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gbinred on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 20:40:46 -0700

The world as a village of hundred people

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 02:06:03 -0800

Sorry for being out of touch, friends!!

I have urgent business in Denver, CO and will be there about a week and plan to stop in Deadwood SD on my way home. I should be back around 4/15/06.

Thank you for your patience, I will return to be as active at Stumble! as I always have been, but just have some (non-poker) business that demands attention.

Let us not be stopped by that which divides us but look for that which unites us This is your World! And you are able to make changes! Hasten to do good works! Think of it! Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, Dance like nobody's watching, Sing like nobody's listening, Be surprised, like you were born yesterday, thanks to my new friend http://wiwaste.stumbleupon.com/

an' drink like there's no goddam tomorrow...the above is from some other dude...I'll look it up later...when i sober up...it's all that free beer from 'World unfuckin'conscienceness Bay".

1:30 P.M. it was niewo50 http://niewo50 . stumbleupon.com I know him...funny guy...smart guy...take a look at his site, too...and ask if he's got any asprin, OK?

35 Cities, 35 Toilet Seats - March 6, 2006

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 05:41:13 -0800

QUICKIES -

35 Cities, 35 Toilet Seats - On the road with Mary J. Bilge.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0306062mjb1.html?link=rssfeed
The 35-year-old R&B singer's performance contract stipulates that her dressing room includes a "private toilet (with new toilet seat)." According to her current concert rider, Bilge also requires, among other things, six cans of "Schweppes Ginger Ale," Aveda candles, and a tub of Red Vine licorice. Oh, and her ten bottles of water "absolutely, positively must be FIJI."

The Trump Blog...and while you're visiting the Blog http://donaldtrump.trumpuniversity.com/default.asp?item=156213 you can tour "Trump University"
unlike all the free quizzes here at Stumble!, "The Donald" charges $49.95 to take his quiz on career choice...why didn't you think of that? Also featured here is opinion of the current contestants on "The Apprentice"

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/13856/Westboro-Baptist-Church--Dodge-City-showdown-at-funeral Next is the delightful, upbeat story of Fred Phelps, the leading anti-gay extremist in the United States. Phelps enrolled but never graduated from Bob Jones University. He moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1954 where he formed the unaffiliated Westboro Baptist Church in 1956. Phelps earned a law degree in 1961 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, and worked for several years as a civil rights lawyer. He was disbarred by the state of Kansas in 1979 for improper conduct and lack of legal ethics. Phelps has spent the last decade traveling around the country promoting anti-gay demonstrations, including those at the funerals of former U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, Frank Sinatra, and President Clinton's mother. His financial support comes from members of his church, most of whom are members of his family. Three of his thirteen children have repudiated him and have accused him of being an abusive parent, but the others strongly support him with funds gathered from their law practices. Eleven of his children are lawyers. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/112-fred-phelps

In order to further endear himself to you, his current project is touring the country with his church attending the funerals of military personnel killed it Iraq. They've launched a disturbing campaign to tarnish the funerals of fallen soldiers. This is a painful drama playing out at dozens of military funerals across the country. The group is led by Fred Phelps.

He and his family have picketed and heckled military families at more than 100 funerals since June. They say the soldiers are fighting for an army that represents a country that accepts homosexuality. I swear I'm NOT making this up!!!

From Newsweek http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11675823/site/newsweek/

Dubai Inc.
A controversial ports deal has raised new questions about the booming Arab sheikdom. Inside one of the world's most modern, and yet mysterious, monarchies.
Newsweek International
Updated: 1:23 a.m. ET March 5, 2006
How does Dubai Inc. work? Back in early 1985, the prince of the then little-known Arab sheikdom was stewing after an airline canceled his flight at the last minute. He called in the Englishman who managed the Dubai tourism authority and asked how much it would cost to start an airline. "Ten million dollars," replied the Brit, Maurice Flanagan. The prince told him to get started, and the first plane took off that same year

No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality, by Judith Rich Harris - The New York Times Book Review - New York Times

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 06:33:31 -0800

You may not have as much influence over your children's future as you have thought!!!

