Questions for Attorney General Drew Edmondson

June 30, 2005

Mr. Drew Edmondson
Attorney General
2300 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Dear Mr. Edmondson:

We respectfully submit the following questions for an official opinion of the Attorney General.

(1) May a county condemn (or acquire by the use of eminent domain) real property that is owned by municipality for the public good?

(2) May a municipality condemn (or acquire by the use of eminent domain) real property that is owned by a county for the public good? ›

(3) A municipality owns real property and has dedicated and set apart that real property to be used for the good of the public as a park. The county in which the municipality is located believes that such real property should be used for the good of the public as a road. Given the competing public interests of the municipality and county for the same piece of real property and the fact that the municipality owns such real property, can the county condemn (or acquire by the use of eminent domain) said real property from the municipality?

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Representative Pam Peterson
House District 67

Representative Fred Perry
House District 69

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Pam Peterson
Fred Perry
eminent domain

Happy Birthday Steven!

Well I had a horrible birthday. My wife informed me that she has filed for divorce. So much for the sanctity of marriage!

It all started last year when we were elected block captains of our neighborhood. My wife decided to throw this big party at our house. At first I was not against the party, but it grew into this obnoxious spectacle. She defended it, “If we serve lobster, the Nelsons have agreed to come, and they will bring napkins! The Johnsons told me they won’t come if there is not a live band.” I was told not to ask how much the party ended up costing us. “Steven, it’s not just about our family or our household. This is for the neighborhood and all the children from the other houses.” The party was very popular, every one came. My wife decided that the success of the thing gave her a mandate to be not just a block captain, but some sort of a neighborhood mother.

She has taken it upon her self to make sure that all our neighbors have what they need: their bills paid, their kids clothed, their lawn mowed, etcetera. I think this is kind of crazy since we have bills, and kids, and a house of our own. It seems like we are just barely getting by with out having to make sure all our neighbors are doing well.

Our neighbor just to the north is a perfect example. She agreed to run an extension cord from our house to theirs so they could power a window unit air conditioner for their backyard gazebo. I politely ask “Why are we doing this?” “Because they don’t have an extension cord or a plug in their back yard,” she says. “Um ok, how much is this costing us? Electricity is kind of expensive. Plus I it is really hot this time of year and I was planning to use that extension cord to run a fan into the kids play room. It gets hot in there you know,” I said. She yells at me, “This is so typical of you. First of all, they gave us 10 dollars of the use of the cord. Second, we are the block captains; you need to think of others. You are such a jerk!” I retort, “$10 for the whole summer? That barely covers the cost of the cord! I’m all for helping a neighbor in need, but not at the expense of our own kids. If anything we should put a window unit in the kids play room, not give our neighbors close to free electricity!”

There are a lot of other examples, regardless, my wife filed for divorce on the grounds that I’m mean, I ask too many questions, and that I hate my neighbors. The judge in the case said that it’s not fair to grant this divorce since kids are involved. He has decided to grant the divorce if just one of my two kids decide I’m a bad father.

The pressure is on because the next hearing is July 12. That is not much time to work a 40 hour job and combat the influence of my wife who spends all day with them. If you see my kids, please tell them to vote against divorce, I need all the help I can get.

--------------------------------
This is not an exact analogy but this gives you a sense of how silly this recall vote is.

Technorati Tags: Tulsa
Tulsa City Council Recall

District 6 Town Hall Reminder

Don't forget about Councilor Jim Mautino's Town Hall Meeting. It's June 29th at the Martin East Regional Library, 7:00 p.m.

I've changed the date as to keep this at the top until June 29th...
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Tulsa City Council
Tulsa City Council Recall

Bird of Doom

Using my evil connections, I have made a deal that will ensure protection over my garden. I was ensured that an owl, much feared and reviled throughout time, would protect my tomatoes from the birds that currently plague them. To get a real owl I would have had to sell my soul. I was not ready to go that far for juicy, tasty, ripe, red tomatoes. I was able to procure a plastic one, and all I had to do was espouse conservative republican views on my blog. Since I was going to do that any way, I figured, “What the hell, I’ll go for it.”

