I was not aware . . .
That today was World Toilet Day.
1 comment November 19th, 2008
Archive for November, 2008
Salvation Army goes hi-tech with credit card scanners on signature red kettles
No cash for the red kettles outside North Texas stores this holiday season?
No problem. A dozen local Salvation Army kettles are going hi-tech.
For the first time, all that empty-pocketed shoppers have to do is swipe their credit cards on scanning technology attached to some kettles.
“People say, ‘Hey I would put money in, but I don’t have any cash,’†said Pat Patey, spokesman for the Army’s DFW Metroplex Command. “They won’t have that excuse anymore.â€
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Will Smith, Tony Romo Appear At A Dallas High School Pep Rally
The screams were ear-splitting when movie star Will Smith and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo entered the Lake Highlands gynasium for a surprise pep rally visit.
The pep rally was for the school’s state-bound volleyball team and bi-district champion football team, but Smith stopped by during his swing through Dallas promoting his new movie, “Seven Pounds.” The star said it was his first visit to a high school in years.
We’re not sure why Romo was tagging along, but none of the stunned students were complaining. They were too busy screaming and snapping pictures.
Smith and Romo had a little fun with the crowd while also delivering inspirational messages. Smith started out by asking Romo, “How’s the pinkie?” to much laughter. Romo held up his hand to show he was fine.
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Church Hopes ‘Sorry’ Campaign Will Attract Youth
SWEDESBORO, N.J. (CBS) ― A South Jersey church is taking an unusual approach to get more people to come worship. They are hoping a simple “We’re Sorry” will go a long way.
“We’re Sorry” reads on a highway billboards in neighborhood around the church. A “We’re Sorry” sign also hangs outside pastor Mark Barnish’s home.
“We’re sorry for being judgmental, we’re sorry for being too political, we’re sorry for being anti-homosexual, we’re sorry for being boring,” Lloyd said.
It’s a campaign pastor Barnish started at his church to get 16 to 30 year-olds to come worship.
Barnish, a husband and father who grew up Catholic, said the book “unChristian” inspired him. In the book, the authors revealed research into what makes young people uncomfortable in the Christian faith.
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Penguin Jumps in Boat to Avoid Being Whale Food
Add comment November 19th, 2008
New Star Trek Trailer
And the movie’s website is kind of neat to navigate.
1 comment November 19th, 2008
Mark Wahlberg Gets No Respect At Church
“I go to church and people ask me if they can be on Entourage, what’s gonna happen. I go to church to worship, I don’t go to church to talk about it. The stuff that I did with my entourage back in the day is stuff that I’m not proud of and I’m asking forgiveness for; I don’t want things brought up in church, but, if you go to church in Beverly Hills, those kind of things happen.”
And his fellow worshipers don’t just bug him about Entourage.
He adds, “I get scripts, resumes, books – people tried to come up to me with a children’s book before and I wouldn’t take it. They got upset with me. This is church.”
1 comment November 19th, 2008
Casino Riverboat For Sale
In case you are interested, it has capcity for 1800 slots and tables and comes complete with passenger and service elevators.
Total square footage: 78,080
1 comment November 19th, 2008
One-Eyed Blog
everything you wanted and didn’t want to know about losing an eye
Since my wife has one eye this blog caught my attention. And with all due respect, WifeGeeding is the best looking one-eyed lady I know.
I find her latest post quite interesting.
Call For Engineers
I am attempting to recreate my eye with the help of a miniature camera implant in my prosthetic / artificial eye. The intraocular installation of an eye-cam will substitute for the field of vision of my left eye that I lost in 2005 from a car accident. While my prosthetic is an excellent aesthetic replacement, I am interested in capitalizing on the current advancement of technology to enhance the abilities of my prosthesis for an augmented reality.
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Georgia Baptists refuse gifts from church with woman pastor
JONESBORO, Ga. (ABP)—The Georgia Baptist Convention has decided to refuse gifts from a historic member church that last year called a woman as pastor.
Messengers to the annual meeting approved a policy change authorizing convention leaders not to accept funds from churches “not in cooperation and harmony with the approved work and purpose†of the convention.
A report of an administrative committee recommending the change said it was proposed “as a result of questions raised regarding First Baptist Church of Decatur, who has a woman as senior pastor.â€
The Georgia Baptist Convention defines membership as “messengers from cooperating Baptist churches.†A cooperating church is one that is in “harmony and cooperation with the work and purpose†of the convention.