I have always maintained this to be true...kids are gonna be what they're gonna be...and I should qualify as an expert (or at least an impartial observer) since I don't have any children. Ms. Harris feels that about 50% of behavior is determined by genes (and yes, I realize that each parent contributes half of genetic make-up, but that happens a the monent of conception...your job is pretty much done there) and the remander by group influence. Where do our personalities come from? and where are they going...i.e., are personalities consistent throughtout one's life...surprisingly, probably not according to Ms. Harris.

To sort genetic from environmental factors, you study people with the same genes but different environments: identical twins raised apart. Or you study people with different genes but the same environment: adoptive siblings raised together.

Using this method like scissors -- holding one variable steady while slicing against it with the other. Does home environment -- parenting style, marital harmony, the use or rejection of day care -- shape a child's personality, making her more agreeable, less aggressive or more extroverted? Nope. Research shows that twins don't turn out more alike if they're raised together than if they're raised apart. Nor do adoptive siblings. And when you compare apples to apples -- making sure that each parent-child unit in a study is as genetically related as any other -- being raised in one home rather than another, on average, makes no difference.

Maybe a certain type of home environment affects children with some genes one way and children with other genes the opposite way? Sorry, the data show no such patterns. Furthermore, since twins raised together have the same genes and environments, gene-environment interactions can't explain why they turn out differently. Do kids turn out differently because parents treat them differently -- based on birth order, for example? If so, you'd expect siblings raised together, in manifest birth order, to differ more than siblings raised apart. But they don't.

If parents don't shape children, what does? Children raised in Canada by parents born in Hong Kong become Canadian. When parents have an accent but most of the neighborhood doesn't, their children lose the accent. The village, not the family, prevails.

Why? Because that's what makes evolutionary sense. If your parents raise you poorly, Harris argues, you're better off diluting the damage. If they dote on you, you're better off adjusting to the tougher social world in which you'll have to find your way. Throughout most of human evolution, parents had little time for children old enough to run around. They learned from one another and from watching adults.

The socialization system absorbs language, customs and skills, making us more alike. You find ways to tell people apart because you have to. Harris attributes half of our traits to genes, noting the roughly 50 percent personality correlation between identical twins. She figures that "evolution provided humans with a certain amount of plasticity in behavior so they can profit from their experiences." Ultimately, however, long-term behavior modification is at odds with itself. As our minds become subtler and our occupations less stable, short-term modifications suited to the situation at hand become more advantageous than permanent modifications. This is already happening, according to her theory. The reason parental influence doesn't control children's behavior outside the home is that they adjust to context. Unlike other animals, you can shuffle your self-classifications. In seconds, you can go from acting like a girl to acting like a child to acting like a New Yorker.

Judith Rich Harris

YouSendIt - Send large files - transfer delivery - FTP Replacement

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:11:06 -0800

On to today's business:

This is an easy one...I might use this myself for sending business files to the accountant and lawyer (both of whom are kinda prissy little twits). I thought it might be good for those who send photos, art and mp3's...and it is easy to use...hope it helps.

I mean, 1gb!!! My first hard drive wasn't NEARLY that big (altho, I have duel 100 gb hard drives and 80 gb insert now)...my very first computer a very early Radio Shak used a cassette tape as a hard drive.

Why YouSendIt http://www.yousendit.com/ ?
Large file transfers are quick, easy, and secure with YouSendIt.Our easy-to-use interface sends your sensitive information online safely.Have complete confidence that your data will get to its destination.

Easy to Use3 simple steps on one web page! No accounts or passwords to maintain.

SafetyYour data goes to who you want it to and nobody else. No risk of having data end up in the wrong hands.

Send Large FilesUp to 1000MB (1GB).

Fast data transfersYouSendIt is designed to be lightning fast for your convenience and best user experience.

Data SecurityEncrypted HTTPS session (SSL/TLS) to ensure your data is secure. Uses Typical Firewall Permissions. If you can browse the Web, you can use YouSendIt. Proven Technology. Millions use it. Value.

