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By NEMS Daily Journal
CPL. Jacob Lee Wooley
Jacob Lee Wooley, formerly of Corinth, died on March 21, 2013, at Quantico Marine Headquarters, Quantico, Va.
Born Jan. 25, 1990, in Amory, Jacob is survived by his parents, Linda Wooley of Tupelo and Jim Wooley of Corinth; sister, Anna Lauren Wood and husband, Nick; and nephew Nicholas, nieces Blakeleigh and Anna Paisleigh Wood; his paternal grandmother, Ruby Wooley McGill; his paternal grandfather, Tommy McGill; his maternal grandfather, Charles Butler; aunt, Debra Butler Wallin and husband, Rick, and their children and grandchildren; uncle, Ricky Butler, his children and grandchildren; uncle, Thomas McGill; aunt, Tammy Inman and husband, Jackie, all of Corinth; and a "special aunt," Freeda Vinson McDowell of Trinity, Ala.; and a host of relatives, friends and his Marine Corps brothers. He shared a very special bond with his cousin Matthew, and David "Dave-O" Reece, his dear friend who became a second father.
Jacob was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Ann Wilkins Cornelius and Dennis Cornelius, and his paternal grandfather, Jim R. Wooley.
Jacob attended Alcorn Central High School and Northeast Mississippi Junior College before joining the Marine Corps in February 2010, where he served as a field radio operator. Promoted to Corporal in July 2012, he had received the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Jacob had a rare gift for making those around him feel special. His Marine Corps brothers said he had a light in him that few possess. He cared deeply for his family, God and country, and shared everything he had when he saw someone in need. Jacob always had a big smile for everyone, and never met a stranger. Jacob was quick to defend anyone who was being threatened or mistreated, and he became a Marine to defend his country.
Jacob truly loved life and lived it to the fullest! By nature, Jacob was competitive, adventurous and curious, and he wanted to learn as much as he could and be the best at everything he attempted. Although he loved being a Marine, and often said that boot camp was the most fun he had had since he was a kid, at heart he was a Mama's boy, and made sure everyone around him knew it! Jacob loved spending time at family gatherings sharing laughter and a good meal. He loved to wake his sister Anna to make late-night food runs to McDonald's, just to spend time with her. Jacob loved the outdoors, and he spent time hunting, fishing, camping, rock climbing, hiking, scuba diving and swimming. During the past three years in the Marine Corps, Jacob was stationed for two years in Okinawa, Japan, and had spent time in Thailand and the Philippines.
Jacob grew up playing sports – football, baseball, basketball and golf. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player and always told his mother where to sit at his games so he could see her. Jacob loved Mississippi State football and playing golf; he and "Dave-O" shared many happy times over their Ole Miss/State rivalry, attending games and playing golf together.
Jacob became a Christian at the age of 5, and he was a member of Central Pentecostal Church. He had begun preaching before joining the Marine Corps, and planned to dedicate his life to God and continue his ministry at the end of his enlistment.
Jacob's goal in life was to touch others and make a difference, and one of his dreams had been to attend Mississippi State University. His family has set up a scholarship fund in Jacob's memory, to make it possible for a student to attend Mississippi State University. In-lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Jacob Wooley Scholarship Fund, in care of the John Stallworth Foundation, 200 Pratt Avenue, Suite B-2, Huntsville, AL 35801. Donations can also be made online at www.johnstallworth.com or at Magnolia Funeral Home, Highway 72, Corinth, MS.
Visitation will be held at Magnolia Funeral Home from 5 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 31. Visitation will continue on Monday, April 1, at Church of the Crossroads from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by the funeral at 1 p.m. at the church. Interment will take place at Valley of the Dogwood Cemetery in Corinth. The Patriot Guard, VFW Color Guard and U.S. Marine Corps will assist the family during the visitation and service. Bro. Austin Malone and Bro. Donald McCoy will officiate the service.
Jacob's motto in life was adapted by Bear Grylls from a Hunter S. Thompson quote: Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, covered in scars, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming ''Yahoo – what a ride!"
Magnolia Funeral Home of Corinth is in charge of arrangements.
Hal White
JACKSON – Harold Taylor "Hal" White Jr. of Jackson passed away on March 28, 2013, from complications associated with an aneurysm. Hal was born on March 13, 1949, in Hattiesburg and spent his childhood in Stone County. After graduating from Booneville High School in 1967, Hal attended the Northeast Mississippi Community College on a football scholarship where he received a degree in Hospitality Management. Hal also attended his beloved Mississippi State University. Hal met and married his soulmate, Ann Getwan, on July 17, 1988, and they spent the next 25 years together building family and community.
Hal, along with his middle brother Malcolm, opened and operated historic Hal & Mal's, a downtown Jackson institution, in 1985.
He is survived by his devoted and gracious wife, Ann; his brothers, Malcolm and Brad; his daughters, Brandi Lee and Erica White; his son, Taylor; son-in-law, P.J. Lee; and his grandchildren, Cameron White, Cailyne White and Rivers Lee.
A funeral service will be held at St. Richard's Catholic Church in Jackson on Monday, April 1, 2013, at 11 a.m. with visitation from 9 until 10:45 a.m. A celebration to honor the life and legacy of Hal White will be held at Hal & Mal's on Monday evening from 6 until 9:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Harold T. White Memorial Scholarship Fund at Hinds Community College and/or St. Richard's Catholic Church, of which he was a faithful member.
Sebrell Funeral Home in Ridgeland is assisting with arrangements.
Nancy Funderburg
CALHOUN CITY – Nancy Lois Cannon Funderburg ,79, died at her home in the Pleasant Hill Community on March 28, 2013, where she had lived for more than 60 years. She was a resident of Calhoun City. She was born on Feb. 13, 1934, in Calhoun County, the daughter of Graves Cannon and Artie Parker Cannon. She was a homemaker, a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and a member of Tri Community Homemakers Club. Her life interest were not hobbies or entertainment but people. She loved working in Pam's store, family gatherings, lunches with close friends, class reunions, club meetings, church socials, showers, gospel singings, Blast from the Past, the Bollinger Theater, anywhere she could be among people. She was not interested in just making acquaintances; her circle of friends always had room for one more. She loved writing the news from Pleasant Hill for the Calhoun County Journal because it kept her connected to countless people, celebrating good times and sharing bad times.
She is survived by her husband, Ervin Funderburg; one daughter, Pam (Britt) Burt; one grandson, John Graves Burt, all of Calhoun City. She was preceded in death by her son, Danny Funderburg; parents, Graves Cannon and Artie Parker Cannon; and two brothers, Joe Bob Cannon and J.W. Carter.
Visitation will be Sunday, March 31, 2013, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pryor Funeral Home in Calhoun City. Funeral service will be Monday, April 1, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Pryor Funeral Home Chapel in Calhoun City, officiating Rev. Jimmy Vance and Rev. David Frederick. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Calhoun City. Pryor Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Pallbearers will be Michael Joe Cannon, Jeff Cannon, Sean Cannon, Andy Cannon, Brad Smith and Ronnie Patterson. Honorary pallbearers will be deacons of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Perry Goodson, Hugh Cannon, Billy Parker, Bobby Parker, Wayne Parker, Junior Parker, Ace Cannon, Richard Clark and her classmates.
In lieu of flowers send donations to Calhoun County Relay for Life, c/o Bethany Bryant Cooper, 276 Carroll Street, Walthall, MS 39771.
Online Condolences can be left at Pryorfuneralhome.com.
Rev. Douglas Browning
EUPORA – The Rev. Douglas Browning, 81, of Eupora, born Feb. 7, 1932, in Justice, W.Va., passed peacefully from his home into the arms of Jesus on March 27, 2013.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. today at Oliver Funeral Home Chapel in Eupora with burial in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Webster County. The Rev. Sam Edwards, the Rev. Don Boren and the Rev. Jerrod Whittington will officiate.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mona Toler Browning and Elliott Browning; his stepmother, Virgie Browning; his first wife of 49 years, Marjorie Holland Browning; one son, Roger E. Browning; a sister, Alice Keene; a brother, Dallas Ray Browning.
The Rev. Browning came to know the Lord as his personal Savior about the age of 23. Soon he accepted the call to minister the word of God, by Word and Example. He came to Mississippi about 1957, preaching revivals with God being glorified as people were being saved by the grace of God, being sanctified and receiving the Holy Ghost and fire. Praying for God's choice for a pastor's wife, Marjorie attended one of his revival meetings and this was the beginning of their relationship. With her help and support, he pastored numerous churches in Mississippi including Taylor, Bruce, Mary Springs, Amory, Natchez, Fairview (Houston), Adams Abhor, Greenville, Eupora and Maben.
He and his family lived in Adrian, Mich., for eight years where they worked in the local church and he served as clerk and treasurer. They moved back to Mississippi after the death of his Dad, continuing his ministry and pastoring some of the churches listed above. He and his family operated the Eupora Motel for a number of years. Whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it with all thy might…. was an evident principle he lived by. He did repairs on many church buildings and also built new church buildings at Amory, Fairview and Greenville. He served as District Overseer for most of the churches where he pastored. Many have testified that, "If it had not been for Bro. Browning, I would not be serving the Lord today." He was ordained Bishop in March of 1979 in The Church of God of Prophecy, with the certificate quoting Revelation 3:12 – "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out…" Rev. Browning was currently a member of the Church of God of Prophecy in Verona, where he served as assistant minister to his wife, the Rev. Margaret Adams Browning, and taught Sunday School. He was a U.S. Army veteran and served in the Pacific.
He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Margaret Adams Browning of Eupora; three sons, Clifford (Lucretia) Browning of Eupora, Earl (Christy) Adams of Houston, Kenny Adams (Chasidy Reynolds) of Pontotoc; two daughters, Melody Corbell (James) Bensend of Eupora, Judy Adams (Sid) Knight of Houston; five grandsons, Clay (Kristina) Browning of Starkville, Thomas Browning of Aberdeen, Nick Browning (Cayley McClellan) of Eupora, Landon Adams of Houston and Danny Smith (April Moore) of Houston; six granddaughters, Bethany Browning of Greenwood, Lillie Corbell of Eupora, Erin Bensend of West Point, Samantha (Marvin) Griggs of Okolona, Lauren and Lakyn Adams of Houston; three great-granddaughters, Misty and Alivia Griggs of Okolona, Brielle Bensend of West Point; one brother, Danny (Rita) Browning of Taylor, Mich.; two sisters, Ruth Wilson of Adrian, Mich., and Alma Browning of Ypsilanti, Mich. He also leaves behind a host of nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers are Chuck Grimsley, John Grimsley, Brock Carter, Tracy Brown, Trevor Shipman, David Boatman, Danny Smith and Landon Adams. All ministers in the Church of God of Prophecy are considered as honorary pallbearers.
Oliver Funeral Home of Eupora is in charge of arrangements.
Marilyn Lee
HAMILTON – Marilyn Diann Lee, 52, died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at her residence. She was born April 20, 1960, in Columbus to Herbert Louis Head and Allene Pounders Head. She had lived the last 20 years in Columbus and Hamilton. She was a bookkeeper for several doctors in Memphis. She was affiliated with the Baptist church.
There will be a private memorial service. Tisdale-Lann Memorial Funeral Home of Aberdeen is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include one daughter, Melanie Lee of Heber Springs, Ark.; one sister, Anita Tennyson of Hamilton; one brother, Tommy Head (Janice) of Lavergne, Tenn.; her father, Herbert Louis Head of Hamilton.
She was preceded in death by her mother and one sister, Virginia Kaye Head.
An online guest registry and condolences may be accessed at www.tisdalelannmemorial.com.
Tammy Stearns
MYRTLE – Tammy Jo Stearns, 37, died Wednesday, March 27, 2013, at her residence. She was born April 4, 1975, in Indiana to Ivy Weaver and Ester Pencil Weaver. She was a homemaker. She attended St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. United Funeral Service in New Albany is in charge of the arrangements.
She is survived by her husband, Steven L. Stearns of Myrtle; one daughter, Chloe Stearns, and one son, Liam Stearns of the home; and two sisters, Melody and Laura.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Ivy Weaver.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. The body will lie in repose at the church from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday.
For online condolences, visit unitedfuneralservice.com.
Evora Shumpert
FULTON – Evora Shumpert, 91, died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at the Tupelo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo. She was a member of Pine Grove M.B. Church in Dorsey.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Pine Grove Dorsey with the Rev. Leodis Tucker officiating. Burial will be in the Pine Grove Cemetery. Belle Memorial Funeral Home of Amory is in charge.
She is survived by one brother, Ray Shumpert of Diboll, Texas; two sisters, Doris Clifton of Fulton and Debra Mitchell of Diboll, Texas; and six grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Belle Memorial Funeral Chapel of Amory.
Joy A. Rose
CORINTH – Joy A. Rose died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at McNairy Regional Hospital.
Services will be at noon Monday at Fifth Street Baptist Church in Iuka. Burial will be in Little Brown Cemetery. Memorial Funeral Home of Corinth is in charge of the arrangements.
Family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home and from 11 a.m. to noon Monday at the church.
Rodney Fitzpatrick
NORFOLK, Va. – Rodney Fitzpatrick, 39, formerly of New Albany, died Friday, March 29, 2913, in Norfolk, Va., as the result of an automobile accident. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Serenity Funeral Home of New Albany.
Ollie Gober
CULLMAN, Ala. – Frank Oliver "Ollie" Gober, 85, died Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Birmingham, Ala. He was born in Pontotoc County on Aug. 6, 1927, to Goerge Mitchell and Lennie Mae McCullough Gober. He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Services were held Wednesday, March 27, 2013, at Cullman Funeral Home Chapel, with interment in Cullman Memory Gardens. Cullman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include two daughters, Janet (Stott) Campbell of Birmingham and Amy (William) McCracken of Cullman; three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; three sisters, Mae Jean Dillard of Ecru, Jettie (Billy) Beasley of Tupelo and Christine Griffin of Pontotoc; a brother, Dual (Mamie) Gober of Nettleton; two sisters-in law; and a host of nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 60 years, Virginia Brown Gober; a sister, Dovie (Glover) Pannel; and three brothers, Dallas Gober, Everett Gober and Lester (Jean) Gober.
Friends may sign the online guestbook at www.cullmanfuneralhome.com.
Nina Fields
ABERDEEN – Nina Rochelle "Shell" Fields, 43, died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. She was born Jan. 9, 1970, to Willie T. (Carolyn) Walton and Doris (Willie) Crothers in Aberdeen, Monroe County. She was a member of LeBell Church of God in Christ Church of Grand Rapids, Mich. She attended Jefferson High School in Grand Rapids, She was a good-hearted people person, who loved everybody. She enjoyed singing, playing cards, singing in the church choir and dancing.
A celebration of life service will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Daniel Baptist Church in Aberdeen with the Rev. Derrick Anderson Sr. officiating. Burial will be in the Christian Relay Cemetery in Aberdeen. Darden and Sons Funeral Home of Amory is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include her parents; one son, Chauncey Fields Lambeth of Aberdeen; one brother, Jimmy Tyrone Fields of Atlanta, Ga.; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her grandmother, Alice Fields, and two uncles.
Visitation is from 3 to 6 p.m. today with the family hour from 6 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. The body will lie in repose one hour prior to service time on Sunday.
Ruth Garrett
NEW ALBANY – Ruth Elizabeth Garrett, 84, died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Serenity Funeral Home of New Albany.
Charles Gaines
NEW ALBANY – Charles Gaines, 76, died Friday, March 30, 2013, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by United Funeral Service of New Albany.
Vaudine Landess
WEST POINT – Vaudine Mae Landess, 100, passed away on Thursday, March 28, 2013, at Dugan Memorial Home in West Point. She was born March 26, 1913, in Kennedy, Ala., to Alice Ashcraft and Willis Sanders. She was a dietitian and head of the West Point School System Cafeteria for 10 years. She was a member of First Christian Church. She was a topnotch bridge player and could outplay anyone including her son. She was preceded her in death by her husband of 49 years, Foster Landess, on Dec. 28, 1985.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Calvert Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Kirby Loyd officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Garden Cemetery in West Point. Calvert Funeral Home of West Point is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include one daughter, Carol Lynn Flanigan of Jackson; two sons, Dr. Elmer Willis Landess (Betsy) of Clarksdale and Joe Landess (Eva) of Ooltewah, Tenn.; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and her 104-year-old sister, Eunice Skinner of Gulfport.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband; a daughter, Nancey Landess Gideon; two brothers, O.S. Sanders and Lummy Sanders; and her son-in-law, John Flanigan.
Pallbearers will be Bryan Landess, Neal Myers, Bobby Fulgham, Stephen Williams, James Edward Cook and Clovis Duncan.
Memorials may be made to First Christian Church, P.O. Box 208, West Point, MS 39773.
Visitation will be from 1 until 2 p.m. Sunday at Calvert Funeral Home.
Friends may leave an online condolence at www.calvertfuneralhome.com.
Addie Thompson
NATCHEZ – Addie Tucker Thompson, 86, formerly of Holly Springs, died Monday, March 25, 2013, at Natchez Regional Hospital. She retired from Addie's Antiques in Natchez at the age of 80 to spend time with family. She was a published poet, artist and songwriter. She was honored by several states for her work with disasters.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Serenity Funeral Home Chapel in Holly Springs. A private service was held Wednesday, March 27, at the family home with the Rev. Sanders officiating. Burial will be in Red Banks Cemetery at Red Banks.
She is survived by her husband, James; daughters, Judy "Sissy" Weatherly of New Orleans and Natha Jean "Peanut" Jackson of Falkner; her grandchildren, Mary Ann Weatherly, Truman Weatherly, Jamie Thompson, Joy Thompson, Misty Hudspeth, Justin Thompson and Joshua Thompson; and many great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by three sons, Charles, Aubrey and Jimmy Thompson, and one grandson, Chuckie Thompson.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Carey Robinson
AMORY – Carey "Captain" Robinson, 74, died Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at his home. Born Aug. 30, 1938, he was a son of the late Woodie and Juanita Redd Robinson. He married Betty Ann Cates. He grew up in and attended school in Coahoma County. After school, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army. Moving to Amory, he was a welder at Palmer Bodies. He was forever changed by the birth of his grandchildren, who were the light of his life. Possessing the gift of gab, he never met a stranger. A staple around Amory with his white sailors hat, he enjoyed drinking coffee with the night crew at Exxon, and considered the Amory P.D. officers as his buddies.
He is survived by his daughter, Carol Robinson Bray (Billy) of Becker; son Alan Robinson of Helena, Mont.; sisters, Grace Moore, Clytee Smith and Eloise Foster; one brother, Don Robinson; grandchildren, Anthony Bray (Crystal) of Wren and Tiffany Bray Ridings (Josh) of Cason; and a host of nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by a brother, Wayne Robinson.
Services will be at 1 p.m. today at E.E. Pickle Funeral Home with Bro. Mac Phillips officiating. Burial will follow in Haughton Memorial Park.
Pallbearers will be Anthony Bray, Wesley Robinson, Josh Ridings and Willie Myatt. Honorary pallbearers will be the Amory Police Department.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. t 12:45 p.m. today.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at eepicklefuneralhome.com.
Donations may be given to LeBonheur Children's Hospital, 848 Adams Ave., Memphis, TN 38103.
Hayden Burns
BOONEVILLE – James Hayden Burns, 78, died Friday, March 29, 2013, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Booneville Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Tuscumbia Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Maggie McCray
BELDEN – Maggie I. McCray, 82, passed away on Friday, March 29, 2013, at Golden Living Center. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Grayson-Porter's Mortuary.
James Brown Jr.
HOLLY SPRINGS – James Brown Jr., 86, died Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Serenity Funeral Home Chapel in Holly Springs. Burial will be in the Veterans Cemetery in Memphis.
Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Mary Grace Childers
SOUTHAVEN – Mary Grace Childers, 81, died Friday, March 29, 2013, at her home in Southaven. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by McBride Funeral Home of Ripley.
Mary Vines
IUKA – Mary Lucille Vines, 82, formerly of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died Friday, March 29, 2013, at Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth.
Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Sylvan Springs Cemetery in Sylvan Springs, Ala. Magnolia Funeral Home of Corinth is in charge of the arrangements.
Online condolences can be left at www.magnoliafuneralhome.net.Wanda Blackburn
VINA, Ala. – Wanda Lee Parker Blackburn, 62, went to be with the Lord on Thursday, March 28, 2013, at her home.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today at Trinity Assembly of God in Red Bay, Ala. Burial will be in Burnout Cemetery in Vina. Deaton Funeral Home of Red Bay is in charge of the arrangements.
Visitation will be at Trinity Assembly of God until service time today.Johnie W. Miller
RED BAY, Ala. – Johnie W. Miller, 71, died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at Generations of Red Bay.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today at Deaton Funeral Home Chapel in Red Bay, Ala. Burial will be in Red Bay City Cemetery. Deaton Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Visitation will be until service time today at the funeral home.
Bobby Clark
WREN – Bobby W. Clark, 75, died Friday, March 29, 2013, at Riverplace Nursing Facility in Amory. Born Nov. 29, 1937, he was the son of the late Allen and Ethel Moss Clark. He married Ellen Finley in 1957. A lifelong resident of Wren, he attended and graduated from Wren School and retired from BNSF Railway as a conductor with over 40 years of service. He was affiliated with the Christian Church. He was the property coordinator at Coontail Cemetery. Being a railroader and having a caboose in his backyard, he enjoyed talking about his days on the railroad and reminiscing on days past, gardening, farming and being with his dog, Frisco. He loved his family, especially his grandchildren, who affectionately called him "Pop." His greatest accomplishment was taking care of his wife of over 55 years, who had been sick for the last two years.
He is survived by his wife, Ellen Finley Clark; daughter, Beth Gann (Tommy) of Wren; sister, Carolyn Huffman; grandchildren, Caleb Gann, Leah Gann and Curtis Clark, all of Wren; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
A Celebration of Life Service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at E.E. Pickle Funeral Home in Amory with Bro. David Pannell officiating. Burial will follow in Coontail Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Caleb Gann, Mike and Richard Huffman, and David Strawbridge. Honorary pallbearers will be his railroad buddies.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Donations may be given to the Coontail Cemetery Fund, 20199 Adams Rd., Aberdeen, MS 39730.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at eepicklefuneralhome.com.
Janice Morris
POTTS CAMP – Janice Morris, 66, died Friday, March 29, 2013, at Potts Camp. She was born Nov. 19, 1946, in Memphis to Harvey J. Gurley and Mattie Goolsby Gurley. She was a postmaster and a Christian. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who cherished and valued God, family and friends.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Holly Springs Funeral Home. Burial will be in Chewalla Primitive Baptist Cemetery. Holly Springs Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Survivors include her husband of 48 years, Danny Ray Morris of Potts Camp; two daughters, Tanya D. Griffin (Clayton) of Southaven and Jennifer McMinn (Jody) of Potts Camp; sister, Sherry Lothridge of Denton, Texas; four grandchildren, Austin Griffin, Chase Griffin, Jacob McMinn and Hailey McMinn; one great-grandchild, Avery Griffin.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.


