Sunday, April 27, 2008

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Wake Up! - - Photos

  Trench Rescue students practice shoring a trench without entering it.
  Using a ladder as a hoist anchor point is just one of the "out of the box" ways our guys think
  Carl and Tim enter the trench to perform a "Rescue"
  And the "victim" is recovered.
Posted by Picasa

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Wake Up!

  Joann and Felicia, two of my favorite MCC sisters served at Albemarle's latest Steak and Bingo Supper
  Ron Huett served as host in spite of a sore throat.
  "Natt" and Anita always have a smile for me
Posted by Picasa

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Wake Up!

  Pat Hammock and the gang did a great job cooking
  There was a good crowd
  And the smiles showed the quality of the food and fellowship
Posted by Picasa

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Wake Up!

Volume 10, Issue 17 Friday, April 25, 2008

Hello All,

Tomorrow, we’re headed to Hot Springs to see Prairie Home Companion. We’ve been fans for twenty or so years. Annette and I usually listen to Garrison Keillor every Saturday while preparing supper. We’re excited about the chance to catch up on Lake Wobegon in person so we’ve been “bragging” to all our friends and acquaintances about our plans.
Most of them give us a blank stare that says they have no idea what we’re talking about. How could the majority of the population here not know about public radio’s premier program?
One of the secretaries at work had never heard of Prairie Home Companion nor Garriosn Keillor but she perked up when I mentioned Lake Wobegon. “Oh, you’re going camping?” she said.
~~~~~
Wherever you look, people are talking about the environment. Global Warming, buy “Green”, conserve, recycle, etc. So what happened to “Earth Day?” Oh, there are web sites [http://ww2.earthday.net/] [http://www.earthday.gov/] [http://holidays.kaboose.com/earth-day/] [http://energyhog.org/] [WWW.GO-GREEN.COM] [http://earthday.wilderness.org/] [http://www.epa.gov/earthday/] etc. and there was even some limited news coverage. But most people didn’t even know it had been 38 years since the first Earth Day.
On the anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970, the air and water in the US is cleaner, land conservation is in practice, and we’re still taking steps to improve water quality even more. Our goal is cleaner air and water, and healthier lands and wildlife habitats. The trend of annual loss of wetlands has been reversed.
Earth Day is intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The United Earth Day, founded by U.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22.
1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years. At the time, most Americans were consuming leaded gas in massive V8 sedans. Heavy industry released smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. The 1970 Earth Day helped to change many peoples' minds. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities (including Southern State College in Magnolia) organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
At SSC, I was the chairman of earth day activities. We passed out leaflets, wore blue arm bands and the Student Senate sponsored a lecture that evening by a representative of the US forest service.
I guess that this year, the “Earth Day” goals to improve the environment are so ingrained in our public consciousness, that a separate celebration or “day” is considered by most people to be redundant. But there is still a battle raging. We are now in the midst of two competing ideologies; Global Warming and Economic Fears. I, for one, feel that the “Global Warming” group is focusing on unreasonable goals that won’t really help improve our environment. On the other hand, there is much to be done here, as well as the rest of the world to clean up and protect our environment.
For instance, China has the world’s highest number of annual deaths triggered by air pollution and our Missionaries to Romania report ill effects from poor air quality. Globally, there are many rivers and lakes that are too polluted to sustain life. In the U.S., in spite of great strides over the last 38 years, we still generate mountains of garbage and refuse that contains toxins as well as wasting valuable resources. And our environmental laws stifle industry while at the same time they often fail to reduce emissions of significant toxic substances.
We need a significant change in the way we think. And I believe that the price of oil is going to have a silver lining that inspires many people to start conserving more. Because they will have to.
We’re sure not the “greenest” family in Magnolia, but we have insulated our home, put in new windows, installed a programmable thermostat to reduce our heating/cooling costs and replaced most of our lights with fluorescent bulbs (a practice that I think is a net “gain” environmental wise, even though the bulbs do contain mercury. The EPA ENERGY STAR® program estimates that by changing the five most-used lights in your home, you’ll save more than $60 every year in energy costs.)
This week we’re going to install a gas “tankless” water heater [http://www.foreverhotwater.com/] and we’ve cut back on our driving. Our next step is to replace my old V-8 truck with a more fuel efficient ride as many of the other folks at work have already done.
But there’s more that all of us can do. Look at your life style and purchases (because “money” is really the source of environmental damage and improvement.) Where can you reduce resource use? Are the products you buying really “green?” Check out the web and make an effort to educate yourself on the issues. Not everything that is promoted as “green” is.
We’ll leave you with a few of my favorite “Earth Day” quotes;

'Every day is Earth Day'

Till now man has been up against Nature; from now on he will be up against his own nature. ~ Dennis Gabor

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, We borrow it form our children.

Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time. ~ Motto of the Baltimore Grotto

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to say out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." ~John Muir

For 200 years we've been conquering Nature. Now we're beating it to DEATH.

... only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten. - cree indian proverb

The Earth is what we all have in common. (Wendell Berry - in Sunday's Mutt's cartoon)

"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now." - James F. McClellan Comments on the first Earth Day via "Fuzzy" Thurman (as distributed via UPI)
~~~~~
Speaking of the environment, how’s your fuel bill these days? Does $3.50 a gallon gas worry you? Want to know who to blame? Go look in the Mirror.
In spite of claims of “Price Gouging” from oil companies, we are really responsible for the price of fuel. You see there is such a thing as Economics and one of the main rules of economics is “Supply and Demand.” As long as there are more people wanting to buy fuel (or people wanting to buy MORE fuel) and a limited or falling supply of oil (the main ingredient in fuel) the price is going to go up.
What we have in the world today is sort of a “Perfect Storm” of fuel consumption increases and stagnant or falling supplies of oil.
We’ve had over 30 years since the OPEC Oil Crisis to change our habits, develop alternatives to the use of imported oil, etc. And in that time we’ve done . . . next to nothing. At the same time, we’ve globalized our purchasing and improved the economic status of millions of folks the world over. And in the last few years those folks have bought cars and started buying fuel for their cars. And while more folks were clamoring for more fuel, world oil supplies peaked and have actually started falling.
VIOLA! $3.50 a gallon for gas.
~~~~~
And, being squeezed into spending a larger percentage of our income on fuel isn’t the only problem of our failures to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Our oil addiction also is starting to endanger our food supply.
~
Wal-Mart's Sam's Club Restricts Purchase of Some Rice (Update5)
By Cotten Timberlake

April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club warehouse unit is restricting purchases of some types of rice to four bags a visit as prices reached a record in Chicago futures trading.
The limits on jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice, a response to ``recent supply and demand trends,'' will be put into effect in all U.S. stores where allowed by law and are effective immediately, Sam's Club spokeswoman Kristy Reed said today in an e-mailed statement.
Some consumers have started hoarding rice, the food staple for half the world as prices soar and supplies shrink. China, Vietnam, India and Egypt have curbed sales abroad to safeguard domestic supplies and cool inflation. Thailand also may restrict shipments, a World Bank official said today.
