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|NOTE: The printed version of this book is available from Morton Publications, 2101 Morton Road, Sutton, WV 26601 under the same title. It contains 75 pages, and is $3.00 each postage paid. The complete HTML version (PDF format also available) is available on disk (along with three of the author's other books) for 5.00. For questions, comments, or more information email the author Timothy S. Morton or write to the address above.
"Can I help you sir?"
"Yes, I have recently gotten saved and would like to buy a Bible."
"Very well sir. We have just received another shipment of one of the newest translations, The New International Version. It is highly recommended by Bible scholars the world over. It is translated from the oldest and best Hebrew and Greek texts and is much more accurate than the older versions." He hands him one.
The Christian opens it, reads a few lines, and thinks to himself: "This doesn't read like the Bible I was led to Christ with."
The salesman continues, "Also, we have The New American Standard Version which many claim to be the most accurate, and we still have the old American Standard Version which some prefer."
The salesman turns and points to the shelves full of Bibles behind him and continues, "Here is The New Revised Standard Version which is recommended by many of the leading denominations. It's a recent revision of the old Revised Standard Version which is still popular. Plus, we have The New Century Version, The Good News Bible, The Living Bible, The Amplified Bible, The New King James Version, The New English Bible, The New American Bible, The New Jerusalem Bible and also Phillip's, Weymouth's, Goodspeed's, and Moffat's New Testament translations. In addition, we have special study Bibles by Scofield, Dake, Bullinger, Thompson, Rice, Zodhiates, Willmington, Ryrie, and others which help explain the intent of the original languages."
The Christian looks at the mass of Bibles and is bewildered. He finally says: "Do you have a Bible that says: `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved?"' He emphasizes "thou shalt."
The man replies: "Well sir, you must be referring to the OLD King James Version. It was a good translation in its day, but it contains several errors; it also has many archaic words in it that are hard to understand. This has all been corrected in these new versions. For serious Bible study we recommend one of the new versions, but if you want the old King James we do have it."
The Christian thinks, "I did not realize there were so many different Bibles; I always thought there was only one. How can I know which one of these is the best? Can they all be the word of God if they are different? Is the King James Version I was led to Christ with plagued with errors? I don't know what to do." He flips through the pages of the NIV the salesman showed him first and says: "Well, if the old King James is not the best...I guess I will take one of these others...."
Scenes similar to this happen hundreds of times every year. They occur not only in bookstores, but also in homes, places of work, and even in churches. The desire for God's word has led many Christians into a complex maze of advertising, salesmanship, scholarship, and opinion which often leaves them confused. Confusion is a state God is not the author of (I Corinthians 14:33). He wants every believer to have His pure word and KNOW he has it!
In most churches in America there is no written, final authorityno Bible which is the absolute, FINAL authority for ALL matters of faith and practice. Because of this, one may see a wide variety of Bible versions brought by the members of these churches to a service. Some may bring an NIV to read while others bring an ASV or NASV Still others may prefer the NEB RSV, NCV, NKJV, or any other version as their "favorite" translation. And as if this is not enough "diversity," during the service they may hear the pastor appeal to yet another translation (maybe even his OWN). Some ministers use several different versions in a single message. What a recipe for confusion! All of these versions conflict with each other in thousands of places, and compared with the King James, many of the differences affect MAJOR DOCTRINES. This flood of modern, contradicting "translations" has made it so that the average Christian today has no standard Bible to consult as his final authority. All he has is a "reliable" translation which he "PREFERS," but he does not even prefer it in every passage. One person may prefer version A in one passage and version B in another, while another will prefer just the opposite! What a tragedy. Has the word of God become subject to the whimsical preferences of wordly, carnal, egocentric Christians? Many treat it as if it has.
Is it God's will that the Christian world be flooded with so many different English translations? If not, how can a person know which one is the infallible word of God? How can he know which version (or versions) is God's pure word; the one which contains the very words God wants him to have? These very questions puzzled the author until God opened his eyes to the truth of the matter. This book is an attempt to help others who may be in the same dilemma. Our purpose is not to give the many evidences that indicate God wrote a Bible (there are many good books on this subject), but to deal with the more relevant matter: does this Bible exist in pure form TODAY? Before we go any farther let the reader understand, God's pure, inerrant, infallible word IS ON THIS EARTH and He wants YOU to have it (Psalm 119:130)!
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In Genesis 2:17 God was warning Adam of a danger in the garden which he could not have discovered himself until it was too late, that is, DEATH. God did not want Adam dead, but Satan did, and Satan knew he would have to destroy Adam's, or at least Eve's, confidence in God's word to bring his death about. The method he used to do this worked very well for him, thus he still uses it today; He simply QUESTIONS whether God actually said what He said (Genesis 3:1 "Yea hath God said"). His questioning led Eve to SUBTRACT from God's word, therefore corrupting it (Genesis 3:2, "freely" is subtracted, see 2:16), and it also led her to ADD to His word, further corrupting it (Genesis 3:3, "neither shall ye touch it").
Once Satan has a person doubting God's word, he has him making himself the final authority for his life instead of God ("ye shall be as gods"). Casting doubt is the Devil's specialty. He knows that every lost person he can keep in doubt concerning the Bible will not be saved, and that every saved person he can get to doubt or question it in some area will not fully be what God wants him to be. He easily persuades millions in this manner to trust their own opinion over God's. It is imperative we remember this. The powers behind all the doubt and confusion we have today concerning the word of God are much more powerful than the powers of Madison Avenue or of mere book publishers; they are "spiritual" powers in "high places" which are motivated by "wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12). The Serpent's behavior in Eden proves the realm of God's word is Satan's primary interest. His foremost objective is to question, dilute, deny, corrupt, or mock God's word in the mind of every person so that person will not learn any of the precious truths found in it. If he had his way there would be no pure word of God anywhere on earth, but, praise His name, the God of Heaven, who is infinitely more powerful than Satan, has promised to preserve His word for all generations.
Another thing one must remember about Satan is that he counterfeits or imitates nearly everything God does. He has his own apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), prophets (2 Peter 2:1), messiah (John 5:43), trinity (Revelation 13), bride (Revelation 17), as well as his own Bibles. Something many people seem to forget is, if all translations of the Bible are the word of God as many claim, then where are the Devil's? Did he lose interest in the word since Genesis 3? Has he quit corrupting it (2 Corinthians 2:17)? Is he afraid to influence revision committees? No, on all three counts. The Devil will be attempting to corrupt the word of God until the day he is cast into the lake of fire.
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The Devil is playing an intellectual trick on scholars. He uses false logic and reasoning (like he did with Eve) to assure them that since the original manuscripts no longer exist the inspiration they were given by no longer exists either. That is, God's inerrant word vanished with the autographs. If one follows this reasoning, it would be IMPOSSIBLE for anyone in any language to have a pure, infallible Bible. Since all existing manuscripts are copies, and "copies cannot be inspired," no person anywhere could read (or hear) God's pure word. "Yea hath God said." Satan has not changed his tactics in six thousand years. He got Eve to doubt God by convincing her that HER OPINION of the tree was of MORE VALUE than God's, and he gets Christians today to doubt Him by telling them that since the "originals" are gone, they must TRUST the OPINIONS of scholars to provide them with a Bible that is "reliable," but by no means inerrant. Satan learned very early that man values his opinion above nearly everything else, and he will not hesitate to use this egoism against him.
In view of this, it is interesting to observe that when most fundamentalist preachers preach about the Bible they insist it IS inspired, infallible, inerrant, the perfect word of God, etc., and wave the Bible they are using (usually a KJV) as though they are referring to it. However, when questioning them closely one will find they actually believe the opposite. Like their mentors above, they do not believe ANY translation is perfect or inerrant and talk like it is impossible for one to be. When forced to say what they mean when they speak of an infallible Bible one will usually reply with something like: "Well, ONLY the original manuscripts were inspired and they no longer exist, but through the labors of highly trained scholars and godly men we have translations today which are accurate and reliable...." That is, he does not have an infallible Bible, he only has one that is (relatively) "accurate and reliable." In light of this, how can he PROVE that ANY version (or the text behind it) is the best when he admits his final authority no longer exists? Likewise, how can he PROVE the King James Version (and its text) is not the best? He cannot prove either. He has been pulled into Satan's "no perfect translation" hoax and exalts his favorite scholar's opinion (or his own) as his final authority even when it robs him of an inerrant Bible.
Did God allow the purity of His word to be destroyed with the original writings of Moses, David, Paul, etc.? Did He only leave man defective texts and "reliable translations" that are not perfect or inerrant? Does a person have to be a Greek and Hebrew scholar before he can have the very words God wants him to have? These and other questions we will try to answer in the following so the Bible believer can give a good answer (1 Pet. 3:15) to those who attack his precious Bible (KJV), and also so someone who may be confused about the different translations can see reasons why he should believe the Authorized King James Version of 1611 is the Bible God wants him to have, use, and most of all, believe.
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The study of manuscripts, however, (not of the Bible itself) is the primary occupation of many scholars. Some of them spend their entire adult life analyzing old parchments and teaching Greek (and/or Hebrew) grammar, yet they still do not have a perfect Bible. Their extensive education and great knowledge of Greek texts has not given them an infallible Bible in ANY language. Therefore, a believer should not be intimidated by the high-sounding talk of some of them who say the King James Version is plagued with errors. As stated before, when forced they will admit their final authority on the subject no longer exists and is not available for inspection. Thus, the reader should realize that such critical statements are only opinion no matter how "scholarly" the person may seem. Furthermore, about the only thing many of these Bible correctors have in common is their contempt for the King James Version as the standard English BibleGod's FINAL authority in English. They may differ among themselves about what is the best Greek text for translation and on how each word should be translated, but all will agree that the Authorized Version contains many "unfortunate errors" and needs "updating." One quickly learns when reading their material that each one has his own idea of what text and translation is best; this is why the English speaking world has over one hundred different translations and no two read the same! With no final authority to appeal to there can be as many Bibles as there are opinions!
Again, a Christian is not required to have a knowledge of the original languages or of manuscript evidence before he can have the truth, and neither does he have to follow those who do (or think they do). God never intended for any "elite" group of Christians to have a monopoly on His word. The believer's faith is not to be in man's "ability" to find and translate the right Greek text, but in God's promise to PRESERVE His word and supply it to His children! Therefore, we are not going to bore the reader with constant appeals to ancient manuscripts which he has never heard of, nor are we going to emphasis the opinions of scholars (of whatever persuasion) on the way Greek and Hebrew words should be translated. God has warned the believer not to trust in man or make flesh his arm (Jeremiah 17:5), so in this study we are going to trust God that He has given us His word (KJV) and believe what He has revealed to us in it.
In short, this book is written with the firm belief that the King
James Version is innocent until proven guilty. No person has yet proven
one error in it, and we believe no one ever will. Edward F. Hills in his
book, Believing Bible Study, states on page 81:
|When we defend the King James Version, we do not place it on a level with other English Bible versions and then try to find out which version has the fewest mistakes. This would be to subjective. We must start out rather with the objective fact that the King James Version is preeminently the English Bible translation on which God has placed the stamp of His approval. Hence the King James Version must be regarded as correct unless it can be conclusively shown to be otherwise. Those who assail it must be required to prove their point. By demonstrating that they cannot do so we defend our historic English Bible.
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First up, this awesome layout of her son :).
I love the beautiful simplicity - a little paint, a little bit of cardstock, and the stars. Isn't he a heartbreaker?! Being a mom to four* boys, I really appreciate masculine scrapbooking supplies and kept that in mind with this sampler. However, this one isn't just for the boys:
I love this sampler for parades! The 4th of July here in the US is my favorite holiday and I am inspired to save some of this sampler for parade photos :). Amanda altered the cardboard clouds with paint, and framed her title with a painted postage stamp frame. The great textured piece under the photo is the paper ribbon from the sampler. Do you spy a young Amanda in the photo?
And speaking of Amanda as a young girl, isn't she lovely? Again, I love the paint. You don't need much patterned paper when you put the sampler to use like this :). ***If you are a die-hard patterned paper lover, though, I've got you covered with some paper options that match the kit next Friday :).*** Even after three layouts, Amanda still had plenty to create this adorable card with:
And she still has pieces to play with :). Amanda, thank you so much for the inspiration! If you would like to purchase a June Sampler, you can find it here. Through Sunday, if you purchase the May Sampler and the June Sampler, your shipping is free! As well as any other items you'd like to pick up :). Just use code MJFREE during checkout. I hope your weekend is marvelous, and if you're celebrating Memorial Day, have a safe and happy time. Tessa
PS - For fabulous close-ups of Amanda's projects, be sure to stop by the Facebook page and take a look through the June Sampler gallery :).
*PPS - edited to add, I only have three boys! I must have been counting the hubby when writing this post :). So if you've been wondering....no! I'm not expecting :).

