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Wedding Trivia
Wedding Trivia
Bridal Attendants
The maid or the matron of honor keeps the groom's ring until the appropriate time in the ceremony, when she exchanges it for the bride's bouquet.
The best man delivers the officiant's fee--either before or after the ceremony.
The ratio of guests to ushers is 1 usher for every 50 guests.
The ushers or groomsmen seat the bride's guests, usually on the left, and seat the groom's on the right, except for Orthodox Jewish weddings, when the sides are reversed.
The Processional
In anticipation of the exchange of rings, the bride should remove her engagement ring and place it on her right hand prior to the processional.
The proper sequence for the processional is: ushers, groomsmen, junior ushers, junior bridesmaids, bridesmaids, matron of honor, maid of honor, pages, flower girl, ring bearer, and bride and her father.
For a home wedding, the order for those in the processional is the same as in a church.
The mother of the bride is the official hostess at the wedding reception. She is the last person to be seated at the ceremony and the first to greet the guests in the receiving line. The father of the bride may stand in the receiving line or mingle with guests as the host of the reception.
The bride, who is normally escorted by her father, walks down the aisle on his right. If, however, her father is deceased, a brother, uncle, godfather--or close family friend-- would take his place. In rare cases, the bride might ask the bridegroom's father to assume the role. If the substitute escort is not a close relative, he should not "give away" the bride; her mother should do that. In this case, the substitute acts only as an escort.
Upon arriving at the front of the church, the bride lets go of her escort's arm and moves her flowers to her left hand. She, then, gives her right hand to the bridegroom. The groom, then, places the bride's right hand through his left, and she rests her hand near his elbow.
The bride's escort remains at her left side--or a step behind--until the clergyman asks, "Who gives this woman to be married?" The escort then reaches in front of her and places her right hand in the clergyman's right hand, symbolizing the "giving" of the bride.
It is here that the many variations in the wedding ceremony become noticeable. · The bride's father can say "I do." · Or, her father can say, "Her mother and I do." · Both parents can say "I do," with the mother speaking from her place in the pew. · If the father is deceased, and the bride is escorted by another man, the mother would respond "I do," from her place.
In a church with two aisles, the processional goes up the right aisle, the bride's family sits on the left side of the right aisle, and guests are seated according to the aisle and not the church as a whole.
Recessional and Receiving Line
For the recessional, the ushers and bridesmaids pair off, symbolizing the marriage.
The proper sequence for the receiving line is: bride's mother (or in the absence of the mother, whoever is hosting/paying for the reception), bride's father*, bridegroom's mother, bridegroom's father*, bride, bridegroom, honor attendant, bridesmaid(s). *Participation is optional.
Both mothers usually wear gloves in the reception line. The bride's mother makes the decision of whether to wear gloves or not, and the bridegroom's mother follows her lead. The bride generally does not wear gloves.
At a formal wedding, the toasts are offered when all the guests have been seated and served the champagne. At a less formal wedding, where there is no bridal table, the toast may take place immediately after the receiving line has broken up, or just before the wedding cake is cut.
The Toast
The best man traditionally offers the first toast, which is offered to the couple. He waits until all are seated and have their champagne. At the bridal table, the bride's glass is filled first, then the bridegroom's and the honor attendants, followed by the rest of the bridal party.
The bride and groom remain seated for the best man's toast. Also, the bride should be seated when her bridegroom toasts her. The bride, however, should rise when her parents or her bridegroom's parents are toasted.
If a reception includes a full meal, dancing is delayed until after dessert. For a less formal wedding, dancing may begin when the couple wishes to start, and it is the bridal couple who must start it.
The bride and bridegroom dance the first dance together, usually to a song that has special meaning for them. While they are dancing, the guests often form a circle around them and applaud.
Usually for the second dance, the bride's father begins the dance with his daughter, and her father-in-law later cuts in. At the same time, the bridegroom dances first with his mother-in-law and then with his mother. Usually during this second dance, the best man cuts in on the bride's father-in-law. Each member of the bridal party should understand the sequence to avoid confusion.
The Cutting of the Cake
Using a knife decorated with ribbon, the bride cuts the first two slices, symbolizing the traditional role of wife as "food preparer." The bridegroom feeds the first bite to his wife, symbolizing the traditional male role of provider.
In a double wedding reception each couple has their own wedding cake, which they cut in sequence (the elder bride cuts first), so each can watch the other.
Miscellaneous Facts
If a clergyman travels to the wedding, the travel and lodging expenses should be paid for by the family making the request.
During Eastern Orthodox wedding services, the bridal couple holds candles.
The only thing that makes a "military" wedding "military" is the arch of swords, sabers or rifles after the ceremony.
In a double wedding, the older bride goes first.
Aunts and uncles are normally not seated at the parents' table.

subset: commoncrawl


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Raven Connected Car - IoT, IoMe, IoCar + Secure Connectivity & Artificial Intelligence all disguised as a Dash Cam!
Contextual technology gathered up and situational relevance and intelligence added. To call this security conscious "vehicle-to (and from)-everything" platform a Dash Cam is a bit of an injustice to the scope of this connected car ecosystem. Connects directly to the car's OBD port so know's what's going on internal to the vehicle systems and puts that into the contexts of info, location plus driver and family to deliver valuable set of person centric capabilities. The feature list is long, but the Raven, with cameras looking out and in and all knowing connectivity delivers peace of mind while driving. Not just for driver and passangers, but for family as well. This caught my eye because of what the overall technology combination delivers when the IoCar intelligently intersects with access to information, the IoT and IoMe and mine.
So many stated features. Here's what they say. (my comments in parenthesis)
Raven gives cars the intelligence and voice needed to proactively communicate with drivers and their families, making them smarter, safer and more connected while on the road.
At home, at work or a thousand miles away, Raven's always-on and always-connected system gives family members and car lovers unprecedented peace of mind with:
* Live streaming camera views, both road-facing and in-cabin
* Security alerts (car broken into?)
* Departure and arrival notifications (mapping)
* Driving reports (even capture time lapse synopsis of journey)
* Gesture controls (and voice commands coming soon)
* Next-turn navigation
* Weather condition updates
* Vehicle diagnostics
* Wi-Fi hotspot
Raven unmasks the sophistication and intelligence locked under the hood in today's vehicles and makes it readily accessible to drivers.
Raven has been designed and engineered from the ground up by a highly accomplished team passionate about best in-class performance and user experiences.
(The connectivity to the web and to a defined group of friends and family is a real value proposition understated here) Worth a visit to the Raven Website for more details on use cases and how it works.
Third Eye - Thermal Sensing in the Palm of your Hand or on your Glasses
A good example of a "connected sensor" becoming a complete and very portable capability when used with a Smartphone App. Third Eye wireless thermal attachment is a smart solution for thermal capability on the go. Paired with Smartphone or Smartglasses, Third Eye delivers lightweight, hands-free thermal imaging - creating a multitude of use cases and putting them into the hands of anyone. The Signal Sensor can also be clipped to normal glasses to capture a first-person point of view on the Smartphone.
At CES2018 I met with Ivan Arbouzov, President of RoundConcept, makers of the Signal Thermal Sensing device and "Third Eye" App (iOS and Android)
Third Eye turns smart glasses and mobile devices into advanced thermal vision systems for real time viewing and analysis or to capture a thermal video or still picture. Even capable of Live-video streaming.
The precise remote temperature measurements and scanning are ideal for many applications such as in the medical, industrial, environmental sectors plus night vision applications for professional and amateur uses such as hunting and for search and rescue.
Accuracy plus small size and simplicity of operation make this an enabler for many applications where thermal sensing would be valuable, but previously impractical or simply not available.