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Goatse Security iPad Hacker Found Guilty, Faces up to Five Years in Prison
Jason Mick
November 21, 2012 2:42 PM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
Irreverent cyber "troll" may face hard prison time for his actions, continues to fight for his innocence
A New York security "researcher" faces the prospect of spending five years behind bars and being forced to pay up to $250,000, after a federal jury of his peers
found him guilty
of cybercrimes involving his 2010 exploitation a flaw in the security of iPad service provider AT&T. He allegedly used the flaw to
expose the email address of over 100,000 individuals
I. A Leaky Hole
The story began in June 2010. Apple, Inc. (
) had just released
the first generation iPad
, a tablet computer that transformed the form factor from overlooked to
in vogue
. And the service provider du jour for iPads with 3G data connectivity was AT&T, Inc. (
But AT&T's iPad support services had a relatively minor, but notable security flaw. AT&T's iPad-related servers ran a script that accepted an ICC-ID (
integrated circuit card identifiers
), an identifier unique to each device.
If sent a valid ICC-ID, the script served up the personal email of the subscriber associated with that device. AT&T had planned to use the feature to generate a slick AJAX-style response on its web applications for the iPad.
AT&T left a gaping hole in their iPad web scripts. [Image Source: DailyTech/Jason Mick]
But Andrew Auernheimer, Daniel Spitler, and other hackers with the profanely named "troll" hacker collective Goatse Security identified the vulnerability when they were probing AT&T's servers. They quickly wrote a so-called "data slurper" -- a script that performed a brute force attack, working through tables of ICC-IDs and recording the ones that received a response.
apologized for the breach
and took down the script, closing its hole.
II. Investigation, Trial Conclude in Guilty Verdict
But the damage was already done. Goatse Sec. had published its results to the blog site
, revealing parts of a data set that contained roughly
114,000 email addresses
. Among the high profile figures exposed were ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Soon after the data loss
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents, investigating the incident, conducted a raid on the home Mr. Auernheimer who had moved from New York to a residence in Arkansas. Mr. Auernheimer, aka "weev" or "Escher Auernheimer" was arrested by federal agents on suspicion of computer crimes. Authorities also allegedly found
cocaine, LSD, and ecstasy
in his residence. Lawyers for Mr. Auernheimer contend that the raid was unnecessary and illegal. The security "researcher" has yet to face charges on the drugs found.
However, he
was charged
with one count of conspiracy to access servers without permission and one count of identity theft. These offenses -- spelled out in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (
) -- carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 USD.
Goatse Security "researcher" Andrew Auernheimer was found guilty of two counts of computer crimes and may be sentenced to up to five years in prison, pending appeal. [Image Source: AP]
Mr. Auernheimer was charged in
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
, the location where his co-defendant (Daniel Spitler) was charged. Initially, federal authorities had planned to charge the two members separately, which would have resulted in a trial of Mr. Auernheimer in an Arkansas District Court. However, the case was eventually shuffled to the New Jersey District Court.
In June 2011, Mr. Spitler, aka "JacksonBrown"
pled guilty
to the two cybercrimes counts, in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
Mr. Auernheimer has fought the charges, and the trial concluded this week with the jury finding Mr. Auernheimer guilty of both counts.
III. Appeal is Pending
The hacker's attorney, Tor Ekeland, disputes the verdict, arguing that the jury and judge misinterpreted the cybercrimes statute and the nature of Mr. Auernehimer's data grab. The hacker is currently free on bail. His attorney is appealing the case to the
3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Philadelphia.
Mr. Auernheimer's attorney argues the guilty verdict is the result of technical ignorance on behalf of the jury. [Image Source: Steffie Keith/Flickr]
A Goatse Sec. spokesperson in a previous interview with
defended the disclosure and data grab, emphasizing that Goatse Sec. researchers did not try to profit off the emails they grabbed. The spokesperson writes:
While plenty of jokes about selling the list to Chinese spammers or using it to screw with the stock market circulated #gnaa, the truth of the matter is that disclosing this vulnerability let customers know how their data was being mishandled. As it was widely reported, the data was only released to Gawker to provide proof of the vulnerability. Considering the circumstances, it was the most ethical thing they could do.
The spokesperson, like Mr. Auernheimer's attorney, chalks the possibility of a conviction up to technical ignorance on behalf of the jury, remarking:
As for the "hacking" itself, describing the activities of GoatSec as "hacking" or "unauthorized entry" is a gross overstatement and dramatization. If you examine what actually took place, it was simply enumerating account IDs by using the API exactly as it was designed. There was no authentication to bypass, no warnings about prohibiting access or anything else of the sort. The only hope the DOJ has of prosecuting them is based on the likely technical ignorance of the jury, sad to say.
You can read my full interview with the Goatse Sec. spokesperson
"Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town." -- Charlie Miller
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Patriot Perspective: Pequot Lakes High School fall update
By now most of the public has observed some of the physical changes involving Pequot Lakes High School. Did you know that a number of initiatives are happening inside, too?
During the numerous events that were provided to the community to see the changes on the high school campus, I heard over and over: "I hardly recognize the building from when I went to school here." I think you would be surprised how many changes have happened beyond what you can see, such as those involving program delivery.
The first significant change would be in the direction of technology. The high school campus has two stationary computer labs; this is pretty standard for a school our size. The significant change involves the number of devices being used to deliver curriculum and instruction. More specifically, 270 Chromebooks and 60 laptops and carts of iPads are being implemented to assist in delivering the most recent cutting-edge curriculum available.
While some districts have gone to a 1:1 initiative, where each student is handed a device, our district was fiscally prudent in prescribing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that encourages students to bring devices to assist in their learning. Our district then uses the right tool for the right application. Some courses use Chromebooks that are cloud based to deliver digital textbooks, while math courses use slates and scientific calculators, whereas the science department uses iPads and Chromebooks. This infusion of technology is preparing our students for the digital 21st century.
Another change is Ramp Up for Readiness being implemented for all students in grades 9-12. Ramp Up is centered on the premise that all students need to go to college, with college defined as any training following high school. The statistics illustrate the ever-changing 21st century work force needs to be technically proficient in order to be marketable in a globally competitive job market.
This fall, students have begun the process of developing a Post-Secondary Readiness Plan using a variety of resources. Conferences were scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Thursday, Oct. 24, from 3:30-7:30 p.m. This year conferences will start to take on an additional purpose: to review student's post-secondary readiness. This year Pequot Lakes High School will incorporate Ramp Up as part of conferences.
Pequot Lakes High School was selected to participate in We Act Day Minnesota held Oct. 8 at the Xcel Energy Center. Pequot Lakes was represented by 60 students and staff in recognition for their volunteer service in our communities. Students had the opportunity to be part of a high-energy crowd of 18,000 young people enjoying a number of different performances and messages. Students who attended this event commented on how much it affected them and their desire to make a positive change in the world. In fact, Pequot Lakes High School students have decided to kick off their first "We Act" event: We Scare Hunger. This event will run Oct. 23-Nov. 1 in grades K-12. Students, staff and community members are being asked to donate non-perishable food items as part of the Halloween festivities.
Some students will be asking for non-perishable food items instead of candy. Additional events will be planned throughout the year. This is a great movement of young people who want to change our world for the better.
The fourth annual Veterans Day program will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the new athletic center. All veterans who live in our community are invited to attend our program so we can properly recognize them for their service. All students in grades 5-12 will be encouraged to invite their family members who are veterans to attend our program. Guest speakers are being arranged and service organizations invited to participate. This event is extremely important to our students so they can learn about the selfless service and the cost of freedom that we enjoy each day. Please plan on joining us.