subset: commoncrawl


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I am looking for an application (not a browser extension) that supports offline blogging and uploading (when needed). Is there any such tool ?
I am primarily looking for compatibility with Blogger.
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I am looking for an application (not a browser extension) that supports offline blogging and uploading (when needed). Is there any such tool ?
I am primarily looking for compatibility with Blogger.
Thingamablog is an easy to use and powerful cross platform blogging tool. And when I say "easy to use" I am serious. It can be used to create localhost blogs or put them on your web server with ease. It is as powerful as wordpress, blogger, and it allow you to customize your themes with ease using html.
Unfortunately there is no more official support nor new releases but I can confirm that you can run it in at least 12.04 and probably further.
My current blog and the official Thingamablog website are yet made in Thingamablog. My blog (for demo purposes) can be reached clicking here.
A screenshot of thingamablog working in my 12.04 LTS is placed here. Additional information can be reached in the official website at http://www.thingamablog.com/
Good luck!
one of the blogging clients I have used (in GNOME) is Drivel. Though it hasn't been worked on for quite some time (2009). It still worked for me in Ubuntu 12.04. I used it for my blogger and according to its homepage it supports LiveJournal, Blogger, MovableType, Advogato, and Atom journals (systems based off these are also supported, including WordPress and Drupal). Here's a quick overview of its features (also from their website):
It's not super extensive, but for most general blogging without a too fancy lay out it will be just fine. It gets out of your way and provides you with either simple formatting options or you can use raw HTML to format your blogposts.
Hope this helps.
Blosxom and Pyblosxom are blogging tools that feed off a plain text file - so very unix. Minimalist and elegant, they also resolve the offline problem.
Alas, not Blogger. But still worth checking out if you want a simple offline way to blog, and vi (or emacs) is your editor of choice.


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DMT 96 – Hack Your Hit with Jay Frank
Summary: This week on the show an interview with Jay Frank, author of Futurehit.dna. Jay is back on the show two years after his first interview to talk about his new book Hack Your Hit and about his new record label Digsin. We talk about how musicians can improve their odds of being noticed online, the elements that can play a part in creating a hit, real world presence versus social media presence, how to avoid being overwhelmed by the abundance of digital services, the value of free and much more! Check out Jay's site http://www.futurehitdna.com and his label's site http://www.digsin.com. And of course you can find Jay's books on Amazon too - here's the link to the Kindle edition of Hack Your Hit http://www.amazon.com/Hack-Your-Hit-Marketing-ebook/dp/B0076QJS54/ref Have a great week and 'till next time. And BTW if you're going to be at SXSW 2012 give me a shout! Here's a link to the panel I'll be moderating on the 15th of March "The Evolution Of Music Discovery In The Cloud" http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MP10980 Andrea Leonelli www.digitalmusictrends.com www.twitter.com/digimusictrends


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Member Benefits
ICC Membership adds value…let us show you
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- Special Offers, such as discounts from hotels, car rentals and more.
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Boeing is speeding up production of its 787 Dreamliner to seven a month, even as it scrambles to return some of the grounded planes to service.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of all Dreamliners in January due to a problem with overheating lithium batteries on some of its flights. Boeing and the FAA announced a fix for the battery problem last month.
Boeing has been working to retrofit the 50 Dreamliners it delivered before the grounding with the battery fix since then.
Japanese airline ANA, the largest customer for the Dreamliner with 17 of the planes already delivered, announced Thursday that it plans to return its fleet of Dreamliners to service on June 1. Some other Dreamliner customers, including Qatar Airlines, have already started flying the plane again.
United Airlines, a unit of United Continental (UAL) and the only U.S. carrier to have taken delivery of a 787, has said it plans to start flying its Dreamliners again on May 20.
During the grounding, Boeing continued to build Dreamliners at a pace of five a month, as shutting or even slowing the production line was seen as too costly to both the company and its supplier base. None of the Dreamliners built during the shutdown have been delivered to customers yet.
Related: Boeing - Dreamliner grounding costs 'minimal'
Boeing had always anticipated upping production to seven planes a month by the middle of this year, on its way to meeting a target of 10 planes a month by the end of the year.
Customer demand for the Dreamliner has remained strong, despite the grounding. Its lightweight design -- using composite material rather than aluminum, and wires instead of some of the hydraulics -- allows it to be far more fuel efficient than earlier models. Fuel is the most expensive cost for most airlines.
Boeing has more than 800 unfilled orders for the Dreamliner.
Shares of Boeing (BA) were up following Thursday's announcement.


