Amid the hustle and bustle associated with the end of my daughter’s opera internship, I didn’t want this headline to pass without recognition:
Same-Sex Marriage OK’d by State Supreme Court
Despite widely differing personal opinions regarding same-sex marriage, no one can deny the importance of this decision to the debate about whether the act of marriage belongs exclusively to a man and a woman, or whether civil unions are sufficient. My view falls in the latter camp, but that is not the point of this entry. I merely wanted to recognize the moment and to provide some information about the possible fallout here in my state of residence, as evidenced by this headline:
Ruling Spawns Movement to Revisit Connecticut Constitution
It was interesting for me (and for my daughter) to hear a personal reaction to this legislation, given by a younger gentleman who is working on the opera. He was thrilled that the case was decided in the affirmative; many of my acquaintances were not. I am waiting to see if the case ends here, even though the first article I referenced stated that no possibility exists for federal appeal.
Connecticut is now the third state in the union to recognize same-sex marriage. The other states to sanction this practice are Massachusetts and California.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Down Again!
It is 4:00 PM and the market just closed. Dow Jones: 9447.11.
Big losers
- Bank of America: -8.06 or -25.01%
- Morgan Stanley: -5.49 or -23.36%
Some perspective
Dow Jones closing on December 31, 1980 (the year I graduated from high school): 963.99
Big losers
- Bank of America: -8.06 or -25.01%
- Morgan Stanley: -5.49 or -23.36%
Some perspective
Dow Jones closing on December 31, 1980 (the year I graduated from high school): 963.99
Happy Birthday, Chloe!
I didn't have a card for you, nor did I buy a gift. Instead, I give you this. Have a wonderful day.
Tight Credit? Better Lending Behavior?
This morning, after breakfast, I went through the Monday mail and found, to my astonishment, a credit card offer --- for my daughter! It is her first such offer. So, amongst all the talk of tightening up lending standards, my eighteen-year-old who is still in high school and has no income to speak of (and, therefore, no conceivable way to pay for any charges that my be placed on the card), received an invitation to apply for a Platinum MasterCard®. So much for a higher standard of behavior in the credit market.
NOW Opinion Poll
NOW on PBS has posted an opinion poll that asks:
Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States?Follow this link to vote. The website also has some election-related videos. If you have time, check them out.
Another One Bites the Dust?
Up here in the Northeast, Connecticut is surrounded by states that rigorously regulate home education: New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and (a bit further away) Pennsylvania. New Jersey is actually one of our allies, so to speak, having a similar statute under which their families homeschool.* That is (possibly), until this week. A New Jersey assemblywoman and her fellow assemblyman introduced Assembly Bill No. 3123, an act that requires the registration and oversight of home education programs. To say that this bill may dramatically alter the homeschooling landscape in New Jersey is an understatement. What remains to be seen is if Connecticut will follow suit. Let’s hope not!
So what is New Jersey proposing?
1. That parents register their children in a homeschool program. Such registration will be accomplished via a notarized letter that includes:
- evidence that required subjects will be offered
- an outline of education objectives by subject
- evidence of immunization
- evidence of age-appropriate health/medical care
- certification that the education supervisor, all adults living in the home, and any person having legal custody of the children have not been convicted of specific criminal offenses within the preceding five years.
2. That each student shall receive 180 days of instruction per year in the subject areas determined by the education supervisor.
3. That guidelines for home education programs will be developed by the Commissioner of Education.
4. That parents may request use of public school textbooks, curriculum, etc.
5. That homeschooled students may have access to public school extracurricular activities provided the students meet all participation/tryout criteria and comply with all policies, rules, and regulations of the organizations governing the activities.
6. That the education supervisor will maintain a portfolio of work for each student enrolled in a homeschool program, including:
- a list of reading materials, samples of writing, worksheets, etc.
- standardized test results for students in grades three, five, and eight
- an annual written evaluation of student progress as determined by a qualified evaluator.
7. That a portfolio of student work will be submitted to the local school district annually by the education supervisor. If the superintendent of the local school district suspects that education is not occurring, he may request an early portfolio review. In such cases, the supervisor of the homeschool program has thirty days to respond. If the supervisor fails to comply, the home education program will be declared unsatisfactory and the children will be placed in a public or private school.
8. That the superintendent of the local school district has the authority to declare a home education program unsatisfactory. Upon such declaration, the supervisor of the program must be notified in writing. He has twenty days to respond by submitting additional portfolio documentation.
9. That in the case of a request for additional portfolio documentation, the home education program will declared unsatisfactory if the education supervisor fails to submit additional information. If the program is declared unsatisfactory, the children will be placed in a public or private school. If additional documentation is submitted, the superintendent will review it. If the home education program is still considered unsatisfactory, the local school board will hold a hearing on the matter and issue a determination. If the school board finds the program lacking as well, the children will be placed in a public or private school.
My biggest problem with this legislative proposal? It removes the parent as the “education supervisor.” I am not exactly sure who the New Jersey assemblyfolk plan to put in this position, but it isn’t the parent. Observe in section six:
* Every parent, guardian or other person having custody and control of a child between six and 16 shall cause such child regularly to attend the public schools of the district or a day school in which there is given instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools for children of similar grades and attainments or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school.
So what is New Jersey proposing?
1. That parents register their children in a homeschool program. Such registration will be accomplished via a notarized letter that includes:
- evidence that required subjects will be offered
- an outline of education objectives by subject
- evidence of immunization
- evidence of age-appropriate health/medical care
- certification that the education supervisor, all adults living in the home, and any person having legal custody of the children have not been convicted of specific criminal offenses within the preceding five years.
2. That each student shall receive 180 days of instruction per year in the subject areas determined by the education supervisor.
3. That guidelines for home education programs will be developed by the Commissioner of Education.
4. That parents may request use of public school textbooks, curriculum, etc.
5. That homeschooled students may have access to public school extracurricular activities provided the students meet all participation/tryout criteria and comply with all policies, rules, and regulations of the organizations governing the activities.
6. That the education supervisor will maintain a portfolio of work for each student enrolled in a homeschool program, including:
- a list of reading materials, samples of writing, worksheets, etc.
- standardized test results for students in grades three, five, and eight
- an annual written evaluation of student progress as determined by a qualified evaluator.
7. That a portfolio of student work will be submitted to the local school district annually by the education supervisor. If the superintendent of the local school district suspects that education is not occurring, he may request an early portfolio review. In such cases, the supervisor of the homeschool program has thirty days to respond. If the supervisor fails to comply, the home education program will be declared unsatisfactory and the children will be placed in a public or private school.
8. That the superintendent of the local school district has the authority to declare a home education program unsatisfactory. Upon such declaration, the supervisor of the program must be notified in writing. He has twenty days to respond by submitting additional portfolio documentation.
9. That in the case of a request for additional portfolio documentation, the home education program will declared unsatisfactory if the education supervisor fails to submit additional information. If the program is declared unsatisfactory, the children will be placed in a public or private school. If additional documentation is submitted, the superintendent will review it. If the home education program is still considered unsatisfactory, the local school board will hold a hearing on the matter and issue a determination. If the school board finds the program lacking as well, the children will be placed in a public or private school.
My biggest problem with this legislative proposal? It removes the parent as the “education supervisor.” I am not exactly sure who the New Jersey assemblyfolk plan to put in this position, but it isn’t the parent. Observe in section six:
b. for students in grade levels three, five, and eight, the results of nationally normed standardized achievement test in reading/language arts and mathematics administered by the supervisor…The test administrator shall not be the student’s parent or guardian.If homeschooling isn’t done by the parent, then is it truly homeschooling? The nature of home education isn’t merely that it occurs in a location outside the brick and mortar walls of a public or private educational institution. The nature of home education is that it nurtures and strengthens the bonds of family relationships through the process of teaching and learning. Through the close mentor relationship that is established between parent and child, excellence is achieved. Taking the parent out of the picture by assigning, for example, some public school official to the position of “education supervisor” succeeds in transforming the homeschool into nothing more than a public school satellite program. I can’t think of a better way to quash the innovation that is so badly needed in education today. Can you?
c. an annual written evaluation of the student’s educational progress as determined by a qualified evaluator…The evaluator shall not be the supervisor or his spouse or the student’s parent or guardian.
* Every parent, guardian or other person having custody and control of a child between six and 16 shall cause such child regularly to attend the public schools of the district or a day school in which there is given instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools for children of similar grades and attainments or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Opening Night
Tonight was opening night of Lucia di Lammermoor. After two months of music memorization, four weeks of rehearsals, and three weeks of dance lessons, it was time to put it all to the test. How did it go? At the moment, I cannot answer that question. At the moment, I am sitting in the Tim Horton’s donut shop across the parking lot from the George Kent Performance Hall waiting for the first offering to conclude. I arrived here at 9:30 pm, figuring the production would finish around 10:00 pm. That expectation was just dashed by the lighting designer who snuck over for a latte. He informed me that the performance runs until 11:00 pm.
And so, I wait.
Note: At the request of Katherine the Great, I did not attend this evening’s performance. She was concerned that having a parent in the audience would make her nervous. I will be attending the Sunday night show with some of our homeschooling friends.
And so, I wait.
Note: At the request of Katherine the Great, I did not attend this evening’s performance. She was concerned that having a parent in the audience would make her nervous. I will be attending the Sunday night show with some of our homeschooling friends.
Cue Up the Jeopardy Music
Forty-five minutes late, the House is now voting on the bailout bill. Speaker Pelosi had some closing comments, which I won’t reiterate. Michelle Malkin blogged the discussion session this morning. You can read her entry here. I despise the bill and all the “sweeteners,” but I don’t know as I like the idea of risking the lack of confidence and downright fear that may result from waiting. I suppose I owe that reaction to my liberal economics training. This is a vote between many bad choices. If it flies, I will be dogging my Congressman to scrutinize every provision for possible reversals or improvements. I am also going to pay off my credit card!
The vote is in:
Yea 263
Nay 171
4:15 PM...The market is now closed. DOWN 157.47. This morning, before the vote, the market was up over 200 points. Yup. That bailout really helped.
The vote is in:
Yea 263
Nay 171
4:15 PM...The market is now closed. DOWN 157.47. This morning, before the vote, the market was up over 200 points. Yup. That bailout really helped.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Less Than 100 Days!!!
