text:
Buccaneer Energy hosted a townhall meeting Tuesday at the Challenger Center in Kenai to explain some of its plans for seismic studies to the community.
The independent oil and gas company has plans for seismic testing in the Kenai area. That work is meant to inform the positioning of future natural gas wells tapping into the Kenai Loop natural gas pool.
Tuesday, representatives of Buccaneer and its contractor Weems talked to at least 187 members of the public about what the studies mean for residents of the area.
Buccaneer's subsidiary, Buccaneer Alaska, has drilled two wells at its Kenai Loop development near WalMart. One of those wells is scheduled to start producing natural gas by the end of the month. The company wants to do seismic work to get a better sense of the gas formation before drilling a third well.
The exact location of the seismic work is unknown. The company sent 2,269 letters notifying property owners and others that the studies would be in their area. Some of the work will be done in neighborhoods around Kenai, including the area near WalMart, and other work will be done farther from the roads.
"We're not disclosing it to the public," said John Land, the permitting
coordinator for Weems, the contractor hired to oversee the project.
That's for confidentiality reasons. The company has to file a map of the study area with the Department of Natural Resources, but it will be kept confidential, Land said.
"As competitive as the industry is worldwide, you have to be careful," he said.
Buccaneer has access to subsurface minerals through permissions from the state of Alaska, the Alaska Mental Health Trust and Cook Inlet Region Inc., each of which owns subsurface rights in the area Buccaneer is studying. But the seismic work requires equipment above ground, so its looking for permission from the land owners to do that work.
At a teleconference last week, Buccaneer's Chief Executive Officer Curtis Burton said the seismic study will help the company identify where the gas is, and how much there might be. Right now, the company has 2-D seismic work, subsurface mapping and logs of wells in the area that suggest quite a bit of gas is buried beneath the ground. Work done by third-party engineers suggest that there is a significant amount of gas. The seismic work is meant to confirm that, and provide more information on its location.
"The 3-D helps you to better identify what the structure looks like," Burton said.
But first, Buccaneer is working through the permitting process for its
seismic efforts.
At Tuesday's meeting, Land talked about the proposed work, which will be done by several contractors working for Weems.
Weems is trying to get signed agreements from landowners before it does the seismic work. The company is responsible for any damage it does, Land said.
"We leave your property the way we found it," Land said.
Landowners are asked to write in any conditions to their permits. Land told community members Tuesday that they can ask for 48 hours' notification before Buccaneer's contractors begin seismic testing in their neighborhood or on their street, set certain terms about when and where the contractors can access their property, or add other conditions.
"Hand write that into your permit ― these are the structures, this is the distance" Land said.
Weems will compile all of those conditions into one database, and remind the contractors to follow them each day.
Land said he hopes to finish the seismic work by early march, and have the results for Buccaneer by April. Then, Buccaneer plans to use the results in deciding where to drill its next well.
Buccaneer does not yet have all of the required permits from other agencies.
Land said they are getting the information and paperwork together to apply for permits from the city of Kenai, the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the state. They intend to apply for those by the end of this week, or early next week, Land said.
Rick Koch, Kenai's city manager, said the project will need special-use
permits to use the right-of-way permits that houses city roads and some adjacent land. That permit goes through the city manager's office, but Koch said he expected to update Kenai's city council throughout the process. The city looks toward protecting its assets as well as adjacent landowners, Koch said.
The exact specifications of the seismic work will be developed in the coming weeks. Depending on the foundation and surface, someone inside a typical home might think a garbage truck is driving by, Land said. The caravan doing the road will travel through neighborhoods, with each test point taking a fairly short amount of time.
"The length of time will vary, but I think three minutes is always a good average to go with," Land said.
Land said Weems hopes to start working after the holidays.
"We work first light to 30 minutes before sundown," Land said.
The seismic work will start with surveying the area to be studied. As part of the surveying process, Land said Weems wants to know about any potential hazards or concerns that might not be easily spotable ― like underground wells or other structures. Landowners are asked to help point those out. Those will get marked with GPS so that the company knows to stay a certain
distance from them.
After surveying and delineating exactly where all the testing will be done, Peak Particle Velocity Testing will be done to determine how fast energy put into the ground travels. That testing is done in two parts, with a preliminary low-drive sweep to get a feel for the area and the conditions before the testing is done at each spot. Assuming each sweep goes well, the vibrators will do the main work of sending energy to the ground. That's when the area may rumble as if a train were going by.
In some places, where there isn't road access, a contractor will use a
helicopter to bring equipment for shot hole drilling.
The company has some precautions in place to protect wells and other structures.
Before and after the seismic tests, a contractor will do flow testing on wells, to ensure that a homeowner's water supply doesn't change. They will also document the condition of each structure before testing begins, and do a sweep at the end to make sure nothing has changed.
Most of the work will be done from the road. And in the off-road areas being studied, the
contractor will use natural clearings to do its tests before taking out any shrubbery, Land said.
Weems does not have experience in Alaska, but Land said that many of the contractors using the equipment do. They know to adapt for different conditions as the initial sweep dictates.
During a question-and-answer session at the end of the presentation, Land said that if a property owner chooses not to return a signed agreement, the work will likely continue. In some cases, the contractors may just stay on roads and off the property, but generally they'd rather talk to the property owner and come to an agreement over their concerns. Ultimately, Land said that Buccaneer's access to the subsurface minerals gives them a strong case to be on the surface.
"The surface is always subordinate to the minerals," he said.
Land said that even if a homeowner doesn't sign off on the project, the contractors are responsible for, and will take care, of any damage done. The exact timeline for filling claims is unknown. The idea that some damage might be hard to see was brought up at the meeting.
Land said Wednesday he was going to followup on that issue with others in the company on Friday. It could be a problem for both sides ― Weems might not know whether damage is pre-existing, and property owners might not be aware of a problem until after breakup.
Right now, there are four people working on the permitting effort. That number will increase to 60 or 70 as the work progresses. Most of those will come from the contractors, and be specific skilled labor jobs. There is a possibility of local hire for some of the jobs, Land said.
Molly Dischner can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
''FLY-IN'' priests imported to Australia from overseas are an emerging danger, the state inquiry into the churches' handling of sex abuse heard on Friday.
Victims organisation Broken Rites was aware of at least seven cases in which imported priests had sexually abused people, including one where the priest abused five women, four of them members of his own family, researcher Wayne Chamley said.
''If it's good enough for Australia to shanghai problem priests and send them off to Samoa or Rome [a reference to actions by the Salesian order], why wouldn't overseas bishops do it to Australia?'' he said.
The Australian Catholic Church has not released the number of clerics imported mostly from India, Nigeria and the Philippines to ease the catastrophic decline in parish priests, but a study last year estimated they made up 20 per cent of Australia's total of 1500.
In other testimony, Dr Chamley said:
■ Church lawyers tried to ''king hit'' victims as hard as possible to demoralise them in negotiations for compensation. ''They wring their hands and speak in humble voices, but in the cut and thrust of mediation it's boots and all.''
■ The church's internal system for investigating abuse was a charade that had no legal standing. He said the Melbourne Response's independent commissioner, Peter O'Callaghan, described himself as operating like a royal commission. ''What act of Parliament set that up?'' Dr Chamley said.
■ Letting the church investigate itself was like ''leaving Dracula in charge of the blood bank''.
Dr Chamley condemned the submissions to the inquiry by the Salvation Army and Catholic Church. The former, at eight pages, was ''an insult'' to the Parliament and people of Victoria, given the hundreds of child victims of abuse by its officers, and its response to victims was often ''secretive, unco-operative, mean-spirited and legalistic''.
The Catholic submission was notable for what it left out, including two Australian Senate inquiries that showed ''children who ended up in the 'care' of the Catholic Church were subjected to widespread sexual abuse, procurement for sexual purposes by other adults, severe and unwarranted physical abuse, criminal assault, prolonged solitary confinement, exploitation and unpaid child labour, slavery, starvation, administration of drugs and provision of alcohol'' during most of the past century.
Dr Chamley compared the life of a paedophile priest who was not exposed despite church payouts with that of his victims. The priest would be housed, given medical care, a stipend, and the respect of his family and parishioners, who did not know of his predation.
Of the victims, 91 per cent had mental health problems. ''They live in public housing, wait in queues at emergency departments in public hospitals for days. Their diets are shocking … and they fear as they get older - and they are now in their 60s - some will develop Alzheimer's and dementia.''
Patrick Tidmarsh, a Victoria Police expert on interviewing victims, told the inquiry the Catholic Church had neither the motivation nor the ability to investigate abuse complaints.
''Where is the motivation for an organisation or person to pursue perpetrators when the consequences to that organisation are so severe? I can't think of a single case where a priest has not been moved and reoffended, and moved again and reoffended again.''
He said a church investigation could not bring the ''crucial independence'' the police had. ''You can call someone independent, but that doesn't make them so,'' he said, in an apparent reference to Mr O'Callaghan.
Committee chairwoman Georgie Crozier said the committee had taken action to obtain documents from the Catholic Church.
1996 Edward Dowlan sentenced to nine years and eight months in jail for indecently assaulting 11 male students under the age of 16 between 1971 and 1982 while at Christian Brothers schools in Ballarat.
2002 St John of God pays more than $3.6 million compensation to sex abuse victims by Brothers in Hospitaller Order in homes in Cheltenham and Lilydale. Police investigate complaints but no charges are laid.
2006 Gerald Ridsdale sentenced to 13 years in jail after pleading guilty to 35 charges, including indecent assault and buggery relating to 10 boys under his care between 1970 and 1987 when he was a Catholic priest.
2010 Case against Father Peter Chalk, who was accused of abusing children in Melbourne in the 1970s, is closed after his death in Japan, where the church sent him to work.
2011 Brother Robert Best sentenced to 14 years and nine months in jail for sexual crimes against 11 boys in Ballarat, Box Hill and Geelong between 1969 and 1988. Most of his victims were aged between eight and 11.
April 2012 Police report reveals at least 40 people who committed suicide were sexually abused by Catholic clergy in Victoria.
April 2012 Premier Ted Baillieu announces parliamentary inquiry into clergy abuse in Victoria.
April 2013 Family and Community Development Committee due to report to Parliament on inquiry.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In the wake of last week's deadly and tragic school shooting in Newtown, parents and commentators in various parts of the country called for more schools to be protected by police or armed guards. Orange County, Fla., Mayor Teresa Jacobs, for example, wants to put police in each elementary school in her county every day. Is this a good idea for Connecticut? Is it worth the expense? Do you object to sending your young child or grandchild to a school patrolled daily by police? Do you think the idea of adding armed guards is a distraction from other steps that need to be taken to prevent gun violence, such as bans on assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition clips?
Beefing Up Security at Schools: Nice Gesture, Poor Solution
Riverfront Times, Dec. 17
Nebraska parents Call for Continued Police Presence at Schools
1011now.com, Dec. 18
LAPD will add daily patrols of all elementary, middle schools
L.A. Daily News, Dec. 17
Dallas to boost police presence around schools
Dallas Morning News, Dec. 17
N. Charleston mayor wants police in elementary schools
Live5News.com, Dec. 18
St. Louis County police step up patrols at elementary schools
KMOV.com, Dec. 18