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We were looking forward to 17th Precinct, the fantasy cop show from Ronald D. Moore and his dream team cast of Battlestar Galactica alums, but sadly it never reached our screens. But now, the show about cops who use magic discs instead of guns, spells instead of forensics, and plants instead of electricity has finally appeared online — and now you can see for yourself.
Above is a rough video of the entire pilot episode for the 17th Precinct — which you'd better watch fast before it disappears off the internet forever. And just in case, we're going share a few first impressions with you right here, right now.
First and foremost, holy shit we can't believe how fresh and new 17th Precinct feels, even with the tired police procedural premise. Moore has done it again: Rejuvenated a whole new genre with an obscure idea that is firmly grounded in blood and tears.
Tricia Helfer joins, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, with Eamonn Walker and Stockard Channing to create a very green world that's fueled by magic. Admittedly, the first few minutes are a little jarring. There are two adults casting actual magic spells, wearing adult clothes and making boring adult small talk. And yet, no one is cry-masturbating or a vampire.
We can understand how a pack of "Just Keep Making Three And A Half Men" executives might not grasp the white hot creativity burning from this one episode, because it hasn't been done before. This world is, to put it bluntly, exceptionally weird. The energy sources are different (plants) their religion is different (Wiccan?) — even their paper is different (it's a stream of smoke light people dip their fingers into, then they point to a paper and PRESTO — news.) All the same "weird shit items" we're betting that Moore had to fight to save at every turning point on Battlestar Galactica. But these two dramas are only similar in two ways: their cast, and the fact that they demand the audience to jump into this brave new world, or else you can just show yourself out.
Even though I was watching a crappy video of this pilot, the whole thing looked shiny and glorious. And bursting with new ideas.
So let's break it down: in this alternate world where there is no oil or batteries, and everything runs on plants, fire and magic. It's up to the cops to be on top of all the magical happenings. For example, Stockard Channing and her new Rookie partner head out in their magically powered car to check out a run-of-the-mill magic problem, they pull up to a big apartment complex and all the windows are opening and closing on their own — it's spectacularly creepy. The owner runs out complaining, "No hex has this staying power. It's a curse, and that means the city has to step in." Ah, so there's a difference between hex and curse. Little moments like that are casually thrown at the audience, and it's up to you to catch on, unlike the present day fairy-tale dramas that feel the need to lead the audience around the room like a dog that just pooped on the carpet. Here, it's sink or swim.
Take Tricia Helfer's character — she's a necromancer, which apparently means she can speak to the recently deceased. But here's the problem, most people who just died are kind of absent-minded dicks! It's great. It's also great following around Channing and her newbie, who are tracking down the larger big bad, a group of no-good terrorists who want nothing more than to rid the world of magic. This secret clan no doubt would have formed the larger arc of the never-picked-up season. Which is a shame, as their mysterious power-weapon is a hoot, and one hell of a great reveal.
And then you have the other partners, Bamber and Callis, who are sniffing out the smaller cases that should propel each individual episode forward — and no doubt all linking together, close to the finale. These pairs each have fantastic chemistry, and Moore is already easily poking at some interesting personal skeletons for each member. Why is it so hard for Bamber to cast the blood spell? What does Callis think he needed to work on "as a friend"? (He's talking about sex, right?).
Also, for more details about the different characters on the show, and the ultra-weird setup, check out the preview post we did several months ago.
All in all, what a huge misstep for NBC. We wonder if the red and blue trainwreck that was the Wonder Woman pilot didn't put the studio off from genre shows. It's too bad because this series would have cleaned house during this last season. Especially when up against things like Person of Interest, Grimm and Once Upon a Time. To be fair, it's hard to say if this series would have built up a huge following — again, the audience really has to let go of any past police procedural notions, especially when Bamber picks a lock by shoving moss into it. But it's still acted, paced, delivered and written very very well. It was a huge, terrible mistake not to let this series have its chance at bat.
But see for yourself — what do you think of 17th Precinct?


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FMI releases Q2 Nonresidential Construction Index
FMI has released its Second Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) for 2012.
FMI has released its Second Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) for 2012. Rising 1.7 points from the first quarter to 59.8. This is the highest confidence rating ever achieved since the index was developed in 2007.
Panelists reveal that backlogs remain about the same at a median of eight months. However, all markets, with the exception of education construction, are expected to improve slightly over the next quarter. Productivity has also shown improvement. Holding down the NRCI is the continued increase in labor and material costs.
With U.S. elections and global economics dominating the headlines this year, FMI asked panelists to identify what issues may affect their business strategies. Topping the list of global issues are rising inflation as the result of U.S. monetary policy and the collapse of the European Union. Although debt default in Greece and Spain are important, they ranked considerably lower on the list of concerns.
Topping the list of election-year issues are the need to reduce spending on entitlement programs and to reduce the national debt. Since NRCI panelists are all senior executives, FMI asked them what they might do if elected president of the United States. The most mentioned action items include:
- Tax reform
- Balanced budget
- Cost cutting
- Entitlement reform
- Collaboration rather than confrontation.
Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.


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|A Jewish presence in Pakistan – Karachi in another time
In November 2008, Lashkar e Taiba (LET), a radical Islamist group from Pakistan specifically targeted "Nariman House" in Bombay (Mumbai) for a terrorist attack, along with other tourist locations, such as the Taj Mahal hotel.
Nariman House was a Chabad House – a Jewish outreach centre that included an educational centre, synagogue and hostel. It was run by Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka. When the building was attacked, six occupants, including the Rabbi and his pregnant wife, were killed. A total of 164 people were killed in the Mumbai attacks.
David Coleman Headley, who testified in the US at the end of May 2011 in the trial of his friend, Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana, confessed that he had planned the Mumbai attacks in conjunction with an officer of Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, a man whom he called "Major Iqbal".
The officer was reportedly delighted that the Jews were targeted. Perhaps nowadays it is hard to imagine that Pakistan had a strong Jewish community that flourished for around 150 years.
The Jews of Pakistan
Pakistan was never traditionally anti-Semitic. In fact, it may come as a surprise that Pakistan hosted small, yet thriving, Jewish communities from the 19th century until the end of the 1960s. Recently, Yoel Reuben, a Pakistani Jew living in the town of Lod in Israel, whose family originated in Lahore, documented some of the history of the Jewish communities with photographs of original documents.
When India and Pakistan were one country, before the partition in 1947, the Jews were treated with tolerance and equality. In the first half of the 20th century, there were nearly 1,000 Jewish residents in Pakistan living in different cities: Karachi, Peshwar, Quetta and Lahore.
The largest Jewish community lived in Karachi, where there was a large synagogue and a smaller prayer hall. There were two synagogues in Peshawar, one small prayer hall in Lahore belonging to the Afghan Jewish community, and one prayer hall in Quetta.
Even today, according to unofficial sources, there are rumors that some Jews remain in Pakistan, including doctors and members of the free professions, who converted or pass themselves off as members of other religions.
The Jews of Pakistan were of various origins, but most were from the B'nei Israel community of India, and came to Pakistan in the employ of the British. Yifah, a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, relates that her great-great-grandfather Samuell Reuben Bhonkar, who was a B'nei Israel, came to Karachi in British India to work as a jailer, and died there in 1928.
The B'nei Israel originated in the Konkan villages, but many moved to Bombay from the end of the 18th century on. In Pakistan, they spoke Marathi, their mother-tongue from Maharashtra; Urdu, the local language; and most spoke English. Prayers were conducted in Hebrew.
In 1893, a B'nei Israel from Bombay, Solomon David Umerdekar, inaugurated the Karachi Magen Shalom Synagogue on the corner of Jamila Street and Nishtar Road, which officially opened in 1912. During these years, the Jewish community thrived.
In 1903, the community set up the Young Man's Jewish Association, and the Karachi B' nei Israel Relief Fund was established to support poor Jews. In 1918, the Karachi Jewish Syndicate was formed to provide housing at reasonable rents, and the All India Israelite League, which represented 650 B' nei Israel province of Sind (including Hyderabad, Larkuna, MirpurKhas and Sukkur, as well as Karachi), was first convened – founded by two prominent B'nei Israel, Jacob Bapuji Israel and David S Erulkar. Karachi became a fulcrum for the B'nei Israel in India, the place where they congregated for High Holiday prayers. There was also a prayer hall, which served the Afghan Jews residing in the city. A 1941 government census recorded 1,199 Pakistani Jews: 513 men and 538 women. So accepted were the Jews of Karachi in these years that Abraham Reuben, a leader in the Jewish community, became the first Jewish councilor on the Karachi Municipal Corporation.
The beginnings of anti-Zionism
On 15 August 1947, India was partitioned and the Dominion of Pakistan was declared. Partition effectively signalled the end of the British Empire. Fearful of their future in the new Islamic state, Jews began to flee. Some from Afghanistan and the B'nei Israel community in Lahore fled to Karachi and from there moved to Bombay.
Muslim refugees from India called Mohajir streamed into Pakistan, and attacked Jewish sites. The situation was exacerbated by the declaration of independence for the state of Israel in May 1948.
Many of the Karachi Jews left the city in 1948, after rioters attacked the Karachi synagogue during a demonstration in May of that year against President Truman's recognition of Israel. Some members of the community emigrated to Israel via India, while others settled in Canada and the UK.
Pogroms against the Jews recurred during the Suez War in 1956 and the Six Day War in 1967. Most of the remaining Jews emigrated and, in 1968, the Pakistani Jewish community numbered only 350 in Karachi, with one synagogue, a welfare organisation and a recreational organisation. After 1968, there is no record of any Pakistani Jews outside Karachi.
Today, anti-Israel discourse manifests itself in the notion that Israel and Pakistan are ultimately in competition and only one can flourish. In April 2008, Lt-Gen Hamid Gul, the former chief of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, proclaimed that "two states came into existence in 1947 and 1948: one, Pakistan; two, Israel. The two are threats to each other. Ultimately, only one of them will survive." Pakistan aligns itself with the Palestinian Muslim cause and rejects the US insofar as it is allied with Israel.
The Karachi Jewish community since the 1980s
The Magen Shalom synagogue in Karachi was destroyed on 17 July 1988 by order of Pakistan's President Zia-Ul-Hak to make way for a shopping mall in the Ranchore Lines neighborhood of Karachi. In 1989, the original Ark and podium were stored in Karachi; a Torah scroll case was taken by an American to the US.
As late as 2006, the sole survivor of the Karachi Jewish community, Rachel Joseph, a former teacher, then 88 years old, was battling for compensation for the broken promise from the property developers that had demolished the old synagogue: in exchange, she would receive an apartment, and a new small synagogue would be constructed on the old site. While the litigation wore on, she languished in a tiny room.
As featured in Jewish Times Asia, September 2010 edition, Muslim Pakistani-American filmmaker, Shoeb Yunus, shot a film about the Jewish cemetery in Karachi. Today, it is part of the larger Cutchi Memon graveyard, which has a Muslim caretaker. It took Yunus eight months to gain admission, and the camera crew was allowed only 10 minutes to shoot.
He estimates that there are 200-400 Jewish graves. The neglected cemetery has not been destroyed since its last custodian, Rachel Joseph, died on 17 July 2006.
Permission to republish by International Relations and Security Network (ISN). Supplied by Shalva Weil for ISN Insights.
Dr Shalva Weil is a Senior Researcher at the Research Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She is a specialist in Indian Jewry and is the Founding Chairperson of the Israel-India Friendship Association.
(Issue December 2013/ January 2014)