text:
Town Square
Annual Audit of Sequoia Healthcare District
Original post made by Jack Hickey, Woodside: Emerald Hills, on Oct 8, 2012
Unfortunately these materials were uploaded in non searchable PDF format. The document begins on page 44.
I find two items of special interest:
1. Page 10 shows a Public Relations expense of $75,850. Page 27 shows a Public Relations expense of $50,799 and a Communications expense of $25,051. Clearly, communications with the public are actually a public relations expense. IMHO the larger public relations expense of $50,799 is primarily used for "branding" activities to promote the image of the District, while the communications portion is aimed at satisfying one of the Grand Jury's recommendations.
2. Page 30 shows expenditures for Association/Membership fees of $15,300. Membership dues for Redwood City 2020 have been removed from the budget and placed in the School Health Program budget which is not available on the District website.
a resident of Woodside: Emerald Hills
on Oct 8, 2012 at 5:06 pm
I invite interested members of the public to attend the SHCD meeting on Wednesday, October 10th at 4: 30 P.M.
Location, 525 Veterans Blvd. Redwood City
a resident of Woodside: Emerald Hills
on Nov 17, 2012 at 8:44 am
Those interested in seeing details of Sequoia Healthcare Districts accounting can find a searchable copy of the General Ledger for the past 2 years on my website: www.xshcd.com Follow the "General Ledger" link. This was acquired after stonewalling forced me to resort to a Public Records Act Request again.
a resident of another community
on Nov 17, 2012 at 9:27 am
Jack said, "This was acquired after stonewalling forced me to resort to a Public Records Act Request again."
You wouldn't think a Director of his own board would have to resort to a Public Records Request.
This is San Mateo County, We do things a little different here.