BETT 2018 - Equipping Students with Education tools for Emerging Technology Areas.
Went to BETT yesterday in London (Europe's largest Technology in Education exhibition). Past years have been all about interactive whiteboards, then large touch screens (basically blackboard replacements and teaching aids) This year was much more about "Interactive Learning" and student involvement. BETT2018 was all about Robots and learning how to code and having fun doing it. And being introduced into classrooms at and early age. I am 100% behind this and at CES2018 (Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas) saw some really good examples of this too (for example ROOT). I have captured only some of the "Learning Coding through fun with Robots" examples here, but not sure how a teacher or an educational curriculum decision maker, can chose from these. Lots of early stage stuff. This will no doubt mature a bit and become more focussed by next year.
Four other significant findings that also caught my eye at BETT:
1. If you follow the wearable technology, IoT, IoMe, IoCar, IoHome and AI areas as I do, you will have noticed the innovation in the Smartphone + Sensor's area. Saw some interesting education tools in this area from Vernier and IDS Education (their distributor in the UK) at BETT2018. "Go Direct Sensors" that now work directly with Smartphones to let students apply technology to create real world solutions. These education curriculum tools are ready for prime time and caught my eye.
2. AR/VR/360º capture, content and storytelling. Not as predominant as I had hoped as this is a "learn by actually being there" proposition. Devices are readily available, and the Education based content is coming, but early days of a big opportunity to learn in an experiential way. As with other application sectors, this is now all about relevant content and applications and then blending that into an existing way of working. But provides a very experiential way for students to learn. Kind of like when years ago classes started using soundproof booths and headphones with mikes to individually learn languages. Was very happy to see the Humaneyes VUZE 3D360º camera on show, and its "Borderless Education Experience". The VUZE camera is an affordable tool for students to create meaningful content and learn storytelling in this new medium. Humaneyes is also developing a hosting facility ("Humaneyes Zone") for 360º content so student projects can be stored and made available to others. Well done Humaneyes for recognising the Educational sector and providing the tools for learning.
3. Also at CES2018 in Las Vegas this year there was a whole huge hall dedicated to two things - Robots (discussed above) and Drones. These technologies are progressing rapidly into seriously valuable application areas, and it is appropriate that emerging graduates learn the dynamics and skills needed to be productive in these emerging areas. The subject of Drones was not covered well at BETT, but very pleased to see Parrot exhibiting on this very topic with it's Parrot Mambo Edu Kit. This really caught my eye and will be looking for more at BETT 2019.
4. Innovations from Octagon studios to learn by creating. Building on their huge library of AR Cards for children of all ages to view, manipulate and interact with animals, cars, space ships, dinosaurs, etc.
I had a discussion with Hasbi Asyadiq, CEO of Octagon spinoff Assemblr World. Assemblr World is a Smartphone/Tablet App to "virtually" build things from a library of over half a million objects and then Augment the Reality of the real world with your creations. You can also work collaboratively and share your personal projects. This is potentially a learning tool to create, collaborate, share and place these virtual objects and environments into the real world around you for viewing on your or other's smartphone or tablet screens in an "Augmented Reality" way. Looking forward to seeing this develop into a real learning tool.


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The chocolate-chip cookie celebrated its seventy-fifth birthday this year. Unlike the anonymous inventors of such American staples as the hot dog, the grilled-cheese sandwich, and the milkshake, the creator of the chocolate-chip cookie has always been known to us. Ruth Wakefield, who ran the popular Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, with her husband, Kenneth, from 1930 to 1967, brought the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie into being in the late nineteen-thirties. The recipe, which has been tweaked over the ensuing decades, made its first appearance in print in the 1938 edition of Wakefield's "Tried and True" cookbook. Created as an accompaniment to ice cream, the chocolate-chip cookie quickly became so celebrated that Marjorie Husted (a.k.a. Betty Crocker) featured it on her radio program. On March 20, 1939, Wakefield gave Nestlé the right to use her cookie recipe and the Toll House name. In a bargain that rivals Peter Minuit's purchase of Manhattan, the price was a dollar—a dollar that Wakefield later said she never received (though she was reportedly given free chocolate for life and was also paid by Nestlé for work as a consultant).
While we have always known the who, the where, and the when of the chocolate-chip cookie's origins, the how and the why have remained somewhat obscure. A set of often-repeated creation myths have grown up around the country's favorite baked good. The most frequently reproduced story is that Wakefield unexpectedly ran out of nuts for a regular ice-cream cookie recipe and, in desperation, replaced them with chunks chopped out of a bar of Nestlé bittersweet chocolate. (A variation of this tale has Wakefield substituting the chips after running out of bakers' chocolate.) Another even more unlikely story posits that the vibrations from an industrial mixer caused chocolate stored on a shelf in the Toll House kitchen to fall into a vat of cookie dough as it was being mixed.
None of these, it appears, is true. In her recently published "Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Book," the food writer Carolyn Wyman offers a more believable, if somewhat less enchanted, telling. Wyman argues, persuasively, that Wakefield, who had a degree in household arts and a reputation for perfectionism, would not have allowed her restaurant, which was famed for its desserts, to run out of such essential ingredients as bakers' chocolate or nuts. Rather, the more plausible explanation is that Wakefield developed the chocolate-chip cookie "by dint of training, talent, [and] hard work." As prepared as she was, though, it is unlikely that the diligent proprietor of the Toll House could have predicted that her combination of butter, flour, sugar, nuts, and chocolate would go on to become an iconic American food, adored by adults and children, creating fortunes and spawning countless imitations and variations.
Wakefield's cookie was the perfect antidote to the Great Depression. In a single inexpensive hand-held serving, it contained the very richness and comfort that millions of people were forced to live without in the late nineteen-thirties. Ingesting a warm chocolate-chip cookie offered the eaters a brief respite from their quotidian woe. America's entry into the Second World War only enhanced the popularity of Wakefield's creation. Toll House cookies were a common constituent in care packages shipped to American soldiers overseas. Though chocolate was in short supply domestically because of the war effort, women on the home front were encouraged to use what little they had to bake cookies for "that soldier boy of yours," as one Nestlé ad put it. The Toll House restaurant's gift shop alone sent thousands of cookies to uniformed servicemen abroad. "Like Spam and Coca-Cola," Wyman writes, "chocolate chip cookies' fame was boosted by wartime soldier consumption. Before the war they were a largely East Coast-based fad; after Toll House cookies rivaled apple pie as the most popular dessert recipe in the country."
In the postwar years, the chocolate-chip cookie followed the path taken by many American culinary innovations: from homemade to mass-produced, from kitchen counter to factory floor, from fresh to franchised. In the nineteen-fifties, both Nestlé and Pillsbury began selling refrigerated chocolate-chip-cookie dough in supermarkets. Nabisco, meanwhile, launched Chips Ahoy, its line of packaged cookies, in 1963. The Baby Boom generation, which had been raised on the Toll House cookie, sought to recapture the original taste of these homemade treats in stores that sold fresh-baked cookies. Famous Amos, Mrs. Fields, and David's Cookies all opened their first stores in the seventies, and prospered in the eighties. By the middle of that decade, there were more than twelve hundred cookie stands in business across the country.