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Stare Down
Coming in for a closer look
Early morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, this Bald Eagle was perched near the road. To my suprise, he allowed me to approach using my car as a blind. After sitting with him for a few minutes another car pulled over and spooked him. It was too quick to react, but he came directly over my head as he flew off into the distance. An incredible moment shared with this beatiful bird.
Adult Bald Eagles chase one another after fighting over a fish. Barr Lake, Colorado.
I am the King of the Sky, come and fly with me
Bald Eagle, Barr Lake, Colorado
Great Horned Owlet stares back at the setting sun and the odd character taking its portrait
Ohh parents...
Two mature bald eagles brace for impact, talons drawn while The younger immature eagle flees the scene. Barr Lake, Colorado
Immature Bald Eagle
Barr Lake, Colorado
Black Kite Above Bangalore
Bangalore, India
American Kestrel
Stanley Lake, Westminster, CO
American Pelicans
Denver Eagle
A bald eagle keeps it eyes on the numberous prairie dogs with Denver's skyline and the front range in the background.
Juvenile Bald Eagle - Barr Lake CO
Sometimes you get lucky when approaching the young ones, and they will actually sit still and not fly off. This Juvenile Bald Eagle was ver relaxed in the presence of a couple of photographers. The day was a little gray, so really had work to get the shot exposed properly and bring out the details in his featers and face.
Fly over
While sitting in a blind at Barr Lake State Park this Bald Eagle approached and luckily landed in perfect view for this shot. He was keenly aware of my presence, but luckily wasn't at all threatened.
Email Phil


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President Barack Obama recently said he wasn't nearly as worried about the Russian occupation of Crimea as he was "about the prospect of a nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan."
Well. If the president is worried about that, it must have a fairly strong chance of happening, and therefore be worth preventing at almost any cost.
Some recent events, however, cast doubt on our commitment to that effort.
One bad sign is that, the day after Obama made his comparison, the CBS affiliate in New York City reported that his Department of Homeland Security is cutting grants to NYC for radiological bomb detection from $11 million to $4.7 million. That 62 percent cut is occurring despite official reports that the city has deflected 16 credible terrorist threats since 2001.
That led Sen. Charles Schumer, one of the Senate's staunchest liberals, to say that Obama "correctly says he worried about a nuclear weapon, and yet the Department of Homeland Security announces it is cutting this program, which is one of our bulwarks to prevent any nuclear weapon from being smuggled into Manhattan."
Even worse, our leaders have decided that the most effective means of interrogating terrorists, which already have been prohibited for current use, have to be eternally condemned, because they (wrongly) believe them to be "torture."
Now, I've always had a great deal of personal respect for (along with substantial political disagreement with) Sen. Angus King, who was elected as an independent in 2012, but unsurprisingly decided to caucus with the Democratic majority when he arrived at the Senate.
It was still sad, however, to read that King said, in an interview about leaked portions of a so-far-secret (and controversial) Senate Intelligence Committee report about U.S. "extraordinary" interrogation techniques, that if former Vice President Dick Cheney still supported "waterboarding," he should "sit on a waterboard" himself.
(As an aside, King may be steering his vote, if not his generally portside views, to the starboard side of the Senate if Republicans win a majority in November. He said Wednesday he thought he could best serve Maine by being where he had the most influence. OK, but it's his votes on issues that matter, and while the party liked his vote against the Democrats' "paycheck equality" bill this week, will it like all his others as much?)
You can, I suppose, believe that pouring water on someone's face to create the sensation of drowning is "torture," even though it causes no physical harm. The technique, however, has only been used on a total of three terrorists, and proved remarkably effective, according to the testimony of those directly involved in it.
And with regard to its "cruelty," even American soldiers undergoing survival training have been waterboarded to show them its psychological power.
While such Democrats as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Intelligence Committee chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein, along with Republican Sen. John McCain, recently have pleaded ignorance about these techniques and condemned their use, CIA officials say those leaders were thoroughly briefed about them more than a decade ago and had no objections to them until now.
Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., a former CIA agent who led the interrogation programs, said this week that Pelosi's denials were false, as he personally had briefed her and other leaders in both parties on the programs, and he can document those briefings.
He said the report, which apparently contains no input from any CIA officials, is an "attempt to rewrite history" to allow the left to posture for political points before the coming election.
He also said the programs were effective in deterring attacks and in providing clues that eventually led to Osama bin Laden.
Marc Theissen, a Washington Post columnist and author of "Courting Disaster," a book critical of current intelligence-gathering policies, wrote this week that CIA Director John Brennan knows the committee report "is a partisan sham."
He said, "As head of the National Counterterrorism Center from 2004 to 2005, Brennan was one of the top consumers of the intelligence obtained from CIA detainees. If their interrogations had produced nothing of value, as (Sen. Feinstein) claims, Brennan would know it."
So, Theissen said, "He should stand up and defend his agency."
And Obama's former deputy CIA director, Michael Morell, told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose last week, "I've really studied this, and I believe the techniques were effective. … The information prior to the techniques was limited, vague, not specific. After the techniques? Volumes of information, specific, actionable. There is a big difference."
The techniques, Morell said, "led to the capture of other senior al-Qaida officials and saved lives, yes."
So, we can castigate ourselves about putting a few vicious terrorists under psychological stress to hunt down their murderous accomplices and save American lives.
If a nuclear fireball consumes Manhattan, however, will we still congratulate ourselves that we refused to discomfort people like them in order to stop it?
M.D. Harmon, a retired journalist and military officer, is a freelance writer and speaker. He can be contacted at email@example.com.
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text:
Southpaw middleweight contender Sergiy Dzinziruk is preparing for his January 25th contest against hardnosed Texan Brian Vera on a Banner Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions promoted edition of ESPN 2's Friday Night Fights. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at the middleweight limit and will be televised live from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. A win over the gritty Vera could mean big things for Dzinziruk as he looks to put himself in position for a world title opportunity.
Dzinziruk defeated Daniel Santos in 2005 to win the WBO junior middleweight championship, a title he successfully defended 6 times. The former junior middleweight champion from the Ukraine by way of Hamburg, Germany will be looking to impress in front of a national audience, using his high level boxing ability to out maneuver his opponent Vera, a fighter with a more brute style.
"I've been working very hard in the gym, but specifically I've been working at getting the most out of my natural abilities. I have all the tools needed to become the very best and being aware in the ring doesn't just come from the defensive side of things, you have to know your limits and capabilities offensively and be willing to push yourself further each time," Dzinziruk said.
In his last outing, Dzinziruk took on Puerto Rican prospect Jonathan González and the two fought to a draw, although Gonzalez missed weight and had a 7lb weight advantage over Dzinziruk. Still, Dzinziruk was able to negate the weight disadvantage and stifle Gonzalez, boxing his way around the bigger man.
"I felt like my last time out I didn't capitalize on every opportunity that was presented to me, it was my fight to grab and it slipped away because I let it. I've prepared to get back into the win column and anything less is unacceptable, I will define the moment and not let the moment define me," Dzinziruk said.
This time around Dzinziruk will be fighting an opponent in Vera that has made a career out of digging deep in his most dire moments. Vera is coming off of an impressive victory over perennial contender Sergio Mora in August of last year.
"I respect every opponent, but Vera is a different monster," Dzinziruk said. "The guy never quits and he is always willing to take the fight to the most uncomfortable places possible. I'm willing to go wherever is necessary, but it won't be Vera calling the shots because I'm going to dictate the pace and control the fight. My preparation for this fight has put me in the best possible shape, and with my conditioning I will systematically break my opponent down and reestablish my position amongst the division's elite."
Gary Shaw, Dzinziruk's co-promoter, is excited to get his fighter back in action and in front of a large commercial audience. Shaw feels that his fighter is in title contention right now and a win would only bolster those chances.
"Sergiy is a dangerous fight for any of the belt holders in the division and I could see him in a title fight by the end of 2013," Shaw said. "If you look at the landscape of the division you realize it's a deep division filled with opportunity, Sergiy fits right in that picture and his abilities make him easy to matchup with just about anybody. A win over a guy like Vera puts him right there in title contention."


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06/05/2014 - Tax revenues are currently rising as a proportion of national incomes in Indonesia and Malaysia but continue to be substantially lower than for Korea, Japan and other OECD countries, according to a new OECD report.
Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries: Trends in Indonesia and Malaysia provides for the first time cross-country comparisons between Asian economies and between Asian and OECD economies.
Increased domestic resource mobilisation is widely accepted as crucial for countries to successfully meet the challenges of development and achieve higher living standards for their people. Additional tax revenues enable governments to simultaneously strengthen infrastructure development, enhance the quality of education and promote social cohesion.
Key findings
Further information
More information is available at www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics-in-asian-countries.htm.
For further information, journalists should contact Maurice Nettley (+33 1 45 24 9617) from the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Kensuke Tanaka (+33 1 45 24 8733) from the OECD Development Centre or Lawrence Speer (+33 1 45 24 9700).
Related Documents


text: Officially Licensed NCAA South Carolina University Musical Photo Frame Glass Waterglobe plays the Gamecocks Fight Song. Fits a 1.5″ x 1.5″ photo and glitter appears when you shake the globe. Each piece measures approximately 6 inches tall and comes retail boxed/UPC coded. This fantastic collectible has a retail value of $34.95 each.