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Tomatoes
Owls
Gardening

Another year older

On this day in 1976 I was born, at about 7:30am.

Technorati Tags: Birth Day

My mouth is on fire!

The road to tasty, healthy tomatoes has been a difficult one. First it was Blossom end rot, and now aphids and birds are standing in my way. Less than 30% to 45% of the fruit coming from my plants are whole and healthy. It has been a hard year.

My jalapeños on the other hand are thriving and flourishing. I have literally hundreds of jalapeños almost ready to pick. I just picked one a little early to sample its goodness. While it has been a mediocre year for tomatoes, I’m glad to announce that it will be a tremendous year for jalapeños. To all my friends who love their hot and spicy goodness, get ready. I will have a lot more than I can eat.

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Tomatoes
Jalapeños
Gardening

ZONING HEARING - NW/c of 121st St. S. & S. Yale Av. E

MJ Lee Construction Company has filed for a zoning variance to use a ten-acre tract for “a temporary construction facility – Use Unit 2, temporary stockpile storage of earthen construction material. (Section 1202)”

They want a place to put excess fill during the construction of the Yale Ave. Bridge across the Arkansas River.

If you are interested or concerned about the construction of this bridge, please attend the Tulsa Board of Adjustment’s meeting on June 28th at 1:00 PM. It will be in the Francis F. Campbell Council Room on the Plaza Level of City Hall.

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Bixby
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MJ Lee Construction Company

Toll Bridge statement from Councilor Christiansen

Dear Citizens of District 8;

I am writing to express my position on a critical issue facing the residents of District 8 – the proposed toll bridge across the Arkansas River at Yale Avenue. Tulsa County and Infrastructure Ventures, Inc. (IVI) have proposed this bridge. Their current proposal is that construction of this bridge will be privately funded by IVI and that users of the bridge will be charged a toll.

My position on this issue is clear, simple and unwavering. I am NOT in support of the development of a bridge across the Arkansas River at Yale Avenue.

I am the elected representative of District 8. As such, I am not able to look my constituents in the eye and honestly tell them that the added infrastructure that will be necessary, if this bridge is constructed, can be funded by the City of Tulsa in the foreseeable future.

Most certainly, funding for infrastructure improvements in the City of Tulsa is available now and will be in the future. But those funds are limited, far short of the overall needs of the community. With that in mind, how can I support the improvements that will be required should this bridge be built when I know, full well that the funding of those improvements will deny, or defer for a considerable period of time much needed infrastructure improvements in other parts of District 8. How can I expect my fellow City Councilors and citizens from other parts of Tulsa to deny themselves and their districts of such funding to support the added infrastructure improvements required by the construction of this bridge? The answer is simply~ I cannot!

I have attended numerous meetings on the need and location of this bridge. It is clear to me that there is no intention on the part of Tulsa County or IVI to move the site of this bridge to a better location or to delay this project until the needed south Tulsa infrastructure is funded and in place.

I have received many, many telephone calls, letters and e-mails from my constituents residing in the Yale corridor - people whose lives will be adversely impacted by the traffic flow generated by this bridge. The negative impact of that increased traffic flow will not be addressed in the near future for no other reason that any responsible elected official or I can control. I cannot forsake the pressing needs in District 8, and other parts of the community, for a project that frankly does not need to be developed right now.

While many of us have just been made aware of the desire by Tulsa County and IVI to construct this toll bridge, it is now apparent that this bridge has been in the planning stages for three years. Citizens groups concerned about the negative impact of this project have asked for but have never been shown a report, or any other supporting documentation, that suggests that the city of Tulsa will benefit from this project in any way. Furthermore, efforts by citizens groups to have the location of this bridge changed to minimize the adverse impact to residential neighborhoods along Yale have been rejected by Tulsa County and IVI.

I take it very seriously that I am the elected representative of the citizens residing in District 8. And I take their quality of life and the safety of their children very seriously.