text:
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
On the List!
10 comments:
Welcome to the Geneabloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.ReplyDelete
May you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill ;-)
Author of "13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories" and family saga novels:
"Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited"
Welcome to the Geneablogging community!ReplyDelete
Welcome to the Geneablogging community! I'm also new to it as of today. :)ReplyDelete
Welcome Nancy! I'm a newbee too and really enjoying the experience.ReplyDelete
It looks like you are off to a great start...you've already got pages set up...impressive!
I noticed that we share some of the same surnames, although I have not listed all mine. (I like your list) I'm sure that you will find a lot of cousins from NE area. Some of mine include BREWSTER, CALL, HOPKINS, RICHARDSON, SNOW, CHAPPLE.
I look forward to reading more from you!
Keep an eye on the geneabloggers website site and you are sure to find ideas and inspirations to keep you going both on your blog and in your genealogy quests.ReplyDelete
Theresa (Tangled Trees)
Thank you everyone! I hope to be able to make lots of friends and connect to some family.ReplyDelete
Thank you, Dr. Bill. I see you are from the Ozarks. I lived there for about 10 years, but moved east 7 years ago. I do get back occasionally for visits to family.ReplyDelete
"Frank's Daughter": I look forward to comparing notes on our mutual surnames.ReplyDelete
Welcome to the genealblogging community! My husband has many HollingSworths in his family. :)ReplyDelete
My grandfather was always quite adamant that his last name did not have an "s" in the middle! LOL
But I wouldn't be surprised if there is some connection between the names somewhere.


text:
In addition to the neck injury that forced quarterback Jay Cutler from the Chicago Bears loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Cutler also suffered a knee injury that appeared on the injury report Wednesday.
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Cutler has a sprained medial collateral ligament. Per the report, the injury is not nearly as severe as the MCL injury that sidelined him during the 2011 NFC Championship game.
The Bears did not hold a full practice on Wednesday but the injury report stated Cutler would not have practiced if they had. He returned to limited participation in practice on Thursday and is expected to fully participate on Friday.
Head coach Lovie Smith said Thursday he has no concerns for Cutler's availability for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.


text:
Researchers to examine 'Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield'
Military intelligence analysts, when devising strategies for operations, must take a number of threat conditions into account. "Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield" is a term used in the military that defines the methodology employed to reduce uncertainties concerning the enemy, environment, and terrain for all types of operations. Researchers at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) recently received a grant that will enable them to explore the ways in which battlefield planning methods can be improved, with the ultimate goal of helping the U.S. Army develop a technological game plan for winning on the battlefield.


text:
Marc Luzietti
So 1em == 1pt? Interesting? Why use two different but equal units of measure for the same area? Is there an advantage to one over the other or do I have it wrong?
Also, there isn't to much of 2005 left for something to be coming later in 2005. ;-)


text:
4803 Posts
8286 Posts
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts
PickupHockey Pro
285 Posts
PickupHockey Pro
400 Posts
quote:Originally posted by nuxfanyou may want to drop Luongo from that list as well. According to reports today on TSN, Luongo will only waive his NTC for FLA - which makes sense given his family situation. However, making it the only destination makes it tough for MG to swing a legitmate deal. Who knows whats true or not anymore, but it sounds like no other team is on his list...
quote:Originally posted by The_Gipperoh and Nash? i still don't understand the love in with this guy. specifically in Toronto. don't we basically have a mirror image of Nash in Joffrey Lupul? 28 years old, big, skilled, top line RW'er, can put the puck in the net. why give up precious assets in a trade for a guy you more or less already have? especially with the great chemistry he showed with Kessel last year.
quote:can a team really have TOO many "big, skilled, top line RW'er, can put the puck in the net" guys? Besides, Lupul has done it for one year - Nash has done it over and over again since he came into the league. Teams like consistency.
PickupHockey Pro
735 Posts
The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
1239 Posts
Lee Marshall
102 Posts
240 Posts
quote:Originally posted by @valancheThe only thing the avs would trade stastny for that the leafs have is:To COL:- 1st round pick OR two 2nd rounders- Clarke MacArthur - kadri, gunarsson, or gardinerTo TOR:- Paul stastny- Ryan Wilson or Ryan o'byrnethat's my opinion of what it would cost just difficult cuz the avs only need wingers and the only one with significant value on the leads would be kessel66 is > than 99
( )
109 Posts
quote:Originally posted by Open_IceIf Stastny is made available for trade, he will be the only legitimate center on the market and will fetch quite the price. Seriously. He will get enough in return that everyone will think the other team was ripped off. (and that's the price you should expect to pay to get an all-star center right now) Quite frankly, none of these mentioned trades would be enough for the Avalanche to give up a player that 29 other teams would likely make a pitch for.
quote:Originally posted by The_Gippersomeone else to possibly maybe consider on sunday when the FA market opens..........Martin Brodeur???it's all over the T.O. papers today that he plans to test the market come sunday. even hired an agent to do so.what are the chances he signs with the Leafs on a 1 - 2 yr. deal to play out his last years on a Canadian team?he'd be a great asset on the ice, on the bench, and in the locker room. the perfect mentor for Reimer and Scrivens. i'd certainly take that over Luongo's contract.
( )
quote:Originally posted by Guest1743does anyone else feel that if Toronto goes into next season with their current roster they are going to be brutal?
quote:Originally posted by The_Gipperquote:Originally posted by Guest1743does anyone else feel that if Toronto goes into next season with their current roster they are going to be brutal?No...and that's the only response a comment like yours deserves.
quote:Originally posted by @valancheit really depends on reimer if thats who they're going forward with. He needs to re-establish himself as a number one goalie in the nhl which he has done i'd say for maybe half his career thus far.66 is > than 99
quote:Originally posted by slozoSo, all I heard was crickets when I responded with my take on Stastny being very compareable RIGHT NOW (last two years) to Grabovski, and I gave evidence of a past low value decent asset acquired through trade from Colorado earlier (Liles).Has everyone here gone back and done the research on what an asset like Stastny would take to get? "Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug
Privacy Policy |
Terms of Use |
Contact Us |
Home |
Hockey Pool Manager |
Fantasy Pick 'EM |
Forums |
About Us