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My cousin once made me drink gin with chocolate milk. Not sure what it's called but it kinda tasted like Baileys.
I love a good cocktail, but I don't always like trotting out (or, moreover, buying) ten different bottles of stuff just to make one drink. With that in mind, I've compiled a list of cocktails that all require just two ingredients (not counting garnishes or things you likely have around, like salt).
Whether you're trying to keep things simple at a party or just want to have ingredients around for something easy and delicious, these two-ingredient cocktails all require minimal investment and taste great. (See also: Great Budget Liquors)
The key to a great Dark and Stormy is getting ginger beer, not ginger ale. Spicier than the ale, ginger beer gives this drink a great kick. Just don't sniff it unless you want to give your sinuses a rude awakening.
There are a few variations of this super-summery tequila drink, but at its most basic, it's simply tequila and grapefruit soda on ice with a lime garnish. You can add a dash of salt too, if you like.
Whether it's with gin or vodka, all you need to add is vermouth. If you want to move past two ingredients, you can always make your martini dirty, adding the delicious brine from the olive jar.
Before you start griping that the IPA ruins the scotch or the scotch ruins the IPA, give this beer-based mixed drink a try — or try one of the others from this Wall Street Journal article about two-ingredient beer cocktails.
The Greyhound is a grapefruit-and-vodka cocktail. When you add a salt rim, it becomes a Salty Dog.
A brunch classic — half orange juice, half sparkling wine.
Similar to the Mimosa, the Bellini combines sparkling wine with peach puree.
The name says it all. But if you're planning to down these to stave off malaria, you're sadly out of luck.
Intoxicologist has several two-ingredient cocktails, but I'm especially intrigued by the Camparosa, a combination of 2 oz. bitter Italian Campari and 3 oz. grapefruit juice, served over ice with an orange slice garnish. Pucker up!
There are a lot of variations on the shandy, but the basic version is mixing one part beer with one part of another beverage. Popular mixers include lemonade, limeade, ginger ale, and sprite.
A classic. For something different, try it with spiced rum.
Here's a less-expected cola combination — this Spanish drink is comprised of half cola and half red wine. Every article about this drink makes the writer sound like a parent trying to get his kid to eat asparagus — "Yes, it sounds gross. Please just try it."
What's more Scottish than scotch? A drink that combines scotch with the Scottish liqueur Drambuie.
When I was still living on the East Coast, this was one of my favorite ways to welcome fall — a shot of applejack (an apple brandy) served over ice with apple cider.
A shot of vodka with orange juice.
This one is from our very own Philip Brewer — the cocktail he used to end his work-week with, combining bourbon and Mountain Dew.
Like The Dude's favorite drink, the White Russian, but without the cream, the Black Russian combines vodka and Kahlua.
One of the most delightful meal-starting cocktails I can remember having was the French Farmer at Barbuzzo in Philadelphia, which combines sparkling wine and floral St. Germain elderflower liqueur. The company behind the liqueur isn't quite as flowery in their description; they simply call it St. Germain and Champagne.
One of those classic cocktails that always makes me think of guys with snifters and cigars. The ingredients? Brandy and Benedictine.
Like martinis, gimlets can be made with vodka or gin. Here's the recipe from my cookbook, Little Old Lady Recipes:
Mix gin and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake till the outside gets frosty. Pour into cocktail glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge.
Did I miss your favorite two-ingredient cocktail? Share it in the comments!
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
My cousin once made me drink gin with chocolate milk. Not sure what it's called but it kinda tasted like Baileys.
I'm partial to the vodka tonic myself. And of course, the one ingredient cocktail: Kona Koko Brown.
I love the idea of mixing some different kinds of liquor with a fresh summer beer. I like having a few cold ones, but sometimes they fill be up before I can get a buzz on! I like these recipes for adding an extra kick to a drink to have at a cookout. Some of these sound really yummy- the French Farmer? Who would have thought of that! mmmm
not sure what the name is but amaretto and pineapple juice over crushed ice is is amazing, particularly after 2-3 hours surf sessions in tropical water.
I've been making it for years without knowing what its called, dark and stormy. I use Malibu and ginger beer and call it 'Gingerboo'. Now it sounds a bit too juvenile...
While living in DC I discovered the Gin Rickey: London Dry Gin, Club Soda, and a lime wedge over ice. I don't like tonic so it's a nice alternative and it's very refreshing. As they say in DC, it's "air conditioning in a glass."
You forgot tia maria and milk over ice-cubes!
And the hard-liquor + seven up combos (jack daniels /seven-up, southern comfort/ seven up etc) too!
Don't forget about the AWESOME Death In the Afternoon, which uses absinthe and champagne as in this recipe: http://liquor.com/recipes/death-in-the-afternoon/


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Cole Hamels scratched Thursday due to groin issue
Cole Hamels allowed five runs in his Texas debut August 1 against the Giants and four earned in his second Rangers start August 7 versus the Mariners.
Now comes word from MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that the left-hander has been scratched from his third Rangers start Thursday against the Twins because of a groin issue. The hope is that Hamels will only have to miss one turn in the Rangers' starting rotation.
Hamels was acquired from the Phillies a few days before the July 31 trade deadline for catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams, left-hander Matt Harrison, and right-handers Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, and Jake Thompson. Texas also received reliever Jake Diekman in that eight-player swap.
The 31-year-old Hamels is under contract through 2018 at $23.5 million per season.


text:
About the Series …
This is the eighteenth article of the series, MDX Essentials. The series is designed to provide hands-on application of the fundamentals of the Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) language, with each tutorial progressively adding features designed to meet specific real-world needs.
For more information about the series in general, as well as the software and systems requirements needed for getting the most out of the lessons included, please see the first article, MDX at First Glance: Introduction to MDX Essentials.
Note: Service Pack 3 updates are assumed for MSSQL Server 2000, MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services, and the related Books Online and Samples.
What We Accomplished in our Last Article
In the last article of the series, Basic Numeric Functions: The Count() Function, we took a break from purely set-related functions to focus on the numerical Count() function, as it is applied to sets. We introduced the Count() function, discussing its purpose, to return the number of cells in a specified set. We then exposed options within the syntax for overriding the default behavior of the function with regard to its handling of empty cells.
Along with an introduction to the purpose of the Count() function, we examined the syntaxes surrounding the function. We next undertook illustrative examples where we used Count(), both with and without the EXCLUDEEMPTY keyword, to meet a hypothetical business need. Finally, throughout the steps of our examples, we discussed the results we obtained using MDX.
As a part of the practice exercises in our last article, we performed a query using the CrossJoin() function. Our purpose was to use CrossJoin() as a "proofing" procedure, to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the results we obtained within our practice with the Count() function. As part of this exercise, we were afforded a preview of the CrossJoin() function, upon which we will focus this article.
In this lesson, we will expose another highly popular function in the MDX toolset, the CrossJoin() function. The general purpose of the CrossJoin() function is to allow us to produce all combinations of two sets. A primary driver for wanting to do this is to "collapse" two (or perhaps more) dimensions onto a single axis.
Uses of the CrossJoin() function can be quite sophisticated, and, as we shall learn, its use should be tempered with an understanding of its potential impact upon performance. We will introduce the function, commenting upon its operation and touching upon performance considerations at a general level, and then we will:
- Examine the syntax surrounding the function;
- Undertake illustrative examples of the uses of the function in practice exercises;
- Briefly discuss of the results datasets we obtain in the practice examples.