Now is not the time to rush foolishly ahead. Now is the time for rational thought and consideration. We need to have infrastructure improvements in place before we build a bridge, not after, and no matter where it's built. That is why I am NOT in support of the development of the proposed bridge across the Arkansas River at Yale Avenue. Instead, I am convinced that we need to revisit the idea of a bridge in south Tulsa in 6, 8, or maybe even 10 years. By that time, we can have thoughtfully planned for, and if it's the will of the people, funded and installed infrastructure improvements to the area before increased traffic volumes adversely impact a vital area of our community.

Remember, we are still short $60 million in funding for the 2001 third penny sales tax package. We must complete those projects before we move on to new projects.

Bill Christiansen - District 8 City Councilman

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Roemerman Round-up

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so hopefully Okiedoke won’t be mad that I ripped him off…I’m going to start a blog round-up of my own…

• Terry has lost a loved one.
• kAy contemplates the diplomacy of “friends.”
• Tulsa Topics suggests some activities for Tulsans on the cheap.
• My bizarro world counterpart has some complaints about the Iowa Events Center logo…He should be the last person to complain about creativity, and I guess I should be the last person who should complain about getting ripped off.
• Meeciteewurkor finds something interesting at the Downtown Tulsa Library.
• Bowden McElroy finishes his series on encouraging your pastor.
• Michael Bates reminds us of a demolition project paid for by Vision 2025

Psudo-Scientology

My first memory of Scientology dates back to my first trip to Europe in the early 90s. While on a family vacation to Germany (and some surrounding countries), we encountered some Scientologists handing out literature. My father gave me a stern warning. My faith in my father coupled with my desire not to lose my eternal soul caused me to take his word to heart, and I have not really paid much attention to Scientology since that time.

Enter Tom Cruise and his latest shenanigans. I decided to research Scientology a little; I found out why my father warned me about Scientology. I found a couple of links, which I encourage you to read. There are several if you want to look for your self, but I liked these 2 the best.

http://skepdic.com/dianetic.html This site discuses Scientology’s “Scientific aspect”

There are broad hints that this so-called science of the mind isn't a science at all in the claim that dianetics is built on "definite axioms" and in his a priori notion that a science of mind must find a single source of mental and psychosomatic ills. Sciences aren't built on axioms and they don't claim a priori knowledge of the number of causal mechanisms which must exist for any phenomena. A real science is built on tentative proposals to account for observed phenomena.
…
According to Hubbard, the single source of insanity and psychosomatic ills is the engram. Engrams are to be found in one's "engram bank," i.e., in the reactive mind." The "reactive mind," he says, "can give a man arthritis, bursitis, asthma, allergies, sinusitis, coronary trouble, high blood pressure, and so on down the whole catalogue of psycho- somatic ills, adding a few more which were never specifically classified as psycho-somatic, such as the common cold" (Hubbard, 51). One searches in vain for evidence of these claims. We are simply told: "These are scientific facts. They compare invariably with observed experience" (Hubbard, 52).
…
Another "scientific fact," according to Hubbard, is that the most harmful engrams occur in the womb. The womb turns out to be a terrible place. It is "wet, uncomfortable and unprotected" (Hubbard, 130). Mama sneezes, baby gets knocked "unconscious." Mama runs lightly and blithely into a table and baby gets its head stoved in. Mama has constipation and baby, in the anxious effort, gets squashed. Papa becomes passionate and baby has the sensation of being put into a running washing machine. Mama gets hysterical, baby gets an engram. Papa hits Mama, baby gets an engram. Junior bounces on Mama's lap, baby gets an engram. And so it goes (Hubbard, 130).

http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/time.htm discuses the cult aspect of Scientology, their tactics, and some of the people who have been harmed by this so called religion.