The story of Wally (Famous) Amos suggests that there might be something more than a homonymical relationship between "cookie" and "kooky." A talent agent at William Morris who signed Simon and Garfunkel and represented the Supremes and Dionne Warwick, Amos decided to get into the food business after a high-profile client, Hugh Masekela, dumped him as an agent and another client, an actor, fractured his leg just before shooting a movie that promised to launch his career. Amos set up his first cookie stand on Sunset Boulevard in 1975 with funding from Marvin Gaye, among others. Unable to dig up the hard facts of the chocolate-chip cookie's origins, an associate of Amos's dreamed up some information to print on his store's bags: the cookie was born "in a tiny farmhouse kitchen in Lowell, Massachusetts," on what "has come to be known as Brown Thursday." Amos, who dressed in a Panama hat and embroidered shirt and adopted the salutation "Have a very brown day," admits that he was a more successful pitchman than he was a businessman or pastry chef. He may have found his way to the cover of Time magazine, but between 1985 and 1989 ownership of Famous Amos changed hands four times, leaving Wally Amos with less and less of a stake in the company that he started. (Like Amos, Debbie Fields and David Liederman no longer own the businesses that bear their names, though all three remain active in the cookie business.)
Meanwhile, the chocolate-chip cookie, the tribble of American baked goods, kept reproducing itself in copious and unexpected ways. There came the Chipwich, the Taste of Nature Cookie Dough Bite, and the Pookie (a pie coated with chocolate-chip-cookie dough). Perhaps none of these variations was more culinarily or culturally significant than the début, in 1984, of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream at their Burlington, Vermont, store. The idea came from an anonymous note left by a customer and was soon in high demand in their neighboring outlets. It took Ben & Jerry's five years to find a way to mechanize the process of hand-mixing the frozen cookie dough with the ice cream, but it proved profitable. By 1991, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough replaced Heath Bar Crunch as the company's bestselling product. Two decades later, it is still among Ben & Jerry's favorites.
Needless to say, reading about all of this got me hankering for some chocolate-chip cookies. My mother, who went on to become a pastry chef, often made cookies from scratch during my childhood, but lately, like many Americans, I have come to rely on Pepperidge Farms and Costco to do my baking for me. Wyman's book sent me back into the kitchen, where I baked several batches of chocolate-chip cookies from scratch while writing this post. There's no doubt that time and a modicum of elbow grease are required to make cookies: it's harder than brewing a pot of coffee (unless you're Kelefa Sanneh) but easier, say, than making a bouillabaisse. For the most part, I stuck with the classic recipe printed on the back of the Nestlé package, but I benefited from having read David Leite's 2008 Times article on baking the perfect cookie. Leite advocated baking larger cookies than Wakefield's in order to produce a more appealing variety of textures. And while it kills spontaneity, his suggestion, gleaned from professional chefs, of letting the dough cool in a refrigerator for thirty-six hours before baking, is an invaluable one.
There are, of course, hundreds of other recipes I could have used. (Wyman prints some seventy-five in her thorough and entertaining book.) The beauty of the chocolate-chip cookie—and no small part of its enduring popularity—is its fungibility. You can make it with shortening, margarine, or butter; you can make big cookies or small cookies; you can use pecans or walnuts or M. & M.'s or peanut butter; you can use more brown sugar or less; you can swap in corn syrup or molasses; add an extra egg or substitute water for milk; you can use luxury brands of sea salt and caramel and extremely expensive hand-made chocolate or the generic brands available in your local supermarket. It doesn't matter. What comes out will still be recognizable as a chocolate-chip cookie and, most likely, it will taste good. It will go well with milk, sure, and coffee and tea, but I'm here to tell you that it will also taste great with red wine or whiskey. It seems that the only thing you can't do to a cookie, as Malcolm Gladwell discovered in 2005, is make it healthy. In its ability to absorb such a heterogeneous list of ingredients and still retain its identity and appeal, the chocolate-chip cookie is representative of the aspirations of the country for which it has become the preferred treat.
Eating my cookies, I thought about Ruth Wakefield's disinclination to discuss her most famous creation later in life. Nowadays, we'd expect the inventor of such an iconic bit of Americana to publish an autobiography and make regular appearances on the Food Network, but Wakefield didn't grandstand. A Toll House neighbor suggested to Wyman that Wakefield had "moved on," especially after she and her husband sold the restaurant, in 1967. (Wakefield died in 1977.) Wyman thinks it is possible that Wakefield, a successful businesswoman and cookbook author, didn't want her other achievements to be overshadowed by her celebrated cookie which, after all, had been invented merely as an accompaniment for ice cream. Wakefield's pecan rolls, Boston cream pie, and Indian pudding were enormously popular before being supplanted by the Toll House cookie. There are numerous other desserts from her "Tried and True" cookbook that are probably worth a second look, and during the holidays I aim to give a couple of them a shot.
The Toll House restaurant burned down spectacularly on New Year's Eve in 1984 and the spot is now home to a Wendy's. The authorities in Whitman required the fast-food restaurant include a small museum to Wakefield and the Toll House on its premises. Next time you're on the road between Boston and New Bedford, drop in and have a look. But, whatever you do, don't order a cookie. Instead, bake a batch from scratch when you get home.
Photograph: Francesco Tonelli /The New York Times


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LOS ANGELES — An autopsy shows a security officer killed by a gunman at Los Angeles International Airport had been shot 12 times.
The report released Friday by the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez had 40 bullet fragments in his body that were sent to the FBI.
Coroner's officials said previously the 39-year-old Hernandez died between two and five minutes after being shot on Nov. 1 in Terminal 3.
Authorities say 23-year-old Paul Ciancia was targeting TSA officers in a vendetta against the federal government when he pulled a semi-automatic rifle from a bag and shot Hernandez.
Two other TSA employees and an airline passenger were wounded before airport police shot Ciancia, who has been charged with murder.


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August 12, 2012 (JUBA) - The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will effective Monday begin the long-awaited public hearing on the Auditor General's 2007/2008 report, which unearthed massive financial mismanagement in the country.
- Kom Kom Geng, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), August 8, 2012 (ST)
The hearings, according to a statement issued by the committee's clerk, are part of the scrutiny and fact finding task of the PAC on the audit report for the two fiscal years, following Auditor General's reports.
Steven Wondu, in his audit reports, reportedly found no evidence that the country's Finance ministry based release of funds to government agencies on approved budget lines, contrary to the Financial Accounting and Procedures Ordinance (FAPO).
"Respect for the integrity of the budget remained a worrying challenge", Wondu's audit reports read in part.
"While some institutions were cash starved, others received, on the discretion of the Ministry, more funds than were legally authorized", it adds.
The report, copies of which Sudan Tribune has obtained, mainly covers nine specific areas. These included; budget execution, oil revenues, non-oil revenue, payroll and operating expenditures, procurement and capital expenditure, bank and cash accounts, internal controls, maintenance and asset registers.
In the report, for instance, the Auditor General faults the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs of allegedly spending US$15,514,488, which it says was 475% out of budget, while the same ministry reportedly exceeded the budgetary payroll and operating expenditures by 202% and 112% respectively.
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry, the Auditor General noted, spent US$3,860,917 out of its allocated budget, and allegedly used SDG 8 million, initially meant for 'casual workers' in a manner unexplained.
Other agencies implicated include, the Health Ministry, the SSLA, Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development, Finance and Economic Planning, Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) Affairs, Internal Affairs, and South Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC).
Meanwhile, the Auditor General, in his declaimer accused the Interior and SPLA Affairs ministries of not submitting documents for audit, despite several attempts requesting them to do so through letters and meetings.
"In view of this, I am unable to render an opinion on the financial statements with respect to these ministries for the year 2007", he says in reference to the two ministries.
The four-day public hearing, which begins on Monday with the Ministry of General Education, will end Thursday with a presentation from the audit chambers.


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Local 4 Defenders interview Bob Bashara: Part 2
Bashara answers more questions about his wife Jane's murder investigation
DETROIT – The Local 4 Defenders sat down with Bob Bashara who was joined by his mother and sister. Bashara answered questions about his late wife Jane Bashara.