text:
|Puddle, 1952, M. C. Escher
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Mag 122
48 comments:
Happy writing my friends...and Happy Father's Day as well!ReplyDelete
Send your father roses!ReplyDelete
Happy father's day everyone!.. great week ahead...ReplyDelete
Good morning and Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there!ReplyDelete
Mea Culpa .. I wrote this last week, however the poem seemed to fit the image.ReplyDelete
Yes mine's up so instead of waiting until Friday, I can sigh a sigh of relief.ReplyDelete
Splendid image- thanks and Happy Daddy's day to all !ReplyDelete
Lead me to my wellie-boots!ReplyDelete
A LOT to reflect about in this one Tess.. (Pun intended) :)ReplyDelete
Have a great Sunday everyone
This should cover a fabulous range.......set my mind in messy motion!ReplyDelete
happy fathers day to all the fathers out there....i am in...and will be around to visitReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2012 at 12:23 PM
I'm up! On Wordpress these days, no more Blogger...nice image.ReplyDelete
Happy Father's Day to all you dads and to everyone else... a great Sunday!ReplyDelete
What a nice selection! I'll be back later on to visit-ReplyDelete
Back, after a break.ReplyDelete
Any techies in the group? When I try to link to Willow Manor to get folks to visit my blog, I get this: your URL must begin with 8#39;http://8#39;ReplyDelete
Even when I do this, I still can't get my name added to the list. Any ideas, suggestions, help..?
T I AReplies
Berowne are you trying to add your URL to Magpie Tales? If so just click on the title of your post...then paste the entire URL into the Mr. Linky window...hope this answers your question...Delete
had this happen to me last week berowne...close out and resign in...then do what tess says...should clear it up...Delete
I'm hogging space. I did a nice one and a dark one. Hope you enjoy them both.ReplyDelete
thanks Tess.....xReplyDelete
33 is a good number. Let it bring rain and puddles to the burning south westReplyDeleteReplies
Jacqui I think there's a problem with your link...you might like to re-enter it...Delete
This one was a puzzle at first. Happy Father's day!ReplyDelete
Best wishes to everyone on this Father's Day!ReplyDelete
So much hidden and yet in plain sight in this image.
Two weeks in a row - I've created a habit. ;)ReplyDelete
Thanks for the image. I've been aware of M. C. Escher, but not of anything similar to this.ReplyDelete
Great gift you have given us , Tess, already M.C Hammers cousin Escher has become one if my all time favourite artists . Gracias .ReplyDelete
What a lovely image! I have added my poem too. :)ReplyDelete
Love this image!!ReplyDelete
Great image to write to ... where did that darkness come from though? Did it ooze upward or downward? Hmmm ...ReplyDelete
Always seem to be running late. Loved this picture filled with "Reflections"!ReplyDelete
Great photo!ReplyDelete
Dear Folks: I've been having a terrible time with a computer virus, so I apologize for posting twice at numbers 58 and 59, as a test. Things seem to be working okay now, I'm happy to say.ReplyDelete
Really nice prompt. Glad to return and post my entry.ReplyDelete
I apologize as I am linking a poem I wrote in March. It is one of my favorites, though, and fits so perfectly with the puddle. This summer has hit me and I have not recovered from spinning yet. I'm off to D.C. this weekend (a school trip, believe it or not). WHERE are those lazy summer days from my childhood! ? Thank you Tess, for hosting. I love Magpie Tales and feel sad whenever I can't participate.ReplyDelete
Hello Everyone, after a decent break where various things "happened" I am back for some Magpie Tales.ReplyDelete
With thanks to Tess for hosting and for firing our collective imagination with suitably stimulating images.
thanks for letting me hook upReplyDelete
Love this visual. Thank you so much.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 19, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Also love the image. It's like a modern take on some of my favourite childhood fairytales of trolls and princesses... *deep sigh* Late in joining the party, but haven't written (or read) much lately, so hope you forgive my tardiness!ReplyDelete
Great image!!! Thank you, Tess!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 20, 2012 at 2:27 AM
Hi Tess - great image. A bit overwhelmed on my end, but finally got something in. Look forward to seeing others. K.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 20, 2012 at 8:13 AM
Tess - so sorry - I was overwhelmed and had worked a poem in a not very good way - reposted. Thanks for your indulgence. k.ReplyDelete
Finally I've managed to get a poem out for one of your amazing images! This one was fun!ReplyDelete
I am glad to be back....I hated I missed last week, but I have been super busy. Look forward to reading others posts!ReplyDelete
I'm "late"...a very brief line must suffice for I am also busy in the study of universal energy...so why don't I have any? Energy that is...:)ReplyDelete
A little behind the times, as is my wont, but here now! Great image. Thanks for.ReplyDelete
Finally got one. So sorry it is late. Fabulous image. Thanks so much! Now at last to read...ReplyDelete
I'm late but... wrote a little something. Can't seem to post it in the link section any more though. :)ReplyDelete


text: marcie bio Marcie has always been a visual artist, spending long hours with her sketchbook as a kid growing up in Virginia. She studied Art History and Marketing at James Madison University and eventually earned a second degree in Interior Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. She started her own interior design firm, learning the ins and outs of running a business while honing her design skills. Those skills have served her well as Executive Producer at Kip Dawkins Photography where she loves the blend of creativity and organization she taps into everyday. She likes to produce because she enjoys the process of pulling everything together. She provides hands-on management, marketing, production and styling for a wide range of corporate and creative design clients with a focus on architecture, landscape, food, products, people, and industry. When Marcie is not running the show she enjoys travel, snowboarding and walking her 3-legged dog, Taco.


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I wish you could have heard it last weekend, you guys — the sounds of Formula One racing in Austin.
Many of you have probably attended Grands Prix in the past, or you were there at America's first F1 race in five years, so you know what I'm talking about. But for those who haven't, the sound of F1 cars racing around the track is the most insane, ear-shattering, obscenely-loud-but-in-a-good-way noises you will ever hear.
Equally impressive to me, however, were the Mercedes-Benz safety and medical cars that zoomed around the Circuit of the Americas along with the F1 cars. The SLS and C63 Estate AMG emitted a noise that was somehow nearly as loud. Seeing and hearing them go around the track at insane speeds was something to behold.
Even if you can't hear them, you can put them on your desktop. And why wouldn't you?
Safety first, after all.
Photo credit Michael Elleray. Click here for a ginormo-desktop version.


text:
How will Dodger fans react to Barry Bonds hitting home runs 755 and 756 (and probably 757 through 760, since Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson are pitching) in Los Angeles? There seem to be three schools of thought:
- (1) loud booing, disgraceful alcohol-fueled displays (the most likely scenario)
- (2) the Silent Treatment (which would be awesome, but good luck with that)
- (3) Throw the Ball Back! (simultaneously awesome and stupid)
But! there's a modified version of option (3) that takes the "stupid" out, allowing some undoubtedly deserving fan to say f' you to Barry while still affording them the privilege of paying a luxury tax greater than the value of their car: Throw a DIFFERENT ball back.
Shock the announcers at ESPN, who will have probably interrupted the State of the Union address to bring us Barry Watch 2007, into thinking someone just threw away (maybe) $500,000 in order to make a statement. Then say "Just kidding!" and get Sotheby's on line one!
Wonder what the Dodgers' official stance is? Diamond Leung informs us:
"Our plan in the event of a home run is to acknowledge the home run's significance on DodgerVision and allow Barry to tip his cap and be acknowledged by the crowd." - Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch on the Dodgers' plans for if Bonds hits 755 and 756.


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Alaska's rapidly disintegrating Columbia Glacier, which has shrunk in length by 9 miles since 1980, has reached the mid-point of its projected retreat, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Tad Pfeffer, associate director of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, said the glacier is now discharging nearly 2 cubic miles of ice annually into the Prince William Sound, the equivalent of 100,000 ships packed with ice, each 500 feet long. The tidewater glacier -- which has its terminus, or end, in the waters of the Prince William Sound -- is expected to retreat an additional 9 miles in the next 15 years to 20 years before reaching an equilibrium point in shallow water near sea level, he said.
Pfeffer presented his latest findings at a news briefing at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union Dec. 5 to Dec. 9 in San Francisco. Pfeffer, CU-Boulder doctoral student Shad O'Neel and other researchers from CU-Boulder and around North America have been monitoring the glacier with time-lapse photography, aerial photography, satellites, seismometers, lasers and other instruments.
The Columbia Glacier is now the single largest glacial contributor to sea level in North America, producing about 10 percent of the water volume entering the sea from all Alaskan glaciers each year, said Pfeffer. Sliding roughly 80 feet a day, the Columbia Glacier is among the world's fastest-moving glaciers and the last of Alaska's 51 tidewater glaciers to exhibit a drastic retreat.
The glacier's retreat appears to be due to a combination of complex physical processes, he said. "The start of the retreat in 1980 is not the direct result of global warming, but was triggered by longer-term warming," said Pfeffer. "The Columbia Glacier, like all Alaska glaciers, is melting at an increased rate, but the enormous volume of loss accompanying the retreat is much greater than melt alone."
The retreat of the Columbia Glacier and Alaska's other tidewater glaciers are believed to be influenced by a slow warming trend that began in the Northern Hemisphere about 500 years ago, he said. The Muir Glacier in Alaska's Glacier Bay, for example, began its retreat in the late 1800s, according to researchers.
But the Columbia Glacier, which is about three miles wide in places and up to 3,000 feet thick, has thinned up to 1,300 feet in places during the past 25 years. The thinning is believed to be caused, in part, by seawater pressure floating the submerged glacier terminus slightly and "stretching it like taffy" as the glacier speed has increased, he said.
"When tidewater glaciers thin to a critical level, they seem to reach a point where they speed up discharging ice into the ocean and can't slow down," said Pfeffer, who is also an associate professor in CU-Boulder's engineering college. Pfeffer said he believes the ongoing retreat of the Columbia Glacier will eventually create a vast fjord rivaling the spectacular Glacier Bay.
The ongoing research on the Columbia Glacier retreat can be used as a model for the current behavior of glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, where more than 90 percent of the Earth's ice is locked up, he said. Greenland and Antarctica are believed by scientists to be major contributors to global sea rise.
"Up until about 50 years ago, the perception was that Greenland and Antarctica were essentially monolithic pancakes of ice," he said. "We now understand that these large ice masses are made up of very different sub-regions that respond uniquely to climate forcing."
The Columbia Glacier has been under intense scrutiny since the late 1970s, when the U.S. Geological Survey determined that a marked increase in its calving rate might pose a threat to shipping lanes in Prince Williams Sound, site of the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The initial USGS studies were begun by glaciologist Mark Meier, who came to CU-Boulder in 1986 as INSTAAR's first director and who remains on the faculty as an emeritus professor.
While climate-forcing events like the warming underway at high latitudes of Earth may appear to be occurring in small steps, the ultimate response of glaciers and other parts of the environment may be significantly larger and faster, Pfeffer said. "High latitudes respond to climate change in tricky and very unpredictable ways."
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Home Page Chess Life Magazine 2009 September North American Youth Squad Announced
|North American Youth Squad Announced
|September 27, 2009
The U.S. will be participating in the North American Youth Championship 2009, in Mazatlan, Mexico - October 1-5. Our squad is composed of eight official representatives and three additional players. This tournament is held annually and determines the North American Youth Champion that will participate in the 2010 Pan American Youth Championship in Brazil.
Girls U8 Nguyen Emily USA
Girls U12 Munoz Claudia USA
Girls U16 Karamsetty Madhu USA
Open U8 Zeng Winston USA
Open U10 Gilchrist Ian USA
Open U12 Troff Kayden USA
Open U12 Karamsetty Jeevan USA
Open U12 Istafanous Andrew USA
Open U14 Finney Stuart USA
Open U16 Deepak Aaron USA
Open U8 Taghizadeh Rayan USA
The gold medal winner receives either the WOMAN CANDIDATE MASTER title or CANDIDATE MASTER title from FIDE.
Abed Munoz is the USCF Head of Delegation for this event. Look for news on the event on www.claudiachess.blogspot.com as well as CLO.