This young Russian-studies scholar had jumped from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel and bounced off the hood of a stretch limousine. When the police arrived, his fingers were still clutching $171 in cash, virtually the only money he hadn't turned over to the Church of Scientology, the self-help "philosophy" group he had discovered just seven months earlier.
…
According to the Cult Awareness Network, whose 23 chapters monitor more than 200 "mind control" cults, no group prompts more telephone pleas for help than does Scientology. Says Cynthia Kisser, the network's Chicago-based executive director: "Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen. No cult extracts more money from its members."
…
Hubbard kept adding steps, each more costly, for his followers to climb. In the 1960s the guru decreed that humans are made of clusters of spirits (or "thetans") who were banished to earth some 75 million years ago by a cruel galactic ruler named Xenu. Naturally, those thetans had to be audited.
…
To pay their fees, newcomers can earn commissions by recruiting new mem- bers, become auditors themselves (Miscavige did so at age 12), or join the church staff and receive free counseling in exchange for what their written contracts describe as a "billion years" of labor. "Make sure that lots of bodies move through the shop," implored Hubbard in one of his bulletins to officials. "Make money. Make more money. Make others produce so as to make money . . . However you get them in or why, just do it."

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Visited States

I think these are all the states I've been to, or driven through.



create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.


(via Elephant Soap)

***UPDATE: I left out Nevada and Pennsylvania...I had forgot that I had been to these two states...Thanks to my mother and my wife for setting me straight***
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Cuz why daddy?

My 2-year-old (almost 3) has started never ending series of asking “Cuz why?”

What are you doing Daddy?
I’m watering my garden.
Cuz why?
Because my plants need water.
Cuz why?
Because plants use water to make food.
Because photosynthesis…because sun light…because hydrogen fuses into helium and in the process gives off light and heat.

I am willing to indulge her for a certain number of rounds. I remember that I used to do the same thing, much to my mother’s dismay. At some point, however, I feel the need to reach some sort of conclusion. I think have found an answer, that I can use in almost every situation, that seems to satiate her. “Because, Jesus made it that way.”

Technorati Tags: Parenting

It passed!

Tulsa now has an ethics ordinance. It looks like last week’s delay was worth it. The council worked all week with the administration and the city attorney’s office to come with language that they could all agree on. There was a bit of contention over the definition of Personal Interest in section 601. Some of the councilors were surprised to see that this section had changed overnight.

The section was changed from this

Personal Interest shall be an item which creates a feeling of affection, aversion, or emotional investment so as to influence the City official's objectivity.

To this

Personal Interest means a direct or indirect interest, matter or relationship not shared by the general public which could be reasonably expected to impair the City Official’s objectivity or independence of judgment.

Personally, I like the change better. Nevertheless, several sections were changed to make them easier to understand. Also, it was suggested that the ordinance in its form last week would not be able to withstand a legal challenge. It was generally accepted that the changes will help give our new ordinance “teeth” should it be challenged.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this pass, and unanimously no less.

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Ethics ordinance
Tulsa City Council

2000

It has been 2k days days since Y2K!

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Microsoft interested in P2P?

John Dvorak writes an interesting column about Microsoft’s recent interest in a peer-to-peer file-distribution system. It is an interesting read, or you can read Bram Cohen's comment on Avalanche, Microsoft’s proposed solution for P2P.

First of all, I'd like to clarify that Avalanche is vaporware. It isn't a product which you can use or test with, it's a bunch of proposed algorithms. There isn't even a fleshed out network protocol. The 'experiments' they've done are simulations.

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John Dvorak
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Evil

I thought that being an evil, white, Christian, conservative would make my blog would be more evil. I will have to try harder...




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Distributed Computing

I’ve decided to return to the world of distributed computing. My first exposure to distributed computing was the SETI@Home project. I did that for a few years but gave up on it. I initially joined not because I thought that life exists on other planets, because I don’t, but because I thought distributed computing was pretty nifty.