YouSendIt.com http://www.yousendit.com/ is completely FREE.

Free is good.

UK2 | Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce and Dedicated Servers

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 00:34:14 -0800

I know this may be a little whack...I'd forget to do it anyway and if the rest of you succeed in changing the course of the earth's orbit, I hope you know what your doin'.

The reason I'm posting this is the number in of people that have signed up...over 455 MILLION people have signed on to do this. Is that IMPRESSIVE or what? The power of the web - I reckon!!!

Anybody want to invite 'em all over for lunch after 'the jump'?

Michael J. Totten: The Dream City of the Kurds

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 02:10:25 -0800

The link above is from mskrazykat http://mskrazykat.stumbleupon.com She is very astute and a tough, no bullshit Brooklyn gal. You can't find many Stumblers of a political bent who are her equal. She has a wide range of other interests and they are reflected in her posts as well. She has a pithy wit you have to admire.

Mskrazykat, http://mskrazykat.stumbleupon.com is a friend, although, she doesn't have much use for me since I told her she kinda looks like one of my ex-wives. My bad...and I can understand that. My ex's, by the way, maintain a 24 hour help line (email me and I will give you the 800 #) and staffed regional offices in most major cities. Jeez, I'm glad to be single again!

But I digress...this is about a housing project for the Kurds in the North of Iraq. Below is a picture of a home from the project:

Now, what's WRONG with this picture?

Just about everything!!! There are few areas that I will claim expertise in...but this is one of the few. I was a general contractor for years and years...I built low income housing in the Middle East for 9 or 10 years...built a couple thousand houses in Iraq. First, from this `look at the good things we are doing in Iraq' article or blog...

"Not everyone in Iraqi Kurdistan can afford one of the nice houses being built at this time. They cost around 150,000 dollars apiece, and they have to be paid for in cash. The banking system is still in shambles, and mortgages are not available. But lots of people want to live in the Dream City"

How about that for starters...How many of the Kurds (who have been persecuted for hundreds of years) have $150,000 lying around? The answer is...NOT MANY...just the political bosses and the smugglers...every one else is going to be on the outside looking in. But they don't WANT in.

They want a wall around their home..., which in Iraq right now may not be such a bad idea. That's my point...this design...which would be fine if it were in a suburb of Springfield or Houston...completely ignores the culture of the Kurds!!! Now, you may not have the same culture or beliefs, but such things take years to change. Homes there feature an entrance hall to greet guests, a walled off interior room to entertain male friends while shielding family from prying eyes. Where are the servant's quarters?
The kitchen is all wrong (see below).

Well, I could go on and on here, but the point is we need a little cultural sensitivity here if we are EVER to make friends in this part of the world. I am reminded of the Bush Administration's brilliant plan following the downfall of Sadam to flood the country with hordes of Christian missionaries...remember how well THAT worked out?

H.E.R.B. - Had Enough Religious Bullshit !

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:06:30 -0800

I just discovered this site and I like it a whole bunch. It's perfect for a Stumbler...great cartoons, quotes and humor...all with a political bent...and some of it IS pretty funny!!!

Now, it does have an anti-religion focus...I noticed the comments from Christians about how they were again being 'persecuted' again.

All I can say is get a grip folks...Christians have ruled the world since the time of Constantine (800 A.D. approx.) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm ...you guys have had it your way for a long, long time...quit bitchin' everytime someone criticizes you...there's plenty to criticize...didn't Jesus's ministry revolve around dealing with critics?

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
- Sinclair Lewis

George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States. He was appointed by God.
-- Lt. Gen. William Boykin, the defense undersecretary in charge of hunting down top terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan

You can't spell BULLSHIT without
B U S H

If you wind up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest or some guy on TV telling you how to do your shit, then YOU DESERVE IT....Frank Zappa

Now the site hasn't been updated in a while...many of you have probably already seen it...but if not it might be worth a spin. http://edkrebs.com/herb/

Untitled Document

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 01:19:12 -0800

I have noticed that many of my friends and visitors expressed an interest in UFO's. Here at Cheaphits Blog & Social Club we aim to please...kinda...some of the time, anyway...sorta.