text:
Want to remind yourself or a friend about this program? Fill out this simple form and klru will email you a reminder on the day that it will air.
In The Wake Of Giants
series: Natural Heroes
air date: 6/06/13 9:30 AM
When humpback whales migrating between Alaska and Hawaii become entangled in marine debris, a small network of brave volunteer rescuers risk their lives to save them. Packed with action, beauty and compassion, In the Wake of Giants puts you in the rescue boats with the experts as they free the struggling whales.
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


text:
Rio Ferdinand believes Antonio Valencia is destined to become a big star at Manchester United.
The 24-year-old Ecuador international, signed in a £16million deal from Wigan in the summer, is starting to settle into life at Old Trafford after a slow start to his United career and grabbed a late winner against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
"I think everyone is very pleased with what Antonio has done," said Ferdinand. "He's playing very well and I'm sure he will keep improving and keep scoring goals."
He added: "He's a really humble and quiet lad. He comes in, does his work and goes home.
"He is from the Paul Scholes mould of embracing hype and attention but he's the most confident guy on the football field and he's been very impressive since he arrived.
"He is always available, always backing himself on the ball and doesn't mind a bit of contact. He is a strong lad and that's what you want."
Ferdinand watched Valencia's winning goal from the bench after being withdrawn just before the hour mark at the Luzhniki Stadium.
Having already travelled to Russia without Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra and Park Ji-Sung, manager Sir Alex Ferguson was taking no risks ahead of Sunday's clash with Liverpool.
At 0-0, United were fairly comfortable in the game and a draw would still have left them in a dominant position in Group B. As it transpired, the 1-0 victory maintained their 100% record in the competition and took them five points clear of nearest challengers Wolfsburg.
"It's gone according to plan so far," said Ferdinand. "We've been here in the group stages before when we've scraped through in the last game, so it's nice to get the nine points on the board and be in a very commanding position."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


text:
Here at GMF, we look at the top six contenders for the prestigious PFA Player of the Year award. Take a look at our list below and give us your vote!
Robin Van Persie
Following an outstanding season with Arsenal, RVP made the £24 million switch to Manchester United in the summer. After netting 30 league goals last term, Van Persie's job was to fire United to the Premier League title.
It's a job well done so far, with United sitting 12 points clear of closest rivals Manchester City and RVP's 19 league goals have contributed to this. The most important was arguably his 90th minute free kick at the Etihad to give United a 3-2 victory and he has won more points (21) for his team than any other player in the Premier League. However, he is not just a phenomenal goal-scorer. Oh no, RVP also has 8 assists to his name this season.
It's no secret that the transfer market is over-inflated; but every so often a bargain comes along and there has been no bigger bargain in recent years than Michu. Signed from Rayo Vallecano for just £2.2 million, he has been an instant hit in South Wales.
The classy forward has already won the Capital One Cup and scored at Wembley this year, but it is his league form that has attracted much attention. With 15 goals in the Premier League already, he has scored more than Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero and Fernando Torres. Having recently extended his contract with Swansea, there's no doubt that Michu can go on to become a legend for the club.
Leighton Baines
The PFA player of the year award isn't all about goals, it's about defending too. However, it certainly helps when you can do both. Leigton Baines has transformed his game to the next level this term, making a serious case to be the best full back in the country.
On his 100th England cap, Ashley Cole was snubbed from the match day programme in favour of Baines. Having notched five goals and set up four for his teammates, Baines is indispensible to Everton. His willingness to attack combined with his dead-ball ability and his tireless effort make him a viable contender for the prestigious award.
Juan Mata
Arguably the best player in the first half of the season, Juan Mata has impressed everybody this term. He is the traditional number 10, slotting in just behind the striker, scoring as well as creating goals.
He has 10 league strikers and 10 leagues assists so far to his name. He is a magician on the pitch; small but technically outstanding, with excellent control and sharp vision. Mata has personally excelled in what has been an underwhelming season for the Blues and is arguably Chelsea's main man.
Luis Suarez
Currently the league's leading talisman with 22 goals to his name. Luis Suarez has adapted himself from a scorer of great goals to a great goal-scorer.
He is now the main man at Anfield and seems to impress more every week. His acceleration and dazzling feet have helped him notch two hat-tricks away from home already this season. His ability to score goals with both feet and with his head, combined with his relentless work rate, has made him a leading candidate for the award.
The tricky Uruguayan often divides opinion following a few off the ball incidents. His greatest challenge to the award will ultimately be himself, with many fans wondering whether his fellow players will vote for him due to his recent behaviour.
Gareth Bale
Currently the front-runner for the prize is Tottenham's star man Gareth Bale. His recent breathtaking performances and new haircut has inevitably generated comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bale's main asset is his explosive speed, which has made him one of the most feared left-wingers in Europe. This season under AVB he has been allowed more freedom to come inside and it has paid off - the Welshman has 11 goals in his last 10 games.
How do you stop him? He has the capability to pick the ball up in his own half, take on four or five defenders, and stick it in the top corner. Can anybody stop the 23-year-old becoming PFA player of the year?
Who do you think should be crowned PFA player of the year? Have we missed anybody of the list? Tell us in the comments below.
DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeFootball Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeFootball.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeFootball.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


text:
A Pitt County woman tells WITN she plans to file a complaint against the Sheriff's Office after a deputy shot and killed her pit bull Wednesday.
It happened at 317 River Road Estates. Ereana Garcia says Deputy Jared Dobbs came into her yard to ask about an incident she may have witnessed.
That's when she says her pit bull Army that she's had for 6 years came out from under the house and began barking at the deputy, who then shot the dog.
The Sheriff's Office says the dog was growling, hissing and showing its teeth and lunged at the deputy who backed away. They say this happened repeatedly until the deputy couldn't back up any more and had no other choice but to shoot the dog.
Sheriff Neil Elks says anytime a deputy discharges a weapon a supervisor investigates it and that's exactly what they're doing in this case.