Defender Marc Santia talked to Bashara for more than an hour. No question was left unanswered.
More: Interview with Bob Bashara: Part 1
Bashara said he is speaking out with Local 4 to clear up any misconceptions and to remember Jane.
Marc Santia: So what do you believe happened to Jane?
Bob Bashara: I have no idea. None. She was a wonderful gal. Smart, full of life. Loved to play cards. Loved to travel.
Santia asked Bashara about the news conference he held in front of his Grosse Pointe Park home a week after his wife was found dead.
MS: People have talked about it. We watched it, and you were out there and you dabbed you eyes but we didn't see tears.
BB: You know I have cried so much this past week and a half that I have emotions that well up in me, and the emotions are so strong and so distraught that I don't know if I can cry anymore. I mean, I've cried so much. I didn't want there to be tears. I didn't want to show. I just dabbed my eyes because I thought there was a tear. I don't know. I didn't even think about that. Just a natural knee-jerk reaction.
Santia asked Bashara about the first polygraph he took which he failed.
BB: We were done, he said to me, "I think you failed to poly. I don't think you told the truth," and I said to him, "I told you everything that I know." I've been truthful on everything.
Bashara's attorney, David Griem, had him take a second polygraph and Griem said, with confidence, that Bashara passed it. However, police are still calling Bashara a person of interest in his wife's murder.
BB: The fact that they've named me a person of interest is unthinkable to me. That they think I could've harmed my sweetheart.
Santia asked Bashara about a man named Joe, who was paid to do odd jobs around Bashara's properties.
MS: How many times do you think he called?
BB: A dozen over the past three weeks.
MS: How many times would you say you texted him in the past three weeks?
BB: A couple, because he texted me. Called me to do this, and I just said leave me alone.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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|Renewable Energy Discussion on various alternative energy, renewable energy, & free energy technologies. Also any discussion about the environment, global warming, and other related topics are welcome here.
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The crime came when they were tracking people in the United States without warrant. This was done from what I understand under executive orders. Or the TSP.
Any international tracking is fair game according to the charter on the NSA.
More than likely even if you are tracked no real person ever listens to the data unless you meet certain criteria for keywords.
At least that the way I understand it. I'm not making excuses for them though if they did break laws, I just think alot people don't understand what goes on there. Many misconceptions based on fiction.
No one agency in any country is capable of being the BIG BROTHER. It is simply impossible.
ADD BROMIKEY TO YOUR IGNORE LIST He is a saboteur bent on the systematic distraction of every good topic on this forum and since he has been here most working threads have shut down. He is the enemy. If you have blocked him already add this to your signature and encourage others to block him as well. His onslaught of rambling in large text and his constant attempts to misinform at the excuse of being stupid should no longer be tolerated.
USER CP/Ignore list.
Do you think that the government is the great provider who provides all the things you mentioned? Not so. It is we, the taxpayers, who provide these things, and the purpose of the government is to serve the people by administering these and other items as we see fit. Giving honor should be reserved for those who have earned our respect, served our country with dignity, and upheld the ideals of the founding fathers. Corrupt politicians and government officials, and the big money bankers who control them, certainly do not deserve to be honored. You may remember that the only occurrence in the Bible of Jesus becoming enraged and acting violently was when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers. - Matthew 21:12 By actively seeking to expose and cast out the modern day moneychangers, are we not following in Christ's footsteps and learning from his example?
ADD BROMIKEY TO YOUR IGNORE LIST He is a saboteur bent on the systematic distraction of every good topic on this forum and since he has been here most working threads have shut down. He is the enemy. If you have blocked him already add this to your signature and encourage others to block him as well. His onslaught of rambling in large text and his constant attempts to misinform at the excuse of being stupid should no longer be tolerated.
USER CP/Ignore list.
Since you asked, yes I do believe government is a great provider. Although I will agree with you in that it is also a representation of the people. Both of these statements are what God intended for the best. But humans fall short quite often. I just don't see that as a reason to throw out the system.
And you never seem to address the concept of sin in other populations. Your posts seem to imply that every tax payer is honorable (oh but exclude them damn rich ones and also those government officials), everyone who served in war is honorable, etc. Do you really think life is that simple? Have you walked a mile in the shoes of those you are condemning?
Investigations are fine. . . just the more you hate the rich I'm sure the more they will hate you, ya know? Learn all you want but perhaps do something positive like pray with the info rather than seethe in judgment and hatred.
If anyone is implying I am condemning them by posting scripture quotes, really I am not. It just rubs me the wrong way to see so much judgment and I like to offer another perspective.
It's probably not fair for me not to address Rick's point about Jesus overturning the money tables. . .
But I'm not looking for an argument either. I'll just state my opinion on it. .
First Jesus did not judge pieces in the cog. He ate with tax collectors and taught to have peace by obeying people in superior positions.
However there were definitely certain times when he taught that god's will and intent was not being honored by certain practices.
I believe the overturning of the tables was the only time he did so in a way that was not productive. (In other instances, he for example, healed on the Sabbath - something productive.)
When Jesus overturned the tables, it was right before his death. I believe his death is / can be (many interpretations to the Bible as it is deep on many levels) a metaphor for spiritual death, or lack of faith.
Jesus is supposed to represent God in human form, so imo Jesus did lose a lot of faith right before his "death." He even asked god right before he died why god had deserted him. If that is not a lack of faith I don't know what is.
So this means, yeah it is human nature to get fed up and at times even act out.
Thank god that Jesus was resurrected and his faith was restored
(To be really nit-picky Jesus did also curse a fig tree but that too was right before his death so I see it supporting my point.)
"There are none so blind as those who cannot see." -Jonathan Swift
What I see mostly is a total lack of understanding just who the government is in the US. The preamble doesn't say, "I the President," nor "We the Congress or the Senate," it says, "We The People" are the government of the united states of America. Simply by miss naming or representatives all is lost. The secound biggest mistake I see very often is a miss understanding of what a Democracy and a Republic is and the difference between the two forms of government. A Democracy is majority rule a Republic is the rule of law. Example: In a Democracy if someone comitts a crime flees and is caught and all vote to hang him he dies. In a Republic all vote to hang this same individual and the sherif comes by says, "You can't hang him he has rights."
Now because this missiderstanding of what America, a Republic, is all is lost. Everyone has been fooled into beliving we are a Democracy when when in fact we are a Republic by the ruling class and I'd be willing to bet more than half of them also belive we are a Democracy. Why is this important, you might be asking? It is important as it goes to the core of how this nation is now falling. Because we nolonger understand just what America is anylonger we are going to lose her. What is being done right now on capital hill is nothing less than treason. If I am in the military and take my company over there and accept payment to defend their interest and order my company to do so promissing to also give them a share in the loot, we would all be tried and shot for treason, but they do it all the time on capital hill and nothing happens to them and they took the same oath of office. That is truly how America is now falling right now thru ignorance.
Last edited by h20power; 10-14-2009 at 09:24 PM.
No hard feelings, and best wishes to you,
What's the underlying reason we're in this situation?
Quote by Matthew Jones:
The events in Matthew 22:15-22 are explained in depth in Matthew Henry's commentaries, which you can find here. Matthew 22 Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
For those who don't know of M. Henry he was a pastor/theologian in the U.S. in the early 1800's. His commentaries have have been a standard used in Christian theological courses for over 200 years.
This excerpt is the question and answer in a nutshell:
5:34-39 has examples of 2 groups who rose up in armed rebellion against unjust authority and were destroyed. And of course the Romans finally destroyed the rebellious Judeans in A.D.70 as Henry mentions in the excerpt above.