``The warehouse clubs are doing it to protect their business customers, like smaller restaurants, caterers, nursing homes, day-care centers,'' said food consultant Jim Degen. ``The business members are the most important members in warehouse clubs because they generate so much more revenue per member.'' Degen is a principal of J.M. Degen & Co., a food industry marketing consulting firm based in Templeton, California.
Some of Costco Wholesale Corp.'s stores, including locations in California, have put limits on sales of rice and flour, Chief Executive Officer James Sinegal told Reuters yesterday. Sinegal didn't return a phone call from Bloomberg News seeking comment.
Distribution Systems
Costco and Sam's Club have extensive distribution systems and source worldwide, so they can redistribute their rice supplies within the United States, meaning limits on customers may not be a long-term problem, said Degen.
``We are working with our suppliers to address this matter to ensure we are in stock,'' Sam's Club's Reed said. The stores aren't limiting purchases of flour or oil, she said. Reached via phone, she declined to comment further.
Rice has more than doubled in the past year. Rice futures for July delivery rose 2.6 percent in Chicago today, touching a record $24.85 per 100 pounds, and have climbed 26 percent this month.
Wheat, corn and soybeans gained to records this year, spurring social unrest in Haiti and Egypt.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, rose 37 cents to $56.92 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Costco, the largest U.S. warehouse club, climbed $1.52, or 2.2 percent, to $69.60.
Food Prices
The higher commodities prices are also pushing up U.S. food prices and spurring inflation. The consumer price index climbed 0.3 percent in March, after no change in the prior month, the Labor Department said April 16. Inflation, combined with falling home values and mounting job losses, is leading to cutbacks in consumer spending that may push the economy into a recession.
Limits on rice purchases will be felt the most in California and Texas, which have large Asian and Mexican populations, whose diets include rice, Degen said.
Soaring prices may put basic foods beyond the reach of the poorest people, raising the risk of a ``silent famine'' in Asia, a World Food Program official said April 21.
In the U.S., half of the domestic rice crop meets 88 percent of the country's demand, said David Coia, a spokesman with the USA Rice Federation in Arlington, Virginia.
`Uncalled-For Hysteria'
``When global prices rise as quickly as they have, as rice has, and as recently happened with wheat, you are going to have some concerns, and hysteria in some cases that is uncalled for,'' Ephraim Leibtag, an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, said in a telephone interview. ``Food supplies have been pretty stable in the U.S. over the last 20 to 30 years.''
When prices rise rapidly, consumers buy larger quantities to lock in the lower prices, and that effect is exacerbated when a product is storable, he said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics index of consumer prices for rice, pasta and cornmeal rose 12.1 percent in March over a year earlier. In March 2007, the index was up 5.2 percent.
``There is no shortage of rice in the United States, and my understanding is that you have these companies like Sam's Club and Costco that want to have rice for all their customers, not just the large purchasers who hoard,'' Coia said by telephone.
The worldwide supply shortfall will begin to ease with the June harvest, and may be resolved by the end of 2009, as farmers increase their crops to meet the demand, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Cotten Timberlake in Washington at ctimberlake@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=home&sid=a8eTi39MS7Vc
~
Humm ... there is no rice shortage. Panicky people are just hoarding. So WalMart and Costco are solving the hoarding problem by restricting purchases. . . . That ought to work. As soon as folks know that these vendors are restricting purchases, they’ll quit worrying. Right? . . . No?
In fact, those panicky people will probably hoard more. So what you say? . . . See the “Supply and Demand” discussion above. Anything that causes Demand to increase will cause prices to go up unless supply is increased. And the stores are restricting supply.
Now, is there really a shortage of food. Well probably not in the US but higher food prices here (due mostly to increased cost of fuel which increases production costs) are causing a reduction in supply to agencies that feed the poor (some folks actually live on a budget and can’t just spend more to get the same amount of food at higher prices.)
And overseas, higher fuel prices are translating into lower food supplies (food production actually depends on fuel in much of the world to plant, harvest, distribute and even fertilize crops.) Again see “Supply and Demand” above. Reducing harvests, result in lower supplies which causes higher prices which can lead to starvation among those who can’t just whip out some plastic to charge their groceries.
Of course, higher food prices will eventually result in more food as farmers who have the capital plant more to cash in on higher prices for their crops. But in poor countries, many will starve before that cycle is complete.
~~~~~
Layoffs and other budget cuts are possible for debt-ridden Oral Roberts University, as the tiny evangelical school looks to regroup from several financial scandals and keep enrollment from sliding further, the school's trustees chairman said.
"We can't spend more than we bring in," said Mart Green, an Oklahoma City businessman who recently donated $70 million to the school. "Let's find out where we're fat, where we're thin and make this place strong, and not just going hand to mouth year after year."
Green's comments on Friday came days after a tense faculty meeting where administrators braced professors for the possibility of job cuts as a way to make budget ends meet. Professors were also implored to persuade students thinking about transferring to return to the school in the fall.
~
The real story here is that Christians aren’t perfect. Smith Wigglesworth said “The majority of Christians daily seek to disprove the Gospel.” So it’s no surprise that any Christian, even a leader of a major Christian University could stumble. How could such a leader get in such a mess? The same way any of us could.
Smith Wigglesworth also said “I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe.” and failing to follow that tenant is where we get in trouble. When we start making decisions based on what we see or what’s going on around us. This disconnect from our basic faith will often lead us to depend less and less on the word of God until the point that we can’t remember how it is to be led by God’s Word. When that happens, the Christian is cut off from his moral compass as well as his spiritual guide.
It becomes easier and easier to rationalize our actions.
So how can we, as Christians, respond to this scandal? Well, please don’t bemoan the problems at ORU. God is bigger than any problem they face. I hope that Mr. Green is successful in leading a turnaround at the University. There are many fine Christians who’ve been educated there and this institution has a fine faculty, who are ready to continue that heritage.
And, bottom line . . . God can turn this around, all he needs is a few believers willing to have faith. And a few more willing to pray for them. I’ll finish up with a final quote from Smith Wigglesworth; “Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials.”
~~~~~
The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) has registered Albemarle – Magnolia as Conservation Education Sites (CES). This is an introductory stage to certification in the Corporate Lands Of Learning (CLL)program. Albemarle uses their artificial wetlands as outdoor classrooms for area students. The students and educators learn to explore ecological concepts and the human role in conservation during their visits. Having these students on site provides a great opportunity for them to learn more about the corporation’s role in conservation of natural resources and wildlife habitat. The students are also encouraged to explore careers in science and math based disciplines during these visits.
Albemarle –Magnolia has been actively engaged in providing public outreach and education programs at our wetlands and wildlife habitats for more than 15 years. The site programs have been WHC certified since 2006.
~~~~~
Each week the Defense Department highlights military personnel who have gone above and beyond in the war. [http://www.defenselink.mil/heroes/] - - Ian Dollard - Hometown: Pleasant, CA - Awarded: Silver Star