I toyed with some others but finally decided on the Seventeen or Bust project. Seventeen or Bust is a distributed attack on the http://www.prothsearch.net/sierp.html Sierpinski problem. I’ve created a group called Oklahoma Bloggers. If you are an Oklahoma blogger or just like to read Oklahoma blogs, please download the Seventeen Or Bust client and join the team!*

*Note: when you tell the SB client that you want to your results to go to Oklahoma Bloggers type in the team name with out a space "OklahomaBloggers"



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Sierpinski problem
Distributed Computing

Chili

Wild Bill gives us his chili recipe. I figured I would go ahead and give you mine…

Steven Roemerman’s Chili

Ingredients
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 white onion
1.5 tsp garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 chipotle peppers
5 jalapeno peppers
2 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground cumin
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
2 tsp chili powder
4 tablespoons chili sauce (Tabasco or Louisiana chili sauce)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon coco
8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
28 oz crushed tomatoes
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
10 oz Rotel
14.5 oz water
16 oz pinto beans ( some feel that beans are evil and don't belong in
chili...your choice)
1.5-2 pounds of steak

Sauté bell peppers, onion, garlic, and chipotle peppers with olive
oil. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp crushed red peppers,
the cumin and the pepper. Sauté the vegetables and spices for about 5
min. Add tomato sauce and paste. Wait until the thick mixture
"burps", about 2 minutes. Add rest of tomato products, water, and
chili sauce. In a separate pan add chopped steak, rest of salt and
chili powder, and garlic powder. Cook over low heat until meat is
tender. Add meat and juice to chili. Add the beans, the rest of the
crushed red pepper, 5 chopped jalapeno peppers, and the coco. Simmer
for several hours. Chill in over night, re-heat and serve.

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Garden update

Terry's garden is doing a bit better than mine. Although I think I'm actually ahead in the pepper department. Today is the last day for the calcium chloride treatment. The blossom end rot is really doing much better. I have several tomatoes that do not have this problem. After today I think I'll apply treatment once every 1.5 or 2 weeks.

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Tomatoes
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Don't be surprised at corruption...

As I sat in last night’s city council meeting and watched the new ethics ordinance slipping tough our fingers I thought of Ecclesiastes 5:8-9.

8If you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and justice being miscarried throughout the land, don't be surprised! For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice only get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9Even the king milks the land for his own profit!

Corruption in government is nothing new; even Solomon marveled at the pervasiveness of it. Even though we can’t stop/prevent/expose it all, we need to try. This ethics ordinance for the City of Tulsa is a step in the right direction and I hope against hope that it will eventually pass. Even if it does not pass, the next step requires people get involved. Our duty to our community does not stop when we vote or pay taxes. We all need to pay closer attention to the goings on in our government. In the dark is where corruption and malfeasance strive. To hinder it requires ordinary citizens getting involved, shining light into the darkness.

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Tulsa
Ethics ordinance
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Batman Begins

My wife and children are out of town, so I decided to indulge in a late night weekday move excursion to see Batman Begins. Amazing! It has helped me forget the previous Batman movies; it is as if never existed. This movie was simply amazing. Batman Begins demonstrates not only what a Batman movie should be like, but what a movie adaptation of a comic book should be like. Batman Begins is this best comic book adaptation of a movie I have seen, and one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite a while.

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Neighborhood Watch

There is nothing like sitting outside, enjoying the night air whilst blogging whilst watching Tulsa’s finest stake out a neighbor’s house. .Every neighborhood ought to have a wanted criminal the police want but can’t catch. I’ve never felt safer than the last few days; having a cop parked out side your door does wonders for your peace of mind.

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Stake Out

Councilor Mautino's Town Hall Meeting

Another great Tulsa City Councilor, my councilor, Jim Mautino will also hold a Town Hall Meeting. His will be Wednesday, June 29 at the Martin East Regional Library. It starts at 7:00 p.m. Show your support of Jim by coming to this meeting. Alternatively, if you are unsure about whether or not to recall Councilor Mautino, please come on June 29th. Give Jim Mautino a chance to show you what a great City Councilor he is.

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Tulsa City Council
Tulsa City Council Recall

Last night’s District 2 Town Hall meeting.

I wish every voter in District 2 could have attended last night’s town hall meeting. Had you been in attendance, you would have come away, as I did, with a very positive impression of Chris Medlock. You would have been impressed by Chris’s commitment to his district. On issues ranging from flood control, to street widening, to economic development Chris does an excellent job understanding the issues, asking questions, and representing not only his constituents, but all citizens of Tulsa.