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Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Announced
TT Games latest Lego Batman adventure takes DC's cast of heroes and villains into outer space to stop Brainiac.
Lego Batman 3 takes place right after the second game in the series, and a recent demo of the title showed off a few sequences depicting The Legion of Doom's capture of the Watchtower which showcased some of the game's standout features.
Switching suits no longer requires a Suit Signal, as any of the suits you've unlocked (naturally there are a host of new ones) can be selected via a radial wheel. In Batman and other Justice League members' attempt to retake the Watchtower above Earth, Cyborg changes into a washing machine and mech, and we get a glimpse of Robin's Illumination suit. Also on display was a Defender-like gamplay sequence as Batman takes on the Joker-controlled Watchtower in the Bat-Rocket.
As the game progresses and goes deeper into the universe, both characters from The Legion of Doom and Justice League will team up to take on Brainiac, who is using the Lantern Rings to shrink worlds. TT Games says that the title has over 150 characters from the DC Universe to unlock.
Finally, the game also introduces a bunch of VR mini-missions to mix up the gameplay. These include platforming sequences, puzzles, races, and a host more.
Lego Batman 3 comes out this fall for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, 3DS, Vita, and PC.


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Reiner And Phil Holiday Special 2012
They said it would never happen. They said Phil Kollar would never come back. Those people also said the world would end on December 21. Those people obviously never engaged in a bromance. The apocalypse and over 2,000 miles of highway couldn't keep Reiner and Phil from uniting for another spectacular holiday special.
Holding to tradition, Reiner and Phil exchange gifts and take their unique bromance to a whole new level. Bears, mandrills, skateboards, and dinosaur t-shirts are all discussed in this festive look at four different games. Sit back and enjoy this reunion episode. After that, wax nostalgia with the Reiner and Phil video archive, and catch up on Phil's writing at Polygon.


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The real story behind the Pope's resignation
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Feb 15, 2013
What is the real reason for Pope Benedict's decision to resign? What's the story behind the story? Like thousands of others, I have been asking myself those questions since Monday morning. After a week of intensive reporting, and weighing the theories put forward by others, I have reached a conclusion. The real reason is the reason that the Holy Father put forward in his surprise announcement:
After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
There is no conspiracy to unravel. There is no major medical news that has been hidden from the public. Nevertheless, there still is a story behind the story.
Throughout his pontificate, Benedict XVI has acted slowly but decisively. He has weighed arguments and planned carefully before making major policy decisions, but once he has reached a decision he has been steadfast. He spoke about the possibility of resignation as far back as 2010. His brother testifies that the question has been on his mind for months. Finally Benedict XVI reached the conclusion that he was no longer capable of doing the job that needs to be done—not because of any particular medical emergency, but because of the gradual decline in energy that comes with old age.
Back in 2005, when they entered the conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II, the cardinals all knew that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was 78, that he had suffered a stroke, that his general health was not robust. Indeed his uncertain health was probably the best argument against electing him to Peter's throne. But their enormous respect for the man outweighed their concerns about his health, and so he became Benedict XVI.
Since that time we have all seen how age has taken its toll on the Pontiff. Arthritis has made him increasingly hesitant in his gait, unsteady on his feet. He has needed more frequent pauses for rest. Yet he has continued to keep a demanding schedule of meetings with his staff, with other bishops, and with visiting dignitaries; public and private audiences; writing and speaking; and even occasional trips abroad. At 85, he has been working at a pace that would challenge most men twenty years younger.
Has there been any evidence at all that Pope Benedict is losing his mental acuity? Absolutely not. Just this week, at a Thursday-afternoon meeting with priests of the Rome diocese , the Holy Father apologized for not having a prepared address, and then extemporaneously delivered a cogent, well organized, and fascinating 45-minute talk on the interpretation of Vatican II. He remains a brilliant analyst, preacher, and teacher.
So why has he chosen to resign, if he can still perform his duties so well? The answer, I suspect, is that he cannot perform those duties often enough to satisfy his own standards. He can analyze and preach and teach, but only with sufficient rest. As the rest periods grow longer, and sessions of work shorter, he cannot do all that he sees must be done.
Since the Pope's bombshell on Monday, the most revealing news from the Vatican press office may have been the announcement that the papal encyclical on faith will not be completed. Pope Benedict has reportedly been working on this encyclical since last summer, and it was scheduled for publication early this year. Yet the Pope—a man who has written dozens of books and countless scholarly articles—has not been able to complete a draft. He undoubtedly has the intellectual firepower for the task, but apparently he does not have the stamina to complete it.
One can easily imagine that Pope Benedict was frustrated by his inability to complete the encyclical, and brought that frustration to his prayer. Maybe the Holy Spirit eventually led him to the conclusion that he could not finish—that he was no longer strong enough for the work. We do know that, as he told the consistory on Monday, he had reached the decision to resign after careful deliberation and prayer.
If you know Benedict XVI at all, you know that he is firmly convinced that his resignation reflects the prompting of the Holy Spirit—that in an important sense it is God's decision, not his own. It is no accident that in his public audiences during the past few weeks, especially on Ash Wednesday, the Pope has exhorted the faithful to surrender themselves completely to God's will.
Still our question is not fully answered: Why was it necessary for the Pope to resign? Couldn't he have trimmed back his schedule, asked his subordinates to take on more responsibilities, and saved his own energies for the most crucial matters? Couldn't some other theologian draft the encyclical for him? Couldn't the Roman Curia prepare his public statements? Evidently the Pope decided that the answer was No. His subordinates could not carry out his responsibilities—at least, not well enough to serve the needs of the Church.
Pope Benedict has seen what happened during the last months of the previous pontificate, when John Paul II had lost his strength and aides were conducting the business of the Holy See. There was no notable disaster during that period, in part because John Paul II could rely on the steadying influence of Cardinal Ratzinger. There is no figure of similar stature in the Roman Curia today, and the aides who have served Benedict XVI have not served him well. The Vatican has seen a series of embarrassing blunders and missteps during this pontificate. Pope Benedict knew that he could not rely on his staff to fill in the gaps left by his declining vigor. "I don't know what I'd do without you," one says to a trusted subordinate. One might say that Pope Benedict has sent the opposite message to his own staff: "I don't know what you'd do without me." For the welfare of the Church, he could not allow the Roman Curia to act on his behalf.
Pope Benedict is an elderly man. For 8 years he has been fighting an exhausting battle, and often fighting it alone. He may have been able to fight on longer if he had reliable allies, but his closest aides have often compounded his troubles rather than solving them. Given his physical limitations, and the lack of help from his staff, it is extraordinary how much he has accomplished.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
Posted by: John J Plick -
Feb. 16, 2013 9:12 PM ET USA
I sincerely believe that the plain truth, to a world so badly benighted, is simply unacceptable. The doctrine and the teaching of the Church stand, but stand "rejected," to a world with an unsatisfiable appetite for intrigue. The world-system needs some sort of underlying darker explanation, however distorted, not so much to refute the truth of the resignation itself but in fact to obscure the reasonable moral demands of God.
Posted by: momtomany128421 -
Feb. 16, 2013 2:13 PM ET USA
Very reasonable analysis!
Posted by: -
Feb. 16, 2013 10:03 AM ET USA
Phil, perhaps it would be better to change the link u have for the Holy Father's impromptu address to the priests of Rome, and make the link directly to the transcript itself, http://en.radiovaticana.va/m_articolo.asp?c=664858 . The Holy Father's comments on Vat 2 are very enlightening and Informative and well worth the time of anyone who would like to know the origin of the post Vat 2 troubles.
Posted by: -
Feb. 15, 2013 8:28 PM ET USA
Excellent commentary!
Posted by: WBSM -
Feb. 15, 2013 7:40 PM ET USA
There were several people among family and friends asking me, as the news spread like wildfire, why is the pope "really" resigning... I told them it would be a good idea to begin with the supposition that the Holy Father is saying the plain truth...
Posted by: -
Feb. 15, 2013 6:12 PM ET USA
This is quite simply the best analysis yet. Simple and clearly accurate.