June 24, 2007 on patrol in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, Corporal Ian Dollard’s team investigated an abandoned dump truck for signs of explosives when insurgents ambushed them. Immediately, one Marine was hit once by a spray of machine gun fire and several Marines rushed to his aid. Dollard provided suppressive fire from behind his up-armored Humvee for the rescuers and wounded Marine. Suddenly, a second position opened fire on the Marines. An enemy round hit his platoon commander, 1st Lt. Paul Brisker, instantly dropping Brisker to the ground and presenting the young corporal with a life threatening decision.
Dollard recalls adrenaline took over, and he rushed towards his wounded comrade – as well as the second enemy machine gun position. The 21-year-old Marine selflessly used his body as a shield to protect Brisker from additional gunfire while he began performing first aid.
In his exposed position, Dollard was hit not once, but twice by machine gun fire in his armor, causing him only temporary pause. He knew Brisker would die if not pulled to the safety provided by his platoon, so he dragged the injured officer more than 25 meters to a Humvee under constant gunfire. In the final steps of the rescue, Dollard was hit a third time, this round bypassing his armor and hitting him in the leg.
Ignoring his injuries, Dollard continued supporting his platoon as they left the engagement to rush back to their operating base and get Brisker the critical care he needed. Only then did Dollard tell his platoon sergeant, Staff Sgt. Marc Navai, "Oh, by the way, I got shot too."
Without delay, Navai started working on the citation, arguing, "That’s what a Silver Star is all about." Dollard was credited with saving the life of his platoon commander, who eventually made a full recovery. After only six weeks recuperating, Dollard was back on the frontlines, serving his country and the Corps with the same heroism he brought that June day in Anbar province.
~~~~~
The latest from Michael Yon, the foremost “milnews” blogger on the web.
~
I am in Washington DC in meetings and doing television and radio shows on Moment of Truth in Iraq [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Moment-of-Truth-in-Iraq/Michael-Yon/e/9780980076325/?itm=1] before returning to the war. We do not know how long the book will be discounted at BarnesandNoble.com, but it is selling for $13.96 right now.
My apologies that I have been focused on promoting the book lately, but this message is necessary. This book is important for people to read.
Sincerely,
Michael
~~~~~
Friday, April 24 - Albemarle Corrects News Stories About Chemical Release in Pasadena, TX Plant - Release Occurred at Another Company's Facility Adjacent to Albemarle's Property No Albemarle Employees, Contractor Workers Affected at Albemarle Site; No Effect on Albemarle's Facility.
PASADENA, Texas, April 24 /PRNewswire/ – Albemarle Corporation would like to correct certain erroneous initial news stories reported by multiple Houston-area news outlets that a chemical release took place today at Albemarle's facility located at 2500 N. South Street, Pasadena, Texas. The event occurred at an adjoining facility and did not involve Albemarle Corporation, its employees or its contractors.
The incident in question took place just before 5:00 PM CDT at the Pasadena, Texas facility of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., 3000 N. South Street. Further information about the incident should be obtained by contacting MEMC.
Again, the incident in question did NOT take place at Albemarle's plant, and NO Albemarle employees or contract workers or others on Albemarle's site were affected by the incident.
~
I got calls from emergency response companies, asking if we needed any assistance. And my facility is 300 miles from Pasadena, TX. The early news reports must have really been confused. The only information about the incident that I could find on the web was a news release by Williams Kherkher, a Houston-based personal injury law firm. In the release they said; On Thursday April 25th, a gas leak hose at a Pasadena, TX plant released a hazardous gas which sent 15 employees to the hospital. In an effort to be of service to these individuals, Williams Kherkher has created a resource center at http://williamskherkher.com/memc_plant_gas_leak.aspx for individuals affected by the gas.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) April 26, 2008 -- Williams Kherkher, a Houston-based personal injury law firm, has launched a free web-based resource center at http://williamskherkher.com/memc_plant_gas_leak.aspx, providing important information and legal advice to those affected by the MEMC manufacturing plant gas leak.
On the afternoon of Thursday, April 25, 2008, a gas leak at MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.'s manufacturing plant in Pasadena, TX, resulted in the hospitalization of 15 employees. Silicon tetrafluoride (STF) gas was released through a leak in a hose from a transport vehicle connected to the MEMC facility.
MEMC officials said that the leak was quickly contained and would not affect the surrounding area. 15 employees, however, are still hospitalized while undergoing further evaluation and treatment. According to officials, the Pasadena plant will be shut down temporarily while the cause of the leak is investigated.
MEMC uses STF in the manufacturing process of silicon wafers. STF, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas, is highly corrosive and may cause burns, frostbite, or death if exposed to or inhaled. Further information about silicon tetrafluoride is provided by Williams Kherkher.
About Williams Kherkher
Williams Kherkher is a Houston-based personal injury law firm with a dedication to defending the rights and interests of injured people. Our Texas firm has represented over 30,000 people during its 25-year history. For more information on Williams Kherkher, visit http://www.williamskherkher.com.
~~~~~
And just when you thought the “masses” couldn’t be duped any more . . . Junk Science raises its ugly head again.
~
Companies Move to Curb Risk
From Chemical BPA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WSJ, April 21, 2008; Page B2

A chemical found in hundreds of common items came under increased pressure when Canada said it may ban its use in baby bottles, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it expected its entire assortment of baby bottles to be free of the material by early next year.

Two bottle makers also announced plans to phase out bisphenol A, or BPA, on Friday.

Thermo Fisher plans to replace its Nalgene Outdoor line of plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.
The moves come in the wake of a report from the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program saying that there is "some concern" about BPA. Experiments on rats linked BPA to changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast. While such animal studies only provide "limited evidence" of risk, the draft report said a possible effect on humans "cannot be dismissed."
With more than six million pounds produced in the U.S. each year, BPA is found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of household goods.
On Friday, Playtex Infant Care, a division of Energizer Holdings Inc., announced that the balance of its baby-bottle product line will be converted to BPA-free material by year end. In addition, the company said it will immediately suspend distribution in Canada of all infant-feeding products containing BPA. The company said BPA is used in only a few Playtex products.
Likewise, the maker of Nalgene water bottles, popular with hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, said that bottles made with BPA will be pulled from stores over the next few months because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk. Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.
Citing multiple studies in the U.S., Europe and Japan, the chemicals industry says polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and release traces considered too low to harm humans.
Health Canada, saying it wanted to be prudent, said it is proposing "to reduce bisphenol A exposure in infants and newborns by proposing a number of actions: to ban polycarbonate baby bottles; to develop stringent migration targets for bisphenol A in infant formula cans; to work with industry to develop alternative food packaging and develop a code of practice; and to list bisphenol A under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act."
Ottawa is giving the public 60 days to comment and will ban the use of BPA in baby bottles if no relevant information surfaces.
URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873770422129987.html
~
Just to put this in a little perspective, the “Experiments on rats” involved feeding the pure substance to rats. Rats are used for such studies because they can’t regurgitate and therefore can be fed various substances in huge quantities that would otherwise cause most living things to violently expel their stomach contents.
The “hazards” these “Junk Scientists” are concerned about involve studies that show minute detectable traces of the substance (in quantities as low as “Parts Per Trillion”) in bottles or other containers.
There is no, none, nada, ain’t never been found, evidence that BPA in those quantities has every made anyone ill, much less any rats. But our “Junk Science Leaders” are gonna ban this substance. And probably replace it with something that is toxic but they won’t know that for a few decades until they have time to gather another bunch of rats up.
~~~~~
Pocket Full of Rocks [Jody Crump, Alisa Farren, Michael Farren, Kyle Lee, Ryan Riggins, and David Rollins] album “Manifesto” [Myrrh Records, Curb Records] was Nominated for Praise & Worship Album of the Year at the Dove Awards. This was their second Dove nomination.
The winner was Remedy; David Crowder*Band; Jeremy Bush, David Crowder, Mike Dodson, Mike Hogan, Jack Parker, Mark Waldrop; Sparrow Records, sixstepsrecords
~~~~~
If you want to see more photos of last week’s train wreck go to http://www.bugsbleattw.blogspot.com/
~~~~~
Speaking of photos, we’ve added some new ones to our Photo Favorites site. Just go to http://bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com/
~~~~~
TEN THINGS THAT CAN AGGRAVATE CRABBY PEOPLE AT CHURCH

1. People who over use the tambourine. Everybody isn't meant to beat it. When you don't do it right it is truly aggravating and a nuisance. Keep still and sing like everybody else during the slow songs.
2. People who fake the Spirit. Just because your friend felt the touch don't mean you did too. If you're running around the church and you stop out of breath after going only half way around we know you haven't been touched. SIT DOWN!
3. People who constantly holler something to the pastor all during the message. We don't need a comment from you after every sentence he makes. We know he's preaching' and we know he’s talking to you. 'SHUT UP' so I can hear him talk to me too.
4. People who constantly go to the bathroom. Nobody has to use the bathroom four times a service and you're clearly not on a date. SIT YOUR BEHIND DOWN.
5. People who can't control their kids. ! If little Jay-Jay is running all up and down the aisle and going back and forth to the bathroom then you need to BEAT HIS BEHIND.
6. People who take 'Come AS YOU ARE' to a whole new level. I can understand if you going through something. Since when is it OK for men to wear hats in the church and wear their pants to their ankles?
7. People who bring food to church. If you brought your little baby a little snack and you're eating it and dropping crumbs everywhere that's a problem. Take that Oreo and little Rae-kwon outside.
8. People who come to special church functions and criticize. If you're standing in a corner gossiping about how you would've done a better job at something and you haven't volunteered to help with anything and haven't showed up to any invitations to join a ministry, I'm going to have to ask you to Shut-UP!
9. People who obviously show they don't like you. If you don't care for a person too much for whatever reason at least put up a decent front to look past it and act right in church. Don't cut a fool with your evil faces and smart comments.
10. Finally, parents that dress better than their kids. If you come in looking like a model for a fashion show and little Ashley is dragging behind you looking like she belongs on a 'Feed the Children' commercial you're DEAD WRONG. Give your child a 'Just For Me perm', wipe your kid's nose, comb your kid's hair, and buy them something decent to wear. Don't come out of the house looking like a MILLION BUCKS while your kid is looking like a FOOD STAMP.

And the Church said, AMEN'.

God Loves everyone, but prefers 'fruits of the spirit' over 'religious nuts!'

Thanks to Claiborne Sharp Jr.
~~~~~
Magnolia/Columbia County Literacy Council Fundraiser - April 29
Magnolia/Columbia County Literacy Council Celebrates Literacy Awareness Month With our 5th Annual Spaghetti Supper Tuesday, April 29 - 5:00- 7:00 p.m. at the Adult Education Center, 811 Calhoun Road. New this year, an Auction at 7:00 p.m. - Rep. Bruce Maloch, Auctioneer
The Literacy Council is in danger of having to close its Teen Tutoring program because of a lack of funding. Please help. Tickets $7.00 - Call 234-6064
~~~~~
Barksdale Air Show May 10 & 11 - [http://www.barksdaleafbairshow.com/]
~~~~~
14th ANNUAL ALBEMARLE BASS TOURNAMENT - May 10, 2008