We are actually in a better position than they were as they were ruled by Rome under an appointed dictator(Herod)who was not even a Judean. They had no civil rights. We, on the other hand, can vote for our officials. One big problem is too many people don't vote and many of those that do make a wrong choice,thus leading to the situation we are now in.
Also, as the sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of mankind forever, he had to physically die. See Matthew 27 Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
As to your comment connecting the fig tree being cursed to Jesus' reply about rendering to Caesar or to God what each was entitled to I am at a loss as to the connection. Please explain if you care to.
Lastly, we are not all one other than the fact we all live on this planet hurtling through space. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that there are born-again Christians and everyone else.
I'm sure you know what Jesus said; a man "must be born again" (John 2:3). I Cor. 2:14 says "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him;neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.". Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Scofield comments " Flesh is the whole natural or unregenerated man, spirit, soul and body, as centered on self,prone to sin, and opposed to God (Romans 7:18). The regenerate man is not "in the sphere of the flesh, but is in the sphere of the spirit (Romans 8:9); but the flesh is still in him, and he may choose to walk "after the flesh" or "in the spirit" (I Cor. 3:1-4 : Gal. 5:16-17.)"
Christians are not perfect, but they are forgiven of sin by Jesus when they genuinely repent and ask for forgiveness and ask him to come live in their hearts. At that time their name is recorded in the book of life. That's why they face only judgment for their actions for him, after the rapture (I Thess. 4:16-18) and "in the air" (II Cor. 5:10), at which time they receive or lose rewards (crowns). The judgment for the unsaved dead is in Rev. 20:11-15. At that time the "books" are opened, including the "Book of Life", which contains the names of all Christians. If their name is not recorded there,no matter how "good" a life they have lived on earth, they are cast into the lake of fire, where the devil, the false prophet, and the beast are. (Rev. 20:10) This is the second or final death.
If any of the above conflicts with your beliefs or interpretations, you are, of course, entitled to them. I would only ask that you consider the above seriously in the spirit in which I give it; discussion for the purpose of enlightenment of all.
Any comments are, as usual, welcome.
Reply to Al:
"And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;" - John 2:15
The quote at the beginning of your post was something I had stated in a previous post, and in full reads, "By actively seeking to expose and cast out the modern day moneychangers [the big money bankers and powerful elite], are we not following in Christ's footsteps and learning from his example?"
As I have said before, Al, I fully agree with you that we need to vote people into office who will take action to weaken and then drive out the userers who oppress us. I'm not suggesting that anyone actually take up a whip, or otherwise physically punish them, but rather that we can "crack the whip" of justice at them if we will all stand together and demand justice.
Best regards to you Al,
Now can everyone understand just how they are getting away with this? Through the duming down of America in which the vast majority don't understand the constitution or bill of rights. We were warned by our founding fathers that this would happen. What people don't understand is a Democracy is a transitional form of government. One that starts off with a lot of freedoms but ends up turning into a ollargarky or however it is spelled. The process is slow but now you are seeing it come to an end with this north American union. That is the main reason why they don't want our children saying the pledge to the flage anymore for in it it reminds us that we are a Republic. Try a test sample of your own, go out and ask people what type of government the US is you will find that most will say we are a Democracy. I have seen college profesors fined and fired for trying to teach the US Constitution to there students. Now if that doesn't send up any alarm flages I don't know what else will.
I know this sounds to simple to be the truth but it was not a simple task for them for they where learning as they went along. Take control of the edjucation system and replace it with a fully controled media and mass entertainment system and the marjority of people will never know the truth and will even fight for them to end America. When America falls it will go down with thunderous aplause from the brain washed citizens. Already if you take a look at the ownership of America you will see home after home bank owned just as Thomas Jefferson fortold.
Now that's the simple truth, though it is more complex than that.
Last edited by h20power; 10-15-2009 at 10:31 AM.
the simple version is this, unless a large number of people stop living in this system, then it will not change.
I guess last night was the deadline to come clean on offshore accounts. Many did.
Thousands of Tax Cheats Come Clean - ABC News
What I meant about the fig tree was it was a destructive act like turning over the tables, different from how Jesus usually behaved.
I'm not saying Jesus did not really die but I still see the period before his death as an example of a man losing his faith, thus the destructive acts of cursing the fig tree to never bear fruit again and knocking over the tables.
(Which is pretty much how I view a lot of stuff in this thread, an example of those losing faith, going towards spiritual death.)
Last edited by future pather; 10-15-2009 at 08:48 PM.
If we really want to get spiritual about it, it all boils down to the battle between truth and ignorance (good and evil).
Once you see the world for what it really is, you see it as a lie. You see the manipulators and the sheep as clear as day. You are done being a sheep and want nothing to do with being just one of the flock anymore. It's time to square off against the wolves.
You then try and tell the sheep that they really aren't the free people they think they are, that they are being controlled by the wolves instead of the kind shepard. Instead of welcoming this liberating news, they turn and attack you. This is because the sheep are just fine with being sheep while pretending to be free, no matter who is in control. True freedom has too steep a price for them.
The sheep want the government (wolves) to take the responsibility of making the hard decisions, and then be able to bleat about it when the government screws them. Just so long as they don't have to be carted off to the slaughterhouse (Afghanistan) they're happy. It's only when it's too late, and their neck is actually on the block that they finally realize the error of their reasoning. This is exactly how the wolves have planned it.
A population who has become lazy and complacent will inevitably allow themselves to be enslaved by evil (ignorance). The spiritual corollary of this is allowing yourself to become completely convinced of the absolute reality of creation, without maintaining the perspective that it's all actually a dream of the creator's. Ignorance of the spiritual origins of this world will cause untold terror as long as the immortal soul identifies itself completely with a mortal body. This is why people will allow themselves to be controlled and harvested by the wolves. The alternative of true freedom means having to face the reality of immortality. This produces great fear in the body and heavy resistance from the ego, which are both constructs of this reality.
This is part of the reason why people who are not ready for the truth will just not listen. They are unwilling and unable to face the possibility of their world view being threatened. You may as well talk to the flowers, at least they won't turn and attack you.
Ted, i have enjoyed this and the other post, i try to preserve the liberal statements and neutral and put them into a helpful context on the site, i know others reading it can benefit. Always enjoy your perspective man.
~ The problem with capitalism is that it best rewards the worst part of us: the
ruthless, competitive, conniving, opportunistic, acquisitive drives, giving
little reward and often much punishment--or at least much handicap--to honesty, compassion, fair play, many forms of hard work, love of justice, and a concern for those in need. ~ --Michael Parenti
Greenspan on the dollar slide:
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday he was not too worried about the latest bout of selling in the U.S. dollar, which recently hit a 14-month low.
"I am not overly concerned," Greenspan said at a Council on Foreign Relations meeting.
Well, that doesn't surprise me, Alan, but anyone who isn't a member of the American Ruling Class and the CFR should be very concerned.
Hi Rick;
Two more indications he was calm; if outraged would he have taken the time to gather the thongs off the floor and braid a scourge? In vs. 18 would the Jews have approached him and he answered if he was showing signs of being outraged? After all, he had just turned over the tables, driven out the animals and was standing there with a whip in his hand, or at least still nearby?
A third point is that his visit was scheduled; see Malachi 3:1. As he knew beforehand what was going on, I think he rather matter-of-factly but sternly "cleaned house".
Lastly, it would have set a bad example for Christians then and now, which he never did. See Eph. 4:30-33 and Col. 3:8-11 .
I totally agree it was a strong and well deserved action, and we should follow his example by "cracking the whip of justice" at the modern day money changers. I just thing it important to get this correct for many reasons, all of which I am sure you are aware.
by any other name
Hi Jessica;
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.