text:
|Mount Union coach Larry
Kehres with quarterback Zac Bruney in 2002.
D3sports.com file photo
|Kehres, a former quarterback
himself, had success with many quarterbacks, including Rob
2003 D3sports.com photo
|Home playoff losses were
truly rare under Larry Kehres, with the last coming in the snow to
Mary Hardin-Baylor.
2004 D3sports.com photo
|Kehres has been a steadying
force on the sidelines for the Purple Raiders.
2006 photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
|Between 16 Stagg Bowl trips
and an occasional other visit, we estimate Larry Kehres has spent a
little more than two months of his life in Salem.
2007 photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
|Kehres was gracious in
defeat, even though he had few chances to
2011 photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
|Even after one of the most
thrilling fourth quarters in Mount Union football history this past
season against UMHB, Kehres maintained a stoic exterior.
Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com
|Kehres let loose for a few
moments of postgame celebration in Salem in December with his
Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
|And yet, his calm, measured
exterior returned for his final postgame news
Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
By Keith McMillan
We have just watched the greatest college football coach of our time, if not all time, exit stage left.
Those who watched Larry Kehres's performances from out in the audience perhaps saw only a stoic taskmaster, and envied the way his teams routinely beat other very good teams by 30, 40 or 50 points.
Those who took the stage alongside him, his assistant coaches and players, consider him a mentor, a father figure, an idol.
From the time D3football.com went online in 1999 through the end of 2012, when Kehres went out a champion, winning his 11th Stagg Bowl, we've been able to peek behind the curtain. Not knowing him intimately, but spending enough time with him to know how he acts when the spotlight is dark, he only earned our respect.
Though he became known throughout Division III as the master of the in-game adjustment, some of the memories Kehres leaves behind took place when the clock wasn't ticking. Like the time he told UW-Whitewater coach Bob Berezowitz at midfield before the national championship game that if he had to lose, he wouldn't mind it being that day – in Berezowitz's final game in 22 years in charge of his alma mater. (Kehres's Purple Raiders won, 35-16). Or the time he pointed out that of all his trips to Salem – Mount Union was 11-5 in Stagg Bowls under Kehres – the only time he actually got to enjoy the city was when his daughter Jan's Wittenberg volleyball team made it to the 2007 national final. Or when he asked me about my son as we chatted on the sideline minutes before the national championship game was about to kick off.
Kehres broke character at times, taking off the Purple Raiders visor and reading glasses to crack jokes in a postgame press conference. Asked following a loss in Salem about UW-Whitewater winning three of four Stagg Bowls, Kehres said, "They're kind of ticking me off. I might have to come back and win three of the next four."
He once said after a game, with the straightest of faces, that a drawback to going five weeks deep into the playoffs each year was that Mount Union would fall that far behind its Ohio Athletic Conference rivals in recruiting.
Kehres is so competitive you couldn't always tell if he was joking.
Mount Union wasn't always The Machine. Kehres played quarterback for the Purple Raiders, rooming with a fellow by the name of Dom Capers as a sophomore. He was an assistant to Ken Wable for 11 years, and lost in the 1985 quarterfinals to Augustana as Bob Reade led the Vikings to the third of four straight championships. Kehres took over in 1986, when Mount Union again was against ousted by Augustana. The Purple Raiders lost in the 1990 and 1992 playoffs before breaking through for their first title in 1993.
Kehres's Raiders lost by one to eventual champion Albion in 1994 and by three to champion UW-La Crosse in 1995. In 1996, the Purple Raiders again beat Rowan in Salem, and the run of dominance began. They won six of seven title games between 1996 and 2003, winning by a field goal each in 2000 and 2001. In 2005, Kehres's Mount Union team played the first of seven consecutive Stagg Bowls against UW-Whitewater, a program that credited its ascension largely to having played a home-and-home series against the Purple Raiders a few years prior and seeing how it would have to raise its level to compete.
Kehres leaves behind some staggering numbers beyond the championships and winning percentage. His teams won 23 conference titles, including 21 in a row, and had 21 undefeated regular seasons. They made at least the national semifinals, in a division of the NCAA that features 241 teams, from 1995 to 2013. The Purple Raiders played in 15 of 17 Stagg Bowls between 1996 and 2013.
Still, the most staggering number from Kehres's career might be that at one point in 2007 the Alliance Review counted 39 of his former players coaching in college, and dozens more in high schools. Matt Campbell took Division I Toledo to a bowl game. Mike Hallett, Dean Paul, Mike Sirianni and Erik Raeburn put their Division III teams into the playoffs. When Widener made it three rounds deep into this season's playoffs, coach Isaac Collins told a story about how he spent three days in Alliance with a man he'd never met when he first got the job, so he could build the Pride the right way.
It wasn't just D-III coaches who looked to Kehres for advice.
"At national coaches conferences, all these Division I coaches come up to Larry [Kehres] and ask him how he does it," then-John Carroll coach Regis Scafe told the Cleveland Plain Dealer's David Campbell in 2008. "They can't believe it. What has Larry won? Something like 93 percent of his games?"
Kehres attracted interest from Kent State and Princeton, but chose to stay at Mount Union. He could have won anywhere for anyone who hired him, but he was from Ohio and was more concerned about raising men – he always referred to his players as "men" – than raising his profile.
Kehres is so very Division III. Not only does he preach the ideals of the non-scholarship, education-first student-athlete, but he won with those players. He had transfers from scholarship-level programs along the way, and in his later years, a couple of his players made it to the NFL. But the vast majority of Mount Union's championship teams were built with the same kinds of players the other playoff-caliber D-III teams recruit. Kehres just got more of them, and more out of them.
He liked to say his favorite recruiting questions were "Are you a good man?" and "Do you have a passion for football?"
But make no mistake. He wasn't all hokey sayings and abstract theories. He was a master tactician.
D-III aficionados can rattle off his brilliant coaching decisions: Pulling out a basic play from a prior season's summer camp to get quarterback Mike Jorris comfortable in a national championship game; Throwing deep posts twice to a then-little-known Cecil Shorts III early in a different Stagg Bowl against a UW-Whitewater defense geared to stop NCAA all-time leading rusher Nate Kmic; Using Shorts, a quarterback-turned-wide receiver, as the signal-caller and running strictly read option to salt away a semifinal win against a game Wesley team in 2009; Giving Kmic 42 carries in a 2006 semifinal win over St. John Fisher, and having Kmic rush for 371 yards, while star wide receiver Pierre Garcon quietly nursed a fractured hand.
He also saw the big picture. Kehres let his young assistants coach, but stepped in when necessary. He did that after the 2005 October loss to Ohio Northern, which turned out to be the last regular-season loss of his career. Kehres built teams around great passers when he had them (Jim Ballard, Bill Borchert) and great runners when he had them (Chuck Moore, Dan Pugh, Kmic). He built around great offensive linemen (Derek Blanchard) and best-in-the-nation defenses, coached in recent seasons by his son, Vince, who takes over the program.
The heart and soul of a Kehres team could be a player who later would become a professional wrestler (B.J. Payne) or a physics major (Greg Micheli).
Kehres figured out how to get the best out of them all.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Kehres had a star defensive end suspended just before a national semifinal kicked off. He called a reporter's question stupid after a Stagg Bowl, although he later asked privately if he had been out of line. He was known for kicking field goals on second down during blowouts in an attempt to avoid running up the score, but there were times when he wanted to beat teams badly.
All-time wins leader John Gagliardi coached one of those teams in 1993; He and Kehres weren't always friendly. But Gagliardi, who also stepped down this year after 56 seasons at St. John's, told Frank Rajkowski of the St. Cloud Times that beating Kehres' Mount Union team in 2003 and nearly beating it in 2000 were two of his career highlights.
Wesley's Mike Drass might have a national championship or two under his belt if it weren't for Kehres. The Wolverines are one of a handful of national powers that hasn't been able to get over the Purple Raiders hump. Yet Drass holds no ill will.
"We have played most all of the elite teams," Drass wrote in a text message Wednesday, "and I have to say, Coach Kehres was a class act. And I can't say that for all of them ... He always treated us with a lot of respect."
On Twitter Wednesday, Shorts and Garcon, both in the NFL, praised their former coach. So did Campbell. And Paul. And Hallett. And All-American Nick Driskill. And virtually anyone who'd come in contact over the years.
Kehres was the same star off the stage as he was on it. Ask Collins or Drass or those who played and coached alongside him. No matter how many championships he won, he always kept in mind that for someone on his roster, it was all new, and an experience to be cherished for life.
In that 2003 Stagg Bowl loss to St. John's, when quarterback Jesse Burghardt threw an interception that the Johnnies intercepted and ran back for a touchdown that effectively put the game away, Kehres publicly blamed himself for the playcall.
That's Kehres in a nutshell. Competitive. Honorable. And the greatest coach of our time.


text:
Born: 1974 in Athens, Georgia, USA. Jazz singer and musician.
Madeleine Peyroux is a jazz singer who was born in 1974 in Athens, Georgia, USA, and raised in New York City and Paris, France. She is noted for her vocal style, which is highly reminiscent of Billie Holiday. Madeleine also has qualities similar to Ella Fitzgerald. Though Peyroux may remind some listeners of Holiday, there are differences, and she has her own sense of phrasing and interpretation.
Read more about Madeleine Peyroux on Last.fm.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
Madeleine Peyroux (born April 18, 1974, Athens, Georgia, United States) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday.
Peyroux has cited Holiday, Bessie Smith, Patsy Cline, Édith Piaf, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Mercer, Charlie Chaplin, Serge Gainsbourg and Bob Dylan as influences on her music.
None found!