When: Saturday, May 10, 2008
Where: Lake Columbia – North Shore Landing
Time: 6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Entry Fee: $40.00 per boat plus $10.00 per team for Big Bass Contest

1st - 50% of entries
2nd - 30% of entries
3rd - 20% of entries

PRIZES TO BE GIVEN IN RANDOM DRAWING

Big Bass Pot 1st - 75% 2nd -25%
(Same team may not win both places.)

Rules and Regulations
1. All Arkansas Game and Fish and state laws apply.
2. No live bait.
No fishing from bank.

Registration time: 5:00 a.m. – 5:45 a.m. at North Shore Landing
Weigh-in time 2:00 p.m. prompt (1 lb. penalty for each minute late, disqualified after 15 minutes)
Fishing start time: 6:00 a.m.
All fish must be taken from Lake Columbia the day of the tournament.
Each team may weigh 8 fish.
In case of ties, the biggest, next biggest, etc. fish will break the tie.
Must wear life jackets when big motor is running.
Sportsman-like conduct required at all times.
There must be one Albemarle or Albemarle contract employee per boat.
All fish must be taken on rod and reel.
Weighed fish must be in compliance with Lake Columbia slot limit (under 16” to over 18” slot)
Fish will be measured mouth closed and tail pinched.
Any team weighing fish within the 16” to 18” slot will be disqualified and be subject to fines by the AG&F.
Fish will be bumped with a Golden Rule.
A team may not weigh more than 6 fish total over 18”.
The tournament is limited to forty boats.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PRE-REGISTRATION CONTACT:

Jim Hall 235-6225 or 235-6462
~~~~~
The Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff is coming - MAY 17TH
~~~~~
Magnolia Blossom Festival (May 16-17) T-Shirts are now on sale! S - XL $11, XXL $13 and XXXL $15.
~~~~~
Mark Your Calendars!!!! Albemarle Kids' Fishing Tournament - May 31
~~~~~
COMMUNICATION NOTICE: We have switched Internet Service Providers and our e-mail address is now kc5hii@suddenlink.net.
~~~~~
Last week we watched (from NetFlix) [Ratings are my own]:
Fever Pitch (2005) [6.5] Starring Drew Barrymore ... and Jimmy Fallon
The Station Agent (2003) [3.5] Starring Peter Dinklage, Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson
Veronica Mars: Season 3: Disc 5(2006) [7.5] Starring Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni
Veronica Mars: Season 3: Disc 6(2006) [7.5] Starring Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni
Veronica Mars: Season 1: Disc 1(2004) [7.5] Starring Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni
~~~~~
Last week we read; The accidental sleuth : an Emma Winberry mystery / by Helen Macie Osterman, Unknown means / by Elizabeth Becka. and Watchman / by Ian Rankin.
We’re currently reading; Death by sudoku / by Kaye Morgan.
We’ve checked out to read: Sleeping dogs / by Ed Gorman.
We recommend “My grandfather's son : a memoir” / by Clarence Thomas.
~~~~~
http://www.shelfari.com/BugsBleat/shelf?ec=7D790D174EFS18012
~~~~~
"Carrier" starts Sunday, April 27 at 8 pm on AETN, the Arkansas Educational Television Network. I'm looking forward to this PBS Series.
~~~~~
The photos on the front of this week’s “Bleat” are of our recent Excavation / Trench Rescue Training.
~~~~~
We’ve now got several addresses on the web for "Da Bleat." For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Last quarter’s issues can be seen at http://www.bugsbleat4q08.blogspot.com.
Our photos are posted at http://www.bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com.
~~~~~
Feel free to share the "Bleat" with any and all. That's why we publish it.
~~~~~
Dr. Pat Antoon’s New Address:
Pat Antoon 06669-010
Federal Prison Camp
P.O. Box 9300
Texarkana, TX 75505
Be sure and keep him in your prayers.
~~~~~
We extend our sympathy to Lowell Hudnall whose wife, Carol, passed away last weekend. Funeral services for Carol Hudnall were held Tuesday at Taylor United Methodist Church.
~
Lowell worked with my father and rescued me from drowning in Bodcaw creek when I was 3 or 4 years old. He later worked at Ethyl and retired from the South Plant in Magnolia. He told me once that he was struggling when he got out of the Army and my dad told him to come on out and he could get Lowell a job in the oil industry. He grasped at that opportunity and his fortunes turned around.
~~~~~
Regardless of age or ethnicity, women can significantly cut their risk of breast cancer by exercising just 30 minutes a week, a new study shows.
Yak Cheese: Exotic, but Healthy? Yak cheese made from grass-fed yaks in Nepal's mountains may have a better fatty acid profile than grain-fed cow cheese.
~~~~~
Speaking of food and especially sandwiches (see recipe below) when we’re in the mood for a GREAT deli style sandwich, we get lunch from Brookshires deli. Just understand that they aren’t set up to mass produce sandwiches (their main business is selling hot lunches along with bakery items as well as meats and cheeses in bulk) so it takes about 30 minutes for them to assemble a sandwich. It’s a good idea to call ahead unless you have some shopping to do anyway.
My favorite is turkey pastrami with Provolone cheese on wheat with spicy mustard, pickles and lettuce. $2.99 with a bag of chips. Of course, you can choose any meat, cheese, bread, etc. that you like. They’ll just go to the bakery or produce section to get whatever you request for your creation. These “Dagwood” sandwiches are made fresh (see the half hour time required above) and are piled with meat, cheese, etc. Give them a try. I’m sure you’ll be pleased.
~~~~~
Recipe(s) of the week - - - Pressed Salami Sandwich - Everyday Food Episode 413: Sandwiches - Serves 8 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

ingredients
2 round or oval loaves country bread (1 pound each), split and hollowed
1 jar (12 ounces) oil-packed roasted red peppers
12 ounces salami, thinly sliced
12 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
2 bunches arugula, (about 6 ounces each), washed well and thick stems removed (about 10 cups)
Radicchio and Orange Salad

3/4 cup slivered almonds
2 medium heads radicchio (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
3/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Brush cut sides of halved bread loaves with oil from jar of roasted peppers. Dividing evenly, layer bottom bread halves with roasted peppers, salami, cheese, and arugula; top with remaining bread halves.
Wrap each sandwich tightly with plastic, and press: Lay wrapped sandwiches on a baking sheet. Position another baking sheet on top, and weight with heavy canned goods or a large skillet. Let stand for one hour, pressing down occasionally with hands.
Refrigerate wrapped sandwiches until ready to serve, up to 1 day. To serve, cut into wedges.
Radicchio and Orange Salad
Serves 8; Prep time: 15 minutes | Total time: 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread slivered almonds on a baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes; let cool.
Core radicchio heads; cut or tear into 1-inch pieces. Combine in a large bowl with the finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange, golden raisins, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, sugar, and toasted almonds.
Season with coarse salt and ground pepper; toss to combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day.