text:
Good piece from Ben Volin.
Good piece from Ben Volin.
Good praise. Makes me tingle on the inside.
Deshaun Watson is the TRUTH!
An excellent article. We gave the 49'ers a taste of what would come in New England, plus from watching our tapes, they knew how to attack the Patriots.
The 49'ers are a great team, and they are going to be in the thick of the playoffs for many years going forward. It was a very gracious compliment to our staff. Hopefully, we will play against them more often. To be the best you have to beat the best.
The Fins played some good ball around that time without wins. Joe kept the team together and had two nice convincing wins vs. Jax and Buf. Needle is up with the Fins IMO. Progress was made this year.
The fact that we beat one of the hottest teams in Seattle and gave thee hotest team in the leage (the 49ers) a fight should tell you that this team is on the rise.
currently the 19th ranked competitive eater in the world
3 cheers for the plucky losers!
I'm not normally a glass-half-empty guy, but getting a pat on the head from a team that beat you doesn't do it for me.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. - S. Beckett
Just shows there is a lot of talent already on the roster. We really weren't far away last season, which highlights the importance of this offseason.
Losing is never a satisfying option, but since it's after the fact and that our first year coach, team and scheme are being complimented by a team that actually was a play away from a repeat SB performance, IMO, it's a strong validation of our HC's vision and that he's shepherding us in the right direction
I understand its been a LONG time since Miami was in the big one. But these fans have to realize, the more heads you call for, the more you start over, the longer the road to relevancy. Luckily we've stuck with Ireland, and Ross wasn't a kneejerking idiot giving in to the whims of the fans and fickle media; and now we're setup to really do something in 2013


text:
Hurricane Hunting Season
Why It Matters
Are hurricanes becoming more intense because of global warming?
The strength of hurricanes has been increasing and the temperature of the oceans has also been increasing. Are these two things related? Can they both be attributed to our human impact that is causing global warming? Take a look at this NOVA clip: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/stronger-hurricanes.html
What do you think?
Explore More
- The Weather Channel's Hurricane Hunters explore the eye of a hurricane and discuss the changing weather conditions. Watch this: http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/hurricane-hunters/video#28896 What changes? Why does it change? For further information on hurricanes, some good reference material can be found below:
- Using the provided blank tracking maps by NOAA (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracking_charts.shtml), plot the paths of Hurricane Nora, Opal, and Fran using the data provided here: http://www.comet.ucar.edu/nsflab/web/explore/index.htm
- After you have finished plotting their paths, create a chart of observations for the three hurricanes. Make sure to include the time prior to landfall, the category strength, the sea-surface temperature, and any additional important factors.
- What do you notice about these three hurricanes? If the ocean temperature is increasing, will this have an impact on the strength of the hurricane?
- To look even further into this topic, check out NOAA's Hurricanes in History site (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/history/). Pick a few hurricanes throughout history. Look at similar data criteria to what were identified in #3. Do you see a correlation between ocean temperatures and hurricane strength?
Resources Cited
NOVA http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/stronger-hurricanes.html
Hurricane Hunters. The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/hurricane-hunters/video#28896
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. http://www.ucar.edu/news/features/hurricanes/inside_the_storm.html
NOAA. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracking_charts.shtml