As you will see by the date below, I started this entry several days ago. Being busy with homeschool coursework and the support of Katherine the Great in her opera internship, I haven't had time to write. Now that I am sitting in my car outside the local dance studio, I thought I would finish this off and get it posted.Today (9/16/08) marks exactly 100 days until Christmas. Given that the United States is coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and the fallout from yesterday's financial news (the collapse of Lehman Brothers), I am guessing that most Americans haven't thought about the holidays yet. I have...and so has my young friend, Alexia, who works at a local restaurant. We both purchased our first Christmas gifts this week. I wasn't planning to start my holiday shopping this early, but one of the regulars on my gift list let slip the smallest of clues about something she wanted and would never expect to receive. Fortunately, the item was available online for a reasonable price, so I bought it and had it shipped to the house. It is already labeled and queued up for wrapping in the storage box at the end of my bed.. This year, I have decided to wrap my gifts as they arrive/are purchased in an effort to avoid that mad rush of wrapping toward the end when I would rather be baking or enjoying the company of family and friends.
Later...OK. So, obviously, I wrote that before the proposed bailout of AIG (American International Group). I am now thinking that many Americans, rather than not thinking about Christmas at all because it is too early, may actually be looking ahead to Christmas with a feeling of apprehension. I know I am beginning to consider a scale back plan, one that is a bit more radical than my original scale-back plan. One tool that is helping in this area: the Family Values Worksheet. Check it out at OrganizedChristmas.com. Here are some of my answers (see below). I also started working on a Master Gift List to see where I can conserve on my holiday gift-giving.
So, what you are doing to prepare for the holidays?
----------------------------
What went well for your family last year?
I would say that the positives for Christmas 2007 were
- the early completion of gift shopping
- the financial ability to give generously to our friends and family members
- timely shipping of distance gifts to Florida and Minnesota family and friends
- an easy Christmas meal that was delicious and prepared ahead, especially breakfast
- my success at getting the Advent wreath set up, even though I was unable to stay on track with daily devotions
What stresses did your family face? Were there too many activities on the calendar?
Stressors during Christmas 2007:
- Hubby traveled for work until the week before Christmas
- we put up and decorated the Christmas tree very late
- some in the household had minor illnesses that slowed our holiday preparations a bit
- we had an extremely full calendar of music performances
While the latter did add more stress than most families endure during an average holiday season, what with a cantata at church and four or five handbell concerts, the rewards of celebrating with many different people in many different venues are well worth the effort.
Was your family spiritually invigorated by the holiday celebration? Did you participate in appropriate worship, service, or giving activities?
This is a difficult question to answer for the other members of my family; however, I can answer if for myself. I felt spiritually renewed. Kate and I did some Advent devotionals at home and the entire family attended Christmas Eve service for a cantata (Kate was performing). I did a short Crossways International Bible study on the "real" story of Christmas. It was great because I learned a lot about some of the Middle Eastern traditions, etc. that are not generally understood in the "traditional" Christmas story as told in America.
As for our giving, we donated to Samaritan's Purse by making an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.
What would you have done differently last year?
I would have done the same thing I should have done every year --- decluttered my house!!! That said, I also would have:
- picked up the Christmas tree a few days earlier
- done more holiday cookie baking ahead of time
- done more freezer meals ahead of time
- purchased a small chest freezer to hold the "do ahead" food
- actually written Christmas cards and sent them (which I haven't done for several years)
- made more of a point to get together for dinner with friends (which depends on my house being decluttered)
If we could only do three things to celebrate Christmas, what would they be?
Mom:
- tree tagging & decorating
- gift giving (small scale, if necessary)
- Advent devotionals
Daughter:
- tree tagging & decorating
- gift giving
- Christmas menu item: baked eggs
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
More Exciting Opera News
My daughter had her second opera rehearsal last night, plus her first reception. She met the principals, those individuals who are singing the major parts, and she was fitted for her costume, a beautiful hunter green dress from the Metropolitan Opera costume department. I won’t even attempt to describe it here, as I was not privileged to see it. However, Katherine the Great says it looks like what I would typically think of as a “medieval” dress: it has leg-o-mutton sleeves, the square neckline, and a Tudor-era headband-style headdress to complete the ensemble. Needless to say, she is psyched! I can’t wait to see her in it. Now all she needs are some shoes and a necklace. Maybe I should ask Grandma. She used to do costuming for the college theater in her younger days. She might have some interesting ideas as to how we can pull off some accessories. Hmmm....
Life around here gets more interesting by the minute.
Life around here gets more interesting by the minute.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
When Is a Candidate Ready?
This morning, I was watching some election coverage when one of the commentators mentioned that he didn’t think Sarah Palin was ready to be President if, God forbid, anything happened to John McCain. I have heard folks say this about Barack Obama too. Considering that many people do not want a “Washington insider” to lead the country, a label that implies all kinds of experience working in Washington, D.C., my question for discussion is this:
- must be a natural born citizen
- must be at least 35 years old
- must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Any ideas? Thanks for your input.
McCain campaign website
Obama campaign website
What exactly makes an individual ready to be President?The Constitution enumerates these qualifications in Article II, Section 1:
- must be a natural born citizen
- must be at least 35 years old
- must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Any ideas? Thanks for your input.
McCain campaign website
Obama campaign website
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
The Internship Has Begun
Last spring, Katherine the Great (who had only taken voice lessons for about seven months at the time) was offered an internship with a local opera company, singing as a chorus member. She filed the required paperwork in August and, yesterday, had an orientation meeting with the lady who takes care of the administrative tasks. Thirty minutes later, costume measurement sheet and rehearsal schedule in hand, her internship had officially begun. On the way home, I asked her how she was doing with the music. Current status: the first chorus piece is down cold. She sang part of it for me. Do you know who cool it is to have your Subaru filled with “live” opera music? I still have to pinch myself that my child has such a great voice. It truly astounds me. Best of all, I had nothing to do with it. It is totally her!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Catching the Bus
It is 6:45 AM and it is the first day of school for the 2008-2009 academic year. The bus that transports students to the local high school is about to stop a quarter-mile from my house. Thankfully, the school district scheduled two stops; one is a short walk in a northerly direction (6:52 AM); the other is a short walk in a southerly direction (6:50 AM). The distance is the same, regardless.
Do I know the whereabouts of my high school student? Yep. She is in bed! Oh no, she has exactly five minutes to catch the bus! Argh!!! What am I going to do? Well, because classes at the local high school don’t actually begin until 7:30 AM, I am not too worried. I am also not worried because I don’t need to be. You see, my family homeschools and the school year at “Home Education Academy” doesn’t begin until next week; and when classes do get up and running around here, the plan is to hit the math books about the same time the local kids hit the bus so my student can leave for three hours of organ and piano practice at a church 15-20 minutes from my house.
So, you see, the student who lives here still has to catch the bus. It is just that the bus looks more like a kitchen table (or a Subaru). I love homeschooling!
Do I know the whereabouts of my high school student? Yep. She is in bed! Oh no, she has exactly five minutes to catch the bus! Argh!!! What am I going to do? Well, because classes at the local high school don’t actually begin until 7:30 AM, I am not too worried. I am also not worried because I don’t need to be. You see, my family homeschools and the school year at “Home Education Academy” doesn’t begin until next week; and when classes do get up and running around here, the plan is to hit the math books about the same time the local kids hit the bus so my student can leave for three hours of organ and piano practice at a church 15-20 minutes from my house.
So, you see, the student who lives here still has to catch the bus. It is just that the bus looks more like a kitchen table (or a Subaru). I love homeschooling!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Fortune Cookies
Been away for awhile decluttering my house and preparing for yet another year of homeschooling. Tonight, my husband grabbed Chinese food for dinner and, as usual, the restaurant tossed in those fortune cookies. Now, I am not a believer in fortune telling, but I do wonder about the history of the practice of including fortune cookies with a meal. If anyone has information about that, I would love to hear more. In the meantime, here are the King family fortunes for tonight:
Don't take life too seriously. Laugh and smile at it once in a while.Find any interesting tidbits in your Chinese food lately?
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.
Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten.
Courtesy is contagious.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Now My Air Conditioner is Dead
Have you ever experienced one of those months where everything (or almost everything) you own seems to break? A while back it was my laptop computer. Then it was the two Firewire external hard drive enclosures that my husband purchased in an attempt to rescue the hard drive from the deceased laptop. Today, it was the air conditioner...on one of the most humid and uncomfortable days of summer thus far. Ugh!
Since my sinuses abhor humidity and his euthyroid state dislikes heat, it didn’t take long to study the available Internet dirt on the latest air conditioners. A little reading and we were off to Bernie's for a look-see. Nope; that air conditioner was too expensive, even with the Connecticut “Turn in Your Air Conditioner” rebate. Next up: Lowe’s; that air conditioner was the wrong model. Finally, Home Depot; that air conditioner was just right, so Papa Bear and I bought it before Goldilocks could say, “Maybe you should shop around a bit.” One gross, sticky afternoon later and the house is back at 70°F. Praise the Lord!
If civilization ever implodes, I am in big trouble because I am way too dependent on air conditioning. Stay cool.
Since my sinuses abhor humidity and his euthyroid state dislikes heat, it didn’t take long to study the available Internet dirt on the latest air conditioners. A little reading and we were off to Bernie's for a look-see. Nope; that air conditioner was too expensive, even with the Connecticut “Turn in Your Air Conditioner” rebate. Next up: Lowe’s; that air conditioner was the wrong model. Finally, Home Depot; that air conditioner was just right, so Papa Bear and I bought it before Goldilocks could say, “Maybe you should shop around a bit.” One gross, sticky afternoon later and the house is back at 70°F. Praise the Lord!
If civilization ever implodes, I am in big trouble because I am way too dependent on air conditioning. Stay cool.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Avoir, Steak & Ale
My girlfriend from Florida (2ravenhairedbeauties) informed me yesterday that the Bennigans restaurant in her area closed abruptly. I have no Bennigans in my area so I was unaware if the chain was struggling financially. Apparently, they were. As of a few days ago, all the company-owned Bennigans stores closed, as did all of the company-owned Steak & Ale restaurants. The Houston Chronicle had this to say:
To read more, click here.
... MetroMedia Restaurant Group confirmed that its subsidiary, S&A Restaurant Corp., had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. All corporate locations of its well-known storefronts, including Bennigans, Steak & Ale, and Tavern, will be shuttered for good.Strangely enough, I lost my local Ponderosa many years ago. It is now a Japanese restaurant.
- snip –
MetroMedia will continue to operate its Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouses, the company said in a statement.
To read more, click here.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thank You, Mr. Bentley
Apparently at least one CBS News reporter has been assigned to cover the comings-and-goings of Senator John McCain in his bid to be the next President of the United States. How do I know this? Because I found this on the CBS News website:
The reporter? Mr. John Bentley. Thank you, sir, for covering this news event. I am tired of hearing about Senator Obama and his trip overseas. How refreshing to know that someone is paying attention to the other candidate. Yes, folks, there are two men running in Campaign ’08.