text:
The good news for you is that this means I have the rag doll kitty pattern uploaded for you. and a set of basic instructions (with some gorgeous artwork done by me in photoshop - haha)
A close up of the painted face. If you have been following for awhile now you have probably noticed that pink is my favorite color and I love hearts! I was so excited to have a daughter to do girly crafts for! I decided to give this kitty a bit of elegance with a painted necklace and with the details being painted on it is baby safe!
For painting on the face I use regular acrylic paints and add a fabric medium to it. You could use regular fabric paints but I am a bit 'frugal' and find that buying normal paints and adding fabric medium to be MUCH cheaper and I get more variety in color. I've had my fabric medium for 5 years now and still haven't run out. the only thing to remember is to set the paint so you can machine wash it you have to iron on the backside of the fabric once the paint is dry on a hot setting for a minute or two.
Pattern pieces 2
Basic instructions for this project are below - for a more picture type tutorial the steps follow the Modest Mermaid Doll except you don't have face pieces to stitch on and have ears to insert instead.
If you would prefer to just buy a kitty ($25CDN + shipping) - send me an email with the subject "rag doll kitty" or something similar to; firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Pizza tavern sets a sad new record
A new restaurant from the people who brought us Sherlock's and Baker St. Pub produced the quickest pizza enjoyment plunge our food critic has ever experienced. She'll tell you what to eat if you do get roped into a visit.
By Alison Cook
Photo: James Nielsen, Staff


text:
Enterprise-class private storage cloud developer Zadara Storage has expanded its offerings and partnerships in a series of recent moves the company said will increase its ability to offer storage as a service regardless of how customers use it.
The enhancements make Zadara Storage the only provider of cloud storage that works with all existing enterprise applications and can be consumed via a cloud or on-premise infrastructure by the hour or by the month, said Noam Shendar, vice president of business development for the Irvine, Calif.-based company.
While enterprise storage is usually thought of as big iron that will be used for years once purchased, and while storage-as-a-service has traditionally been more focused on ease-of-use for individual consumers, it is possible to have both, Shendar said.
[Related: NetApp, AWS Partner To Make NetApp Storage Available Through AWS Direct Connect]
"We say it can be both," he said. "It can be easy to use while supporting enterprise applications. Storage can be flexible and acquired as a service with no upfront purchases and no guessing about whether enough capacity was purchased in advance."
Zadara Storage can be deployed in front of public cloud storage from such providers as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Dimension Data, Equinix and CoreSite, Shendar said. It can also be deployed on commodity x86-based servers as part of a private cloud.
In either case, the company's Virtual Private Storage Array last month was enhanced with enterprise storage capabilities such as zero-impact snapshots, thin provisioning, remote mirroring and SSD caching, Shendar said.
Since then, the company has further expanded opportunities for solution providers via a partnership with storage vendor NetApp to take advantage of NetApp's close relationship with AWS.
Zadara's Virtual Private Storage Array service is also now available as part of the public cloud storage offering of both CloudSigma, based in Palo Alto, Calif., and Zurich, Switzerland; and Eircom, based in London, England, and Dublin, Ireland.
The Zadara Virtual Private Storage Array represents a good opportunity for telecoms, hosted data center providers and other solution providers looking to add storage as a service, said Christopher Cassidy, unified communications product manager at Capella Telecommunications, a Peterborough, Ontario-based distributor for the telco and broadcast industry and provider of enterprise infrastructures.
NEXT: Taking Out The Up-Front Cost Of Storage


text:
11 Shocking New Social Media Statistics in America
You think social media is reaching maturity, and the whipsaw behavioral shifts that change like a Dwight Howard trade request are things of the past? Uhhh, no. Released yesterday at Blogworld New York, findings from social media behavioral researcher Tom Webster and the team at Edison Research show some shocking changes in how Americans use and consume social media. You can access the entire presentation at The Social Habitmicrosite, but 11 social media statistics in particular stood out for me. Two quick notes:This is not data dredging. This is real, random sample, tightly controlled research from the same company that is the exclusive provider of Presidential exit polls in the USA. This is the last time the entire research from Edison will be released for free. It's just too valuable to be given away wholesale – considering it costs tens of thousands of dollars to produce. But, you can get exclusive access to the Social Habit research when it's refreshed and expanded in early Fall. Sign up now for a sneak peek. And if you're interested in including a question about your company or a category of social media usage of particular interest to your organization, that may be an option (click for details, fees apply). I'm partnering with Edison Research, Jason Falls, and Mark Schaefer
1. Twitter users are 33% more likely to be Democrats
An interesting finding, and representative of the type of custom queries we can answer for you in the next round of the Social Habit, this edition found that 40% of Twitter users are Democrats, compared to 30% of the U.S. population overall.The percentage of Republications and Independents on Twitter mirrors the U.S. average almost precisely.
2. The "Check-in" is the phenomenon that never happened
74% of Americans are unfamiliar with the concept of checking in to a location via mobile device, and only 3% have ever checked in. Even more damning, is that 4% had checked in when surveyed in 2011. This is a 25% decrease in check in behaviors in a single year. It's not going to rebound, which is why Foursquare's play is to be the new Yelp.
3. Only 33% of Americans have ever followed a brand in social media
From 2010 to 2012 the percentage of Americans following any brand on a social network has gone from 16% to 33%. This is a sharp increase, but looked at from the opposite perspective, it's shocking to me that 2/3 of Americans using social networks have never followed a brand.Companies still have substantial room for growth in connecting with customers and fans on social networks.
4. 56% of Americans have a profile on a social networking site
This is up from 52% just last year, and 48% in 2010. How high can this climb? Certainly, there are sizable chunks of the populace that will never join a social networking site, but it's amazing to consider that significantly more Americans (12 years old and up) have a social networking profile than do not.
5. 55% of Americans 45-54 have a profile on a social networking site
It's not just for kids any more. The biggest growth of any age cohort from 2011 to 2012 was 45-54 year olds, who now exhibit participation matching the U.S. average. The only group that is below average are 55+ Americans, and even 3 out of 10 of them are in the social networking game.
6. 22% of Americans use social networking sites several times per day
It really is a "Social Habit". In the past year, 12 million more Americans are using social networking many times daily.How many other things do we do several times per day? It's not a long list.
7. Huge uptick in Facebook's influence on purchase
Last year, 68% of Americans using social networks said that none of those networks had an influence on their buying decisions. This year, just 36% said that there was no influence. Now, 47% say Facebook has the greatest impact on purchase behavior(compared to just 24% in 2011). Incidentally, Twitter ranks below "other" at 5%. If you want to drive purchase behaviors within social networks, Facebook is the one and only game to play, statistically speaking.
8. Facebook via mobile continues to be a major factor
54% of Facebook members have used the social network via a phone, and 33% use a phone as their primary way to access Facebook. This despite the fact that the Facebook mobile experience and mobile apps are mediocre, at best. Here's hoping the Instagram guys can jump start it. If so, watch for these numbers to soar.
9. Facebook is the most addicting of the social networks
23% of Facebook's users check their account five or more times EVERY DAY. The mean number of daily look-ins by Facebook users is 4. Are we really so interesting that we have to keep up with our friends' inanities every 90 minutes? Evidently, yes.
10. Twitter will have an easier time making changes to its core service that Facebook does.
53% of Twitter users have been a member for less than a year, compared to just 19% for Facebook. This means that Twitter's user base doesn't have long-term, deep seated expectations for what Twitter is or should be. It will be interesting to see if Twitter doubles down on this advantage, and continues to hang ornaments on the functionality Christmas tree.
11. 76% of Twitter users now post status updates
This is one of the biggest behavioral changes of the past two years. In 2010, the Social Habit research found that just 47% of Twitter users actually sent tweets, with more than half the user base in listen-only mode. The overwhelming majority of new Twitter users are active tweeters, driving the overall average to 76%. In the next edition of The Social Habit, we'll be looking at YouTube, social video, Pinterest, Instagram, and more. Plus, if you've got questions you'd like to ask thousands of Americans via the best social media research methodology available, let's talk. Get on the list for The Social Habit now. Which of these 11 is the most shocking social media statistic? I'll go with #7 and #11. You?


text:
Loading product details ...
Reviews (0)
Need Help?
Product Description:
Men#39;s ASICS® 5" Short :: This is the short you wear when your day starts off with a little basketball, segues into touch football, ambles into the gym to lift, and then pounds out a few miles on the trail. Versatile, with a security pocket and built-in brief.
Features & Benefits:
Your Help Is Here
Shop with confidence knowing your team of Fit Experts is waiting to answer all your questions. You can always find your perfect product and your perfect fit. Your Road Runner Sports Fit Experts will make sure you get exactly what you want and have tons of fun in the process! Give us a call, chat, or email!
Call 800-743-3206 to
You May Also Like


text:
The cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. fell after reporting a quarterly loss related to its Spanish line, Pullmantur. Prices and bookings have plunged since the Spanish government imposed strict austerity measures, limiting the ability of Spaniards to spend. The Miami company, which operates the world's second-largest cruise line, lost $392.8 million in the fourth quarter. But strong US demand is offsetting European losses, the company said.
Market Movers


text: Last season's kid ambassadors Biingo, Lindsay and Sunny return to the ranch and are joined by the White House Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition, Sam Kass, for a fun cooking challenge with the contestants. Well aware that kids are often the toughest food critics, the red, white and blue teams race against the clock to prepare a nutritious and tasty dish that will be a hit with the kids - and earn the winning team members an incredible prize. Also this week, one team works out with a very special and inspiring group of women who have survived or are battling cancer. Later, it's time for the weigh-in and saying goodbye to another contestant.