text:
I'd be curious how many of those dogs are double entered in the Qual and AM. I personally know of a handful that were double staked in either the AM or Open after a 2nd or one 1st in the qual.
Rick Curtis ~ Currently in Ontario, CA by way of Spokane, WA and Northern CA.
Little Man Caught It On The River SH ~ "Ace"
Handlers Handle, Dogs Dog, Judges Judge
"If you train a young dog for momentum, precision will arrive. If you train for precision, demanding perfection, momentum will depart."
~Rex Carr
I was not inferring that a Qaa, dog was the same caliber as a FC/AFC dog. Just that I would take my chances. (every dog has his day)
You of course speak from experience. If you told me in the gallery that my dog would benefit from running more Q"s.... We would run more Q"s
May you pin all the marks and line the blinds
I doubled staked Bullet, but that was because I needed the experience as much as he did...will probably do the same with next pup if my Pro doesn't object (this of course assumes he makes it out of basics )
"You can't eat a pig whole, but you can eat a whole pig." - Joe S.
Proudly Owned By:
MHR HR Flash Of Mischief SH CD CGC - Flash (10/15/98 - 10/8/12)
Lightning Fast Quack Attacker QA2 - Bullet (11/22/2003 - 03/05/2016)
Gotta Heart Of A Warrior - Ranger (12/26/07 - 8/10/2010)
SML's Gettin' Sexy With It QA2 - Tango
FOM's Raising a Ruckus in the Rockies QA2 - Riot
FOM's Fugitive From Justice - Bandit
FOM's Number One Small Caliber Bullet of CTC - "Ichi the Terrorist"
Me too. I double staked because the handler needed the experience! And it helped build teamwork between the handler and the dog. Etc. And because I could.
Many dogs are trained and handled to a qualifying 1st or 2nd by a pro. Then the owner is encouraged to get some line time with said dog. There is a much higher likelyhood they will get 3 or 4 series of experience in a Q vs. Maybe 1 or 2 series in the Am.
Rather than trying to disect the reasons the competition is there in the Qual, I just try to focus on doing the best job I can with my dogs and hope it's better than their best on that day, regardless of what placements they've had in the past.
Bonadventure's Buster ***
Bonadventure's Bijoux
Bonadventure's Jiggs
Don't dogpile for my comment. It discourages the HT folks from giving FT a try. If you want to attract new blood change this area.
Every time I think about entering a Qual I look and see the Pros entered and think why brother and don't want to embarrass myself. This not a criticism,but that is the prevailing attitude amougst my HT friends.
Ed Wojciechowski
"Duffy" HRCH,UH, MH, HRC 500 points
"Kodi" SH, WCX- HRCH 6th Std Poodle
"GINA" JH STD Poodle
"Heather" HRCH, SH
"CHIEF" JH,WCX,RN,SHR STD Poodle
"Jake" JH Puppy
I have a little different slant.....I'm of the opinion that running a dog in a trial at any level does nothing good for a dog. To follow with that belief, I only enter events because I want the experience along side the dog, experience under particular judges, run on particular grounds (as well as compete, qualify for a nat'l etc) - and for the most part would not consider any of those things relative to minor stakes. To continue, since I think running a dog in a trial is not good for the dog, I enter as few minor stakes as I can while gaining experience with that dog (is he better, more hyper, less focused, more given to bad habits, etc than in training). So if I happen to get a dog qualifed by placing 1st or 2nd in a minor stake, I will not run that dog again until he is ready to run AA stakes....JMO. And like the OP, I do scratch my head at Q entries where the dogs are qualifed and the handlers experienced.
Last edited by Granddaddy; 11-28-2012 at 07:31 AM.
David Didier, GA
However, that does not mean those Pro trained dogs that are entered in the Q are any better than yours. Yes, there certainly will be some of them that are (those great derby dogs who go and win a Q in one or two Q entries), but not all of them.
In the last Q I ran, I was handling two dogs. We had 27 entries, and a good portion of those dogs were on pro trucks. I got both dogs to the third series, and got one to the final series. Of the 8 dogs that were in the final series, 4 were AM trained, and an AM won it.
So with that being said. Forget about the competition, and go run your dog. A well trained dog is a well trained dog. Do not worry about what other people think. Go have fun. Go enjoy yourself. And Go watch your dog do something that can be great / good / or downright horrible. The point is. It is only a game, and although placements are out there, it really does not matter in the end as long as you are spending a fun day with your best bud (the dog).


text: "A Midsummer Night's Dream," 8 p.m. May 3-4 and 2 p.m. May 5, FA-Watters Theater. Thwarted young lovers, blundering buffoons and a mischievous fairy with a potent love potion become entangled in a magical wood with hilarious results in this performance written by William Shakespeare and directed by Tom Kremer and Rodrigo Nunez. Students of Binghamton University and DUOC University in Chile, perform a bilingual production of this classical farce. General admission, $14; faculty/staff/senior, $12; student, $8 (Faculty/staff tickets are $5 for the May 4 show). Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased by calling the Anderson Center Box Office at 607-777-ARTS (2787) or by visiting http://anderson.binghamton.edu.


text:
The Descent of Spirit (1.04.09)
But thankfully, the cosmos is not a closed loop but an open circle -- or spiral -- with a way up and out: "The 'good news' of religion is that the world is not a closed circle, that it is not an eternal prison, that it has an exit and an entrance.... 'Perdition' is to be caught up in the eternal circulation of the world of the closed circle... [whereas] 'salvation' is life in the world of the open circle, or spiral, where there is both exit and entrance" (Meditations on the Tarot).
What do we mean by "vertical" and "descent?" When you think about it, most of our knowledge falls into the "as if" category. For example, we have no idea what's going in with the quantum world, but it's "as if" it sometimes behaves in a wave-like manner, other times like particles, depending upon how we look. Obviously it is neither. These are just analogies to try to get our mind around what's going on "down" there. "Down" is another one. Why is the subatomic world "below" our macro world? For that matter, why is the unconscious mind "below" the conscious, or the past "behind" the present? Sometimes merely tweaking your metaphor brings new understanding. What if the unconscious is the past within the present, the realm of the unthought known? Is Iraq Vietnam? Or is radical Islam nazi Germany? Different metaphor, different reality.
The fundamental axiom of esotericism, "as above, so below," actually applies to most of our knowledge, in the sense that, without even thinking about it, we resort to analogy to understand realms that are inaccessible to our senses. For example, there isn't really a genetic "code" or "blueprint." In reality it is neither of these manmade categories. Rather, it is what it is, which is entirely mysterious -- impossible, really. Likewise, time is a "river," but what is it really? Who knows? How can there be anything other than eternity?
It gets even more problematic when we try to discuss things like the mind. Here we can only use analogy. However, just as in religious disputes, you would be amazed at the academic fights that go on between people and their beloved analogies. It's easy to ridicule the Christian world, which formally split in 1054 over filioque controversy -- that is, the question of whether the holy spirit proceeds from the Father and Son or from the Son only -- but the identical thing goes on in academia.
I got a real taste of this in my psychoanalytic training, a discipline that has many religious trappings. It has a founding prophet (Freud), a group of original disciples, a dogma, an orthodoxy, and various initiatory rituals. It eventually split into various hardened camps that were, for a time, quite hostile to one another. I've been out of that world for awhile, so I'm not up to date with the politics, but there was a time when the members of one school would dismiss the other school by saying that their members were insufficiently analyzed -- in short, that they only believed what they did because they were more or less crazy. This is very similar to one sect of Christianity saying that another is damned to perdition over this or that doctrinal difference.
And yet, it would be completely wrongheaded to take this as an excuse to descend into a wimpy syncretism or odious relativism. For I think we can agree that, whatever the mind is, it is what it is. It isn't any single one of our models, but neither is it all of them put together, i.e., integralism. The truth is out there (to employ another analogy).
Yesterday I spoke of the "descent" of intelligence that occurred in me at age 29. Fortunately, it occurred at exactly the same time that I discovered the works of the British psychoanalyst W.R. Bion, which assured that my intelligence became a fluid thing instead of hardening into this or that dogma. For there is no end to the mischief created when intelligence mingles with some narrow viewpoint. When this happens, it is almost always for extra-epistemological reasons, usually narcissistic in nature, other times having to do with an emotional need for security or a failure of imagination.
For it seems that intelligence can only go so far before it becomes detached from imagination, so that people at the extreme high end of the IQ scale often lack imagination and become unbalanced spiritual cripples. Think of the typical proud MENSA type, whose IQ may be higher than yours, but who knows nothing about Spirit. They are essentially "idiot savants" with a warped and specialized perspective on reality. The same thing can happen in the other direction with an artist who has a brilliant imagination unmoored by intelligence. The greatest art, such as Shakespeare, is infused with both intelligence and imagination.
But so too is the greatest science, for what is science but a "probe" that extends into the unknown and allows us to think about reality in a fruitful and generative way? Good science makes you feel more alive to the mystery, whereas bad science always demystifiies the world. Remember, "mystery" is hardly an absence of knowledge. Rather, it is a means and a mode of knowledge, precisely. To be immersed in the mystery of being is not to be lost in an obscure cloud of ignorance. Rather, this mystery is the generative ground of all -- it is O.
As I have said before, most narcissists feel that they are in some way "special," and better than others. But the fact is, they usually are special in some area, whether it is looks, or intelligence, or academic brilliance. One's narcissistic pathology can easily attach itself to any of these gifts, so there are plenty of intellectuals whose intellect is more or less in the service of their narcissism and exhibitionism. As applied to spirituality, this combination is particularly deadly, for it ultimately means that one is co-opting God for the glorification of one's own ego.
Hoarhey asked a question along these lines, noting that some of the world's worst psychopaths have claimed to have been chosen by God, e.g., Hitler and Ahmadinejad. He suspects that "someone who actually did good and didn't cause such destruction would either have above average humility or be unaware of the aid, to minimize the ego involvement. The aware person also being somewhat reluctant to speak of it. Examples of America's founders receiving guidance and benefitting humanity come to mind (e.g., George Washington, as the receiver not the avatar)."
I am sure that this is absolutely true -- that God resists the proud. To a certain extent, those who know don't speak of it, and those who speak of it don't know. There is even empirical research documenting the fact that people who truly have had transformative "peak experiences," or full on, life-changing ingressions of the vertical, rarely speak of them. For one thing, they have a sacred quality that brings with it an instinctive reluctance to cast pearls before swine. But this cannot be an absolute rule, or no one would speak of God! Nevertheless, it is a good rule of thumb. Those who eagerly and recklessly presume to speak for God are most likely talking through their hat. For one thing, one must be authorized to do so -- not by some earthly religious body, but from above. Here again we are touching on the subject of "descents."
The Gospels tell us nothing about Jesus' education, but it seems doubtful that he received any formal theological training. When he first encounters the religious authorities, they are astounded by his ability to speak as "one who knows" -- with such authority. From whence did this authority come? Clearly not from man or from any manmade institution. Rather, he was authorized "from above."
Here is an analogy to try to understand authority, perhaps trivial, but I hope not. Last night I saw an absolutely wonderful documentary on the great American blues musician, Howlin' Wolf (1910 -1976). Perhaps you're unfamiliar with him, but he is a being whose musical authority -- if you have ears to hear -- was absolute. And yet, how can this be? Here was a man who grew up in a kind of material and cultural poverty that we can scarcely imagine. Functionally illiterate, his mother mercilessly threw him out of the house -- shack is more like it -- when he was a boy, when he objected to picking cotton for fifteen cents a day. He walked seventy five miles barefoot on dirt roads and eventually tracked down his father, who took him in. At the age of 18 he heard a travelling blues musician, and something "lit up" inside of him -- a musical descent. His father purchased his first guitar, and the rest is history.
Now, blues is a fascinating medium because it is so "primitive" that it almost cannot be played properly by a schooled musician. It is entirely "instinctive." And yet, the gulf between a great blues artist and a mediocre one is absolute -- as great as the gap between the greatest classical composers and the mortals down below. How can this be? I think of it this way. Musical genius is randomly distributed throughout mankind. Obviously, much will depend upon the accidental cultural circumstances in which one finds oneself. For example, what if Mozart had been born in a primitive culture without a rich musical tradition and access to sophisticated musical instruments? Would his genius have somehow found a means to express itself?
I think musicologists err in trying to derive aesthetic beauty from musical complexity. Rather, I believe there are certain people who do not "compose" or "play" music. Rather, they are music. You might say that they are "music made flesh" -- they literally embody the dimension from which music arises. Sinatra did this. Louis Armstrong did this. Van Morrison does this. Their music has a kind of authority and immediacy that no amount of musical training could ever be able to achieve. Again, if you have ears to hear, the gulf between a Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters and, say, Eric Clapton, is as great as the gulf between Bach and Vivaldi, or Mozart and Salieri. The gulf between Stevie Ray Vaughan -- another person who "embodied" music -- and an Eddie Van Halen or some other merely technical wizard, is literally infinite.
One thing the great musicians share is that they are motivated by love rather than ego. Their passion and their love are the channels through which the music flows. This cannot be faked. Nevertheless, for most people, it doesn't seem to matter. They cannot distinguish between the genuine and the meretricious, whether it is in music, spirituality, psychology, whatever. Thus, because people can be fooled, there are many who usurp the authority to do a whole lot of things that can only be authorized from above.
Now, you might ask, where does this leave Bob? Where does he get off speaking of these things? Who gave him the authority? That's a very good question. In my case, I am very aware of my limits. When my descent came, it came in the form of understanding. Suddenly, I understood spiritual reality in a way that I had previously only understood intellectually -- which is to say, did not understand. Thus, I do not feel that I am overstepping my bounds by merely trying to share -- never force, and never argue or try to convert -- my understanding with others. This is why I say it is more like singing. Not to say that I am an "artist," or something like that. Rather, merely to say that it's not an intellectual thing. It just is what it is, and I'm glad some people enjoy it. If they don't, that's fine too. That's why I don't want to get into arguments with those who shall not be named. Nor do I wish to become known, except by a very narrow group of people. How to reach that group without exposure to the wrong types is the vexing problem, but so far I have no complaints.
Now, on the other hand -- it's difficult to say this without sounding outrageously presumptuous, and yet, it does need to be said -- it is equally clear to me that I am not vertically authorized to be any kind of direct transmission of grace -- a "guru" type person, as it were. Yes, you could say that this is like conceding that I am not God, but obviously, untold spiritual mischief is caused by people who overstep their boundaries and do just that. It's not so much that I am tempted to do this, but there is something within many people that is tempted to confer this authority upon others, which many spiritual psychopaths happily identify with. There is no question that there are beings who are authorized to do this -- genuine saints and true theologians who are themselves transmitters of grace. They are on an entirely different plane.
But I humbly pray only for a deepening understanding and the ability to express it to others who might benefit from it -- to be the discussion leader. That is more than enough for me, because it keeps the descent alive by "prolonging" it into the horizontal on a daily basis. Plus, the feedback and comments flesh it out and make it all the more vividly present and real.