The reporter? Mr. John Bentley. Thank you, sir, for covering this news event. I am tired of hearing about Senator Obama and his trip overseas. How refreshing to know that someone is paying attention to the other candidate. Yes, folks, there are two men running in Campaign ’08.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tour of California 2009
Yes! The route for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California has been released and I am psyched! The race ends in Escondido, near San Diego and Oceanside, the home of several of our Navy (and non-Navy) friends. My daughter was planning a trip to the Golden State to visit some of these folks, a trip that was cancelled/delayed this year due to the cost of gasoline. We were thinking of driving out next summer (June perhaps) after saving some money for travel costs. Now, I am beginning to wonder if we should reschedule the trip to February so we can see the final day of the race. Definitely a topic for further discussion.
Anyway, here is the route and a link to the USAToday article reporting the information. Start planning!
Stage 1: Sacramento (2/14/09)
Stage 2: Davis to Santa Rosa (2/15/09)
Stage 3: Sausalito to Santa Cruz (2/16/09)
Stage 4: San Jose to Modesto (2/17/09)
Stage 5: Merced to Clovis (2/18/09)
Stage 6: Visalia to Paso Robles (2/19/09)
Stage 7: Solvang (2/20/09) --- individual time trial
Stage 8: Santa Clarita to Pasadena (2/21/09)
Stage 9: Rancho Bernardo to Escondido (2/22/09)
To view a map of the route, click here.
Anyway, here is the route and a link to the USAToday article reporting the information. Start planning!
Stage 1: Sacramento (2/14/09)
Stage 2: Davis to Santa Rosa (2/15/09)
Stage 3: Sausalito to Santa Cruz (2/16/09)
Stage 4: San Jose to Modesto (2/17/09)
Stage 5: Merced to Clovis (2/18/09)
Stage 6: Visalia to Paso Robles (2/19/09)
Stage 7: Solvang (2/20/09) --- individual time trial
Stage 8: Santa Clarita to Pasadena (2/21/09)
Stage 9: Rancho Bernardo to Escondido (2/22/09)
To view a map of the route, click here.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
TDF Entries Abandoned
Certainly anyone who reads Gooseberry Lane on a regular basis noticed that I began writing daily blog entries for the Tour de France and made it all the way to Stage 5. Talk about a fair weather fan who abandons at the first sign of trouble (dopers and computer problems). No, in actuality, I didn’t abandon the race at all; I just needed to abandon writing about it because my laptop died. I needed to focus my time on rescuing my hard drive. Sorry. Rest assured, I haven’t abandoned the race. In fact, I have it taping as I write so I don’t miss Stage 16 from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers, France. It promises to be an exciting day with two massive climbs and a sprint finish. If you have time, catch the race on Versus. Vive le Tour!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
A Cycling Perspective
Versus is currently running a Take Back the Tour commercial that I find somewhat amusing and extremely accurate in its portrayal of the pain and suffering experienced by professional cyclists. Here is the text from the ad. On television, Jonathan Vaughters, the directeur sportif of Team Garmin Chipotle and a former cyclist from the US Postal Team, does the voice-over.
When they crash on those sprint finishes, that’s 40-45 miles an hour; if they’re on a descent, it can be 55-60 miles an hour. Next time you’re in your car at 50 miles an hour, strip down to your underwear and jump out the door...and that’s what it’s like to crash in a professional bike race.I cannot post the video here, but it should be posted soon at www.takebackthetour.com.
My Price is Capped
One of my financial strategies of late is to put as many recurring bills as possible on the budget plan. That way, I won’t be hit with big bills, like car insurance or fuel oil payments, every few months, requiring me to come up with a large block of cash. For example, at the end of May, I locked in my oil price for the winter at $3.799/gallon. Actually, I contracted for a price cap, meaning the highest price I will pay, per gallon, for oil from now until May 2009 is the aforementioned amount. If the price goes down, I will pay the cheaper price; if the price increases to more than $3.799/gallon, I will not be charged the higher price point. After I signed the contract, I was concerned that I had negotiated too high a price. Then my good friend, Koalagirl15, called me to say that the going fuel oil price for a “lock in” contract with her oil company was $5.499/gallon! I am so happy I bought early.
Fortunately for me, I only need to heat my house. Here in Connecticut, many homeowners use fuel oil to heat their hot water as well. Translation: they are required to purchase fuel oil all year long. Sadly, many of my friends are in this position. Now, I don’t know how many gallons of oil they use per month, but I can tell you that I use ~600 gallons of fuel oil just to heat my home every winter. At $3.799/gallon, my cost this coming winter will be $2279.40; at $5.499/gallon, it would be $2749.50 (and my house is only 900 square feet). For my friends who live in 3000-square-foot houses, their fuel oil cost this winter, just for heat, could be in the neighborhood of $5000.00...or more. Frightening!
So, what have you done to plan for heat this winter?
Fortunately for me, I only need to heat my house. Here in Connecticut, many homeowners use fuel oil to heat their hot water as well. Translation: they are required to purchase fuel oil all year long. Sadly, many of my friends are in this position. Now, I don’t know how many gallons of oil they use per month, but I can tell you that I use ~600 gallons of fuel oil just to heat my home every winter. At $3.799/gallon, my cost this coming winter will be $2279.40; at $5.499/gallon, it would be $2749.50 (and my house is only 900 square feet). For my friends who live in 3000-square-foot houses, their fuel oil cost this winter, just for heat, could be in the neighborhood of $5000.00...or more. Frightening!
So, what have you done to plan for heat this winter?
Divide and Conquer
This morning, I saw yet another news article about IndyMacBank and the depositors who are attempting to get their money out of the beleaguered financial institution as fast as possible. Some of these folks have in excess of $200,000 in their accounts; but, because funds are only insured for their full value up to $100,000, these people may only get that fully insured amount and then (possibly) 50% of the amount on deposit above that. What does that mean? If you have $250,000 on deposit, you will get $100,000 for sure. Then, you will get 50% of the rest, or $75,000. That means you will lose $75,000. Not good. The simplest way to avoid this scenario? Divide the original $250,000 among various financial institutions so that no one account goes above the fully insured amount.
Another word to the wise: if you do not have money in IndymacBank, or one of the other banks in danger of failing, leave your money alone. If those of us whose financial institutions are sound run to the bank and withdraw our money, the banking industry (and the economy for that matter) will become even more volatile. Protect your funds as much as possible while still leaving them on deposit. The bank cannot function without your money; but, more importantly, the bank cannot function without your trust and confidence in their ability to weather this financial storm.
Another word to the wise: if you do not have money in IndymacBank, or one of the other banks in danger of failing, leave your money alone. If those of us whose financial institutions are sound run to the bank and withdraw our money, the banking industry (and the economy for that matter) will become even more volatile. Protect your funds as much as possible while still leaving them on deposit. The bank cannot function without your money; but, more importantly, the bank cannot function without your trust and confidence in their ability to weather this financial storm.
My Laptop is...Dead
A few days ago, my Apple laptop lost its mind, deciding to quit completely sometime in the late afternoon. It had been behaving badly for a few days, refusing to save documents and renaming the hard drive indiscriminately. Now, my tool of choice for writing blog entries is unavailable, forcing me to use a stationary computer that traps me at a desk. Ugh! Frustrating and inconvenient, but not cause for whining. Just know that updates to Gooseberry Lane may be slow while I share the family room computer with my daughter. Thank you.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Think Before You Eat
Ok, I have no idea if this is true. I suppose I could test it for myself if I wanted to save a McDonald’s hamburger or a McDonald’s french fry for several years. I don’t really want to do that. My point in sharing this is to spark your thinking about the content of fast food and why it probably isn’t something any of us should eat, especially on a regular basis. To be fair, McDonalds does offer healthy food as well, like Apple Dippers® (without caramel) and Southwest Salad®. I, for one, like their Asian Salad® and their Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait®. Bon appetite.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Hopefully, the Only Doper
I am a little behind on writing my stage-by-stage blurbs on the Tour de France, but I couldn’t let this pass without comment. This morning, first thing after tuning in to the daily Versus coverage, I heard the announcement that Manuel Beltran of Team Liquigas (and a former Team Discovery Channel climber/domestique) was arrested for doping. Allegedly, he used erythropoetin (EPO) to enhance his performance on Stage 1 of the race. At the risk of sounding judgmental (which I have been accused of doing on occasion), dare I ask:
WHAT WAS HE THINKING!!!???
After all the hard work that the race organizers, the team managers, and the riders have done to make sure the competition is clean, possibly for the first time ever, it is worse than unfortunate that a single individual attempted to cheat. It was wrong. It is wrong, and it is insulting and disrespectful to every other cyclist in the Tour.
The immediate consequences:
- ejected from the Tour de France
- arrested by French police
- fired from Team Liquigas (pending B-sample analysis)
The long-term impact: an even more difficult return to trust for the entire sport.
If you speak/read French, you can read more about the incident in L’Equipe, the French sporting newspaper:
- Beltran positif à l’EPO
- Beltran exclu, Liquigas continue
English speakers can check these articles from Sporting Life:
- Beltran: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
- Beltran Pulled From Tour
WHAT WAS HE THINKING!!!???
After all the hard work that the race organizers, the team managers, and the riders have done to make sure the competition is clean, possibly for the first time ever, it is worse than unfortunate that a single individual attempted to cheat. It was wrong. It is wrong, and it is insulting and disrespectful to every other cyclist in the Tour.
The immediate consequences:
- ejected from the Tour de France
- arrested by French police
- fired from Team Liquigas (pending B-sample analysis)
The long-term impact: an even more difficult return to trust for the entire sport.
If you speak/read French, you can read more about the incident in L’Equipe, the French sporting newspaper:
- Beltran positif à l’EPO
- Beltran exclu, Liquigas continue
English speakers can check these articles from Sporting Life:
- Beltran: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
- Beltran Pulled From Tour
Thursday, July 10, 2008
TDF Stage 5
Catching up...
Route: Cholet - Châteauroux
Riders: 178
Distance: 232 km
Climbs:
- None
The longest day of the 2008 Tour de France was definitely a day for the sprinters…and yet another great day for Team Columbia with a stage win by Mark Cavendish. They now possess the white jersey of the best young rider and are currently second in the team competition. True, they handed the sprint jersey to Thor Hushovd today but, hey, sharing is a good thing. Right? Only seven points separate Kim Kirchen and Mr. Hushovd in that contest. One lousy day for the latter and the former may be wearing green again in no time. Remember, it isn’t over until the fat lady sings…or, in this case, until the fat cyclist rides. Well, you get the idea.