Please see my last post to Rick concerning Jesus' actions in the temple. I believe they and his demeanor conformed to the pattern of the rest of his life. You may also see it here;
Matthew 21 Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
As to the fig tree it was not a senseless act of destruction. Here, briefly, is what occurred;
I. Christ returned in the morning to Jerusalem, v. 18.
II. As he went, he hungered. He was a Man, and submitted to the infirmities of nature.
III.He was a poor Man, and had no present supply (of money).
IV. Christ therefore hungered, that he might have occasion to work this miracle, in cursing and so withering the barren fig-tree, and therein might give us an instance of his justice and his power, and both instructive.
V. See his justice, v. 19. He went to it, expecting fruit, because it had leaves; but, finding none, he sentenced it to a perpetual barrenness. The miracle had its significance, as well as others of his miracles. All Christ's miracles hitherto were wrought for the good of men, and proved the power of his grace and blessing; all he did was for the benefit and comfort of his friends, none for the terror or punishment of his enemies; but now, at last, to show that all judgment is committed to him, and that he is able not only to save, but to destroy, he would give a specimen of the power of his wrath and curse; yet this not on any man, woman, or child, because the great day of his wrath is not yet come, but on an inanimate tree; that is set forth for an example. The scope of it is the same with the parable of the fig-tree, Lu. 13:6.
VI. This cursing of the barren fig-tree represents the state of hypocrites in general; it teaches us that the fruit of fig-trees may justly be expected from those that have the leaves. Christ looks for the power of religion from those that make profession of it
VII. It represents the state of the nation and people of the Jews in particular; they were a fig-tree planted in Christ's way, as a church. observe the disappointment they gave to our Lord Jesus. He came among them, expecting to find some fruit.
VII. He passed upon them, that never any fruit should grow upon them or be gathered from them, as a church or as a people, from henceforward for ever. Never any good came from them (except the particular persons among them that believe), after they rejected Christ.
Last, the disciples admired the effect of Christ's curse (v. 20); They marvelled; no power could do it but his, who spake, and it was done. They marvelled at the suddenness of the thing; How soon is the fig-tree withered away!
I use excerpts from Henry's commentaries. If you care to read it all it is here;
Matthew 21 Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
Jessica, I believe in "rightly dividing the truth" (II Tim. 2:15). I hope I have helped to show you what really went on here and why.
Last edited by ANTIQUER; 10-18-2009 at 05:09 AM. Reason: left out quoted links.
Hi Ted;
I agree with much of what you said, but not all.
The reality of creation is a dream of the creator ? What are the spiritual origins of this world? A further explanation, please.
Let's kick them all out
Hi Al, and all,
I hope you understand what I meant about Jesus driving out the moneychangers. I never meant to imply that Jesus flew off the handle and went berserk. I certainly don't see the event that way. Instead, I see the event in the view that Jesus was in full control of his faculties, that he considered the goings on of the moneychangers to be outrageous, and that he took prompt, strong, and decisive action to drive them out of the temple when apparently no one else was willing to do so. I believe he set a good example for others to follow if they would have the courage to do so. The reason I used that example was to illustrate that we face a very similar situation today, wherein the modern day moneychangers [Federal Reserve system, the big money bankers, and powerful elite] need to go.
The first step in accomplishing that should be to throw out (vote out, that is) our current government representatives, and replace them with people willing to get the job done for us. I have found that there is a rally planned at the State House in Augusta, Maine on November 7th to deliver a "One Year Notice" to our representatives, and I plan to join that rally. The politicians will be put on notice that they have one year to take action to do what is needed, and that if they fail they will be kicked out come next election. I read about the rally in the Groups tab of the Oath Keepers website, where groups are listed for each state. There may be similar events planned in your own states. Sign In to Oath Keepers - Oath Keepers
There is also a good organization called The "Kick Them All Out" Project, where the motto is, "A non-violent battle plan for the next great American Revolution." The Kick Them All Out Project - Imposing our undeniable will on the government through the power of our votes! Lots of good links, ideas, and information at this site.
Best regards to all,
Last edited by rickoff; 10-17-2009 at 07:30 AM.
For information on the ruling elite there are several good books.
One of them is David Duke "Jewish supremacism".
Whatever you think of Duke for his past the book is an excelent account of what's going on in the world today and in the past.
Money is created as debt to central banks so those controlling the central banks contro the world. With that money you can buy the police, judges, media and everything else.
Who control the central banks? Yeah.
Tell me whom can't be critized and I will tell you who rule the world.
This world is based on the concept of duality. As such there is truth and "not truth". God is truth, God is love. Ignorance of truth is ignorance of love. This is where hate and evil come from. God gives us free will, a brain and the ability to choose either. Our spiritual growth is based on the choices we make.
All forms of creation start with a thought. Thought is the creative energy behind all manifestations. Thoughts are powerful things.
Matter is nothing more than congealed energy. Energy is nothing more than focused thought. God thinks and wills His creation into "our" reality. If God were to ever stop willing His universe into existence, our world would absolutely cease instantly.
We interpret this world as real only because we don't have a conscious alternative to compare it to. This is necessary for us to be here and to play our part in this drama.
Just as our access to the complete knowledge base of technologies has been kept from us, so has the metaphysical origins of who we are been obscured.
Knowledge is power, and those who would seek to control this world hoard it and keep it secret. Whatever they can't keep secret is distorted, discredited and disputed in order to maintain confusion and ignorance among the masses.
Blindly accepting what we are taught in school, in church and in the media as being the best of man's efforts to understand the truth is folly. It takes work and courage to determine what's actually true. The reward for this effort is usually scorn and ridicule from your fellow sheep, but at least it tells you that you're probably on the right track.
I would never say your interpretation is wrong. I like it and am glad you shared it.
I do see the Bible as sort of an infinite fractal of metaphors and lessons so I still also see my point.
For example, the fig tree was specifically described as not being in season and therefor not having fruit (to me this shows it is innocent and not at fault).
Jesus had said he could move mountains, he walked on water, made food multiply, etc. He certainly could have caused the tree to bear fruit instead of cursing it.
Also although it is not in every book, in the book of Matthew here is the quote right before Jesus dies:
46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[a] lama sabachthani?"which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:46 - Passage*Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com
I don't see any other way to interpret that except for a loss of faith. It's basically the definition of loss of faith.
And I see it as similar to the fig tree and the overturning of the tables.
I think in order to die Jesus had to let go of his faith for a little bit.
So many people are willing to accept everything they see, hear, and are taught, at face value - and without question. To them, the only questions that arise occur when they are exposed to alternative realities, and then they only seek to question the sanity and motives of the messengers. Their original "reality" goes unquestioned because it is so deeply ingrained that any suggestion it is false belief is practically unthinkable. I guess that I would be seen by many as being one of the "oddball" people in this world, because all my life I have questioned authority and stood against it when I believed that persons with authority over others were abusing it. Ben Franklin once said, "
It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority," and I firmly believe in that wisdom. Other Franklin quotes, that I feel are especially relevant to this thread are as follows:
One more quote for you:
Last edited by rickoff; 01-09-2010 at 03:30 AM. Reason: sp
To say no good came of the root isn't how I see it, the root supports the graft.
Yes there were some people who were obstacles but the greater # of Jewish people in Jesus time (Jesus who was Jewish and who's mother and family were) followed him around in huge crowds (which he was usually trying in vein to dodge to get a little meditation time) to hear him teach and experience him healing.