text:
|Pacific Northwest Sea Run Forum No such thing as rainbow trout, only landlocked steelhead
|Topic Review (Newest First)
RE:Multi-tip line popularity?
I gave up on the factory multi-tip lines after I bought a Rio Windcutter and found that there are actually 2 loops on it - one at the floating tip and one at the back of the head for attaching long Teeny-like tips directly to the running line. Since I've never used that loop, I really resent it being there (especially when it clanks thru the tiptop as I'm about to land a steelhead). Don't know if they still do it that way, but it was enough to get me chopping lines and making the loops myself.
I'll do the loop on the line (and floating head), but am more than willing to buy the pre-looped sinking tips from Rio Products. They come in 15' sections in almost every line weight in both type 4 and type 6 sink rates. Just needle-knot a butt onto it and you're ready to go!
RE:Multi-tip line popularity?
It is amazing how much the popularity of multi-tips lines have grown. It has pretty much made Vincent's small time business into a huge production. At the shop I work, 3 years ago we carried the various spey lines by Rio and that was it but now we carry a huge number of of Rio products all due to the popularity of Jimmy's Accelerator and Windcutter multi-tip lines.
I have been fishing the Anadramous Dredger by Rio recently. 24' tips in 200, 300 and 400 grains. Pretty much the Teeny Lines with a longer running line that has little more belly. I like it much better than switching between spools of my various Teeny lines.
And Duggan made a great suggestion to me this Sunday that I will no doubt follow. Cut back 18' of SA's Steelhead Taper and use the various Rio tips that are sold seperately.
Multi-tip line popularity?
Since leaving steelhead country (in body but not entirely in spirit) Airflo's multi-tip lines have come into vogue. Are they catching on for steelhead?
I have my own loop design that I prefer over factory loops, but the convenience seems all too hard to resist. (Maybe I should go peruse Dana's board(s) before posing such a question...)
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Within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the NIC carries out its mission under the direction of the Deputy Director for Intelligence Integration and the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Counselor, who lead a corps of National Intelligence Officers.
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11.12: Formation of the Sun and Planets
Do scientists just make this stuff up?
No! Although our Solar System formed nearly 5 billion years ago, we can see stars forming elsewhere in the galaxy, such as in the Large Magellanic cloud 160,000 light years away. Although we can't know for sure, astronomers think that our early solar system looked very much like this.
Formation of the Solar System
The most widely accepted explanation of how the solar system formed is called the nebular hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the Sun and the planets of our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from the collapse of a giant cloud of gas and dust, called a nebula.
The nebula was drawn together by gravity, which released gravitational potential energy. As small particles of dust and gas smashed together to create larger ones, they released kinetic energy. As the nebula collapsed, the gravity at the center increased and the cloud started to spin because of its angular momentum. As it collapsed further, the spinning got faster, much as an ice skater spins faster when he pulls his arms to his sides during a spin.
Much of the cloud's mass migrated to its center but the rest of the material flattened out in an enormous disk. The disk contained hydrogen and helium, along with heavier elements and even simple organic molecules.
Formation of the Sun and Planets
As gravity pulled matter into the center of the disk, the density and pressure at the center became intense. When the pressure in the center of the disk was high enough, nuclear fusion began. A star was born—the Sun. The burning star stopped the disk from collapsing further.
An artist's painting of a protoplanetary disk.
Meanwhile, the outer parts of the disk were cooling off. Matter condensed from the cloud and small pieces of dust started clumping together. These clumps collided and combined with other clumps. Larger clumps, called planetesimals, attracted smaller clumps with their gravity. Gravity at the center of the disk attracted heavier particles, such as rock and metal and lighter particles remained further out in the disk. Eventually, the planetesimals formed protoplanets, which grew to become the planets and moons that we find in our solar system today.
Because of the gravitational sorting of material, the inner planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars — formed from dense rock and metal. The outer planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — condensed farther from the Sun from lighter materials such as hydrogen, helium, water, ammonia, and methane. Out by Jupiter and beyond, where it's very cold, these materials form solid particles.
The nebular hypothesis was designed to explain some of the basic features of the solar system:
- The orbits of the planets lie in nearly the same plane with the Sun at the center
- The planets revolve in the same direction
- The planets mostly rotate in the same direction
- The axes of rotation of the planets are mostly nearly perpendicular to the orbital plane
- The oldest moon rocks are 4.5 billion years
This video, from the ESA, discusses the Sun, planets, and other bodies in the Solar System and how they formed (1a, 1d). The first part of the video explores the evolution of our view of the solar system starting with the early Greeks who reasoned that since some points of light - which they called planets - moved faster than the stars, they must be closer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NxfBOhQ1CY&feature=player_profilepage (8:34).
- A giant cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula, collapsed to form the solar system; this is the nebular hypothesis.
- The nebular hypothesis explains many of the features of the solar system like the orbital plane, the revolution and rotation of the planets, the relationship of the axes of rotation and the orbital plane and the age of moon rocks.
- Planets nearer the Sun are similar because they formed of denser metal and rocks, but planets further out are lighter and gaseous.
Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.
1. What is a protostar?
2. When does nuclear fusion begin?
3. When was our star born?
4. How long with the star burn?
5. How do scientists think our sun was born?
6. What was the Big Bang?
1. What is the nebular hypothesis?
2. How do features we see elsewhere in our galaxy help us to understand the origin of our solar system?
3. How does the nebular hypothesis account for the observable features of the solar system?
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text:
By The Associated Press
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Transportation says work on the final phase of the four-laning of Highway 6 in Lee County is in its final phase.
The last section remaining to be completed will run from Highway 342 in Pontotoc to Highway 45 in Tupelo.
The $26 million project was awarded to APAC-Mississippi, Inc.
The work includes prep work, paving, striping and placing signs on the highway.
Officials say the work is expected to be completed by June of 2014.