Favorite part of the day: the sprint finish, of course. How nerve wracking! With 35 sprint points up for grabs on the finish line, the sprinters had a prize worth fighting for. Team Liquigas set the pace at the front of the peleton in order to reel in a three-man breakaway and set up their man for a win (Francesco Chicchi). Team Columbia took a turn in the drivers seat as well in an attempt to launch Mark Cavendish over the line. An incident with a spectator and a crash on a roundabout did little or nothing to slow the pace into Châteauroux. Dicey, dicey, dicey. Nicolas Vogondy, one of the breakaway leaders, came up with one last desperate attempt to stay out front, but to not avail. Caught just meters from the finish, victory was not to be for the Frenchman. Instead, the win went to Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia. Kudos to the High Road Sports organization for a job well done.
Saddest part of the day: the withdrawal of Juan Mauricio Soler due to suspected broken bones in his scaphoid, the result of a crash on Stage 1. Today, he crashed again in the neutral zone and, shortly thereafter, decided to abandon the Tour. Too bad. The contest for the polka-dot jersey just won’t be the same.
In other news: Alejandro Valverde crashed early in the day. He has some road rash, but seems fine.
Oddity of the day: the giant yellow bug sculpture in one of the traffic circles. It was at around 56 miles before the end of the stage. Did you see it? It looked like an ant to me.
Withdrawals
- Juan Mauricio Hernandez Soler
Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Route: Cholet - Châteauroux
Riders: 178
Distance: 232 km
Climbs:
- None
The longest day of the 2008 Tour de France was definitely a day for the sprinters…and yet another great day for Team Columbia with a stage win by Mark Cavendish. They now possess the white jersey of the best young rider and are currently second in the team competition. True, they handed the sprint jersey to Thor Hushovd today but, hey, sharing is a good thing. Right? Only seven points separate Kim Kirchen and Mr. Hushovd in that contest. One lousy day for the latter and the former may be wearing green again in no time. Remember, it isn’t over until the fat lady sings…or, in this case, until the fat cyclist rides. Well, you get the idea.
Favorite part of the day: the sprint finish, of course. How nerve wracking! With 35 sprint points up for grabs on the finish line, the sprinters had a prize worth fighting for. Team Liquigas set the pace at the front of the peleton in order to reel in a three-man breakaway and set up their man for a win (Francesco Chicchi). Team Columbia took a turn in the drivers seat as well in an attempt to launch Mark Cavendish over the line. An incident with a spectator and a crash on a roundabout did little or nothing to slow the pace into Châteauroux. Dicey, dicey, dicey. Nicolas Vogondy, one of the breakaway leaders, came up with one last desperate attempt to stay out front, but to not avail. Caught just meters from the finish, victory was not to be for the Frenchman. Instead, the win went to Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia. Kudos to the High Road Sports organization for a job well done.
Saddest part of the day: the withdrawal of Juan Mauricio Soler due to suspected broken bones in his scaphoid, the result of a crash on Stage 1. Today, he crashed again in the neutral zone and, shortly thereafter, decided to abandon the Tour. Too bad. The contest for the polka-dot jersey just won’t be the same.
In other news: Alejandro Valverde crashed early in the day. He has some road rash, but seems fine.
Oddity of the day: the giant yellow bug sculpture in one of the traffic circles. It was at around 56 miles before the end of the stage. Did you see it? It looked like an ant to me.
Withdrawals
- Juan Mauricio Hernandez Soler
Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
TDF Stage 4
Route: Cholet - Cholet
Riders: 178
Distance: 29.5 km
Climbs:
- None
The first individual time trial of the 2008 Tour de France started on my television at 8:00 AM this morning. Too bad I wasn’t able to sit and watch it. I needed to work on some homeschooling tasks, including running my daughter out to church for organ practice. The wonders of videotaping (or Tivo, if you like) are such a blessing. Now the only challenge will be finding time to watch what I taped.
One day later…11:00 PM…folding towels…feeding the cockatiel…collecting trash…and watching my tape of the individual time trial. Hopefully, I will finish both the viewing and this blog entry before midnight so I can get some sleep. Don’t you just love July?
So, the upsets continue. Stefan Schumacher took the day, prevailing over second-place finisher Kim Kirchen by a mere 18 seconds. Favorite Alejandro Valverde came in twenty-third. Don’t know what happened there. The yellow jersey, Romain Feillu, completed the competition in 169th place, apparently just inside the elimination time. Whew! Other notables on the day: top spots for men from the two new American teams. Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) took 2nd, David Millar (Garmin Chipotle) held 3rd, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Chipotle) came in 8th, George Hincapie (Team Columbia) grabbed 9th, Thomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia) enjoyed 11th place, and Danny Pate (Garmin Chipotle) rounded out the bunch in 14th place. Very impressive efforts all.
The American teams are faring quite well this year, thus far. Team Garmin Chipotle currently sports first place in the team competition, while Team Columbia holds second in the team contest, first place in the sprint competition, and first place for best young rider. And remember, this is under the watchful eye of the drug testers at the Tour de France and at the Agency for Cycling Ethics. My greatest hope is that someone from one of these two teams will win the entire race and be able to demonstrate that they did it without the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs. Wouldn’t that be awesome!
Time trial oddity: listening to the aerodynamic rear wheel as the riders fly past the cameramen on the road.
Withdrawals
- None
Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Riders: 178
Distance: 29.5 km
Climbs:
- None
The first individual time trial of the 2008 Tour de France started on my television at 8:00 AM this morning. Too bad I wasn’t able to sit and watch it. I needed to work on some homeschooling tasks, including running my daughter out to church for organ practice. The wonders of videotaping (or Tivo, if you like) are such a blessing. Now the only challenge will be finding time to watch what I taped.
One day later…11:00 PM…folding towels…feeding the cockatiel…collecting trash…and watching my tape of the individual time trial. Hopefully, I will finish both the viewing and this blog entry before midnight so I can get some sleep. Don’t you just love July?
So, the upsets continue. Stefan Schumacher took the day, prevailing over second-place finisher Kim Kirchen by a mere 18 seconds. Favorite Alejandro Valverde came in twenty-third. Don’t know what happened there. The yellow jersey, Romain Feillu, completed the competition in 169th place, apparently just inside the elimination time. Whew! Other notables on the day: top spots for men from the two new American teams. Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) took 2nd, David Millar (Garmin Chipotle) held 3rd, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Chipotle) came in 8th, George Hincapie (Team Columbia) grabbed 9th, Thomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia) enjoyed 11th place, and Danny Pate (Garmin Chipotle) rounded out the bunch in 14th place. Very impressive efforts all.
The American teams are faring quite well this year, thus far. Team Garmin Chipotle currently sports first place in the team competition, while Team Columbia holds second in the team contest, first place in the sprint competition, and first place for best young rider. And remember, this is under the watchful eye of the drug testers at the Tour de France and at the Agency for Cycling Ethics. My greatest hope is that someone from one of these two teams will win the entire race and be able to demonstrate that they did it without the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs. Wouldn’t that be awesome!
Time trial oddity: listening to the aerodynamic rear wheel as the riders fly past the cameramen on the road.
Withdrawals
- None
Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
How Do We Learn About “The Other?”
On Sunday morning, I saw this in the Daily Mail:
My daughter’s music composition teacher told me once that he believes the need for religion will vanish someday and, with it, our need to label as “the other” anyone who believes differently from us. I don’t think that is possible…unless, of course, we all believe exactly the same thing. But then we wouldn’t be unique individuals, created by God for His specific purpose; we would be robots. So, unless and until we all become robots, I think we need to work toward a solution to this “understanding each other” thing.
Your thoughts on the subject?
Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson.In the Old Testament, the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3 (NASB), I can read this:
You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image.Now, let’s be clear, I am not equating the practice of Islam with the religious practices of the ancient Babylonians. I am, however, wondering about the compulsion factor in each of these accounts. The schoolboys in modern times and the Jews of ancient days were both asked to bow down to a god that was not their own. Seriously, even in the interest of education, can society require (or even ask) this of anyone? I have to agree with the parent interviewed in the Daily Mail article, who said:
But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.
There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.
Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?”
“Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
“But if Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion, there would be war.”So, if it would be unacceptable for a Muslim to participate in the practice of Christianity for educational purposes, why is it acceptable in reverse? A bigger question for me is: how can people learn about the religious beliefs and practices of others in the interest of community and understanding without “corrupting” their own religious observance? Is it enough to read about the beliefs of others? Or do we need to actually observe and perform the religious rituals or sacraments of another in order to truly understand? I happen to think that “book learning” and conversation with those who hold different beliefs is sufficient. I think the teachers and administrators at the British school went too far in this case.
My daughter’s music composition teacher told me once that he believes the need for religion will vanish someday and, with it, our need to label as “the other” anyone who believes differently from us. I don’t think that is possible…unless, of course, we all believe exactly the same thing. But then we wouldn’t be unique individuals, created by God for His specific purpose; we would be robots. So, unless and until we all become robots, I think we need to work toward a solution to this “understanding each other” thing.
Your thoughts on the subject?
TDF Stage 3
Route: Saint-Malo – Nantes
Riders: 178
Distance: 208 km
Climbs:
- None
More wind (and rain), a crash near the finish line, and a peleton that gambled a bit too much on their ability to reel in a breakaway made for some interesting racing today. The scenery was interesting as well, heading out of Brittany and into the beautiful Loire Valley, known for its wine production and for the longest river in France.
The day was dominated early on by a four-man breakaway comprised of Samuel Dumoulin, Romain Feillu, Will Frischkorn, and Paolo Longo Borghini. They headed away from the pack in the second kilometer, thinking (I suppose) that they would get some visibility for their team sponsors at best. Well, when the peleton was still working to catch them with less than thirty kilometers to go, their wildest dreams came into view --- that of winning a stage of the Tour de France or, in the case of Romain Feillu, of capturing the overall lead. Who would have thought?! A little known (to me anyway) twenty-four year old cyclist from Châteaudun, France taking the yellow jersey from Alejandro Valverde. Talk about having a great day!
By contrast, Angel Gomez had a horrible day, crashing with about twenty-five kilometers to go when he mixed it up with a piece of road furniture (in America, these are generally referred to as medians). The result? Certainly not a yellow jersey. No, Mr. Gomez received a trip to the hospital and a suspected broken pelvis. Ouch! Also involved: the Danish road racing champion, Nicki Sorenson. Thankfully, he is fine.
A bit of the incidental television coverage on Versus today: the Agency for Cycling Ethics. I am very intrigued by this effort: physicians, researchers, and athletes working together to determine a normal band of physiological measures for an individual human athlete and to develop a way to spot broad-scale changes in physiology, as well as the presence of illegal substances. The whole idea seems very proactively health-oriented. Don’t just look for banned substances; be concerned about the health of rider too. Team Garmin Chipotle and Team Columbia have both signed on to this. Good for them. I would love to see both American teams race clean and with reams of documentation to prove it.