text:
Houston's newest historic landmarks
City council awards landmark status to three area homes
Published 3:14 pm, Friday, November 15, 2013
Houston City Council designated three area homes as historic landmarks this week, according to the Planning and Development Department.
The Randolph and Virginia West House, located at 2245 Dryden, was designed in a French style by Claude E. Hooton in 1936-37. Virginia West was an accomplished interior decorator and Randolph West was a building contractor. Claude E. Hooton was a Rice-trained architect who had a successful and long career, and built several homes in Southgate. This is the first home in Southgate to be designated as a City Landmark, according to the nonprofit organization Preservation Houston.
The Glen and Judy Woodson House, located at 2023 Claremont, was designed by architects Paul H. Wolf and Richard Hoyt in 1939. The home was first occupied by Glen Woodson and his family in 1940. Woodson was the manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Houston. His father owned numerous bottling plants in Texas. Paul H. Wolf and Richard Hoyt were two architects who worked together and independently to design numerous homes in River Oaks during the 1930s-1940s.
The William H. and Boog Eyssen House, located at 3449 Overbrook, was built by architect, contractor, and home developer Charles W. Burkhard in 1939, and was first occupied by the Eyssen family. William Eyssen was an independent oil operator. The house is designed in a simple Colonial Revival style and very typical of the period.


text:
Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth.
Dear Sir,
I am from Viet Nam. I have trouble with "th". Could you please help to guide me the way to pronouce correctly? Where is your tongue stayed?
Thank you and best regards,
Man vo
Put the tip of your tongue between your teeth.
I neither have got this phoneme in my mother tongue, but just by putting the tip of tongue between upper and lower teeth, I learned the pronunciation.
By the way, I guess I have seen this phoneme in some Vietnamese learning website, so, is this phoneme limited to only some dialects in your motherland?
This is kind of silly to be doing online. Even if you were somehow able to understand the explanation of the pronunciation, you might have no way to know if you are doing it right.
But let's try anyway, shall we? You should put the tip of your tonguge (just the tip, not too much) between your teeth (use a mirror, you should be able to see your tongue) and then you force air over your tongue and under your top teeth. Hold this sound for a full second, then say it for shorter and shorter times, then try to put it into words both at the beginning, middle and end of a word.
Also, you must realise that there are two sounds for 'th',
both are fricatives(meaning you make the sound by forcing air through parts of your mouth)
one is voiced (meaning your throat vibrates, or you 'hum' as you say it)
one is unvoiced (there is only the silent hiss of air as you say it)
For more info, please visit this website: .soundsofenglish .org/pronunciation/th.html (add www, remove spaces)
You can find pronunciations for these words in an online dictionary with sound and listen to the difference, and practice it for yourself.
(unvoiced) Thick Throat / Without Wrathful / With Hearth
(voiced) Though There / Weather Southern / Breathe Wraith
Last edited by weiming; 24-Aug-2007 at 08:38.
The only way to make this sound correctly is to put your tongue between your teeth. If this is too difficult for you, you could substitute the 'd' sound for 'th' it's not a perfect solution, but it's easier for speakers of various languages. I have never worked with Vietnamese students.