text: After years of collectors saying how much they'd like the figures to come with stands, Hasbro has finally done just that. Since the Saga line, Hasbro has been including generic stands - or as Hasbro calls them, bases - with Star Wars 3¾" action figures. The dark metallic gray rectangular stands have a few techy details and the Star Wars logo designed into the top, as well as a single foot-peg in the upper-left section, and even have tabs on the bottom to interlock with each other in several different configurations. Nearly every figure in the OTC line has come with a stand, sometimes even with figures that don't need them like R2-D2 (but of course, who couldn't use another stand?). But are fans actually using these stands? If so, how often?


text:
"Woke up at 9.55am. Soon as I woke up, I looked at Suzanne and she looked at me. I said, 'Did I tell you about the immune system?' Suzanne starting laughing, I said, 'it's amazing.' She said, 'Not now.'"
No prob. Teachers are always trying to clarify.
I had to use one of my remaining 44 leave days today: no voice and blowing my nose/coughing. My first day off in almost a year; lost my chance at the nonexistent perfect attendance award.
I predict that the upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi film will include the word "and." Multiple times.
Toni Morrison was one of the speakers considered for our college graduation. But the president of the senior class, who was in charge of arrangements, instead picked the founder of some stupid clothing company (Abercrombie and Fitch, I think) because his son went to the college (and may have been a senior, I disremember). This was mainly because the son was a friend of the class president, who was a lazy fratboy.
So, yes, instead of a great speaker who is the only living American recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, we got a boring-arse guy who sells crappy "distressed" clothing and can't speak publicly to save his life.
Gotta love campus politics.
That's my jacket!
Found out today that my contract for next year was renewed; THANK GOD. This means i'll stay full-time with my usual salary, which is pretty nice. I was worried that I would have to work two jobs next year, teaching and retail, but alas, things look much better. I was so relieved when I got the call as it had been weighing on my mind for months and now I can finally enjoy my summer.
And speaking of summer, I got my *****iest student e-mail a few weeks ago; a student that I failed told me that my class was "boring as hell" and that they "didn't learn anything" and blah blah blah. I wanted to tell them that perhaps if they had showed up more than a few times during the last 6-7 weeks, this person might have learned something. My best reply was something along the lines of "I see that you took the time to e-mail me about your grade. If you had that sort of initiative in class, you might have passed" but I ignored this idea as it's best not to reply, IMHO. I talked to my superior about the situation in case they contacted them (which they "threatened" to do, which made me laugh even harder) and she told me if this person called, she had the info to set them straight. I mean, if you miss 6-7 weeks of class, two paper assignments, bomb a final project worth 475 points, etc, you have nobody to blame but yourself. Kids these days...
I also found out a few weeks ago that an article I wrote about the antihero in graphic novels is being published next year! Booya!
and one of my bosses sent me this and it made me giggle, hard:
Hope you folks liked it!English as an International Communications Medium
The European Union commissioners have announced that an agreement has been
reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European
communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility.
As part of the negotiations, the British government conceded that English
spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased
plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short).
In the first year "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly sivil
servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be
replased with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters
kan have one less letter. There will be a growing publik enthusiasm in the
sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replased by "f". This will
make words like "fotograf" 20 per sent shorter.
In the third year publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to
reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments
will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a
deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of
silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go.
By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by
"z" and "w" by "v". During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from
words kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer
kombinations of leters.
Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze
forst pläs.
European Korespondent
Last edited by Jedi_Master_Guyute; 05-22-2009 at 11:59 PM.
"Woke up at 9.55am. Soon as I woke up, I looked at Suzanne and she looked at me. I said, 'Did I tell you about the immune system?' Suzanne starting laughing, I said, 'it's amazing.' She said, 'Not now.'"
Some students (not all) want to whine and complain, and the process takes more effort than just doing the assigned work.
And I love the whole "class is boring" routine. Hello, it is not supposed to be all fun and games 24/7!! You have to work to earn a grade!!
Having said that, Tuesday is my last day before summer vacation, and I am soooo glad.
"You know I love the guy but I swear he writes like freaking Yoda."-Dean Winchester
R12:2-Be Transformed
JMG: Congrats on the renewal!
And as for your student, can you say "entitlement"?
I think next year you should explain the school's policy with regard to grades and attendance; heavily punctuated with a recording of Darth Sidious' line: "Wipe them out. All of them", when it come to those students who fail to comply!
¡Que la fuerza te acompañe!
We have 19 days left at my school. 4 are minimum days and 1 is shortened. Can't wait for summer.
My last day is tomorrow, and I will only be there until noon or so. Then it's summer, who hoo!!
"You know I love the guy but I swear he writes like freaking Yoda."-Dean Winchester
R12:2-Be Transformed


text:
Brightest Day #8
Zatanna #4
I forgot to get those last week
Brightest Day #9
JSA All-Stars #10
Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #2
Freedom Fighters #1 (not so sure about this one yet...)
Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers TPB
Okay, I was looking forward to this one. The IDW Transformers universe has shot so far to hell following the fustercluck that was All Hail Megatron that it's unreadable, but I've read nothing but praise for this series. It was... well, it was light years better than AHM or the new ongoing series, I'll give it that. However, it was just a mess of fanfic--better than average fanfic, granted, but hardly professional quality. Two of the three new guys are pretty much indistinguishable, the color is so monotonous that it's tough to follow the sometimes muddy artwork, and there are plot holes you could easily drive Metroplex through in his gigantonormous tank mode.
My conclusion is that, after the mess of AHM, Transformers comics have become so bad that the only other people who are still reading them are the sort of TF supergeeks who think you're not a fan if you don't own all the Japanese Transformers and be able to recite the entire run of Headmasters. And that the regular series is so godawfully bad that even "barely passable" seems like Watchmen in comparison. (Seriously, there was a blurb on the back on this book comparing it to Watchmen. The nerve!)
GIJoe Origins Volume 3 TPB
I'm only halfway through (have read Beach Head and Baroness, still need to read Ripcord and Snow Job). Much better than the other book that came in the mail yesterday. That said, it's good but not especially great. By the nature of the series, the stories are stand-alone origin stories, which most modern comic writers seem to have real problems with. Beach Head's is great, but seems incomplete. The Baroness's story is even more incomplete, though at least it has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and some pretty awesome art that reminds me a bit of a cartoonier Bill Sienkiewicz. I'd recommend this for Joe fans, though, truth be told, I'm looking forward to the Classic GIJoe Volume 9 that should be arriving soon.
cha gio
That's my jacket!
Brightest Day #10
Batman Beyond #4
Zatanna #5
Superman/Batman Annual #4 - I guess this was a 2nd print as I missed out on it a few months ago.


text:
Psst... Hey! Over here!rickadams wrote:A pity I can't find This Ain't a Cutscene anywhere.
I also have it up on my YouTube profile!
rickadams wrote:This was my first competition, and I had more fun than ought to be legal. You are to be commended for stepping up to the plate and making this contest exist. I will be back next year if there's a contest, so please make it happen again!
I would like to second this. Megane Girl put on a great show, despite the fact that it was on such short notice! Thank you for running this contest! I promise to come back next year!
I'm also still blown away by the fact that I managed to win Audience Choice! Especially against such tough competition!


text:
But first, I want to announce that the winner of the drawing for the signed copy of A Woodland Christmas, featuring Darlene Franklin, is:
sbsalzer@ . . .
Congratulations! I'll contact you today for your snail mail address, and we'll get your book to you right away. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right in order to participate in future book give-aways!
Okay, so the give-away. When I interview fellow authors, I usually ask them to tell us which actors they would choose to play their leads if their novel went to film. So I'm going to show you who I chose for The Perfect Blend.
Some authors don't like to put that image in the reader's mind--they worry they'll interrupt the reader's experience and imagination. But, even if I have an actor in mind when I create a character, my character doesn't look exactly like that actor. It just gives me a general idea of the character's looks and style.
The books in The Tea Shop Series have a uniting character, tea shop owner Milly Ashford Jewell, a sharp, lovable Brit. She's in her fifties, so my actor choice is a bit old, but I pictured Julie Christie when I created Milly.
For Steph Vandergrift, the heroine in The Perfect Blend, I used actress Lizzy Caplan.
I had been saving actor Gabriel Macht for a future hero for quite some time. He became Kendall James. I'm including two pics of him, because I wanted to show you his/Kendall's wonderful smile. The other is just a bonus for a Monday afternoon.
And for Steph's new friends, sisters Christie and Liz Burnham, I pictured real-life sisters Emily and Zooey Deschanel, respectively.
There you have it. Now, in order to be entered into the drawing, here's what you have to do. I'm going to describe one more character and ask you to tell us which actor you envision playing the role. I'll tell you next Monday which actor I chose, but I'd love to hear your ideas. (A blanket "please enter me for the drawing" won't get you entered.)
No spoiler alert here. Most of this information is on The Perfect Blend's back cover.
Rick Manfred is Steph's fiance, and he lives in the charming little town of Middleburg, Virginia, where the story is set. No one who loves Steph thinks Rick is good for her. Rather than taking their advice, she elopes, leaving behind broken hearts and friendships. And then Rick stands her up at the altar. She is left drastically alone in a town where she has no friends, no job, and now, no love.
Who do you envision playing Rick?
If you're interested in purchasing a copy of the book, you can do so online through the following buttons. The book is available in e-book format, as well.
Kindle version:
|CBD eBook
Check out my interview with Deborah Raney below, and leave a comment under her interview to be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of her book.
Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer HERE.