1I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijahhow he appealed to God against Israel: 3"Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"[a]? 4And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."[b] 5So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.[c]
7What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, 8as it is written:
"God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes so that they could not see
and ears so that they could not hear,
to this very day."[d] 9And David says:
"May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever."[e]
Ingrafted Branches
11Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
13I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry 14in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 20Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27And this is[f] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins."[g]
28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[h] receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. 32For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"[j]
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"[k]
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11 - Passage*Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com
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Colorado hospital price information more available than in most states
The chargemaster story in Thursday's editions, detailing some of the wildly inflated retail prices for basic hospital services in metro Denver, certainly reinforced the public's view that the health care system is stacked against the consumer. We've heard many more stories of high bills unforgiven, copays and deductibles rising, and hospitals tacking on new fees to old services because they can. Many of the stories put to the test the hospitals' contention that "no one really pays these prices." Some people do, or at least are hounded to try, and a $60,000 liability waiting at the collection agency is a good way to ruin a middle class life.
Coloradans do have some advantage over other states, though, because the hospitals have been publishing fairly detailed information about their chargemaster ranges through the Colorado Hospital Association.
And there is much more detailed information to come this winter, when the Center for Improving Value in Health Care launches the next part of its "all-payer" database for consumers. In December, CIVHC says, consumers will be able to see hospital-specific information about not just the inflated retail prices, but the actual prices various payers allow to those hospitals for the procedure. For example, if a hospital charge for a surgery is $50,000, and Medicare allows $8,000, consumers will also be able to see the negotiated prices actually paid by private insurance companies, perhaps $18,000 or $21,000. In other words, they'll be able to see the real amounts of money changing hands, instead of the bizarre six-figure bills with $7 charges for Tylenol pills.


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Editors' note: We recently reviewed the Jabra Supreme headset. Because of the two devices' similar build and features, applicable portions of that review will be used in this evaluation of the Jabra Supreme UC.
Bluetooth headsets are an indispensable accessory for people who spend a good deal of their time on the phone. For the corporate worker who conducts business remotely, a device that unifies mobile handsets and office telephone systems is even more valuable. One such gadget is the $149 Jabra Supreme UC. Not only does it offer an easy way to merge PC and cellular voice communications, but also its impressive speech commands and noise cancellation abilities are tough to beat.
The Jabra Supreme UC is essentially the same device as the Jabra Supreme, the major difference being a tiny USB Bluetooth adapter included in the box. Called the Jabra Link 360, the adapter plugs into PCs to enable hands-free calls over Skype or IP office phone systems.
The Supreme UC is an outlier among current Bluetooth headsets. At 0.63 ounce, it's very light and seemingly compact at first glance. But after unfurling the device's long boom arm it quickly becomes clear that the Supreme is much bulkier than your typical mono headset. Not only does the microphone arm protrude a good distance forward, but also the main headset body juts a full 1.2 inches from the ear. That girth makes the Supreme veritably plump next to sleek models like the 0.72-inch Jawbone Era.
Also adding to the Jabra Supreme UC's size is its large earloop. Though the adjustable loop is thin and flexible, it didn't latch firmly onto my ear. It also didn't help that it can slide up and down vertically within the headset's base. At first I thought my fit issues were due to my wearing glasses, but I had problems even after removing my spectacles. But even so, the Supreme never fell from my ear once attached.
Buttons on the headset include a Voice Control button that sits in the middle of the mic boom, a large answer/end button on the device's front face, and volume keys on the edge closest to the ear. Here too is a flap covering the Supreme's Micro-USB port. Tiny lights on the bottom edge give alerts about the headset's battery, charge, and Bluetooth status.
Jabra put strong voice-recognition capabilities at the core of the Supreme UC. After I flipped open the boom mic to turn on the headset the first time, the Supreme guided me through a set of voice prompts for pairing it with my phone. While what it told me to do was what I was going to do anyway (open my smartphone's Bluetooth settings and connect to the headset), I appreciated the Supreme's friendly voice chirping the default pairing code so I didn't have to flip through the manual to find it. Also, I like that it announces that it's connected each time I used it, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
Jabra heavily touts the Supreme UC's voice-dialing prowess, which I admit it is impressive. Pressing the Voice Control button on the boom arm activates the device's listening mode. Then, it will prompt you to say a command. You have many options at your disposal, including, "Redial," "Pair with new device," and, most importantly, "Phone commands." Saying that last activates a menu for conducting primary phone functions like "Call John Doe" and "Dial 555-1212." You even can tell the Supreme to pull up your calendar or tell you how much battery life is left. If you forget what commands are possible, asking, "What can I say?" gives you all spoken-word options. Finally, pressing the Answer/End button will push the headset directly into the voice control menu for phone commands.
When calls come through, just say "Answer" or "Ignore," and the Supreme UC will do your bidding. I was able to screen my calls easily this way -- perhaps a little too well, since my knee-jerk reflex is to bat dialers away.
Of course, if your phone doesn't support PBAP (Phone Book Access Profile), which makes many of the Supreme UC's functions possible, the device also acts as a simple manual headset. What's more, all of the physical buttons double as traditional headset controls. For instance, hitting Answer/End accepts calls, while double-tapping rejects them. You also can shut off voice prompts by swinging open the boom arm while holding the Voice Control button.
Another key Supreme feature is active noise cancellation, which is activated by default. Jabra promises that it will noticeably quiet unwanted ambient noise like wind, or the drone of highway traffic. An additional twist is the Jabra Supreme app, downloaded from the Android Market, which automatically detects headsets and allows for tweaking of noise-canceling settings. You can use preset profiles like Office, Outside, and Car; an Audio Note tab makes it possible to make personal voice recordings; and a call log pulls in recently made calls for easy access. Forget about that paper manual, too, since the app also saves the Supreme's instructions.


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Progressing in my studies, I slowly realized that evolution survives as a paradigm only as long as the evidence is picked and chosen and the great pool of data that is accumulating on life is ignored.
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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.


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Python Programming
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This book describes Python, an open-source general-purpose interpreted programming language. Python has distributions available for Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, BSD, web browser environments (NCLab, Sage) and many other platforms. There are currently three major implementations: the standard implementation written in C, Jython written in Java, and IronPython written in C# for the .NET environment. There are two common versions currently in use: 2.x and 3.x. This book describes primarily version 2, but does at times reference changes in version 3.
ទំព័រគំរូ:Print version ទំព័រគំរូ:PDF version ទំព័រគំរូ:E-Book Reader PDF version
- Creating Python programs
- Variables and Strings
- Basic syntax
- Sequences (Strings, Lists, Tuples, Dictionaries, Sets)
- Data types
- Basic Math -- redundant to "Operators"
- Operators
- Control Flow
- Decision Control
- Functions
- Scoping
- Input and output
- Files
- Text
- Modules
- Modules and how to use them
- Classes
- Exceptions
- Errors
- Source Documentation and Comments
- Idioms
Technical details[កែប្រែ]
Standard library modules[កែប្រែ]
- Standard Library
- Regular Expression
- XML Tools
- Threading
- Sockets
- GUI Programming
- WSGI web programming
- Extracting info from web pages
- Internet
- Networks
Third-party modules[កែប្រែ]
- Databases -- to be merged with the following chapter
- Database Programming
- numpy
- Game Programming in Python
- Qt4
- Dbus
- pyFormex
- matplotlib
- Natural Language Toolkit
Writing extension modules[កែប្រែ]
See also[កែប្រែ]
- Non-Programmer's Tutorial for Python 2.6
- Non-Programmer's Tutorial for Python 3
- Python as a scripting language in GIMP


text:
Tooling Update
Stamper Develops Cure for Die Roll
When a recent customer request-for-quote (RFQ) specified minimum die roll on pierced holes, engineers at metal-stamping company EB Corp., Fort Lauderdale, FL, went to work developing a special stamping die to satisfy the request. The RFQ addressed a 0.409-in.-thick automotive part (left) and hex-head bolts used to fasten the part to a mating surface. Any out-of-tolerance die roll (or curved contouring on the side of the part opposite to the burr side) on the part's pierced holes could cause the bolt heads to improperly seat as they were tightened. This could result in a misaligned assembly.