You would have come to understand that Councilor Medlock’s portrait as anti-development is unfair and unfounded. Clearly he is not anti-development as he has been crucial in securing the new 600,000-900,000 square foot, Tulsa Hills, Shopping Center at 71st and east of highway 75, a project that is projected to bring 5 million dollars in new tax revenue for Tulsa. That’s good for District 2 and for Tulsa.

You would have been confused at the rumor that he is a negative person, or that he has no ideas, or that he is ignorant, or arrogant. You would have seen a passionate Councilor who loves Tulsa, who wants to see Tulsa grow while protecting its citizens, and an important elected official with great ideas. You would have started to wonder, “So why do we want to recall him? Don’t we really want to keep him in office?”

If you live in District 2, please vote against Recall on July 12th. Keep a great councilor in office.

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Tulsa City Council
Tulsa City Council Recall

Corn or Grass?

Here is a very interesting article that discusses Corn vs. Biomass based Ethanol.

I did not grow up on a farm, but I did spent all my summers on my grandfather’s farm in Iowa. I have grown to see certain things from the point of view of the Iowa Farmer. It was from that perspective that I found this article very interesting, if not a little troubling...


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Corn
Biomass
Iowa Farmer

The Book Baton

Bowden McElroy tagged me to complete this survey. Out of respect for Bowden, I’ll complete it, but I’m not an avid reader…

Total number of books owned:
I brought 100-150 books to my marriage and my wife brought about as many or more…I’d say 400

Last book I bought:
State of Fear

Last book I read:
It’s hard to say. I only read 1 or 2 books a year. It was probably Prey or, most likely The Machine Crusade (Legends of Dune, Book 2). The last book I started, but did not finish was The Battle of Corrin (Legends of Dune, Book 3). I feel like I need to finish it now…

5 books that mean a lot to me:
There are not 5 books that "mean a lot to me"; there is probably only 2. I'll pretend the question was: "What 5 books would you take on a desert island?" I'm going to then improperly answer that question by listing a lot more than 5 books...that's kind strange huh?
1. All The Dune Novels
2. Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions
3. The Creator and the Cosmos
4. The Bible with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
5. The Score to Handel’s Messiah.


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Godspeed

Good-bye Tim and Debbie, we will miss you. Good luck in North Carolina.

Blossom End Rot Update…

The jury is still out, but I think the Calcium Chloride I got from Stringer Nursery is working. I just put on the second application. I’m supposed to apply one a week for three weeks. So even after one application I see a marked improvement. There are still some fruit with rotting ends, but not as many. I’m feeling cautiously optimistic…

Technorati Tags: Blossom end rot
Tomatoes
Calcium Chloride
Gardening
Stringer Nursery

Missing Hamster ...

Clinton's true colors

Grace Marzioli from Conservative and Right reminds us not to be fooled by Senator Clinton's move to the right.

Let's remind ourselves of her true colors before we get lost in a mire of Clinton Reinventions:

1) She is staunchly pro-choice. "I am and always have been pro-choice, and that is not a right any of should take for granted. There are a number of forces at work in our society that would try to turn back the clock and undermine a woman’s right to chose, and [we] must remain vigilant." (New York Times, pg.A11 Jan 22, 2000)

2) She voted No to Banning Partial Birth Abortion. (Bill S.3 ; vote number 2003-51 on Mar 12, 2003)

3) She is pro-embryonic stem cell research. (Signed a letter from 58 Senators to the President 04-SEN8 on Jun 4, 2004, addressing this issue)

4) She voted against drilling in ANWR and voted for the Kyoto Protocol Treaty.

5) She is a hard line gun control advocate.

6) Believes that attacks against Dems are a part of the "vast right wing conspiracy" (Hillary’s Choice by Gail Sheehy, p. 5 & 8 Dec 9, 1999).

7) Decries material excesses of corporate America yet has been embroiled in scandal over "material excesses" since she and her husband were first involved in politics.

8) Is expected to vote against the nomination of John Bolton.

Technorati Tags: Hilary Clinton

Technorati Troubles

Is it just me, or is Technorati is not doing a good job of recognizing tags placed in blog posts? It seems that none of my recent posts are being recognized by Technorati. I thought it might be something I was doing wrong until I noticed that Batesline seems to be having the same problem. I checked some recent Batesline posts and noticed that some of his recent posts have also not been recognized by Technorati.

Technorati Tags: Technorati Tags

Tabs for IE...

It seems as if I had read an article when Firefox was first released that quoted Microsoft officials as saying that they had no plans to add tabbed browsing as a feature in IE. I guess loosing more than 5% market share provides a certain amount of clarity.

They also did not plan to release a new version of IE at all. Microsoft was going to force an upgrade to Longhorn to get their new browser. Now you will only have to upgrade to XP. I'll stick with Firefox.

Technorati Tags: Tabbed browsing
Firefox
Internet Explorer

Am I your kind of Blogger?

Well, I’m not sure that I’m ether "Truly appreciated by many" or "surpassed by only a few", but I do try to be smart and insightful…I guess I’ll let yall be the judge of that…

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few.

What kind of blogger are you?

(via MeeCiteeWurkor via Batesline)

Adblock

Sometimes I’m an early adopter of technology, and sometimes I’m not. Case-in-point is the Adblock extension for Firefox. Adblock is not new, I’ve known of its existence for a while, but I never got around to trying it out. I was spurred in to action my MeeCiteeWurkor to give it a try.

If you use Firefox, you can install this extension and train it to block ads from websites that you frequent. It is very nice, I highly recommend it.

While we are on the topic of Firefox extensions I’d also like to recommend Forcastfox. It places weather information at the bottom of your Firefox window.

Technorati Tags: Firefox
Firefox extensions
Adblock
Forcastfox

Jackpot...

Next time profit from gambling, you should definitely not feed bad that your newfound winnings were derived from people who have lost it all.

Don’t think about the broken homes or domestic violence that occurred in the process of collecting “your” money. If some jerk decides give his money to you instead of feeding his kids, that’s his problem. Almost certainly, someone committed a crime to give you some of that money, but try not to think about that.

Plus, someone has to win, and it might as well be you…right?


Technorati Tags: Gambling
Gambling Addiction

Blossom end rot...ahhhh!

I was fairly happy at the progress of my garden until I started getting tomatoes. Almost all of my tomatoes have this awful brown spot on the bottom. The good folks at Stringer Nursery (highly recommended) explained to me that I have Blossom end rot. I was given a bottle of Calcium Chloride and sent on my way. Hopefully this will fix the problem. If I’m deprived of a garden fresh BLT I’ll be most unhappy. I’ll keep ya posted.

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Tomatoes
Calcium Chloride
Gardening
Stringer Nursery

Jenks RiverWalk Crossing

My family and I found our selves at the Jenks RiverWalk Crossing this evening, to bid a co-worker "fair thee well." We were very impressed; amid the festive atmosphere, there are all kinds of restaurants and shops. My wife kept saying, “I feel like I’m not in Tulsa anymore.” To which I kept replying “Well, you aren’t, your in Jenks…” We had a good time, and while I was happy that we have such a neat place to go to, I was a bit sadden that it was in Jenks instead of Tulsa.

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RiverWalk Crossing
Arkansas River
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Responsibility Chart

While at the Jenks River Walk (more on that later), my wife purchased a little magnetic board with little magnetic goals, and responsibilities for our 2 year old. We decided that she is now old enough to understand the idea of reward and punishment over a protracted period of time.

Her chart has goals and chores on the right with a magnetic indicator for success. Each goal is charted over the course of a week. At the end of the week there is an overall status marker. So her current goals for this week are: be nice, no whining, say please and thank you, gentle hands (she is rough with her little sister sometimes), and take care of pets. Please and thank you, and take care of pets are gimmies, the other three are areas where she needs work. We threw those in so she always has an opportunity to show some kind of improvement, even on days where she is what we call “Miss Crabapple”.