text:
Heritage Conservancy's president and building historian, Jeffrey Marshall, during a series of educational talks.
Learn how to research and read historic homes and barns like a professional!
The presentations will run from 10 a.m. to noon in the Dvoor farm house, headquarters to the Hunterdon Land Trust, located at 111 Mine St., Flemington, NJ 08822.
Admission is $5. For more information and to reserve a spot, please call 908-237-4582 or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Upcoming presentations are:
- Sunday, June 23 – "Why Old Buildings are Important and How to Research Them"
- Sunday, July 28 – "How to Look at Old Houses and 'Read' the Stories They Tell"
- Sunday, Aug. 25 –"How to Look at Old Barns and 'Read' the Stories They Tell"


text: About all I have to say is DAMN!!! Is the RNC going to have to vet everything any candidate is going to say?? Just as we may be getting a little traction, somebody has to make a jackass statement like that. There's one senate seat we are sure to lose now!!!


text:
After a few message exchanges with the sf.net bugtracking team, my development tree of htop is finally online on the Subversion repository. I never wanted to put it up there on CVS but now that sf.net supports SVN and I finally embraced the joys of revision control, I was motivated enough to do it.
Here's the web interface to the htop SVN repository. To fetch the sources, type:
svn checkout https://svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/htop/trunk htop
(After checking out the sources, run sh autogen.sh to create the configure script and friends.)
A new release of htop is long overdue by now. It should follow shortly, I hope. I got a few new bug reports I need to nail down first.
BTW, this post reminds me of an old SVN-inspired parody I wrote a while ago. Check it out if you're a Rush fan. :-)
An intro to the software patents issue for non-programmers
I stumbled on an interesting article on software patents written by Richard Stallman. Nothing new, but it's written in a fairly non-technical language, so it's a good link to direct your non-programmer friends to. Found it through this pretty interesting blog on "intellectual property".


text:
Does youthful mean useful? Calls for wage boost for young(ish) retail workers
21 March 2013 , 11:22 AM by Elliott Dunn
Should a 20-year-old retail worker be paid the same as a 21-year-old? What about an 18- or 19-year-old?
Well, yes, is the answer from the biggest union in the country.
The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association is asking the Fair Work Commission to do away with junior rates of pay that see 20-year-old award employees take a 10% haircut on full adult rates.
For 19-year-olds, the discount is 20% and for 18-year-olds, its 30%. They'll be next on the union's hit list.
The Australian Retailers Association argues that employees in these age brackets are often learning on the job, and not as useful as older workers. ARA head Russell Zimmerman also thinks that businesses will shy away from hiring younger adults, if they're forced to pay them the full adult rate.
Elliott Dunn Talking this morning. And he done it by asking Canberrans whether younger retail workers deserve a bigger pay packet:
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
This is a no-brainer; stop exploiting Australian young adults! If you can drink, vote, gamble, and fight in war at 18; you should get paid the same as any other adult for doing the same work, otherwise that is exploitation. I worked in retail when I was 18, and was constantly frustrated when I learnt I was earning less then the drop-kick 40 year old employees who had been stacking the same shelves for 20 years without promotion. This must change now.
Posted by: Samuel Miller | 21 March 2013 at 04:29 PM
I am 19 years old and work in retail as a Night Fill worker. I do exactly the same job as every other co-worker with the same responsibilities and the same working efficiencies of an expected carton filling an hour. Yet I am not paid the same rate as my co-workers. In this job in under 1 month I am expected to have enough experience to complete my job to the recommended carton filling an hour as every other co-worker. When managers work out the amount of hours they need a night I am recorded to have the same output of cartons every hour like any other co-worker. Yet I am not paid the same rate as my co-workers. It truly isn't fair that I work as hard as any other employee but my employer only rewards me with a fraction of the cost.
Posted by: Brayden | 21 March 2013 at 04:46 PM
Do away with junior rates altogether and start paying young adults what they deserve! If anybody (14 years old right up to retirement age) has just started working with no relevant experience and is learning the ropes then sure, pay them less for a trial or training period but when they are doing the exact same job as their older counter parts, why should they be paid less? I am 18 years old, have been employed with a company for two years and have been playing the part of a level three supervisor for a year. However, I am still only employed and paid as a level two worker (a $5 per hour difference) because I am underage and not allowed to be promoted any higher. I am also paid $10 an hour less than the over 21 level one and two workers I am supervising. The company saves itself $15 per hour that I work and I am promised a promotion when I am old enough. How is this fair?
Posted by: L P | 21 March 2013 at 08:36 PM
It should b about what you contribute to the business not wht your date of birth is. I worked in retail when I was 17. I was a supervisor within a year and yet I was still paid a discounted rate of pay in spite of being in charge of others who were older than me. It wasn't as though my costs were discounted. Groceries, rent, petrol all cost jut as much. In fact my car insurance actually cost me more. Why should I be paid less when I contributed as much as those working around me. These changes are overdue.
Posted by: Ben Harris | 21 March 2013 at 10:08 PM
Their service is appalling..... NO they don't deserve it
Posted by: T G | 22 March 2013 at 07:05 AM
At the age of 20 I am still considered to be on youth wages, though thanks to the SDA this is set as "100% of the adult wage". I am one of the lucky ones. All of my colleagues, whether they are 15 or 65 do the same job as I do, and once they have finished their training period are expected to complete the work to the same standards and efficiency levels as the rest. And yet a fifteen year old is only entitled to 45% of the adult wage.
It is very common for young people who graduate from high school to compete for entrance into some form of tertiary education. They then spend 3-4 years in an apprenticeship, TAFE course or university degree, all of which are considered to be equivalent to 40 hours a week of full time study - the equivalent of full time employment (or perhaps slightly heavier).
The limited time left means that most young people must find a job on the weekends and in the evenings so that they can pay for the rent, utilities, groceries, petrol and insurance, textbooks et cetera. These things are not subsidised or discounted, and must be paid for on a meagre income, further reduced by the ridiculous youth wages. At age 18 the youth rate at my workplace is only 67.5% of the full adult wage. It is unsurprising then that many apprentices and students rely on centrelink benefits and parental support to get by.
So what is it really costing the world, for these big companies to save a few dollars on younger staff who do just the same job as the rest?
Posted by: S.M. | 22 March 2013 at 12:26 PM
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After a week of bottomless queso and free condoms, it's hard to leave South by Southwest. Music aside, the conference's heady "interactive" portion — five days of workshops and powwows about life and culture in the digital age — is a snapshot of utopia. While quieter than the much larger adjoining music conference, SXSWi is nerd heaven, an intellectual open bar complete with free bloodies and QR codes on the cocktail napkins.
What transforms this corner of Austin into Zion every March is the attitude of attendees. Rather than duke it out as competitors, companies come here to tag-team panels and extol their collaborative feats, while others address topics like civic engagement and "shopping as a revolutionary act."
The hacks, hackers, geeks, and consumers at SXSWi represent the tastemakers who are moving culture forward, and on whom brick-and-mortar industries are leaning for guidance. According to a pre-festival survey, they are (on average): in their 20s and 30s; good for one to five daily status updates; and obsessed with the Old Spice Guy (now back to me). One thing not measured in that tally, though, is the extent to which SXSWi-goers, including those in powerful positions, are by and large not greedy assholes like the power brokers who preceded them.
Though SXSWi is best known as a launch pad for marquee start-ups like Foursquare and Twitter, it's also a forum to examine how social media and other tools can catalyze positive change.
A substantial number of workshops are billed under the themes "Greater Good" and "Work & Happiness," and there's a host of panels on the intersection of philanthropy and technology. If there's any hope in this post-Madoff, mid-apocalyptic circus that we live in, it's evident at SXSWi, where sharing, not ruthlessness, is valued, and where there's a sense that technology can be used to mobilize people — not just against dictators, but against forces that oppose social justice everywhere. In this oasis, the good gals and guys are empowered to make a significant difference, and the plan is to continue doing just that as soon as the hangovers subside.
The notion that competitors with seemingly incompatible interests can win together isn't novel. In his 2005 bestseller, The World Is Flat, New York Times soothsayer Thomas L. Friedman wrote: "The further we push out the boundaries of knowledge and innovation, the more next great-value breakthroughs — that is, the next new hot-selling products and services — will come from putting together disparate things that you would not think of as going together." As an example, he applauds biologists who worked with computer programmers to map the human genome.
Friedman was right about the strength of networked resources. But even more remarkable than specific high-tech breakthroughs — and on full display at SXSWi — is the revolutionary spirit of collaboration that fuels group-thinks like "Your Business + Social Mission = Happiness + Ka-Ching." What's demonstrated in discussions here is that people aren't sharing for the sake of image — they're holding hands in belief that mutuality can lead to victory. According to Derek Neighbors, a "Collaboration Over Competition" panelist and co-founder of Gangplank collaborative workspaces: "[Collaboration is] the ability to share ideas and to recognize that what you do has the ability to impact the people you collaborate with, [and to] lift everybody up."
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