http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/pressed_salami_sandwich.html
~~~~~
BreakPoint
With Chuck Colson
No Thanks
4/25/2008

Italy and Abortion

In mid-April, Italian voters returned former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to power. Election post-mortems focused on what Berlusconi would do about the economy, crime, and Italy’s illegal immigration problem.

Just about the only thing that was not discussed was an issue that figured prominently in the campaign: abortion.

“Abortion to play a prominent role in Italian elections” was the headline of an Associated Press headline only two months ago. A contemporaneous New York Times story told readers that the abortion issue was at the “center of the Italian electoral campaign.”

And only a week before the Italian elections, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed that the “abortion issue [was] back” in Italy and Spain.

All of these stories described the mounting political and cultural challenges to the 1981 Italian law legalizing abortion. Now, Berlusconi’s spokeswoman on family issues proposes a new abortion law restricting abortion only to the first trimester—and then, only in “really justified cases.”

Then there is the case of Giuliano Ferrara, whom the New York Times says “combines the political theatrics of an Abbie Hoffman with the rhetorical flair of a William F. Buckley.” A former Communist, Ferrara now edits a conservative newspaper called Il Foglio, “the Sheet.”

Ferrara used his paper and talk show to advocate a moratorium on abortion and “to call attention to the value of life.” He then ran for Parliament on the “Abortion? No Thanks” slate.

This is not the first time Ferrara has bucked conventional secular wisdom. His paper has also supported the Catholic Church on matters like bioethics, relativism, and the decline of the Christian faith among Italians—this despite the fact that Ferrara is an atheist.

While Ferrara insists that he is a “nonbeliever,” other Italian politicians, as Britain’s New Statesman put it, “have been eagerly declaring their Christian credentials.” According to the publication, this eagerness is a response to what it calls the “crucial change” in Italian life since 2001: “the collapse of every grand political idea.”

Given this “crucial change” and the response to it, the failure to even mention abortion in the electoral post-mortems stands out. It reminds me of the Spanish government’s response to a pro-family rally last December in Madrid that drew a reported 2 million people. Instead of reconsidering its policies, the government demanded an apology from the Catholic Church.

Not surprising, I suppose, European elites cannot contemplate that secularism, like every other “grand political idea,” has been found wanting—without, at the same time, acknowledging what is for them unthinkable: Europe’s Christian roots.

Yet, what is happening in Italy and Spain, as well as the rest of Europe, suggests that many Europeans are now finding “grand political ideas” a poor substitute for faith. A strong Euro and generous government benefits are small consolations for societies, which the New York Times says are “steeped in death and decline.”

The remedy for that is respecting the value of life, which starts with saying “Secularism? No thanks.” Maybe the Italian elections give hope for Europe after all.

Please help the prison ministry of Prison Fellowship and the worldview ministry of BreakPoint with a generous tax-deductible gift today to help us continue strong this year. Donate online or call 1-877-322-5527

Dominic Standish, “Playing Politics with Abortion,” Spiked Online, 22 February 2008.

Stephen Brown, “Italy’s Berlusconi to Target Economy and Crime,” Reuters, 16 April 2008.

Rachel Donadio, “The Atheist Urging Italy to Get Religion,” New York Times, 6 April 2008.

Tracy Wilkinson, “In Italy and Spain, the Abortion Battle is Back,” Los Angeles Times, 6 April 2008.

Elisabetta Povoledo, “Abortion Law Is Suddenly a Pivotal Issue in Italy’s Elections,” New York Times, 16 February 2008.

Associated Press, “Abortion to Play Prominent Role in Italian Elections,” International Herald Tribune, 12 February 2008.

BreakPoint Commentary No. 080228, “An Unlikely Messenger: Sarkozy and European Secularism.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 070129, “Christian Comeback in Europe: A Hope-Filled Trend.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 080117, “An Ironic Juxtaposition: Europe and the Faith.”

BreakPoint Commentary No. 060418, “Be Fruitful and Multiply: Christians and the ‘Birth Dearth’.”

© 2008 Prison Fellowship - - http://www.breakpoint.org/site_hmpg.asp
~~~~~
Words of the Week:
portent: a sign or omen.
lambaste: to scold sharply; also, to beat.
chimera: a mental fabrication.
lionize: to treat or regard as an object great interest or importance.
ubiquitous: being everywhere.
winsome: light-hearted.
epigone: an inferior imitator.
confluence: a flowing or coming together.
from Dictionary.Com

~~~~~
"A diplomatist is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday, but never remembers her age." - Robert Frost

"People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates." - Thomas Szasz

"Never mistake motion for action." - Ernest Hemingway

"The only people who grow old were born old to begin with." - Robert E. Sherwood

"Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage." - Benjamin Disraeli

"If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock." - Arthur Goldberg

"The best things and best people rise out of their separateness; I'm against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise." - Robert Frost
~~~~~
BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
http://breakingchristiannews.com/

Korean President Lee is Seen as a Man of Faith
Judge Sides With ACLU on Jesus Picture, But Allows it to Continue Being Displayed in Louisiana Courthouse
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Writes to Friends and Family an E-mail from God Concerning Her Newborn Son's Disability
Seventy Percent of Italian Gynecologists Refuse to Perform Abortions
Music Professors Develop Cutting-Edge Geometrical Music Theory: "A Culminating Moment in the Longstanding Marriage of Music and Math"
Former Greenpeace Founder Weighs in on the Group's Non-Scientific Agendas on Earth Day
Scotland Opens its 23rd Healing Room; Reports People Have Been Getting Healed Regularly
New Art Exhibit Features Interpretations of Orthodox Christian Icons Using Glass in "Startling Colors"
Homeschooled Man Wins Award for Best Original Score in Movie "Stained" Based on Galatians 3:28
Historic Ruling for Christian Jews; Israeli Supreme Court Says Messianic Jews Must Receive Equal Treatment Under Law of Return
Memphis Pastor Leads First Ever Law Enforcement Prayer Day Service for Police Officers
Archbishop of York to Parachute Out of Airplane to Raise Money for Afghanistan Soldiers
Ruth Graham Gets Real in Conferences; Confronts the "Elephants in the Church World"
Israeli Researchers Discover Details of How Joseph Succeeded in Saving Vast Amounts of Grain From Pests During His Sojourn in Egypt
Students at School Where Teacher is Banned From Having Bible on Desk Call For Take-Your-Bible-to-School Day
National Organization Says You May Have Unclaimed Money or Property You Didn't Know You Had
Healing Testimonies Flood in From Lakeland, Florida, Revival; God Using the Internet to Bring Healing to People Around the World
Jewish Rituals in Preparation of Passover Complicated and Intense
Community Chaplains of America Give 10 Tips on How to Reduce Stress
Indiana Judge Upholds Right to Display "In God We Trust" License Plates
Red Tape and Intercession—Standing at the Mercy Seat for Life
Survivor of Tragic N.Z. Flash Flood Calls God's Grace a "Supernatural Experience"
Just Released Study Shows New Breast Cancer Drug Shrinks Tumors as Much as 60% in as Little as Six Weeks' Time
Good Samaritan Grandma Risks Her Life to Save Young Stranger from Gang Stabbing
Short Film Inspired by Bible, Filmed in One Week, Wins Top Honors in L.A.
Researchers Astonished to Find that People with Great Grasp of Rhythm are Highly Intelligent

310 2nd Ave SE
Albany, Oregon 97321
541-928-2642
E-mail editor@breakingchristiannews.com
US Orders: 1-866-358-7426
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
GCF: Wake Up!

Emailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to: gcfl-request@gcfl.net with subject = add

If this was forwarded to you, please consider your own subscription to Good Clean Fun. It's free! A smile will enhance the quality of your life. Just send an email to: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the Good Clean Fun web site http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor/ Unsubscribe info for Good Clean Fun is at the end of this email. This email was scanned by F-Secure before it was sent.
----------------------------------------------

Two mothers are having a conversation about their children one day.

"How do you get your son up so early on school mornings?" asks the first woman.

"Oh, that's easy," replies the second. "I just throw the cat on his bed."

"Why does that wake him up?"

"He sleeps with the dog!"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Young Patient

Emailed to me another humor list (Tickled by Tony - Clean) -Tom Subscribe to the Tickled by Tony list by sending an email to: tickledbytony_clean-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------

My nursing colleague was preparing an intravenous line for a 15 year-old male patient. The bedside phone rang and the boy's mother reached over to pick it up.

After talking for a few minutes, the mother held the phone aside and said, "Your father wants to know if you have any cute nurses."

The boy gazed at the nurse, who had the needle poised above his arm, ready for insertion. "Tell him," he replied, "they're absolutely gorgeous!"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: A Real Person

Emailed to me another humor list (Good Clean Funnies List) -Tom To subscribe The Good Clean Funnies List, (not to be confused with this list, which is Good Clean Fun) send an email to: gcfl-request@gcfl.net with subject = add
----------------------------------------------

Manning the computer help desk for the local school district was my first job. And though I was just an intern, I took the job very seriously. But not every caller took me seriously.

"Can I talk to a real person?" a caller asked.

"I am real," I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the caller said. "That was rude of me. What I meant to say was, could I talk to someone who actually knows something?"
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Commit the Husband

Emailed to me from another humor list (Daily Humor) -Tom To subscribe to Daily Humor, send a blank email to: Daily-Humor-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
----------------------------------------------

A woman went to her doctor and said, "I want to have my husband committed."

"Well, it's not that simple. You need proof that he's mentally incompetent."

"He goes ice fishing."