Withdrawals
- Angel Gomez
Overall Standings
- Romaine Feillu
- Paolo Borghini Longo
- Will Frischkorn
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Riders: 178
Distance: 208 km
Climbs:
- None
More wind (and rain), a crash near the finish line, and a peleton that gambled a bit too much on their ability to reel in a breakaway made for some interesting racing today. The scenery was interesting as well, heading out of Brittany and into the beautiful Loire Valley, known for its wine production and for the longest river in France.
The day was dominated early on by a four-man breakaway comprised of Samuel Dumoulin, Romain Feillu, Will Frischkorn, and Paolo Longo Borghini. They headed away from the pack in the second kilometer, thinking (I suppose) that they would get some visibility for their team sponsors at best. Well, when the peleton was still working to catch them with less than thirty kilometers to go, their wildest dreams came into view --- that of winning a stage of the Tour de France or, in the case of Romain Feillu, of capturing the overall lead. Who would have thought?! A little known (to me anyway) twenty-four year old cyclist from Châteaudun, France taking the yellow jersey from Alejandro Valverde. Talk about having a great day!
By contrast, Angel Gomez had a horrible day, crashing with about twenty-five kilometers to go when he mixed it up with a piece of road furniture (in America, these are generally referred to as medians). The result? Certainly not a yellow jersey. No, Mr. Gomez received a trip to the hospital and a suspected broken pelvis. Ouch! Also involved: the Danish road racing champion, Nicki Sorenson. Thankfully, he is fine.
A bit of the incidental television coverage on Versus today: the Agency for Cycling Ethics. I am very intrigued by this effort: physicians, researchers, and athletes working together to determine a normal band of physiological measures for an individual human athlete and to develop a way to spot broad-scale changes in physiology, as well as the presence of illegal substances. The whole idea seems very proactively health-oriented. Don’t just look for banned substances; be concerned about the health of rider too. Team Garmin Chipotle and Team Columbia have both signed on to this. Good for them. I would love to see both American teams race clean and with reams of documentation to prove it.
Withdrawals
- Angel Gomez
Overall Standings
- Romaine Feillu
- Paolo Borghini Longo
- Will Frischkorn
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Currently Riding in the TDF
Yesterday, I needed to find a link for cyclist Frank Schleck, to provide some biographical information for those readers who may be interested in learning more about him. In my search, I came across this YouTube video of Mr. Schleck “taking a spill” during the Tour de Suisse. Personally, I think it is a miracle he is still alive. Let’s just say, “ouch” is a major understatement. Thankfully, he is ok and currently riding in the Tour de France.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
TDF Stage 2
Route: Auray – Saint-Brieuc
Riders: 179
Distance: 164.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Bieuzy-Lanvaux (category 4)
- Côte de Kergroix (category 4)
- Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne (category 3)
- Côte de Saint-Mayeux (category 4)
Some windy, rainy weather today in France. Lots of lovely countryside, though. I am always curious about the local churches the riders pass along the way each day. There seem to be a lot of them. It makes me wonder: do they have large, active congregations or are they struggling; do they utilize traditional worship liturgies or have they adopted a more contemporary worship style; are they as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside? Maybe someday I can visit France for myself and take a look.
New knowledge for today: the Breton language and the Gallo language are spoken by folks in Brittany. I was curious about this when Paul Sherwin mentioned it during the live coverage this morning. This is what I found about Breton on Omniglot.com:
A duh moment for me today: Team Columbia is really young! Lots of riders age 23-27. George Hincapie is the “old man” on staff at 34 years of age.
Race highlights for the day:
- Another feed zone crash. Nicolas Jalabert bumped wheels with Frank Schleck.
- First category three climb of the race: Mûr-de-Bretagne.
- The final sprint was exciting. Lots of action, lots of jockeying for position. I was glad to see that Team Columbia was in the mix. The peleton really picked up the pace in the last few kilometers. Too bad about that crash, though. I was glad to see Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek take second and third place.
Withdrawals
- None today
Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
- Oscar Freire
- Juan Jose Cobo Acebo
- Cadel Evans
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
*Lesson learned for today: Do not videotape the race with a plan to watch it in the evening. Family members will interfere. I did that this morning and my husband took over the television this evening to watch our latest Netflix arrival --- Hellboy. Ugh! Tomorrow, I will be watching my video in the afternoon. :-)
Riders: 179
Distance: 164.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Bieuzy-Lanvaux (category 4)
- Côte de Kergroix (category 4)
- Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne (category 3)
- Côte de Saint-Mayeux (category 4)
Some windy, rainy weather today in France. Lots of lovely countryside, though. I am always curious about the local churches the riders pass along the way each day. There seem to be a lot of them. It makes me wonder: do they have large, active congregations or are they struggling; do they utilize traditional worship liturgies or have they adopted a more contemporary worship style; are they as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside? Maybe someday I can visit France for myself and take a look.
New knowledge for today: the Breton language and the Gallo language are spoken by folks in Brittany. I was curious about this when Paul Sherwin mentioned it during the live coverage this morning. This is what I found about Breton on Omniglot.com:
Breton is a Celtic language spoken mainly in Brittany (Breizh) by about 365,000 people, about 240,000 of whom speak it fluently. Breton is closely related to Cornish and less closely related to Welsh, though these languages are not mutually intelligible. Breton has also absorbed quite a lot of vocabulary from French, Latin, and probably from Gaulish languages, which are now extinct.For more information on the Gallo language, visit this page on Wikipedia.
- snip –
Between 1880 to the middle of the 20th century, Breton was banned from schools and children were punished for speaking it. This changed in 1951 with the promulgation of the Deixonne law, which allowed for the Breton language and culture to be taught for one to three hours a week in public education if the teacher is willing and able to do so.
A duh moment for me today: Team Columbia is really young! Lots of riders age 23-27. George Hincapie is the “old man” on staff at 34 years of age.
Race highlights for the day:
- Another feed zone crash. Nicolas Jalabert bumped wheels with Frank Schleck.
- First category three climb of the race: Mûr-de-Bretagne.
- The final sprint was exciting. Lots of action, lots of jockeying for position. I was glad to see that Team Columbia was in the mix. The peleton really picked up the pace in the last few kilometers. Too bad about that crash, though. I was glad to see Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek take second and third place.
Withdrawals
- None today
Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
- Oscar Freire
- Juan Jose Cobo Acebo
- Cadel Evans
For the latest Versus.com video, click here.
*Lesson learned for today: Do not videotape the race with a plan to watch it in the evening. Family members will interfere. I did that this morning and my husband took over the television this evening to watch our latest Netflix arrival --- Hellboy. Ugh! Tomorrow, I will be watching my video in the afternoon. :-)
Great TDF Article
I was catching up on my Google Reader feeds this afternoon when I came across this article from The Fat Cyclist. Normally, I would just share it through Google, but I didn’t want my readers to miss it. I didn’t have time to pay close attention to all of the changes that Christian Prudhomme made to the Tour de France this year, which led me to believe that the competition would be as exciting as ever. Well, that may not be the case, what with all the “improvements” that have been enacted. I will have to stay tuned to be sure. Anyway, The Fat Cyclist has a great take on what viewers can expect during the 2008 ride around France, and some suggestions for additional "enhancements." Enjoy.
Happy 18th!
Yesterday, my daughter turned eighteen. I can hardly believe it. My husband sees it as a big deal and has been asking Katherine the Great if she feels any different, if she feels like a "grown-up." Not surprising, she could care less about how it feels to be eighteen. What is she excited about? Yup, you guessed it, registering to vote.
That celebration will happen on Monday morning. To recognize her actual “birthday," she had dinner with our good friends, the F family, at our favorite restaurant, Russell’s Ribs. Next week, she will have a picnic dinner in the park before the annual fireworks at Fort Griswold. Then, at the end of July, when her magician friend returns from magic camp in Pennsylvania, she will have an actual peer-group birthday party with letterboxing in one of the local hiking spots, ending with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Nothing like spreading your birthday out over an entire month. Then again, you only turn eighteen once, right?
I don’t remember what my eighteenth birthday was like. I do remember one thing: I certainly wasn’t looking forward to voting.
Happy birthday, Miss Katy!
That celebration will happen on Monday morning. To recognize her actual “birthday," she had dinner with our good friends, the F family, at our favorite restaurant, Russell’s Ribs. Next week, she will have a picnic dinner in the park before the annual fireworks at Fort Griswold. Then, at the end of July, when her magician friend returns from magic camp in Pennsylvania, she will have an actual peer-group birthday party with letterboxing in one of the local hiking spots, ending with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Nothing like spreading your birthday out over an entire month. Then again, you only turn eighteen once, right?
I don’t remember what my eighteenth birthday was like. I do remember one thing: I certainly wasn’t looking forward to voting.
Happy birthday, Miss Katy!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Fourth of July 2008
No BBQ plans. No friends or relatives at my house. No day off for my husband. Sounds like a pretty rotten Independence Day, doesn’t it? It really wasn’t that bad; after all, we finally attended our first Fourth of July parade in Groton.
No, we didn’t just move here. We have lived in town for almost 19 years. We just never took the time to go to the parade. Around our house, the Fourth of July is usually consumed with work (as it was yesterday), with either my husband working on the submarine base or me working on something at home. Plus, since my husband often travels for work, traveling on a holiday (even to go to a parade) is often something he does not want to embrace; consequently, we usually stay home. Yes, we generally have burgers or hot dogs, potato salad, and watermelon for lunch. We just don’t make a big deal out of it.
So, this year, our dear friends --- the F family --- invited us to the parade. Since my husband was working, my daughter and I decided to join the party. They picked us up in their van so we didn’t need to drive (always a plus) and all headed to the side of the road not too far from our house. The parade was much longer than I anticipated, with a lot more local fire equipment than I knew existed. I also saw a lot of fife and drum corps units, a huge difference from the parades of my youth in southern Minnesota where marching bands dominate the landscape. The youngsters representing their Girl Scout troops and Boy Scout packs were adorable, and we waved at our friends who were walking with their church group. It was all very…small town, which I wouldn’t trade for anything at this point in my life. It was a very relaxing time.
The other big event of the day: the arrival of the Explorer of the Seas. For a picture and a description, click here.
No, we didn’t just move here. We have lived in town for almost 19 years. We just never took the time to go to the parade. Around our house, the Fourth of July is usually consumed with work (as it was yesterday), with either my husband working on the submarine base or me working on something at home. Plus, since my husband often travels for work, traveling on a holiday (even to go to a parade) is often something he does not want to embrace; consequently, we usually stay home. Yes, we generally have burgers or hot dogs, potato salad, and watermelon for lunch. We just don’t make a big deal out of it.