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|PHILLIPS, K - Virginia Polytechnic Institution & State University
|TARRAGÓ-TRANI, M - Virginia Polytechnic Institution & State University
|Gebhardt, Susan
|Exler, Jacob
|Patterson, Kristine
|Haytowitz, David
|Pehrsson, Pamela
|Holden, Joanne
Submitted to: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/26/2009
Publication Date: 5/15/2009
Citation: Phillips, K.M., Tarragó-Trani, M.T., Gebhardt, S.E., Exler, J., Patterson, K.Y., Haytowitz, D.B., Pehrsson, P.R., Holden, J.M. 2010. Stability of vitamin C in frozen raw fruit and vegetable homogenates. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 23(3):253-259.
Interpretive Summary: The nutritional importance of vitamin C as an essential water-soluble vitamin is well established, and an adequate intake of vitamin C from foods and/or supplements is vital for normal functioning of the human body. Information on the vitamin C content of foods is available from U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR). The USDA National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP)is an ongoing project to update and improve the quality of food composition data in SR. As a part of that program, raw fruits and vegetables are analyzed for vitamin C. It is important that the data collected be accurate so it is necessary to be sure that the vitamin C in the samples does not change before analysis. In the NFNAP program, primary samples units are generally collected from supermarkets around the country and shipped to a central location for processing prior to analysis for many nutrients by various laboratories. This study was designed to determine if vitamin C is retained in the samples with the usual processing procedures, and how long it is retained in the frozen samples during storage. Three kinds of fresh produce were tested: raw collard greens, russet potatoes, and clementines. The samples were homogenized in liquid nitrogen, put into glass jars, stored at -60 degrees C, and protected from light. Analyses of the materials for vitamin C were done immediately and on the stored samples after 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 months using an accurate, validated analytical method. No significant change in the vitamin C content of clementines was noted over a year, but, for both the potatoes and collard greens, a steady decrease in content was seen after one month of storage. It was determined that the tested food samples processed using the usual NFNAP procedures, and analyzed for vitamin C within a month, give reasonably accurate results. Longer term storage prior to analysis, for some types of foods, would result in a loss of vitamin C and give inaccurate results.
Technical Abstract: Retention of vitamin C in homogenized raw fruits and vegetables stored under laboratory conditions prior to analysis was investigated. Raw collard greens, clementines, and potatoes were chosen, to be representative of food matrices to be sampled in USDA's National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP), and having different expected stability of ascorbic acid (AA). Samples were homogenized in liquid nitrogen, assayed immediately, then stored at -60 degrees C and analyzed at eight time points up to 49 weeks. Vitamin C (as total AA after reduction of dehydroascorbic acid), was analyzed using a validated method with quantitation by HPLC/ultraviolet detection. An orange juice control sample was included in each run. Vitamin C content was stable in clementines and the orange juice control samples, but decreased in collards and potatoes [16.8 and 10.9 mg/100g (14.7% and 30.4%), respectively, after 49 weeks]. Significant losses had occurred after 12 weeks. These results suggest that careful attention to sample handling protocols is required for raw products with similar matrices, or AA values may not reflect the concentration in the food as consumed. The control sample was critical to allowing assessment of storage effects independent of analytical variability. Fruits and vegetables for the NFNAP will be analyzed without storage until a practical stabilization protocol is validated.


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The only trade of note to take place on the NBA's trade deadline day was the one that sent shooting guard J.J. Redick from the Orlando Magic to the Milwaukee Bucks. As is standard practice, the Bucks put out a triumphant, post-trade press release that includes all kinds of boring statistics and PR-speak and hey wait a minute what's this?
[J.J. Redick's] PER of 16.31 is the highest of his career and the ninth-best mark among shooting guards in the league this season.
Not only did the Bucks casually drop a PER reference, they did it without including any explanatory information. We're just supposed to know what PER is at this point! It's a small but meaningful victory for the advanced stats crowd, whose ideas continue to infiltrate NBA front offices. Hurray for people getting smarter!


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"A healthy kids snack that the whole family will love"
"An awesome alternative to traditional sugary granola bars"
"Delicious and Filling"
"A totally kid-approved snack"
We make bars.
Some are for kids.
Some are for adults.
This is what comes in your box: 6 RXBARs and 4 RXBAR Kids.
(that's a good deal, trust us)


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J.D. Kimple trains for and races with a purpose: to support Wounded Warrior Project and to commemorate his son.
by J.D. Kimple
Most people who race bicycles for money are looking to put cash in their pockets. The better the finish, the better the pay – it's a way to earn a living doing something they enjoy, or at least some payoff for all the hard work they've put in. But we've decided to try a different angle: racing bikes to raise money as proud supporters of the Wounded Warrior Project.
Why and how did we come up with that idea?
On May 2nd, 2008, our son, Lcpl. James Kimple, was killed in action while serving his country on his second tour of duty in Iraq. From this sadness we've wanted to turn this into something positive. My wife and I have wanted to do something in James' memory, but we couldn't really come up with an idea that really seemed to resonate. Over two years we worked out and planned different events and things we could do. As a cyclist, I was aware that there are lots of charity rides that raise money for a variety of causes. But we weren't sure of the best way to go – plan a long ride and ask for donations per mile or hold an event ride and have everyone pay an entry fee/donation. If we went with the event ride, when would we hold it that didn't interfere with any of the other rides that were starting to crowd the Central Ohio bike ride calendar? Would we start our own foundation or non-profit? What exactly would we raise the money for?
I knew that what I wanted to do was something that involved riding bicycles. When James was last home on leave around Christmas of 2007, I had just finished building a bike for him to ride around base (Camp Pendleton). He came over the Saturday before Christmas, and we took his bike out of a shakedown ride. It was just the two of us out for a long easy ride. We had some good conversations. That was the last father-son time I had with him. Additionally, one of the last memories of my son occurred during several email exchanges while James was deployed in Iraq. I mentioned that I was interested in participating in cyclocross racing. James thought it was a good idea and encouraged me to pursue it. Now I feel that it's time for me to hold up my end of the bargain. I knew that whatever we did, it would be called "Riding with my Son." That phrase just popped in my head over a year ago and just seemed right regardless of what we would end up doing.
While looking at the ways we could do good in James' memory, we pursued many ideas. However, in the spring of this year my wife and I attended a motorcycle ride to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. At that ride we met several soldiers who are not only involved with WWP, but who had originally received assistance from the Wounded Warrior Project. I talked with these men and was intrigued by what they represented. I followed it up with some research on them and liked what I saw. From the WWP: "WWP provides programs and services to assist injured veterans and their families during their recovery, rehabilitation and transition. Whether through caregiver retreats, combat stress programs, career and education services, or adaptive sporting opportunities, Wounded Warrior Project's vision is to help make this generation of wounded warriors the most successful and well-adjusted in our nation's history." As well, WWP also has a very low administrative/operating expense, much better than most non-profit organizations.
These ideas simmered in the back of my brain for at least several months before they coalesced. Not just a charity bike ride, not just race cyclocross, but combine the two – racing 'cross for a worthy cause. The Wounded Warrior Project was just that cause.
I discussed this with my wife and she thought it was a good idea. Then we discussed this idea with our sons, and Jovid said that he would race with me. Of course I approached Wounded Warrior Project and Cap City Cross concerning this idea, and with green lights from all angles our fundraiser is now a go.
"Hey, we're all set now!" I thought. We're discovering that there are many small hiccups along the way, but nothing we can't deal with. For instance this is our first full season of racing as the previous year I only participated in the last two races of the year and Jovid had never even thought of riding cyclocross before now. So I tweaked my 'cross bike for Jovid to race and assembled a bike for myself which I completed just in time to ride the Frankenbike 50. Many thanks to Chuck at OK Velo (Tulsa, OK) and Rick and his crew at Cyclist Connection (Canal Winchester, OH) for helping us get our bikes to the starting line. Thanks are also in order for Shel-Shok for helping in getting the word out and organizing the words we wanted to get out.
Alright, we're really racing! We're also really ready to suffer! We are not blazing out of the gates, but all things considered we're doing alright. Jovid started fair, and then started working weekend nights, which temporarily took him out of racing. I don't get to ride much during the week as I am a field service engineer by day, traveling all over Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and other various locales. But I've been slowly moving up from mid-pack Cs. And at the last Cap City race, I ran with the Bs, due to a challenge from several contributors and my wife. Good thing was, I wasn't DFL! I didn't die! It also allowed me to see I was getting gapped in the hairpins and off-camber turns. Not bad for a guy who gets to plug away for an hour or so twice a week.
Now we are racing to raise funds, but how do we actually get the contributions? Join our team or make a donation! Donations can be made at any time during the cyclocross season (now until 12-Dec-2010) online through our website. You can register as a team member on the same page as well. Follow our efforts/musings online where we keep you up to date on progress, results and all things in between. Of course you can track us down at the Cap City races – Jovid and I will be wearing the WWP Proud Supporter jerseys. And people who would rather not make their contributions electronically can send a check or money order to us at this address:
J.D. Kimple
PO Box 222
Carroll, Ohio 43112
(If you are sending a check or money order, it should be made out to "Wounded Warrior Project".)
Let's have some fun with this, too. Make a challenge. Throw down the gauntlet. Let us know you'll toss in an extra $X if we reach the podium in a race or run with the A group, for example (What? Do you really want me to die?). Or tie your incentive to the year-end results. Also, you don't have to be local nor a racer to join our fundraising team. Just a desire to help the Wounded Warrior Project.
We certainly appreciate your time, consideration and contributions. Thank you.
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