"Okay. Close enough for me."
_ ____________________________ _

GCF: Absent-Minded Lawyers

Emailed to me by a friend (Thanks, Howard) -Tom
----------------------------------------------

Judge Jerry Buchmeyer of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas writes a monthly article for the Texas Bar Journal. Often, he cites unusual exchanges between lawyers and witnesses during trials.

The following true exchange says it all:

Lawyer: "So, Doctor, you determined that a gunshot wound was the cause of death of the patient?"

Doctor: "That's correct."

Lawyer: "Did you examine the patient when he came to the emergency room?"

Doctor: "No, I performed the autopsy."

Lawyer: "OK, were you aware of his vital signs when he was at the hospital?"

Doctor: "He came into the emergency room in shock and died a short time later."

Lawyer: "Did you pronounce him dead at that time?"

Doctor: "No, I am the pathologist who performed the autopsy. I was not involved with the patient initially."

Lawyer: "Well, are you even sure then, that he died in the emergency room."

Doctor: "That is what the records indicate."

Lawyer: "But if you weren't there, how could you have pronounced him dead, having not seen or physically examined the patient at that time?"

Doctor: "The autopsy showed massive hemorrhaging in the chest area and that was the cause of death."

Lawyer: "I understand that, but you were not actually present to examine the patient and pronounce him dead, isn't that right?"

Doctor: "No, sir, I did not see the patient or actually pronounce him dead, but I did perform an autopsy and right now his brain is in a jar over at the county morgue. As for the rest of the patient, for all I know, HE COULD BE OUT PRACTICING LAW SOMEWHERE!!"
_ ____________________________ _
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Blessed are those who can \ /
\ _/ give without remembering \_ /
/ / and take without forgetting. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / Growing older is mandatory. \ /
\ _/ Growing up is optional. \_ /
/ / Laughing at yourself is therapeutic. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / It rarely occurs to teenagers \ /
\ _/ that the day will come when \_ /
/ /they'll know aslittle as their parents.\ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////
\ / There are no stupid questions, \ /
\ _/ but there are a lot \_ /
/ / of inquisitive idiots. \ \
(((\ \>|_/ )_____________________( \_|\\\\ \_/ / Business conventions are \ \_/ ////
\ / important because they \ /
\ _/ demonstrate how many people \_ /
/ / a company can operate without. \ \
_ ____________________________ _
| Thomas S. Ellsworth |
| tellswor@kcbx.net |
| http://www.kcbx.net/~tellswor |
|____________________________|
Stop for a visit, leave with a smile! To join Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-subscribe@yahoogroups.Com To leave Good Clean Fun, email: good-clean-fun-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.Com Or visit the Good Clean Fun web site at http://www. slonet.org/~tellswor/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Technophobia Funnys

A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was "running it under Windows." The woman responded, "No, my desk is next to the door. But that's a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his is working fine."
**********
Overheard in a computer shop:
Customer: "I'd like a mouse pad, please."
Salesperson: "Certainly sir, we've got a large variety."
Customer: "But will they be compatible with my computer?"
**********
Customer in computer shop: "Can you copy the Internet onto this disk for me?"
**********
Tech Support: "All right...now double-click on the File Manager icon."
Customer: "That's why I hate this Windows - because of the icons - I'm a Protestant, and I don't believe in icons."
Tech Support: "Well, that's just an industry term sir. I don't believe it was meant to-"
Customer: "I don't care about any 'Industry Terms'. I don't believe in icons."
Tech Support: "Well...why don't you click on the 'little picture' of a filing cabinet...is 'little picture' OK?"
Customer: [click]
**********
Got a call from a woman said that her laser printer was having problems: the bottom half of her printed sheets were coming out blurry. It seemed strange that the printer was smearing only the bottom half. I walked her through the basics, then went over and printed out a test sheet. It printed fine.
I asked her to print a sheet, so she sent a job to the printer. As the paper started coming out, she yanked it out and showed it to me.
**********
I had been doing Tech Support for Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet division for about a month when I had a customer call with a problem I just couldn't solve. She could not print yellow. All the other colors would print fine, which truly baffled me because the only true colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow. For instance, green is a combination of cyan and yellow, but green printed fine. Every color of the rainbow printed fine except for yellow.
I had the customer change ink cartridges. I had the customer delete and reinstall the drivers. Nothing worked. I asked my coworkers for help; they offered no new ideas. After over two hours of troubleshooting, I was about to tell the customer to send the printer in to us for repair when she asked quietly, "Should I try printing on a piece of white paper instead of this yellow paper?"
**********
A man attempting to set up his new printer called the printer's tech support number, complaining about the error message: "Can't find the printer." On the phone, the man said he even held the printer up in front of the screen, but the computer still couldn't find it.
**********
And another user was all confused about why the cursor always moved in the opposite direction from the movement of the mouse. She also complained that the buttons were difficult to depress. She was very embarrassed when we asked her to rotate the mouse so the tail pointed away from her.
**********
A friend was on duty in the main lab on a quiet afternoon. He noticed a young woman sitting in front of one of the workstations with her arms crossed across her chest, staring at the screen. After about 15 minutes he noticed that she was still in the same position, only now she was impatiently tapping her foot.
He asked if she needed help and she replied "It's about time! I pressed the F1 button over twenty minutes ago!"

Thanks to Waneta
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
A Lutheran Joke...

Reverend Ole was the pastor of the local Norwegian Lutheran Church , and Pastor Sven was the minister of the Swedish Covenant Church across the road. One day they were seen pounding a sign into the ground, that said::
'DA END ISS NEAR! TURN YERSELF AROUND NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE'
As a car sped past them, the driver leaned out his window and yelled, 'Leave us alone,
you religious nuts!'
From the curve we heard screeching tires and a big splash... Rev. Ole turns to Pastor Sven
and asks, 'Do ya tink maybe da sign should yust say 'Bridge Out'?'

Thanks to Gary Foreman
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Banged Up

"What happened?" asked the hospital visitor to the heavily bandaged man sitting up in bed.
"Well, I went down to Margate at the weekend and decided to take a ride on the roller coaster. As we came up to the top of the highest loop, I noticed a little sign by the side of the track. I tried to read it but it was very small and I couldn't make it out. I was so curious that I decided to go round again, but we went by so quickly that I couldn't see what the sign said. By now, I was determined to read that sign so I went round a third time. As we reached the top, I stood up in the car to get a better view."
"And did you manage to see what the sign said this time?" asked the visitor.
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
"Don't stand up in the car!"

Received from ArcaMax Jokes.

(-:][:-)

Birth Facility

My pregnant daughter and her husband were checking out a new birth facility that was more like a spa. The birthing room had a hot tub, soft music, and candlelight. "What do you think?" she asked.
He looked around. "Isn't this how we got here in the first place?"
Received from Steve Sanderson.

(-:][:-)

Health Benefits Of Being Overweight

A new report suggests that being overweight is not as harmful as is commonly believed, and actually confers some surprising benefits.
Being five to ten pounds overweight could protect people from ailments ranging from tuberculosis to Alzheimer's disease, research indicates. Those carrying 15 to 25 extra pounds are better able to recover from adverse conditions such as emphysema, pneumonia, and various injuries and infections, states the report.
Thirty to forty pounds of flab could help fend off breast, kidney, pancreatic, prostate, and colon cancer. And an extra fifty pounds on the scale may improve eyesight, reverse baldness, cure the common cold, and reduce global warming.
In general, the report concludes, overweight people are happier, more successful in business, smarter, and friendlier.

The study was funded by a research grant from McDonald's, Burger King, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Domino's Pizza, Starbucks, Haagen Dazs, Sara Lee, and Krispy Kreme.

Received from Steve Sanderson.

(-:][:-)

New Apartment

A property manager of an apartment complex was showing a unit to prospective tenants and asking the usual questions.
"Professionally employed?" he asked.
"We're a military family," the wife answered.
"Children?"
"Oh, yes, ages nine and twelve," she answered proudly.
"Animals?"
"Oh, no," she said earnestly. "They're very well behaved."

Received from Bobby.

(-:][:-)

Man's Best Friend

A dog is truly a man's best friend. If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.
Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of the car for an hour.
When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?

Received from Trey Nolen.