EB designed a special die to minimize die roll and satisfy the customer spec. The technology used, which avoids any secondary machining or grinding by the customer, can be used on materials 0.060 to 0.50 in. thick.EB Corp.: 954/971-4911; www.eb.com
See also: EBway LLC
Related Enterprise Zones: Tool & Die
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text: Shanghai Unisign Industrial Material Co., Ltd. has been specialized in Solvent and Eco-Solvent PVC printing materials for many years. Unisign's products have been exported to America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, which satisfy our customers with high quality and good service. As an experienced and passionate team, we aim to be the leading supplier of digital printing materials. Through years of development, we are now equipped with super-wide laminating banner production line, 5m seamless banner production line (new launched), coating fabric production line, and knitting and weaving machines to prepare for the base fabric. Unisign's products include laminated frontlit and backlit flex, blockout, mesh, one way vision, knife coated, perforated vinyl, self-adhesive vinyl, textile, and tarpaulin for truck covers & tents. We keep on developing new products to meet the needs of worldwide advertising markets and always put our customers at the head of their competitors. We believe that high quality, competitive price and considerate service are the solid foundation on which we build up long-term business relationship with our clients.


text:
AUSTIN, Texas – UMBC senior Mohamed Hussein (Cairo, Egypt/Victory College) opened his second NCAA Championships by competing in the 200-yd. IM, Thursday afternoon at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the campus of the University of Texas.
Hussein competed in the last of eight heats and finished with a time of 1:45.34 to place seventh in the heat and 33rd overall. Marcin Cieslak of the University of Florida led the prelims round with a time of 1:41.15, the eighth-fastest swim in NCAA history.
Hussein is the first UMBC swimmer to compete at two NCAA Championships after reaching last year's meet in Indianapolis. At last season's meet, he became the first Retriever male swimmer, and third overall, to advance to the national stage. Since then, freshman Emily Escobedo (New Rochelle, N.Y./Maria Regina) upped UMBC's total to four by competing at last week's NCAA Women's Championships in Minneapolis.
Hussein holds six individual school records, including the top mark in the 200 IM (1:44.14), as well as the 100- (47.67) and 200-yd. backstroke (1:43.90), events which he will swim on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Thursday night finals will begin at 8:00 p.m. (EST) with the Saturday and Sunday prelims commencing each day at 12:00 p.m. (EST).


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Gladiator, Traffic, Crouching Tiger—if you've been a part of society in the past year, you've heard of all the Oscar-nominated films. But The Periwig-Maker? A Soccer Story? How about My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York, one of last year's winners? They're short films, and as such they get short shrift when it comes to national exposure. They make the rounds at festivals (The Periwig Maker was shown at over 70 last year), but none attain the exposure of full-length films. The best way to catch short films (unless you live on a node of the festival circuit) is to watch them online.
In fact, the Web can be your own personal thousand-plex cinema: It's home to everything from full-length feature films previously released in theaters, to dialogue-free films about hot dogs, to earnest documentaries about gay teens, to silent films featuring folks eating dirt, and so on. Some sites have done deals with film schools (Atom Films has a deal with USC) to get student films on their sites; many also deal directly with independent filmmakers or have licensing deals with studios and festivals for material. And some sites, like Alwaysi, accept unsolicited films from anybody.
Two genres that dominate are fan film (especially for Star Wars) and parodies. One of the Web's all-time most popular short films, George Lucas in Love, ably combines those two genres by parodying the Paltrow-Fiennes film while appealing to Star Wars fans who'd always wondered what inspired Princess Leia's hairstyle. So, the problem with short film on the Web isn't diversity or quantity—it's quality. What's worth watching, and where?
Atomfilms.com, with the charming tag line "Get into our shorts," is probably the most recognized film site on the Web. It hosts several popular animated series including the elliptical "Angry Kid" (created by Aardman Animations, best known for Wallace and Gromit) and a slew of short films of all stripes.
Atomfilms' opening page is cluttered with promotions and sponsorship deals; the Audience Choice page (where both the highest-rated and most-clicked films are listed), is a better place to start. But even that page led me to a lot of bad movies I didn't want to finish. When I checked, Kliengeld (Small Change), a 15-minute long German film about a businessman's relationship with a panhandler, was the No. 1 in terms of viewer's quality ratings, despite the fact that it has no English subtitles. Checking the most popular list, the very edifying Go Sick: X-Tra Special Delivery and Bikini Bandits and the Time Machine filled out the top two slots.
iFilm.com, a portal for short films, opens with a multitude of greatest-hits lists: You can see a list of the most popular films this week, the most popular of all time, plus the editors' picks of the day from other film sites around the Web. The films are broken down into easily navigable subsections for spoofs, sci-fi, comedy, etc. (not to mention a section devoted to films that just played at Sundance). To my mind, this was the best place to find good stuff. As a portal, they have everything on the Web to choose from; they claim links to over 15,000 films. I recommend Butt Naked (not what you think) and Killer Pink (also not what you think).
Alwaysi.com is a collection of independent shorts, TV-showlike episodes, and full-length films. They have over 2,000 films, 70 percent of which are shorts and episodes. Like Atomfilms.com, they actively seek out new movies at film fests and from independent studios (and they also accept unsolicited material).
Unfortunately, this site is switching to a subscription model later this month. The fee will be low—probably about $4.99 per month. But as Chief Operating Officer Anthony Soohoo says, "the free lunch can't continue forever." (If Slate's experiment with the subscription model is any indicator, they can expect to see their visitors drop significantly.) But Soohoo claims subscriptions will work because of Alwaysi's large, high-quality collection of movies. After poking around their site and sampling the wares, I wasn't convinced. More interesting is their plan to launch a recommendation system similar to Amazon.com's. They'll track your viewing patterns, your rating patterns, and your community preferences and then generate a list of movies that you'll probably like. This is a tremendous idea: If it works the way they say it should, it will be tailored not just to what you saw, but what you saw and liked.
Heavy.com has an incredible collection of so-called "viral" films. These are mainly extremely short (10 seconds to three minutes or so) and share a sort of "holy shit I can't believe this is on tape!" quality that is strangely irresistible. They include footage of people getting chased by aroused donkeys and falling off gymnastics equipment, a clip of an exploding Gummy Bear from what seems to be a high-school chemistry lecture, funny foreign commercials, home videos of vicious cats, and a particularly grim one of a tennis player breaking an ankle on his way to a long backhand. Lowbrow? You bet, but also addictive. Unfortunately the site is annoyingly Flash-heavy and attempts to play a long intro every time you visit. But the "Contagious" section is the best collection that I've seen of these strange little shorties that are always making the e-mail rounds.
Mediatrip.com is a great place to catch up on parodies like Swing Blade (Swingers meets Sling Blade) and Film Club (think Fight Cub for filmmakers). The site doesn't have a lot of depth (their short-films page only listed about 30), but they have a page where they list their most popular film streams, most of which are spoofs.
Some of these sites, the biggest and best of their kind, still have poorly designed navigation and technical glitches. Even on a T1 connection I found myself waiting a long time for downloads, being denied by certain clips, following bad links, and waiting through eons of buffering. But finding a gem like The Killer Bean (about a coffee bean with moves straight out of a John Woo film) makes the all the waiting worth it.