So, this year, our dear friends --- the F family --- invited us to the parade. Since my husband was working, my daughter and I decided to join the party. They picked us up in their van so we didn’t need to drive (always a plus) and all headed to the side of the road not too far from our house. The parade was much longer than I anticipated, with a lot more local fire equipment than I knew existed. I also saw a lot of fife and drum corps units, a huge difference from the parades of my youth in southern Minnesota where marching bands dominate the landscape. The youngsters representing their Girl Scout troops and Boy Scout packs were adorable, and we waved at our friends who were walking with their church group. It was all very…small town, which I wouldn’t trade for anything at this point in my life. It was a very relaxing time.
The other big event of the day: the arrival of the Explorer of the Seas. For a picture and a description, click here.
TDF Stage 1
Route: Brest - Plumelec
Riders: 180
Distance: 197.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Ty-Jopic (category 4)
- Côte de Kerivarc’h (category 4)
- Col de Toullaeron (category 4)
- Côte de Guenervé (category 4)
Ah, July 5th: recovery day from the Fourth of July, my daughter’s birthday, and (this year) start day for the 95th Tour de France. The latter promises to be exciting, as always, but not the same as usual. For instance, the time bonuses are gone; the opening Prologue has been eliminated; and, of course, the 2007 winner, Alberto Contador, is absent, as is his fellow teammate and podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer.
And then there are those ads on Versus: Take Back the Tour. I found the first one a few days ago when I checked the website for televised programming information. This morning, I saw the second one during the live race coverage. Forgive me, but I don’t recall the ads from previous years being so…what’s the word…pointed. I understand the reasoning behind them --- to reclaim the image of cycling as a sport of athletic endurance and not doping --- but I am not certain the ads need to play quite so frequently. This morning, I saw at least one during every commercial break. I almost have the music memorized, but I digress…
Another novelty for 2008: the entrance of two American teams: Team Columbia and Team Garmin Chipotle. I must say I am psyched about this development. I only wish my favorite riders were all on the same roster. George Hincapie, of course, is riding for the former, while Christian Vande Velde is committed to the latter. Team Columbia had a productive first day in the saddle, snagging fourth place overall after Kim Kirchen’s break for the line. It was sad that he didn’t win the day, but I don’t think anyone expected Alejandro Valverde to launch such an explosive attack right at the end; very impressive on his part. I will definitely be paying closer attention to him when the race hits the mountains.
Sad event of the day: the loss of Herve Duclos-Lassalle from Team Cofidis. A short way into the race, he hit the pavement and broke his wrist. Fifty some miles into the first day of his first Tour de France and he was the first guy out of the game. Ouch.
Withdrawals
- Herve Duclos-Lassalle
Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Philippe Gilbert
- Jérôme Pineau
- Kim Kirchen
- Ricardo Ricco
- Cadel Evans
For Versus.com video of Stage 1, click here.
Riders: 180
Distance: 197.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Ty-Jopic (category 4)
- Côte de Kerivarc’h (category 4)
- Col de Toullaeron (category 4)
- Côte de Guenervé (category 4)
Ah, July 5th: recovery day from the Fourth of July, my daughter’s birthday, and (this year) start day for the 95th Tour de France. The latter promises to be exciting, as always, but not the same as usual. For instance, the time bonuses are gone; the opening Prologue has been eliminated; and, of course, the 2007 winner, Alberto Contador, is absent, as is his fellow teammate and podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer.
And then there are those ads on Versus: Take Back the Tour. I found the first one a few days ago when I checked the website for televised programming information. This morning, I saw the second one during the live race coverage. Forgive me, but I don’t recall the ads from previous years being so…what’s the word…pointed. I understand the reasoning behind them --- to reclaim the image of cycling as a sport of athletic endurance and not doping --- but I am not certain the ads need to play quite so frequently. This morning, I saw at least one during every commercial break. I almost have the music memorized, but I digress…
Another novelty for 2008: the entrance of two American teams: Team Columbia and Team Garmin Chipotle. I must say I am psyched about this development. I only wish my favorite riders were all on the same roster. George Hincapie, of course, is riding for the former, while Christian Vande Velde is committed to the latter. Team Columbia had a productive first day in the saddle, snagging fourth place overall after Kim Kirchen’s break for the line. It was sad that he didn’t win the day, but I don’t think anyone expected Alejandro Valverde to launch such an explosive attack right at the end; very impressive on his part. I will definitely be paying closer attention to him when the race hits the mountains.
Sad event of the day: the loss of Herve Duclos-Lassalle from Team Cofidis. A short way into the race, he hit the pavement and broke his wrist. Fifty some miles into the first day of his first Tour de France and he was the first guy out of the game. Ouch.
Withdrawals
- Herve Duclos-Lassalle
Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Philippe Gilbert
- Jérôme Pineau
- Kim Kirchen
- Ricardo Ricco
- Cadel Evans
For Versus.com video of Stage 1, click here.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Tour de France Route 2008
Saturday marks the beginning of the 95th Tour de France. Starting without the attendance of the 2007 winner (Alberto Contador) and third-place finisher (Levi Leipheimer), the race will skip the Prologue stage and dive right in with Stage 1. Setting off from Brest in Brittany, the route promises to produce some exciting racing and, when it hits the mountains, some exhausted racers. Stage 17, for example, sports no less than three hors category summits --- the Col du Galibier, the Col de la Croix de Fer, and L’Alpe D’Huez --- toward the end of a 210 kilometer day, ridden consecutively with a single feed zone between the first and second summits, and very little break between the climbs. If the goal of the race organizers was to find an iron cyclist, that stage should shake out the fittest among the peleton. It would kill me!
Anyway, for a 3D preview of the 2008 route, check out this video (see below). It was originally available on the official Tour de France website but, for some reason, cannot be loaded there. I found it on Youtube. If you don’t have time for the video, check out this race summary from the Tour website:
Anyway, for a 3D preview of the 2008 route, check out this video (see below). It was originally available on the official Tour de France website but, for some reason, cannot be loaded there. I found it on Youtube. If you don’t have time for the video, check out this race summary from the Tour website:
Running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th, the 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3500 kilometres.Live streaming starts on Versus.com at 6:30 AM; television coverage begins at 8:30 AM. See you Saturday!
These 21 stages have the following profiles:
- 10 flat stages
- 5 mountain stages
- 4 medium mountain stages
- 2 individual time-trial stages
Distinctive aspects of the race:
- 4 mountain finishes
- 2 rest days
- 82 kilometres of individual time-trials
- 17 Category 1, Category 2, and highest-level passes will be climbed
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
History on My Kitchen Table
My kitchen table has a very bad habit of collecting “stuff.” It has been doing this since my husband tore out the wall between our family room and our kitchen when my daughter was younger. It was filled with “stuff” during that demolition and we just never recovered from the temptation to toss things there...until later. Well, one of my missions before the end of next week is to have the table cleared off; hence, my archaeological dig. Today, I found this, a letter from my fuel oil company:
August 1, 2006Oh, if only oil was that low priced!
Dear Valued Customer:
As we all know, this year we have seen oil prices hit very high levels; as of July 1, 2006 it is already over $70 a barrel with predictions of spiking to $100 per barrel. The continued uncertainty in the Middle East and current supply issues will most likely keep prices extremely volatile for the foreseeable future.
Better Than Previously Reported
This past January, National Geographic ran an article about the sad decline of many towns in North Dakota. The accompanying photos were downright depressing: a dilapidated school, a neglected home, an abandoned church, etc. Well, after feeling sorry for the residents of the Peace Garden State, I was tickled pink to hear this recent, more cheerful report on FoxNews.com:
In less than a year, [Oscar] Stohler and his wife, Lorene, 82, have become millionaires from the production of one [oil] well on their land near Dunn Center, a mile or so from the sod home where Oscar grew up. A second well has begun producing on their property and another is being drilled --- all aimed at the Bakken shale formation, a rich deposit [of oil] that the U.S. Geological Survey calls the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.Fortunately, this new-found wealth doesn’t seem to be changing these folks:
Landowners in western North Dakota have a much better chance of striking it rich from oil than they do playing the lottery, say the Stohlers. Some of their neighbors in the town of about 120, from bar tenders to Tupperware salespeople, have become “overnight millionaires” from oil royalty payments.
[Mr. Stohler] still drives his old pickup [truck] and wears a mesh farm cap --- but it’s by choice.How sweet. I would say life in North Dakota is just fine.
- snip –
Lorene [Stohler] said the only thriftless purchase was an automatic sprinkler system for her flowers that surround the couple’s new home. And Oscar bought a $1000 ring for his wife to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
Busy Days Ahead
Summer is finally upon us here in Connecticut and, boy, do we have our work cut out for us!
Normally, my daughter has a pretty relaxing summer with only a little bit of schoolwork. Being homeschooled, she sometimes takes time off during the “academic year” and makes it up later. This year, however, we are fully involved with school clear through July (at least). You see, she has the opportunity for an internship with the Salt Marsh Opera Company in Stonington, Connecticut. In preparation for this job (because it is a paid position), she will be taking dance lessons, etiquette classes, and instruction in how to apply makeup. The latter is necessary for two reasons: one, my daughter is a “naturalist” who doesn’t wear makeup and needs to know how to wear it; and two, she needs to determine if she is allergic to anything that may be used on her face before the opera performances in October. The former classes are to improve her ease with people since she is rather shy around folks she doesn’t know, and to gain experience with “stage presence,” if you will.
We will also be taking to the road for a week or so to attend the first wedding of my daughter’s homeschool friends, a young man who lived in Connecticut for awhile before his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Katherine the Great was pals with his younger brother, but they all used to hang together playing computer games in their elementary years. The last time our families got together was several years ago; we met up one morning at a Krispy Kreme donut shop in near their home, while we were returning to our home for Thanksgiving. My husband was working a job in the Tidewater area at the time, and my daughter and I had gone down to visit while checking out the latest exhibits at Colonial Williamsburg.
Third on our list for the summer is planning for winter. The last time the Midwest had major flooding (see The Great USA Flood of 1993), Connecticut followed up with more than a half-dozen snowstorms from January-March 1994. My husband was enduring thyroid cancer at the time and Katherine the Great was only three years old (yikes!). I already locked in my heating oil at $3.799/gallon. Now, I would like to replace our family room windows and make certain we are well outfitted with insulating window treatments, not to mention winter clothes, before the snow flies. Lacking the cash flow to pay a contractor, my husband and I may end up doing the work ourselves (ugh!). Hey, we put a roof on our house, so a few windows shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, right? :-)
So, are you relaxing this summer or are your days as busy as mine?
Normally, my daughter has a pretty relaxing summer with only a little bit of schoolwork. Being homeschooled, she sometimes takes time off during the “academic year” and makes it up later. This year, however, we are fully involved with school clear through July (at least). You see, she has the opportunity for an internship with the Salt Marsh Opera Company in Stonington, Connecticut. In preparation for this job (because it is a paid position), she will be taking dance lessons, etiquette classes, and instruction in how to apply makeup. The latter is necessary for two reasons: one, my daughter is a “naturalist” who doesn’t wear makeup and needs to know how to wear it; and two, she needs to determine if she is allergic to anything that may be used on her face before the opera performances in October. The former classes are to improve her ease with people since she is rather shy around folks she doesn’t know, and to gain experience with “stage presence,” if you will.
We will also be taking to the road for a week or so to attend the first wedding of my daughter’s homeschool friends, a young man who lived in Connecticut for awhile before his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Katherine the Great was pals with his younger brother, but they all used to hang together playing computer games in their elementary years. The last time our families got together was several years ago; we met up one morning at a Krispy Kreme donut shop in near their home, while we were returning to our home for Thanksgiving. My husband was working a job in the Tidewater area at the time, and my daughter and I had gone down to visit while checking out the latest exhibits at Colonial Williamsburg.
Third on our list for the summer is planning for winter. The last time the Midwest had major flooding (see The Great USA Flood of 1993), Connecticut followed up with more than a half-dozen snowstorms from January-March 1994. My husband was enduring thyroid cancer at the time and Katherine the Great was only three years old (yikes!). I already locked in my heating oil at $3.799/gallon. Now, I would like to replace our family room windows and make certain we are well outfitted with insulating window treatments, not to mention winter clothes, before the snow flies. Lacking the cash flow to pay a contractor, my husband and I may end up doing the work ourselves (ugh!). Hey, we put a roof on our house, so a few windows shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, right? :-)
So, are you relaxing this summer or are your days as busy as mine?
Friday, June 20, 2008
‘Tis the First Day of Summer
This morning, one of my girlfriends wished me a happy first day of summer. At the time, I thought she a day ahead of herself. Then, I found this from WikiAnswers:
How about you? How did you spend the first day of summer 2008?
When is the first day of summer in 2008?So there you have it. Today is the first day of summer. I wonder if my girlfriend celebrated by taking her girls to the beach? I went to the chiropractor, took my daughter to church so she could practice the organ, and spent the afternoon sorting through old books and paperwork in my house. Sad, I know. What can I say; I’m not a beach person. I am a person with a summer cold, though. That’s my real reason for laying low today.
It depends where you live, since the first day of summer is timed with the summer solstice. For most of the United States, summer begins on June 20. In Europe, it’s June 21. In Australia, it’s six month later, on December 21.
On the other hand, if you are looking for an “official” first day of summer, there is no such thing. The United States, for instance, has never declared when the seasons start. The International Astronomical Union hasn’t either. In many areas of Europe, May 1st is considered the first day of summer (as the meteorologists in the United States do) with the summer solstice being the “midsummer” (as in Shakespeare’s play).
How about you? How did you spend the first day of summer 2008?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
One Down, A Few To Go
In a musically inclined family (like ours), the end of the “academic” year is filled with recitals and performances, and this year is no exception. Tonight was our daughter’s piano recital. Performance piece: "Allegretto from Sonata in B-flat" by Mozart. Tomorrow night is the last handbell concert featuring a program of twelve pieces, some classical, some modern, and some just for fun (like "Plink, Plank, Plunk" by Leroy Anderson). Saturday sees the first music theory exam by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Last, but not least, Sunday is the year-end recital for Calvary Music School. This performance includes an original setting of Psalm 23 for voice and organ (written by Katherine the Great) and a voice solo piece --- "Build My House" by Leonard Bernstein from the musical Peter Pan.
Busy weekend afoot around here! What’s going on in your neck of the woods?
Busy weekend afoot around here! What’s going on in your neck of the woods?
Saturday, May 31, 2008
2008 Hurricane Season
Tomorrow, June 1st, is the beginning of the 2008 hurricane season. Living on the east coast (in Connecticut), with many friends who also live on the eastern seaboard (in Virginia and North Carolina), plus having experience with tornadoes from my early years in Minnesota, I like to keep an eye on the weather. And with the tornado season being so active --- more than 600 tornadoes thus far --- I am wondering if the hurricane season will offer more activity than usual as well. Regardless, I will be monitoring these websites as needed:
National Hurricane Center:
Officially designated in 1967, the center was actually founded in 1898 when then-President William McKinley declared that the weather bureau establish a hurricane warning network. Here is the remainder of a history description from Wikipedia:
Considered the first Internet weather service, here is an abbreviated history of the Weather Underground from their website:
Oh, and don’t forget, unlike tornadoes, the National Weather Service names the hurricanes (and tropical storms) that come long each year. The 2008 names are listed below. Stay safe out there!
2008 Hurricane Names
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred
National Hurricane Center:
Officially designated in 1967, the center was actually founded in 1898 when then-President William McKinley declared that the weather bureau establish a hurricane warning network. Here is the remainder of a history description from Wikipedia:
The Miami office [of the weather bureau] was designated the National Hurricane Center in 1967, and given responsibility for Atlantic tropical cyclones in their vicinity. Other hurricane warning centers, such as in New Orleans and Boston, played a role even into the 1980’s. In 1984, the NHC was separated from the Miami Weather Service Forecast Office. By 1988, the NHC gained responsibility for eastern Pacific tropical cyclones as the former Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center in San Francisco was decommissioned….In 1995, the NHC was moved into a new hurricane resistant facility on the campus of Florida International University.The Weather Underground Tropical Weather page
Considered the first Internet weather service, here is an abbreviated history of the Weather Underground from their website:
Jeff Masters, when a PhD candidate in meteorology at the University of Michigan and working under the direction of Professor Perry Samson, wrote a menu-based telnet interface in 1991, which displayed real-time weather information around the world. By 1992, the two servers his system used were rattling off their desks as “um-weather” became the most popular service on the Internet.And in case you want to use hurricane season as the basis for a meteorology unit with your homeschool group, don’t forget to order a hurricane tracking kit (good for 25 students). While I have never done this, it looks like a great way to get kids tuned-in to observing the weather. Setting up a weather station might also be of interest if weather is your summer homeschool project. I prefer this build-it-yourself version from FamilyFun.com.
Perry and Jeff, in 1993, recruited Jeff Ferguson and Alan Stermberg to help build a system to bring Internet weather into K-12 classrooms…The growing Internet weather program was given the name “The Weather Underground,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 1960’s radical group that also originated at the University of Michigan.
Oh, and don’t forget, unlike tornadoes, the National Weather Service names the hurricanes (and tropical storms) that come long each year. The 2008 names are listed below. Stay safe out there!
2008 Hurricane Names
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Karbon by Kohler
A few days ago, my husband and I began discussing a bathroom remodeling project. As part of the planning process, I surfed the Internet for the latest in bathroom faucets. What I found was this, the latest in kitchen faucets. If anyone out there has one of these, please let me know what you think of it. I would love some first-hand feedback.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A Political Ally?
My husband came across a version of this video on No Looking Backwards (formerly, Mass Backwards). It is a blog that he frequents. This version is from CNN.com and reporter Jeanne Moos. Anyway, I thought it was funny If only my cockatiel had such a large vocabulary. Enjoy.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
2008 Giro d’Italia (To Date)
I have been so busy with homeschooling tasks this year that I haven’t been able to catch much (if any) of the Giro d’Italia. I tried posting some of the live coverage transcripts from the Journal of Competitive Cycling through my Google Reader feeds; lately, I haven’t even had time to do that, so I decided to do this instead. Here are the links to everything that I found interesting about the race thus far. It has not all been smooth sailing, but what else is new. I just hope I have more time in my schedule come July so I can watch the Tour de France!
Live coverages and/or stage reports:
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
- Stage 5
- Stage 6
- Stage 7
- Stage 8
- Stage 9
- Stage 10
- Stage 11
Articles:
- Giro jury rules against Leipheimer
- Contador vows to ride despite fracture
And, finally, not directly related to the Giro d’Italia but interesting nonetheless: a look into the mind of a cyclist during a five-hour race. Probably more information than you wanted about cycling, but I found it entertaining. What would you think about on a five-hour bike ride?
Live coverages and/or stage reports:
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
- Stage 5
- Stage 6
- Stage 7
- Stage 8
- Stage 9
- Stage 10
- Stage 11
Articles:
- Giro jury rules against Leipheimer
- Contador vows to ride despite fracture
And, finally, not directly related to the Giro d’Italia but interesting nonetheless: a look into the mind of a cyclist during a five-hour race. Probably more information than you wanted about cycling, but I found it entertaining. What would you think about on a five-hour bike ride?
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Mellow Johnny’s is Open
For those of you who were wondering what seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was up to these days: he opened a bike shop in Austin, Texas. Mr. Armstrong and his business manager Bart Knaggs collaborated in the venture, which (to this economics major) has all the earmarks of success. Take the location, for example, quoting from a Velonews article:
The store occupies a converted 9000-square-foot brick warehouse just west of downtown Austin, wedged between a trio of banks and an almost-completed high-rise condominium building. It’s also a block north of the planned Lance Armstrong Bikeway that will run east-to-west on the left bank of Lake Austin past the almost-finished Austin Music Hall.Talk about being in the hub of the city! A bike shop that is close to home, a bank, a lake, an entertainment venue, and a bikeway. What more could an urban dweller want? Not only that, what store have you been in lately that fits this description:
But MJ’s [Mellow Johnny’s] is more than a store. On the south side is a coffee shop named Juan Pelota (is that Tex-Mex for Johnny’s Peloton?), where Austinites can get their morning fix after bike commuting into downtown and having a complimentary shower in the bike shop’s locker room at the northwest corner of the building.Or this one from Competitor TX Magazine:
…visitors will find Juan Pelota’s, an indoor/outdoor coffee house with healthy grab-&-go food, and a soon to be introduced power-based indoor training facility. With hours of operation from 8 am to 7 pm, the shop is awake and ready for those riding into downtown early…The shop is equipped with showers and changing facilities and free bike storage for commuters.I don’t know about you, but none of the bike shops in my town come equipped with ready food and a shower, let alone free bike storage. Pretty astute business planning! Of course, I would go to the store just to see the memorabilia: Mr. Armstrong’s seven yellow jerseys and the Trek bikes that he rode to victory. My daughter is planning a family trip out west and down south this summer. I wonder if her route takes us anywhere near Austin, Texas? If it does, I know where I want to have a bite to eat --- Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. Check it out for yourself: 400 Nueces Street, Austin, Texas 78701.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
BR: Contemplative Youth Ministry
This is the first book review related to my reading/study of the Emergent/Emerging Church. Subsequent reviews will be posted as books are completed.