text:
If you want BS or Political Correctness you have come to the wrong place. FAQ How can you be an atheist Jew?
If you want BS or Political Correctness you have come to the wrong place.
FAQ How can you be an atheist Jew?An atheist is one who disbelieves in (or denies) the existence of God, Gods, and other supernatural beings. A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew, or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.
August 20, 2006
Take A Deep Breath: How Can Anyone Believe the Exodus Story?
Now for some Moses humor:
God's quirkiness is revealed in the Exodus.
More on the lack of proof that the Exodus happened.
More here:
Building a history. Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University also points out that there's no physical evidence that thousands of people wandered for decades in the desert. Besides, Jericho and other Canaanite cities described in the Bible didn't exist when the Israelites were supposed to be conquering them. Finkelstein says the Bible isn't just fantasy, though. He thinks the first books of the Bible were written in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., long after the Exodus might have happened. The writers drew on a pool of folk tales, of myths, of shreds of evidence to build a history for Israel, he says.
I may have to buy and READ "The Bible Unearthed." I've seen Israel Finkelstein (not to be confused with the retarded Jew, Norman Finkelstein) in a documentary touch upon his findings. Here is part of an Amazon review of the book:
"The authors did not intend to change a persons faith only to point out the Biblical stories may be more allegory than historical. E.g., they propose the early writings of the OT were written c. 700 BCE. They also suggest the early Israelites were probably Canaanites. The points are supported by archaeological studies that may be more academic than the casual reader comprehends but doesn't burden the reading for the casual reader."
30 comments:
if you want to post a comment on my blog, it has to be free of profanities and racial slurs.ReplyDelete
Check out Exodus Decoded by Simcha JacobiviciReplyDelete
It is OK Elizabeth. Keep supporting your Arab assmonkey terrorist friends. Luckily your ilk has no clout.ReplyDelete
I guess it is OK to say that Israel is full of morally bankrupt people like you did on Dhimmi Steve's blog.
Hypocrites like you make me laugh.
Yoelba. I just saw the trailer. Interesting, I'd like to see the whole 90 minutes, but I did read this exchangeReplyDelete
First off, I don't need the Exodus to not have occurred to be an Atheist. In fact, it wasn't until the last couple of years that I have seen major holes in the Exodus story and the idea that Jesus was even a historical figure. I now believe neither happened.
It appears that Simcha had to use the premise that the Exodus existed and then make all kinds of spins on the bible in order to fit in his "evidence."
I'll wait for more reviews though, to judge this further.
Bacon, if you don't believe it that's fine, but why are you willing to accept any and all evidence that you can scrounge up to be the basis for your reasoning? Unwittingly, your very willingness to accept such unverifiable facts makes you guilty of the exact same logic you use to support your religion: atheism.ReplyDelete
In defending atheism, you have supported the view that failure to disprove is inferior to hard evidence that you need to believe. Sloppy science like ID is unacceptable to you because anything less than concrete evidence of God's existence is unworthy.
Yet, in this case you've shown the opposite to be true. The biblical accounts are the reality you seek to disprove, yet rather than require hard evidence you willingly accept the most feeble and lose archeology to show that the historical accounts of Torah are false.
I conclude that your religious beliefs (atheism) have gotten in the way of your objectivity, and caused you to accept inconclusive evidence as "facts" that support your ideology. In essance, you've become an evangelical atheist who advances his beliefs unconditionally.
MZ, you are wrong about me. The think about the Exodus and the historical Jesus is that there should be lots of evidence, and yet there is none.ReplyDelete
None that I accept. I accept the ancient Egyptians and their Pharoahs because of writings, archaeological finds, and even mummies. There is a history that can be pieced together.
Yes, I have faith in archaeologists like Finkelstein, and if someone like him comes along and says he was wrong, or that he found new evidence, I would accept it.
If Finkelstein for example writes a review of the Exodus Decoded and goes along with it, I would be willing to change my views.
BTW, ID is not even a science, so it can't be a failed science.
Did I just see you say you have "faith" in Finkelstein? Hmmm...faith...Maybe there's hope for you yet, Bacon!ReplyDelete
I've already explained my faith in the scientific process in the comments to my Atheist post from a few days ago.ReplyDelete
Come on, Bacon, where's that sense of humor?ReplyDelete
I was smiling when I typed my response. Do you see any exclamation marks or any words in all caps?ReplyDelete
How can grown men believe in the Exodus story?ReplyDelete
It has more to do with the believed inerrancy of sacred texts than logic and evidence.
How can grown men have little robot avatars?ReplyDelete
When theists claim everyone uses faith to get along, including atheists, I say "Yeah, but it's all about the Leap of Faith".ReplyDelete
I have faith the earth will rotate enough so the sun will reappear tomorrow, because it has happened every day of my life so far. Of course, there's no total certainty, so I am using faith.
I'm also using faith when I accept scientists' ideas on evolution.
But the Leap of Faith required is much smaller than the one required to believe the universe is a few thousand years old and was created by some invisible, inconsistent god/person (a god who seems to behave strangely like you would expect a god to behave if he was born of the fertile imaginations of pre-medieval Palestinians).
Why is the Leap of Faith smaller? Because there's actually some evidence.
As I thought, the situation with Israel is very similar to Northern Ireland. Check this. Prejudice creates extremists.
Simon, I read that earlier this morning on Atheist Girl's site.ReplyDelete
But I do like the reply this person got. Don't forget to read it.
But I don't buy the excuse that Israeli prejudice of Arabs creates extremists if you are saying that is what is driving Radical Islam (Palestinian terrorists included).
Their prejudice that they are indoctrinated with has much to do with it though.
Sure it is a bit of a cycle, but unlike the Irish situation: If the Arabs dropped their guns there would be peace. If Israel dropped their guns, there would be no Israel.
"Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University also points out that there's no physical evidence that thousands of people wandered for decades in the desert."ReplyDelete
That's neither here nor there. After all, at the times we are discussing, all trash was biodegradable. So it is back to belief or the lack of it again. I, personally, do believe in a good breakfast, eggs and b...n included ;-)
I knew you'd enjoy the reply.ReplyDelete
Up until recently, we were constantly being told it was the IRA's fault. The media were not allowed to claim there was any blame to be directed at the British government. I hated the IRA and still do.
The Protestants would say: If the IRA dropped their guns, there would be peace, if the Loyalists dropped their guns, there would be no Northen Ireland. The IRA's objective was to unite Ireland under Catholic rule. And you can be sure Protestants would have had a raw deal.
Sure, they would not have gone to such extremes as fundy Muslims. That still doesn't change the fact the same process is going on.
A motivating factor behind ordinary Irish folk joining the IRA was a sense of injustice and prejudice inflicted on them by a more powerful controlling population.
For Loyalists read Israel for British Government read US Government.
The IRA felt that part of their land had been stolen from them by a group of people practicing a religion they despised, even though, and probably because of, their faiths were based on virtually the same teaching.
Of course we can argue whether Northen Ireland was stolen or whether it is legitimately owned by the Protestants who moved there...
See, it's almost identical. All you're talking about is the extremity of the terrorists. Yes, as we know, Muslim fanatics have the edge on IRA fanatics in their thirst for blood.
Again, the Irish or the IRA weren't trying to drive the Brits into the sea. Their drive was more political. Jews in Israel live in Israel and are the majority in Israel. They were the majority in the land that was allocated to them in 1947 during the time of the partition.ReplyDelete
The "Loyalists" in Ireland are a minority. Israel is now a sovereign nation, prior to that, I can see how Britain would be considered the same as Britain is considered by the Irish. But this is not logical or true since 1948 of the Jews in Israel.
Muslim terrorists wish the destruction of Israel and either the genocide of Jews there and/or the Dhimmitization of Jews there. The Irish just wanted political control of the place they were the majority of.
Bacon, being of atheist pursuasion as you are, I would like to know if you differenciate between religions, or if you toss everything in one big lump of lies that is equally for shit and problematic. For example: Do you see islam as indestinguishable from Judaism, which is indistinguishable from Christianity, which is indistinguishable from islam, or, do you find that some faiths are more vile to you than others?ReplyDelete
Just curious...
Of course I don't treat all faiths equally. Right now I like a lot about what the Catholics are admitting to when it comes to accepting science.ReplyDelete
Islam is the most dangerous religion out there today. Ever since Muslims have been able to get pilot training.
So, how do you rank Judaism. I don't mean based on whether you accept God better from the Jewish perspective, as I am well aware that you do not, but from the belief system as it relates to the world in which you live. Rank it from the standpoint of the danger it poses to society at large, and the contributions it makes to society by its adherents.ReplyDelete
One more thing, Bacon. Do you believe that it would be better if Jews should continue as a people, or that it would be of no benefit to do so and they should assimilate out of existence.ReplyDelete
MZ, I think the world would be better off without religion. I think that is an impossibility. I don't think anyone should have to do anything, and if Jews or Catholics disappear through assimilation, let it be. Of course, I don't mean that Jews or Catholics should find another religion....I would rather see those who must believe in God, believe in him without the phoney stories that go along with it. In other words more like Buddhists (at least that is my impression of Buddhism).ReplyDelete
Judaism ranks there right up with Buddhism as far as I'm concerned. I one thing I like about Judaism over most other religions is the fact that Jews don't look for converts.
In 10,000 years if there are still people on this planet, religion will not matter I believe. Again, in 2006, Jews are important as a people. In 10,000 years it won't matter.
The way I look it, you have one chance at life. Do what you want, try not to hurt people, except for the people who want you dead. If you have to make non assimilation a factor in your life.....that is your call.
I don't think it is important to fight assimilation. Not at all.
BEJ, you got it wrong. You are seeing it from the IRA point of view. Northern Ireland was created as a "country" for the Protestant section of Ireland to live in in the same way Israel was created for Jews to live in.ReplyDelete
The Protestants are a majority in their "country", which is what caused the troubles. They abused their power.
If you think the IRA didn't want to drive the British into the sea you are totally mistaken. The IRA loathed the British. If a Catholic girl was found to be involved with a British soldier she would be "executed" (if she was lucky she would get a warning first).
The IRA wanted to remove the British from what they saw as their land. The equated the Protestants with the British in the same way the fundy Muslims equate Israel with the US (justifiably).
You are siding with the IRA because you think Ireland should be one country and belongs to the Catholic of the whole island. That's like saying the Muslims are the majority of the middle east and so they should have control of the entire region.
The Irish Loyalists wanted their own place to live, just like the Jews, and they felt they had a historical right to Northern Ireland, just like the Jews think they have a historical right to Israel. Hence all the Orangemen marches which the Loyalist insist on having every year, the source of much aggrivation, as it is a celebration of British military victory over the Irish.
It's not exactly the same, but there are many similarities.
Thanks for your thoughts, Bacon. Just out of curiosity, would you care either way if your children (don't know if you have any) married Jewish? The reason I ask is I know despite your atheism you are a very strong Zionist, so I was wondering if that meant you would all things being equal prefer Jewish grandchildren.ReplyDelete
If that's too personal for you to answer I understand.
Simon, I'll admit temporary defeat because the IRA thingy isn't something I studied. Hopefully another one of my learned readers will put you in your place:) I can't say I side with the IRA or the Brits because I don't know enough. Time to read up a little more on it.ReplyDelete
MZ, no kids, and I wouldn't care. I'm not married to Jew, and neither is my brother or sister.
But I am a strong Zionist just the same.
Well, I'm just trying to make the point that the best way to deal with fanatic Muslims is to try to piss off the people who are potential recruits (usually young men).
Since the UK went into Iraq, look how safe that has made my country.
Not very.
50 people dead on the tube. One plot to blow up a few planes foiled. So now we live in terror of one of these recruits getting through the net and blowing us up.
Because we went into Iraq for bloody reason.
Nice one Blair. Cheers for that.
I meant "...NOT to piss off..."
Simon, you still aren't getting it, Iraq is a smokescreen to blowing up buildings and subways.ReplyDelete
If you want to blame Blair, blame him for letting Muslims into your country.
"How can grown men have little robot avatars?"ReplyDelete
At least I can tell fiction from reality. Besides, when we look at fools who believe in global flood stories, virgins giving birth, prophets flying around on winged horses, you might as well believe in Optimus Prime.


text:
David Dvergsten to Join BVU Board of Trustees
David Dvergsten to Join BVU Board of Trustees
Buena Vista University has announced that David Dvergsten of Storm Lake has been elected to the Board of Trustees.
Dvergsten is president and CEO of Security Trust & Savings Bank. He previously served as BVU Community Campaign co-chair in 1993 and Order of the Arch co-chair from 1997-1999.
"Dave is a tremendous servant of the University. He and his family have been generous benefactors of BVU for generations. Dave is a highly-respected member of the Storm Lake business community and will add tremendous value to the Board," says BVU President Fred Moore.
Dvergsten earned his bachelors degree from the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY, in 1970.
Earlier in his career, Dvergsten spent five years in the Army and left as a captain. In 1975, he returned to Storm Lake to begin a career at Security Trust & Savings Bank. The bank has been in his wife's family (Ballou) for over 100 years.
"The Ballou family has been a part of BVU from the beginning," says Dvergsten. "The Dvergsten family has supported BVU from 1947, and I feel it is my turn to work at furthering the goals of this institution."
His wife, Barbara, graduated from Kansas State University in 1972 and now spends her time as a home maker.
Dvergsten and his wife have three children: Christian, who works with nuclear power at Duke Energy; Benjamin, a vice president at Security Trust & Savings Bank; and Margaret, a speech language pathologist for the AEA.
Among his civic activities, Dvergsten has served on the Storm Lake Foundation Field of Dreams, served as chairman of Buena Vista Regional Healthcare Foundation and chairman of Storm Lake Area Development Corporation. He is also an elder at Lakeside Presbyterian Church.
His hobbies and outside interests include traveling, gardening and reading.