Full Article from the Baptist Standard
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Google ‘Voice Search’ hands-on verdict: Awesome
The new voice-activated Google Mobile app for the iPhone is finally here. Whatever the reason for the delay, it was worth the wait. As we wrote last week, the search app knows when you bring the phone to your face to speak into it. It beeps, you talk, and it executes a Google search on what you said. (If you’re using a headset, you have to press a button. You can type in your queries, too, if you want.)
It is freakishly accurate. It’s not perfect, but it’s extremely good.
Add comment November 19th, 2008
One second knockout
Add comment November 19th, 2008
Another Dharma Email
Namaste.
I am pleased to announce that registered recruits can now log in and download your personalized Volunteer Assessment Dossier outlining your full test results as well as your position within the Dharma Initiative.
I want to personally congratulate you on behalf of everyone at the Dharma Initiative for your hard work and diligence during our testing process.
We hope that you are happy with your results. We certainly are. The tests were extremely challenging and the aptitude and excellence displayed far exceeded our expectations.
Now that you are in possession of your results I am sure you are asking the obvious question: what’s next?
Our plan was that together we would commence a glorious adventure: the revival of the Dharma Initiative using the myriad talents of all our amazing new recruits. We imagined not just fulfilling long abandoned goals but taking the Dharma Initiative to a new level of greatness as an organization promoting the peaceful social and technological advancement of all humankind.
Then the financial crisis struck.
Sadly, our benefactors were not immune to this crisis. In fact, unconfirmed reports suggest that much of the money designated for the work of the new Dharma Initiative was tied up in highly leveraged mortgage derivatives. This, however, cannot be confirmed because, I am sorry to report, the principals representing the benefactors – my employers – have gone missing. Based on bills still coming into our office we believe they are somewhere in South America.
This stunning reversal of fortune has forced us to abandon our ambitious plans. In fact, absent this funding, the Dharma Initiative was forced to make the only sensible decision we had available: we sold the Dharma Initiative to the television show LOST.
While this might strike some of you as a shock, the reason for this was not simply that they were the only bidder. As the only remaining Dharma Initiative employee who had not fled the country, I felt that at the very least the show would be able to keep the spirit of the Dharma Initiative alive and in the public consciousness until such time as a reversal of the reversal of our economic fortunes occurs.
It is with a heavy heart that I must bid you farewell. Despite my fervent commitment to the mission of the Dharma Initiative, the realities of a broken marriage, heavy casino debt and some unfounded police charges have required that I change my present circumstances. It is with great excitement that I can inform you of my pending senior sales management job at a large multi-brand auto dealership in Dubai. I have enjoyed our brief association more than I can ever express, and if you are ever in the Middle East and need a car, please e-mail me for a special “Dharma rate”.
In the meantime, you will hear shortly from LOST showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. They will explain to you their future plans for the Dharma Initiative and how these plans might affect you.
Thank you again, personally, for your unflagging commitment and support. I hope our paths will one day cross again. In the meantime may the spirit of the island guide you.
Namaste.
Add comment November 18th, 2008
Something I Didn’t Know About Alaska
Alaska has no income or sales tax, and a huge chunk of its annual revenue — as much as 90 percent — comes from taxes and fees on oil companies. When oil prices soar, as they did this summer, so do the state’s coffers: Alaska in the past two years has socked away billions in its already massive savings account.
But that account, the $28 billion Alaska Permanent Fund, sends every Alaskan a dividend each year — this year it was $2,069.
Add comment November 18th, 2008
Italian team drops pants to score
ROME (AP) — In the latest fashion statement out of Italy, soccer players are dropping their shorts to score goals.
Catania, a team in the country’s top division, unveiled the new look while taking a free kick. The players lined up in a wall and dropped their shorts in an effort to block the goalkeeper’s vision.
The Sicilian team carried out the maneuver to perfection Sunday. Three players dropped their shorts practically to their knees so Torino goalie Matteo Sereni couldn’t see the kick by Giuseppe Mascara, who scored during Catania’s 3-2 victory.
1 comment November 18th, 2008
Man drops 140 pounds in 11 months to join Marines
LEWISTON, Maine – Army and Navy recruiters took one look at 330-pound Ulysses Milana and told him to forget about joining. “‘You’ve got to lose weight,’” Milana remembers them saying.
But Marine recruiters were willing to work with him as he began his weight-loss journey in December 2007.
Now, 11 months later, Milana is 140 pounds lighter as he leaves Monday for Parris Island, S.C., to begin boot camp.
It wasn’t easy, Milana said, but he managed to slim down through exercise, healthier eating habits and forgoing an occasional beer after work. The 23-year-old said he even refused a beer at his going-away party Saturday night.
Add comment November 18th, 2008
Polar Bears Playing With Dogs
Add comment November 18th, 2008