----------------------------
Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus
by Mark Yaconelli
I received this book as a Christmas gift from a gentleman in my church (a Sunday School co-teacher, to be exact) this past December. At the time, I had only recently become aware of the Emergent/Emerging Church and the role that contemplative spirituality plays for some people within that movement. Interestingly, I reciprocated his gift with a seven-volume set of sermons written and delivered by Martin Luther during the years 1532-1534. Nothing like exposing our philosophical/theological positions! Modernism (or earlier) vs. postmodernism in the same classroom. Suffice it to say, our discussions can be quite thought provoking…but I digress.
This book was a real challenge for me for a number of reasons. First, it wasn’t the best starting point for learning about the Emergent/Emerging Church, the whole point of my Church/Christian reading list for 2008. It didn’t define terms like “emergent,” “emerging,” or “spiritual formation,” vocabulary that is common to discussions of this rapidly growing trend within Christianity. In fact, the movement wasn’t even mentioned. Instead, Mr. Yaconelli discussed the use of Lectio Divina, the Ignatian Examen, and centering prayer, making this the kind of book that youth ministers/workers (or pastors) could use to guide the implementation of worship and praxis once a congregation had embraced the contemplative path. Of course, the poor choice of a study starting point isn’t the fault of Contemplative Spirituality; that is my fault for reading the first book that dropped into my lap. To begin a study of the Emergent/Emerging Church (which, as I stated, was my intention), I would start instead with Stories of Emergence by Mark Yaconelli or They Like Jesus But Not the Church by Dan Kimball. Those books do a much better job of explaining how the Church leaders who are espousing these ideas came to hold their beliefs, why they feel the Church desperately needs to embrace a different (more postmodern) philosophy, and what exactly postmodern non-Christians (the primary target audience of the Emergent/Emerging Church movement) don’t like about the Church.
Second, the author came across as very anti-parent/anti-family, although this was everywhere implied but never explicitly stated. For example, in the introduction, while addressing “those of us who seek to share faith with youth” (remember, this book was written for youth ministers/workers, not parents), Mr. Yaconelli stated the following (emphasis mine):
Third, the general tone of the book struck me as replete with a negative view of modern culture --- the speed of life, the pressures of the world, a lack of fulfillment, etc. For example, in chapter five, I found this narrative:
Overall, I cannot say I enjoyed this book. I disagreed with much of the philosophy and theology embraced by Mr. Yaconelli. That said, however, I would recommend it for those who are searching for a way to walk more deliberately and actively with the Lord in their decision-making process, whether at church or in their private lives. To read more about this book, to read additional reviews, or to purchase a copy, visit this page on Amazon.com.
Somewhat helpful. Plush Duck Rating: *****
----------------------------
Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus
by Mark Yaconelli
I received this book as a Christmas gift from a gentleman in my church (a Sunday School co-teacher, to be exact) this past December. At the time, I had only recently become aware of the Emergent/Emerging Church and the role that contemplative spirituality plays for some people within that movement. Interestingly, I reciprocated his gift with a seven-volume set of sermons written and delivered by Martin Luther during the years 1532-1534. Nothing like exposing our philosophical/theological positions! Modernism (or earlier) vs. postmodernism in the same classroom. Suffice it to say, our discussions can be quite thought provoking…but I digress.
This book was a real challenge for me for a number of reasons. First, it wasn’t the best starting point for learning about the Emergent/Emerging Church, the whole point of my Church/Christian reading list for 2008. It didn’t define terms like “emergent,” “emerging,” or “spiritual formation,” vocabulary that is common to discussions of this rapidly growing trend within Christianity. In fact, the movement wasn’t even mentioned. Instead, Mr. Yaconelli discussed the use of Lectio Divina, the Ignatian Examen, and centering prayer, making this the kind of book that youth ministers/workers (or pastors) could use to guide the implementation of worship and praxis once a congregation had embraced the contemplative path. Of course, the poor choice of a study starting point isn’t the fault of Contemplative Spirituality; that is my fault for reading the first book that dropped into my lap. To begin a study of the Emergent/Emerging Church (which, as I stated, was my intention), I would start instead with Stories of Emergence by Mark Yaconelli or They Like Jesus But Not the Church by Dan Kimball. Those books do a much better job of explaining how the Church leaders who are espousing these ideas came to hold their beliefs, why they feel the Church desperately needs to embrace a different (more postmodern) philosophy, and what exactly postmodern non-Christians (the primary target audience of the Emergent/Emerging Church movement) don’t like about the Church.
Second, the author came across as very anti-parent/anti-family, although this was everywhere implied but never explicitly stated. For example, in the introduction, while addressing “those of us who seek to share faith with youth” (remember, this book was written for youth ministers/workers, not parents), Mr. Yaconelli stated the following (emphasis mine):
We don’t know how to be with our kids. We know how to entertain them, market to them, test them, and statistically measure them. But we’ve forgotten how to be with them.Who has forgotten, parents or youth ministers? And, again, in a chapter on teen angst and adult anxiety, the author said:
We worry about the young people in our care. We don’t know what they look at on the Internet. We can’t keep up with the electronic gadgets they play with. We’ve never heard of the bands or celebrities they talk about. We don’t know what they do after school. We’re unaware of the subject or codes in their e-mail conversations.Does this paragraph not describe the concerns that parents have for their children (or should have for their children)? Yet, Mr. Yaconelli doesn’t prompt parents to move into these anxieties. No, instead, he says the following, admittedly not about parents directly but certainly about the world inhabited by children, a world that includes both parents and family:
…youth are being raised in a culture of people who no longer live from the center of their lives.And then later:
This book is born of my hope to provide every young person with a handful of adults who incarnate the love, compassion, and presence of Jesus…I pray that our churches might be filled with adults willing to move beyond words and ministry programs --- adults willing to take the time to seek out the young people in their communities, to sit with them, to listen to them. May every congregation be filled with adults who view the young people in their lives and communities with the eyes of Jesus, beholding in each and every one of them a unique revelation of the presence of God.Again, does this paragraph not describe the type of relationship that exists (or at least should exist) between parents and teens? Yet, Mr. Yaconelli doesn’t mention parents at all. Instead, he leaves the reader with the impression that parents are part of that “culture of people who no longer live from the center of their lives,” that group of people who do not “incarnate the love, compassion, and presence of Jesus.” Instead, Mr. Yaconelli says that youth workers and people at church are the adults who should be interacting with teens per their spirituality. Again, why does the author not prompt parents to fill this role, especially when Scripture so clearly states that it is their responsibility?
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. --- Deuteronomy 6:6-7Please note: I do understand that many children are without a consistent parental presence in their lives for a variety of reasons. But wouldn’t it be better, in the long run, if youth ministers worked to bring parents back into the lives of children instead of consistently attempting to replace parents with other adults (assuming, of course, that the parental influence is neither dangerous nor unhealthy) or consistently assuming that children (especially teens) don’t wish to interact with their parents?
Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. --- Proverbs 22:6
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. --- Ephesians 6:4
Third, the general tone of the book struck me as replete with a negative view of modern culture --- the speed of life, the pressures of the world, a lack of fulfillment, etc. For example, in chapter five, I found this narrative:
Imagine a woman sitting on the front porch at the end of the day, calling to her husband inside the house, and saying, “Work was so draining today. I couldn’t wait to get home. Come sit next to me on the porch.” The husband then comes to the doorway and replies, “Isn’t it interesting how work takes up so much of our lives. I mean, here is this activity that we have to engage in to pay the bills; an activity that we hope will be satisfying at some level. Yet at the end of the day, we feel like we’ve been, as you say, ‘drained.’ Like something has been taken away from us or maybe we’ve given a part of ourselves that we now notice is missing. It’s like we leave our true selves at work and…Granted, in the book, the point Mr. Yaconelli made with this example was that the husband missed the point about sitting with his wife and, instead, stood in the doorway and yakked about his philosophy of work. My point in using it as an example is that the passage typifies the sad perspective of everyday life that seems to permeate the book. Here are some other examples:
…we’ve become “dispirited.” We live narrow lives. We tend to act as if we’re nothing more than our roles and our jobs.Well, to answer these last few questions, I haven’t stopped doing any of those things and I am forty-six years old! I sing everyday in the shower and every week at church. I often dance around my house to old music and am desperately trying to get my husband to take a ballroom dancing class. Oh, and allow me to tell you this story…about silence:
…the burned-out life of materialism that deadens spirits and kills creativity.
Do you know how to become yourself despite the constant messages telling you that you’re lacking? Do you know how to keep from becoming overwhelmed by the pain and suffering in the world? Do you know how to find a home, a place of welcome and relationship? Can you tell me how to stay hopeful and creative in a world obsessed with violence, death, and conformity? Do you know where I can offer my gifts meaningfully in a world that feels consumed with trivia? How do I stay alive? How do I remain open to God and others when so many people seem closed, distant, and angry?
…as any parent knows, domestic life can quickly make anyone fatigued and cranky.
Where in your life did you stop singing? Where in your life did you stop dancing? Where in your life did you stop telling stories? Where in your life did you stop listening to silence?
My mother taught me how to listen to and appreciate silence by taking me out into the countryside of southern Minnesota on a cold winter evening so I could “listen” to snow. This was either in December 1973 or January 1974. One night, when the temperature was well below zero, my entire family climbed into our Chevy station wagon and drove into the farm country west of my hometown, parking alongside one of the rural truck routes, in order to see a comet. Our science teacher had heard about Comet Kohoutek and had encouraged all of us to view it if possible. While waiting for this astronomical wonder to appear, my mother asked us all to stop talking so we could listen to the snow skim across the cornfields, cornfields that were lying dormant with nothing but the yellow-brown stubble of dead plants peeking out from under a blanket of frozen, white precipitation. I can still see all of us, sitting there, shivering in the cold green car, gazing up at the stars, searching for the comet and “listening” to the snow. What a memory.Ok, getting back to reality. Lest you think I found nothing at all redeeming in Contemplative Spirituality, I must admit I was intrigued by the advice that Mr. Yaconelli gave on how to conduct meetings and call volunteers. Being the co-coordinator of a homeschool support group, I am always looking for more effective ways to connect with volunteers and “do business,” so to speak. Dubbed “the discernment approach,” the process employed by Mr. Yaconelli prompts those in authority to put their managerial tasks back under the authority of the Lord (rather than under their own authority) and to wait on His direction, all while receiving input/feedback from the group they are charged with directing, be it a congregation, a support group, or a book club. The idea of actively and intentionally engaging in conversation with God while planning activities and prioritizing tasks for any group is a reminder we all can use now and again. I know it prompted me to rethink how I do some of my work.
Overall, I cannot say I enjoyed this book. I disagreed with much of the philosophy and theology embraced by Mr. Yaconelli. That said, however, I would recommend it for those who are searching for a way to walk more deliberately and actively with the Lord in their decision-making process, whether at church or in their private lives. To read more about this book, to read additional reviews, or to purchase a copy, visit this page on Amazon.com.
Somewhat helpful. Plush Duck Rating: *****
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