I have reproduced a few of the links below...there are more than 50 more on this site.

This page is from a link from coco http://coco-from-france.stumbleupon.com a refulgent Stumbler! and a beautiful and charming woman.

The New York Times &62; Books &62; Books of The Times | Who We Are Now: Images of a Growing Nation, From Census to Census

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:54:49 -0800

"Images of a Growing Nation"

During the 1990's, the nation's population grew to an estimated high of more than 292 million, an increase of 32.7 million people. This is "the largest 10-year numerical increase ever," Mr. Roberts writes. It was a bigger jump than expected, and immigration from abroad was the major reason

"America's foreign-born population increased by 57 percent, to more than 31 million, a record high, making America now the least 'American' it has ever been." The change was especially striking in New York City, where "the proportion of foreign-born residents skyrocketed from 28 percent in 1990 to 40 percent in 2000."

Fifty-two percent of those born abroad come from Latin America, and by 2002, Hispanics were a larger proportion of the population than blacks: 13.4 percent versus 13.1 percent. Non-Hispanic whites are already less than 50 percent of the population in California and New Mexico, and are almost at that level in Texas.

Changes in the composition of American households are also notable. Since 1950, households of married couples have dropped "from nearly four in five to barely one in two," Mr. Roberts writes. People living alone now constitute 26 percent of households, a greater proportion than married couples with children, who make up only 23.5 percent. Fewer than one-third of those families, just 7 percent of the total, include a working father and a stay-at-home mother.

Indeed, "the number of families headed by a woman grew five times faster in the 1990's than the number of married couples with children,"

At the end of 2002, Mr. Roberts writes, 2,166,260 people were incarcerated as criminals. Statistics from that year, he says, showed that there were 701 prisoners for every 100,000 United States residents, a notable increase from the rate of 601 just seven years earlier, in 1995. At a statewide level, the 2002 figures ranged from a high of 794 prisoners per 100,000 people in Louisiana to a low of 141 in both Maine and Minnesota.

In 2001, the poorest fifth of all United States households received only 3.5 percent of the country's aggregate income, the smallest share ever. In contrast, the top fifth of households received 50.1 percent of all income, a record high. But inequality prevailed even in that echelon, as the top 5 percent collected 22.4 percent of all household income, the most in history.

This is another book for the statistically inclined:

A Book for People Who Love Numbers

By SAM ROBERTS
Published: February 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/books/22stats.html?ex=1298264400&en=2210f2c9609d77e5&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
And it's densely packed with more than a million numbers that measure America in mind-boggling detail, from the average annual precipitation in Sweet Springs, Mo., to the wholesale price of rice in Charleston S.C., in 1707.
"You'd have to be a certain kind of personality type," Professor Sutch said.
The new edition, which sells for $825 and is also available in an online version, is a gold mine for scholars, students and assorted nerds and numbers crunchers, although, as with a gold mine, exposing the veins and nuggets can be challenging. Some tables are not comparable, many do not include percentages, and some contemporary tables are current only to 1990.

Fewer than 1 in 10 black children under 5 live with both parents; workers with the highest hourly wages now work the longest hours; there are more religious workers (also bartenders, gardeners and authors) than ever recorded, and more shoemakers than at any other time since the Civil War; only half of Americans have access to fluoridated water; a growing share of poor people live in the suburbs; philanthropy compared with the gross domestic product has been declining since 1960; more Protestants and Jews say they attended religious services within the last week than at any time in the last 50 years; the nation is producing record amounts of broccoli; it took four days on average to travel between New York and Boston in 1800; attendance at horse-racing tracks peaked in 1976, but rodeo attendance is at an all-time high; and the proportion of people who have no opinion in presidential approval polls is the lowest in a half century.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/books/22stats.html?ex=1298264400&en=2210f2c9609d77e5&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss