweenaw Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council (YAC) members and local high school student volunteers display the bags of trash they collected during the Sept. 21, 2013, Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup along the Keweenaw Waterway (Portage Canal) near Michigan Tech University. (Photos © and courtesy Joan Chadde)

HOUGHTON -- Fourteen Keweenaw Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council (YAC) members and high school student volunteers from Houghton, Dollar Bay and Calumet High Schools participated in the Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. The students removed seven bags of trash between Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center and Prince's Point along the City of Houghton's public walking/riding trail.

Students who participated were Elise Cheney, Vladi Kotov, Rylie Store, Brooke Basto, Emily Linn, Ingrid Flaspohler, Ryne Hocking, Kyle Archambeau, Kyra Neufeld, Chance Sche, Emma Brown, Ben Lilleskov, Joe Dobbs, Nick Vlahos, and Dan Gershenson.

Youth Advisory Council student volunteers sort trash during the Sept. 21 Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup.

The Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup, also called Adopt-a-Beach, is coordinated through the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Volunteers throughout the Great Lakes Basin in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois collect the trash and sort it into specified categories such as fast food wrappers, beverage cans, bottles, clothing, etc., and submit the data to a regional database.*

This year's collection yielded far fewer cigarette butts than in past years -- an encouraging sign!

YAC is comprised of Houghton County students in grades 8-12. The purpose of YAC is to strengthen the leadership and charitable commitment of youth by providing opportunities for them to develop solutions to serious problems. YAC has three goals: to engage youth in philanthropy, address the needs of local youth in Houghton and Keweenaw counties, and engage in community service.

Any student in the Copper Country in grades 8-12 can participate in YAC by contacting one of the YAC facilitators: Lois Jambekar at 482-8342 or or Joan Chadde at 487-3341 or

Contributions to the Youth Advisory Council are welcomed.**

* Click here to learn more about the Great Lakes Shoreline Cleanup.

** Click here to learn more about the Keweenaw Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council.

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Keyes Public Schools

If you're looking to contact us then use one of the methods below, or try the contact form on this page.

General Inquiries

  • 3rd and McKnab
  • Keyes, Ok 73947

Administration Office Hours

  • Monday - Friday 8 am to 3:50 pm
  • Closed when school is out

Your message has been sent!


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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

10-year old boy shoots his leg while playing with an unsecured gun

A 10-year old Keyport, New Jersey boy was at his home, playing with an unsecured, loaded gun.

From the article:

Authorities say a young boy escaped serious injury when he accidentally shot himself in the leg while playing with a gun in his central New Jersey home.

The 10-year-old Keyport boy, whose name was not disclosed, needed stiches and was being kept in the hospital overnight for observation. But authorities say he won’t require surgery and should fully recover.

Adults were home at the time of the shooting.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

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18 November 2014

   In regards to the "CHRISTMAS PARTY" on the 8-12-14. The deadline for the $10.00 payment is Friday the 28-11-14.
   Any later will not be excepted, because we need  the money early so we know how many to cater for.
   Last year 3 people came and paid on the day, which accepted with regret, we will not accept it this year.
  Those who wish to pay MUST BE PAYED UP MEMBERS.
  BARRIE CHANNON "Christmas party organiser.
  Thank you.


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Tuesday, 29 November 2011

New GLP-1 stuff

Understanding the Cardiovascular Effects of Incretin.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of death in patients with diabetes mellitus, has several pathogenic mechanisms that are well established. However, the traditional hypoglycemic agents do not have proven positive effects on macrovascular disease. Novel therapeutic agents target the incretin pathway including the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP-1R) agonists and the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. The glucose-regulatory actions of these agents function by increasing insulin secretion and suppressing glucagon. They also act to increase weight loss not only by inhibiting gastric emptying, but also by reducing appetite.

Although GLP-1 and GLP-1R agonists have demonstrated beneficial effects on myocardium and vascular endothelium including coronary and peripheral mouse vessels, they also have anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic actions. These agents also have positive effects on the lipid profile and blood pressure. Although these cardioprotective actions seem to be beyond the effects of glucose control and weight loss, they are mediated through GLP-1R- or GLP-1R-independent actions of cleaved GLP-1 (9-36). Larger randomized controlled trials are necessary to elucidate the clinical promise of these beneficial CVD effects.

Combined stimulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor and inhibition of cannabinoid CB1 receptor act synergistically to reduce food intake and body weight in the rat.

Acute activation of central Glp1 receptors enhances hepatic insulin action and insulin secretion in high fat-fed, insulin resistant mice.

The Gut Hormones PYY(3-36) and GLP-1(7-36 amide) Reduce Food Intake and Modulate Brain Activity in Appetite Centers in Humans.

Ketogenic Diet to help supress cancer?

Couldnt help, had to post this here.
Over the last years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that by systematically reducing the
amount of dietary carbohydrates (CHO) one could suppress, or at least delay, the emergence
of cancer, and that proliferation of already existing tumor cells could be slowed down. This
hypothesis is supported by the association between modern chronic diseases like the
metabolic syndrome and the risk of developing or dying from cancer. CHOs or glucose, to
which more complex carbohydrates are ultimately digested, can have direct and indirect
effects on tumor cell proliferation: first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend
on steady glucose availability in the blood for their energy and biomass generating demands
and are not able to metabolize significant amounts of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to
mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels
resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor
cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are
elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect
proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for
metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown anti-tumorigenic properties
of very low-CHO ketogenic diets. In addition, many cancer patients exhibit an altered glucose
metabolism characterized by insulin resistance and may profit from an increased protein and
fat intake.
In this review, we address the possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer
prevention and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of insulin and IGF-1 signaling
in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients.