text:
Kudos to indie venues that have managed to not only hold on but thrive in 2012 during what feels at times to be a witch hunt against live music venues and independent businesses.
Roxy Rocker, known for its extensive vinyl collection (with DJs who will spin anything you want pulled from its sleeve) has begun holding live music shows, free of charge.
"We open the opportunity for people who want to listen to live music and if they don't know the band, they don't have to stress about buying the tickets," said Emily Cheng (鄭卉君), who does the bar's PR. "For bands, they also have more chances to get new fans."
Owner Ling Wei (凌威) is a Taipei institution, with his chain of Roxys dating back (like many of his albums) to 1988. Roxy Jr originally held court for the early indie scene in Taipei.
"Running a live house is restricted by many laws," Ling said. "Roxy always has to find and create the possibility for live music."
With bluesy rock indie band Trash having a pre-release showcase tonight to warm up for their upcoming album release at The Wall on Dec. 26, ska group Mary Bites Kerry on Dec. 21, and the reunion of Ween tribute band Skycruiser on Dec. 22, the venue is hosting a wide variety of genres, said Cheng.
"The stage opens for any kind of band who loves to play," said Cheng.
Skycruiser's lead singer and Ween aficionado Toby Garrod is returning to his former home of Taipei from new stomping grounds in Hong Kong for a series of shows, including New Year's Eve at Revolver.
"The band never quit," said guitarist Alex Ives. "Toby just had to leave to pursue his dream of becoming an international playboy."
The group has accumulated 30 songs, and "there are still a lot of great tracks we haven't touched yet" said Garrod. "It was always the plan that I would come back roughly every six weeks and practice with the hope of playing about six gigs a year. I haven't quite stuck to the plan so far, but I think it's about to come to fruition."
■ Doors open at 8pm and bands from 9pm. Roxy Rocker, 177, Heping E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市和平東路一段177號). Admission is free.
Also back in action this weekend is Deadly Vibes, a riotously catchy rock 'n' roll band who have been "coaxed out of semi-retirement," according to guitarist JD Long, for Revolver's two-year anniversary party on Saturday. The three floors should be packed with live music enthusiasts, musicians, DJs, and bar flies to celebrate the success of the live music house, pub, and now cafe. (Deadly Vibes will also be playing Jan. 19 at Roxy Rocker).
Long is stoked to be playing the anniversary party and said he thinks founders Leeroy Ransom and Jez Gray "deserve a pat on the back, a handshake and a hug for giving Taipei such a cool space. It's not easy to have a live music venue in Taiwan's current environment, with all the crap surrounding fire codes and live house licenses. But they have managed to wade through all the shit and create an awesome place."
Skaraoke's frontman, Thomas Hu (胡世漢) concurs. "Ever since they opened, there have been so many great shows and parties there … so many different styles of bands and DJs for the good mix of locals and expats." Formosa Romance and DJs Marcus Aurelius, James Ho and Robi Roka will join Skaraoke and Deadly Vibes.
■ Bands take the stage from 10pm, Revolver, 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號). Admission is free.


text:
There is a place that exists past the rocky reaches of the Blade's Edge Mountains, across the sacred plateaus of Ogri'la, and beyond the void, untouched by the spoiling hands of the Burning Legion. That place is configuration heaven. Here, addons like kgPanels and Stuf unit frames dance together in unlimited configuration. This is a place of endless ordered chaos, more options than humanity deserves held together by a thin thread of creativity. Gnosis dwells in configuration heaven.
Quartz did the cast bar right -- there was little else that I really needed from a cast bar addon that Quartz wasn't the most capable at doing. Complicating a user interface element while also providing legitimate information in new and user-friendly ways is a hard balance to strike. Gnosis complicates things plenty, but it does so in a very smart fashion. There is a lot to learn here, but the effort is worth it.


text: What do you get when you combine photography with painting, drawing and computer rendering? In the case of Palmer native Kathryn Massey, you get images that ride an interesting line between photo-realism and painted/drawn surfaces—they seem somehow on the verge of becoming photos. The rise of the computer as an artistic tool allowed Massey to realize her vision of multimedia exporations, and 14 of her manipulated images form the exhibition Seeing Beyond: The Photo-Illustrations of Kathryn Massey, her first solo show.


text:
A lot of number crunching points out how dominant Kansas has been while winning 10 Big 12 Conference titles under Bill Self.
Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman weighs in on Texas' imminent move to sell beer and wine at Longhorns' games.
Baylor's push for the NCAA Tournament is evident by the Bears' hard work in practice.
Jake Trotter of ESPN.com writes that the Big 12's reputation and supremacy as the conference with the best quarterbacks should return in 2014.
Baylor football coach Art Briles says that his football program wants "run the show" in the Big 12.
The parents of Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg have been Cyclones fans for 30 years (video).
Former Kansas State and Hall of Fame coach Tex Winter, inventor of the triangle offense, on his 92nd birthday received a unique birthday cake from one of his former players.
New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson and the school want to make the Longhorns an international brand.


text:
Grace Gambrel Snyder, 97, Byron, beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and community servant, died Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 after a long illness.
She was born in Hayworth on July 16, 1915, the daughter of Dr. Earl and Nellie (Halsey) Gambrel. She was the oldest of eight children.
Grace graduated from Polo High School in 1933, andshe attended Normal Teacher's College (currently Illinois State University) for half a year. That was cut short as she was called home to help with her younger siblings.
Later she attended two years at Browns Business College in Rockford.
She did bookwork for several businesses over the years.
Grace married Homer Snyder on May 30, 1939 at the home of her parents in Byron. They had two daughters Sara (Larry) Carr and
Jane (John) Eickman.
Grace loved people, doing for others and serving her community. Her family viewed her as a very warm and loving saint.
She loved flowers, gardening, making braided rugs and talking about all her years of estate sales and refinishing antiques.
She was a very active member in the United Church in Byron. She was active in the church circle and was a Sunday School teacher for 23 years.
She was active in Girl Scouts for 27 years. Grace was instrumental in the building of the Girl Scout Cabin and was on the Rockford Area Council for 14 years.
She was a member of the American Red Cross for 10 years. She was past president and member of the American Legion Auxiliary, past president and member of the Eastern Star, active in the Byron Women's Club, Republican Women's Club, Jury Commission of Ogle County, Illinois Public Aid and Advisory Committee.
She served as an election Judge, Ogle County Registrar for 13 years, Ogle County Bi-Centennial Commission, Byron City Treasurer.
To award her for all her civic activity she was awarded Byron Citizen of the Year in 1974.
Grace will be missed by all the lives she touched, especially her family.
She is survived by her husband of 73 years, Homer; daughters, Sally (Larry) Carr, Leaf River, Jane (John) Eickman, Kalispell, Mont.; grandchildren, Nancy (Gaylen) Zipse, Larry (Francene) Carr, Michael (Jill) Carr, and Travis (Machael) Eickman; great-grandchildren, Lauren and Brandon Zipse, Bridget Wright, Aaron (Chelsea) Latino, Danielle (Kent) Blatchford, Josh Englin, Aidan and Grace Carr, Trevor and Tucker Eickman, Tyler and Justin Patterson; three great-great-grandchildren; siblings, Carol (Stan) Meyers, Dr. Gene (Anne) Gambrel, and Barbara (Ted) Seaman, Jackie Gambrel, Judy Gambrel; numerous nephews and nieces.
Grace was predeceased by her parents; siblings, Dr. Paul (Helen) Gambrel, Marjorie (Harold) Miller, Maury Gambrel, Earl Gambrel; and grandson, Jeremiah Eickman.
Funeral service will be held on Friday, April 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the United Church of Byron with the Rev. Michael Mulberry, pastor of the church, officiating.
Burial will be in the Byron Cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, April 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Farrell-Holland-Gale Funeral Home, 506 W. Merchant St., Byron.
A memorial fund has been established for the United Church of Byron.
The family would like to especially thank the Neighbor's Nursing Home Staff, VNA Hospice, Dr. Dorsey & Staff, all the neighbors and family, Rev. Mulberry and Rev. Tracy Heilman, the church family, friends who have visited.
You know who you are, thank you for all your support and love.
Visit www.farrellhollandgale.com to leave online condolences.