(-:][:-)

-=+=-
Rate this funny at http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a) Mail address: GCFL, Box 100, Harvest, AL 35749, USA
To print or email this funny to others, go to http://www.gcfl.net/archive.php?funny=20060113
The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://www.gcfl.net/latest.php
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Madeleine Begun Kane Latest Columns - - http://www.madkane.com/humor_blog/ - -

Healthy Verse (Limerick & Haiku Prompt)
April 18th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is health. First, my limerick:

Maladjusted Men
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Maladjusted men sometimes say, “Doc,
Chiropractic is naught but a crock.
Your adjustments don’t work,
You’re a sick, spineless jerk,
And I’ll sue till you’re broke and in hock!”

And now my handy haiku:

My musical hands,
Stricken by carpal tunnel,
Betrayed by my wrists.
~
Ode to An Earthquake
April 18th, 2008
Ode To An Earthquake (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

It’s ‘71. I awake
In LA to a 6.6 quake.
I feel nothing but terror
And curse out my error
In moving here. What a mistake!

Note: I graduated from Cal Arts in 1971. Great school, but I could definitely have done without that terrifying earthquake.
~
Dear IRS
April 20th, 2008
I thought I was through bitching about taxes and the IRS for at least a few months. But apparently not:

Dear IRS
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear folks at the Fed IRS,
Your rules and your regs are a mess.
You’re unfair to the poor.
Middle class? Even more.
So beware, cuz I know your address.

Note to the FBI, the IRS, and Homeland Security: This is a humor blog, so please don’t arrest me. Thanks for … uh … listening.
~
Dear Spring
April 24th, 2008
Dear Spring
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear spring, you are late once again.
Yet you claim that you’ve been here, since when?
Thirty days? That can’t be:
It’s still cold out, you see.
And some sun would be nice, now and then.
~
Temper, Temper (Limerick & Haiku Prompt)
April 25th, 2008
Today’s limerick and haiku theme is temper. First, my limerick:

Ode to An Ill-Tempered Felon
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A felonious fellow named Mort
Went to jail cuz his temper was short.
He assaulted a mime,
Committing his crime
(And his tort) with a bottle of Port.

And now my temper haiku:

Losing his temper,
He screamed, cursed, and hurled books.
I guess he found it.

http://www.madkane.com
Subscribe to MadKane Humor Newsletter (weekly) here:
http://www.madkane.com/email.html
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Humm . . .

For those who have served on jury . . . this one is something to think about . . . Just when you think you have heard everything!!
Do you like to read a good murder mystery? Not even Law and Order would attempt to capture this mess.
At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, (AAFS) President
Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.

Here is the story:

On March 23, 1994 . . . the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus, and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide.
He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor, his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly.
Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
The room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun!
The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger, he completely missed his wife, and the pellets went through the window, striking Mr. Opus.
When one intends to kill subject 'A' but kills subject 'B' in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject 'B.'
When confronted with the murder charge, the old man and his wife were both adamant, and both said that they thought the shotgun was not loaded. The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore, the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, assuming the gun had been accidentally loaded.
The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident.
It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.
Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.
Now comes the exquisite twist . . . Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact,
Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder.
This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window.
The son, Ronald Opus, had actually murdered himself. So the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

Thanks to Gary Foreman
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
"Don't strive for recognition, but work for achievement." -- Vanessa Malone
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
The Pump Handle. A water cooler for the public health crowd.
http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/

Here are links to items posted on The Pump Handle over the past week:

** "UCS Reports on Interference at EPA" by Liz Borkowski The Union of Concerned Scientists surveyed EPA scientists, and hundreds reported experiencing political interference in their work. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/ucs-reports-on-interference-at-epa/

** "'WSJ Effect' Offered as Cure for Unsafe Workplaces" by Celeste Monforton At a hearing on inadequate OSHA enforcement, one witness suggested the threat of negative publicity can improve workplace safety – but that solution isn't equal to the size of the problem. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/wsj-effect-offered-as-cure-for-unsafe-workplaces/

** "Occupational Health News Roundup" by Liz Borkowski There's more disturbing news about the mental health of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; more pork-plant workers have neurological problems, now believed to be autoimmune disorders linked to airborne pig-brain tissue; and NIOSH is looking at ways to prevent violence against teachers. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/occupational-health-news-roundup-62/

** "Earth Day About People (Not Just Earth)" by Liz Borkowski Does the holiday's name fail to capture why we work to protect the Earth? http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/earth-day-about-people/

** "Earth Day: Changes I Can Make" by Lindsay Wheeler Three resolutions can trim an individual's environmental impact. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/earth-day-changes-i-can-make/

** "What's MSHA's Excuse This Time?" by Celeste Monforton Two years after the accident that claimed 25-year-old Chad Cook's life, MSHA issues a sorry excuse for an investigation report. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/whats-mshas-excuse-this-time/

** "Removing Mountains to Power DC" by Liz Borkowski The Washington Post examines the toll of mountaintop-removal mining in West Virginia, which supplies much of the coal powering the DC metro area. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/removing-mountains-to-power-dc/

** "Safety Awards Gone Bad" by Celeste Monforton Two companies infamous for workplace health and safety problems have won safety awards. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/safety-awards-gone-bad/

** "Friday Blog Roundup" by Liz Borkowski Bloggers take on food issues, Bush's climate change speech, maternal and child mortality, and the plastic bag problem. http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/friday-blog-roundup-71/

http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Weekly Toll - - http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/
Death In The Workplace w/News & Updates
John Donne - ...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
A partial list of workplace fatalities.

Golf club worker killed on job ST. LOUIS, SC — A 22-year-old man has died after a trailer fell on top of him at a St. Louis golf course where he worked. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the man was driving a small utility vehicle about 9 a.m. Saturday at Quail Creek Golf Club when he ran into a fifth-wheel trailer that had been lifted on a jack. The trailer fell on the man and crushed him.

Road worker struck, killed on I-95 in Md. WHITE MARSH, Md. - A Maryland Transportation Authority worker died Wednesday after a car hit him while he was picking up debris on southbound I-95.

Report explains death at Greenheck Fan Wausau, WI — A man who died Saturday while working on a machine at Greenheck Fan Corp. in Schofield made a similar repair on the same machine a week earlier, a co-worker told police. Michael Damask, 42, of Hatley, died of compression asphyxia or suffocation, Marathon County Medical Examiner John Larson said this afternoon. Damask was killed when part of a hydraulic press dropped on him while he was changing a bearing,

Contra Costa Water District Worker Found Dead San Francisco, CA - A Contra Costa Water District employee was found dead near the Los Vaqueros Reservoir

Ames company worker dies in Winnebago County site fall THOMPSON, IA — One man is dead after a fall at a Christensen Farms construction site in Thompson today.

Rhodes, MI, man dies in an industrial accident in Beaverton GLADWIN, MI -- A funeral is set Saturday for a Rhodes man killed in an industrial incident. Ronald K. Urbaniak, 48, died Friday at William E. Lang Inc. in Beaverton, where he had worked since 1989. Urbaniak suffered mortal injuries when an 18-foot, 3,500-pound dump truck box fell onto him, Gladwin County sheriff's deputies said. One of several chains used to suspend the box slipped.

Workman falls 150 feet to his death from feed mill Des Moines, IA - A Fairmont, Minnesota, man is dead after falling nearly 150 feet from a feed mill under construction in northern Iowa.

Man Dies After Falling From Tower WAKE FOREST, NC - According to media reports, a worker died after falling from a cellular phone tower last Saturday afternoon. According to reporters on the scene, the man fell from the approximately 150 foot tower while working on it.

Man who worked to send money to family killed in robbery Abdur Rahman had been living and working in the United States for nearly 20 years, sending money to his family in Bangladesh, his impoverished homeland.

Construction worker killed in Colorado Springs Pueblo, CO - A large, earth mover-type of construction equipment rolled at a construction site in Colorado Springs Tuesday morning, killing one person. He has now been identified as Larry James McCollum.

Goodwill employee found dead on the job in Tacoma TACOMA, Wash. -- A worker at the Goodwill Operations Center in Tacoma has died in an accident on the job. Authorities say 27-year-old Nicholas Miller of Sumner was found Tuesday morning beneath a machine used for handling large boxes.

Bayside man dies working on high-rise Bayside, NY - A 25-year-old iron worker from Bayside became the 13th construction industry fatality in New York City this year, when an equipment failure sent him plunging nine floors at an Upper East Side high-rise.