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Bandit "Prince" - DEAD

Shayll is the son and heir-apparent of the bandit leader Darach. Ever since Modric was captured by Shayll and Darach, Shayll has been increasing his influence and position with the bandits.

Physically Shayll takes more after his mother Reyja than Darach … he is a small man, short of stature and thin of bone. That is where the resemblance ends however … Shayll is a cruel and blunt individual, happy to torment anyone under his power. When Modric first arrived in the bandit camp, Shayll seldom interacted with him … however as Modric grew more and more subservient to the bandits, Shayll grew bolder about abusing Modric.

Kingdom in the Making, Across the Greenbelt Erictono JimBoegman


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Internet giant Google is giving us a glimpse of the future, through our own eyes.  Project Glass offers an augmented reality experience through a lightweight headset.  Even though Project Glass is still in it's testing stages, some lucky enthusiasts will get the opportunity to test out these future-tech glasses for the low price of $1500, if accepted.

The video explains the capabilities of the Google Glasses far better than I could describe in a paragraph.  These do seem cool, and I would love the chance to play around with them.  However, I have yet to grasp the practicality of everyday use for them.  I do not wear glasses, so I am already slightly uncomfortable wearing something like that on my face.  I occasionally wear sun glasses, but those lenses cover the entire eye area.  The small "magic glass"  piece that controls and displays the activity seems like it would be distracting to me.  Having never worn them, this is all speculation.  The technology is definitely impressive though.  I would have a hard time shelling out $1500 for such a product, but would love to try the experience.  If you are interested in applying for your own experience click below for info on how to make that a reality.  Definitely check out the video as well, because it says way more about the product than I ever could.


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Chrysta 10 min. 15 min.

Ok. Carmelizing sugar on top of steel cut oats might take away from the healthy reasons you might be eating these whole grains, but it’s definitely one of the most delicious ways to eat this dish. It’s almost like dessert. I’m craving a bowl right now!

Step 1: Make these easy overnight steel cut oats.

Step 2: Special equipment,you’re going to need a blowtorch or a brulee torch, found on amazon or your local cooking supply store like Sur La Table.

Bruleed Oatmeal and Blow Torch

Step 3: Get to the carmelization!

You’ll just need take a little sugar, and apply heat directly to the sugar until it starts to bubble. Here’s a video to show you!


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Monday, October 10, 2005

Fwd: Your Muslim Wisdom for Sunday

Lord, have mercy on our souls and allow us to follow Your
commandments. O Most Compassionate One, do not allow our hearts to err
after being guided aright.

-From the prayer book "Al-Hizbul-A'zam"
Translated by Aneela Khalid Arshed. 1999. The Crossroad Publishing
Company, New York.

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11 steps to buying a home

BY KAREN LIBIN If you’ve never bought a home or it has been a long, long time since you have done so, the process can seem overwhelming. What all needs to be done and when? Like any large task, the process can be broken down into manageable steps. Here are the basics: Hire an excellent […]

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KnA Logo

Article from Metal Construction News

Wrapped in green: Low-E Housewrap provides year-round energy efficiency

Click to read a Summary of Findings for a Thermal Imaging Project using Low-e Housewrap

In a space thinner than a pancake, you can dramatically improve a home's energy efficiency. Using the same reflective technology that protects NASA astronauts from the sun's searing heat, Low-E Insulating Housewrap blocks 97% of radiant heat transfer through the walls--saving enough energy to pay for the upgrade in 3 years or less.

Siding Replacement
Energy efficiency and lowering heating and cooling costs are top priorities for American homeowners. Home improvement contractors can meet that demand with Low-E Housewrap. With Low-E, an ordinary residing job whether wood, vinyl, steel or fiber cement - becomes an energy-saving improvement that qualifies for up to $1500 in Federal Energy Tax Credits.

New Construction
You can meet tough standards for more energy-efficient construction without dramatically increasing your cost. Use conventional two-by-four framing and insulation, but upgrade to Low-E Insulating Housewrap for performance comparable to expensive
six-inch wall systems.

The new Low-E Insulating Housewrap meets water resistant barrier requirements while providing thermal performance. The product allows for standard construction of 2" X 4" framed walls while complying with the new higher "R" value energy code.

Low-E Housewrap replaces conventional paper or fiber wrap material and is installed in the same manner between the siding and the wall sheathing.

The 3/16" thick wrap provides "R" value and has the additional benefits of both a reinforced foil facing made of 99.4% pure aluminum and perforations for water vapor transmission. The aluminum facing reflects heat in the summer and retains it in the winter which significantly reduces energy consujption.

Environmentally Safe Products, Inc. proudly announce that they have received an ICC certification for their new Low-E Housewrap on May 1, 2010. As part of the certification process, subtle changes were made to their existing Low-E Housewrap product. The most notable change is the newly reinforced facing. Click here to read the Low-E Housewrap ICC report.

The newly ICC certified Low-E Housewrap is available for sale now. Please contact us or request a quote now!

So Why Use Low-E House Wrap?

Note: Testing by an ASTM accredited lab determined that the use of Low-E House Wrap did not cause warping of the siding to occur, unlike other foil faced products, Low-E House Wrap is coated with 99% pure aluminum which prevents heat buildup.

Low-E House Wrap Product Information

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