When she is good she gets a mark, and if she is bad we take one away. If she has all good marks at the end of the day she gets something special before bed, and if she masters the entire week we will do something extra special. Our daughter is generally very well behaved (for a 2 year old). Hopefully this system will help Stacey and me with consistency, and will help our daughter tangibly grasp goals, responsibilities, and the idea of reward and punishment.


Technorati Tags: Parenting

Team work

Bowden McElroy at Counseling Notes discusses what can happen when parents don’t reach a consensus about their parenting style.

One of the first rules of effective parenting is both parents need to be on the same page. Consistency coupled with team work will cover a multitude of parenting mistakes.

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Rockin out

Last night, we had a good time playing my guitar while my 2 year old danced around the room. The 2 year old was showing her little sister the guitar so I decided to dust it off and play a few tunes. They both thoroughly enjoyed it…so did I.

Is Poker just harmless fun?

This week’s Pentecostal Evangel has a great article, by John W. Kennedy, that exposes the latest television poker craze as more than just harmless fun. If you are currently involved in a poker group or have teenage kids, it is a must read.

So why is televised poker so bad?

Poker on TV is portrayed as a game of skill and strategy rather than its real main determinant: chance. The message conveyed is that with enough practice one will learn how to win, just as an aggressive investor intuitively knows how to play the stock market.

Several of these shows make Poker look like more of a harmless game, than one of chance. Impressionable youth become convinced that that there is nothing wrong with gambling; these shows don’t suggest that there are any negative consequence attached to gambling.

An estimated 2 million young people have some form of gambling problem, according to Keith S. Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling in Washington, D.C. Whyte has been trying, unsuccessfully, to convince the networks carrying the programs to run public-service announcements (which his organization would provide for free) detailing the warning signs of compulsive gambling and phone numbers for help.

Interestingly enough, early exposure to gambling has other potential negative consequences.

A multitude of researchers agree that youth who gamble early are three times as likely to become problem gamblers. In addition, students who gamble are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and use illegal drugs.

Other than television poker what other factors have contributed to gambling's pervasive intrusion in the lives of our youth?

Those ages 12-17 gamble at the same rate — 70 percent — as adults. Whyte notes that this is the first generation to grow up with widespread state-sponsored legalized gambling, as well as implicit parental endorsement. Fifty percent of young people gamble with a family member, ranging from playing cards for money to an older adult buying a lottery ticket for them.

We need to be cognizant of the affects of gambling and games of chance on our lives and the lives of our children. With the pervasiveness of Indian casinos and our new state lottery, today’s Oklahoma parent will need to be proactive rather than reactive if they wish to save their children from destructive behavior.

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Gambling
Parenting
Pentecostal Evangel

MPAA set back

More good news on the Broadcast flag battle front…

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fair use
DRM
FCC
MPAA

Sow discipline or reap trouble

Bowden McElroy at Counseling Notes discusses what happens to 14 year olds who have never received discipline.

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High Speed

Are you still dialing up? If you get your phone service from SBC, price is no longer an excuse not to switch to high speed...

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DSL

Lightspeed

This weekend I helped my sister set up her new home wireless connection. My sister has just signed up Verizon FiOS. She lives in one of the few communities to which Verizon offers this service. FiOS is Verizon’s super high-speed internet delivered, via fiber, directly to the house. Man is it fast, much faster than cable. The speeds available are 5 Mbps/2 Mbps, 15 Mbps/2 Mbps, and 30 Mbps/5 Mbps.

Here in Tulsa, via SBC, we will enjoy something similar. Right now they are calling it Project Lightspeed. I have heard that SBC will not go about their fiber solution in the same manner as Verizon. They do not plan to pull fiber directly to the house but rather to the main distribution boxes. The idea being that you would keep your existing copper line. Copper’s propensity for speed varies greatly on the distance it is asked to push the data. If every one is a quarter mile from fiber then SBC will be able to reach speeds close to the speeds Verizon is able to reach, with less investment and infrastructure.

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