Man Killed on Job Site After Being Backed Over Des Moines, IA - A Des Moines truck driver died Tuesday after being backed over at a demolition yard. It happened at DeCarlo Demolition on Northeast 44th Avenue. The Polk County Sheriff's Department says William Thomas Rogers was standing in the yard talking on his cell phone when he was hit.

Window washer falls to death at American Indian museum WASHINGTON — A window washer at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has fallen at least 50 feet to his death.

Man killed when two semis collide head-on EVERETT, Wash. - A truck driver was killed early Friday when his tractor-trailer rig collided with another one on Highway 527 near Interstate 5 at the Everett Mall.

http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
NEVER FORGET! We're listing the names of our soldiers killed weekly. These records can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/

01. Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown, 29, of Magnolia, Texas, died April 17 in Sama Village, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire and grenades. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.

02. Spc. Lance O. Eakes, 25, of Apex, N.C., died April 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1132nd Military Police Company, North Carolina Army National Guard, Rocky Mount, N.C.

03. Cpl. Benjamin K. Brosh, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died April 18 at Forward Operating Base Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Paliwoda, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

04. Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21 due to a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic.

05. Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., died April 20 in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain. She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were:
06. Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, Wis.
07. Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas, 26, of Perryville, Mo.

08. Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison, 25, of Morris Plains, N.J., died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Falcon near Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

09. 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandergrift, 28 of Littleton, Colo., died April 21 from wounds he suffered while conducting combat operations in Basrah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
10. Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y.
11. Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va.
Both Marines died April 22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Haerter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Yale was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

12. Sgt. Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez, 26, of Fort Irwin, Calif., died April 23 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Transportation Company (Heavy Equipment Transport), Echelons Above Brigade Support Battalion, National Training Center Support Brigade, Fort Irwin, Calif.

The Department of Defense announced the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were:
13. Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich.
14. 1st Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, 26, of College Station, Texas.

15. Staff Sgt. Ronald C. Blystone, 34, of Springfield, Mo., died April 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

16. Staff Sgt. Shaun J. Whitehead, 24, of Commerce, Ga., died April 24 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

~~

Missing WWII Airmen are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 11 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Capt. Robert L. Coleman, of Wilmington, Del.; 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.; 2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.; Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.; Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.; and Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif; all U.S. Army Air Forces. The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.

Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

On Dec. 3, 1943, these men crewed a B-24D Liberator that departed Dobodura, New Guinea, on an armed-reconnaissance mission over New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea. The crew reported dropping their bombs on target, but in spite of several radio contacts with their base, they never returned to Dobodura. Subsequent searches failed to locate the aircraft.

In 2000, three Papua New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified and began planning an investigation. In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was. However, the witnesses could not relocate the site.

In 2004, the site was found about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua New Guinea where a JPAC team found an aircraft data plate that correlated to the 1943 crash.

Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.

Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169. [Editor’s note: Aircrew photo is available.]
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Please remember to pray for the American soldiers stationed everywhere around the globe and especially in Iraq. Times have been and are very tough and it would be nice if you would all just say a prayer for their safety and for their families.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
"September 11 WDYTJWD" W. P. Florence
Justice first, then peace."
"September 11" Never forget.--Tony Moses
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD ...the only way"--Phillip Story
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Keeping my head down but face toward Heaven" - - Jody Eldred, ABC News Cameraman in Kuwait
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember 9/11!" --"Bug"
Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. - - George Carlin
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" - - Queen E. Watson
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Activities and Events of Interest - - Coming Events

14th Annual Albemarle Bass Tournament - May 10, 2008
~~~~~
Barksdale Air Show May 10 & 11
http://www.barksdaleafbairshow.com/
~~~~~
The Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff is coming - MAY 17TH
~~~~~
Mark Your Calendars!!!! Albemarle Kids' Fishing Tournament - May 31
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Scheduled Activities
~~~
CQ CQ all Hams. We have restarted a 2 meter net on the Willisville repeater, 146.655, every Tuesday evening at 7 PM. Please check in and spread the word. We would like to get some renewed interest in amateur radio and the ARKLA Amateur Radio Association. Will be listening for everyone next Tuesday night.
~~~
Columbia County Amateur Radio Club meets Every second Thursday @ 7:00 p.m. Union Street Station. And YOU'RE invited. Net is every Sunday at 20:30 on 147.105.
~~~
MCC - Mom's Day Out - Every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2.$10 for the first child, $5 for the second. Call 234-3225 for reservations.
~~~
MCC - Nursing Home Ministry - Meadowbrook Every Tuesday from 10 to 11 am. Taylor, the last Thursday each month.
~~~
Men's Prayer Breakfast held every Tuesday morning at 6 AM in Miller's Cafeteria. If you aren't a regular participant at the Men's Prayer Breakfast, you're missing some great food, fellowship and inspired teaching of the Word. Hope to see you there.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Emergency Phone Number 911
(Fire, Police, Ambulance, Sheriff, etc. )
Central Dispatch 234-5655
(Non - Emergency Number)
Direct Numbers
Ambulance - 234-7371 (24 Hour)
Jail - 234-5331 (24 Hour)
Poison Control - 800-222-1222 (24 Hour)
http://www. aapcc. org/
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Interested in getting in touch with the Banner-News through e-mail?
E-mail addresses for communicating with the newspaper’s various departments are: news@bannernews.net For news and sports items, Coming Events, Diary, Church News, school and civic events.
advertising@bannernews. net For retail and classified advertising.
circulation@bannernews. net To start, stop or cancel newspaper delivery or for comments about delivery.
outfitters @bannernews.net For Office Outfitters, the office supply division of the Banner-News.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."
"Laugh whenever you can and cry if you need to." -- "Bug"
"I read the end of the book. We win!" -- "Bug"
"We may not be able to cure the world, but we don't have to make it sicker." -- "Bug"
"There just ain't enough fingers for all the holes in the dike." - - "Bug"
"It's no big deal doing what God tells you to do. A big deal would be NOT doing what God tells you to do. Just ask Jonah." - - Paul Troquille
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out." - - Tony Blair
"Information is the currency of democracy." - Jefferson
“Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.” Knowledge is power. - Francis Bacon
"The problem is here and now. The time for talk is past. The time for action is now."
Comments on the first Earth Day - James F. McClellan via "Fuzzy" Thurman
~~~~~
Hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Again, thanks to all our contributors this week.

God bless and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Psa 118:5-9 2 Pet 3:8-9 Mat 14:17-21 http://www.e-min.org/
God is Good and Faithful CU 73 IC JFM CSP NREMT-I KC5HII

P. S. If you'd like to be added to the distribution, just drop us E-mail at kc5hii@suddenlink.net
. We offer "Da Bleat" as text, a "Blog" and as a newsletter with pictures in Word and PDF format. The latest issue is usually updated sometime Saturday. For the "Blog" version just go to one of the several addresses on the web. For the latest issue, go to http://www.bugsbleat.blogspot.com. Older issues can be found at http://www.bugsbleat_q__.blogspot.com, where _ is the quarter (1, 2, 3, or 4) and __ is the year (05, 06, 07, or 08). We also have a site [http://bugsbleatphotos.blogspot.com/] where we post photos that I like.
Let us hear from you if we can switch you over to the "Word" or "PDF" version of "Da Bleat".
If you'd prefer to read "Da Blog" version, just drop us a note at kc5hii@suddenlink.net and we'll switch you from e:mail delivery to "Da Bleat" Blog. We appreciate your encouragement. We also appreciate your communication when you desire to be taken off our mail list. If you are on this mail list by mistake or do not wish to receive "Da Bleat," please reply back and tell us to discontinue service to you. This email was scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2008 before it was sent.
><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Mortgage Salesman - - Photos

  This is the scene that greeted emergency responders on Friday morning.
  The view from the back gives a better idea of the damage even a low speed derailment can cause.
  The command team meets to discuss plans for this incident.
Posted by Picasa

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Mortgage Salesman

  Workers begin rerailing the southern most car.
  The first of the cars that were lying on their side are "righted."
  And a set of "Trucks" are rolled under the suspended car.
Posted by Picasa

Bug's Bleat - - GCF: Mortgage Salesman

  A reassembled set of "Trucks" is prepared to place under one of the damaged cars.
  The "Ballet" continues as another car is towed into position to be lifted.
  A job like this takes a lot of men and equipment.
Posted by Picasa