Nightingale

No Doubt is from Orange County. My brother knows Gwen Stefani (just an acquaintance, not good friends. His best friend is a friend of Gwen's brother)

Having "under god" in the pledge implies that you have to believe that this nation should be "under god" to pledge allegiance to it. For many people who don't call their deity "god" and to many who don't believe in any deity, that just doesn't work. Alliegiance to one's country should have nothing to do with which deity you follow, or lack thereof.

It isn't so much about separation, it's a question of where you draw the line. Would you object to the pledge if it said "one nation, under Allah"? People argue that "God" is a generic term for whatever deity, but that really isn't the case. Pretty much only christians use the word "God." So, what non-christians hear is "one nation, under the christian deity" which really isn't what the pledge is about. The pledge is something that should unite Americans, and it seems to me that one particular phrase was put in to divide people, and has been doing so ever since. The original text was beautiful and much more inclusive, and I'd like to see a return to the original text, because there was no reason to change it to begin with.

LOL. My mom's a teacher. She ALWAYS sided with teachers and administration.

One could make the argument that when the pledge was changed originally, it was done for the "comfort" of those who wanted to distinguish the US from communist Russia. As I said, I would like to see the pledge restored to its original text. However, moreso, I'd like to see students and teachers made aware of their right to refrain from saying the pledge, no matter how the wording ends up. If someone is uncomfortable with pledging allegiance to something, they shouldn't have to do it. oh... my parents didn't care that I didn't want to say the pledge. They cared that I got sent to the principal's office, no matter what for.

Thanks.

well, I would like to see the pledge returned to the original words. The pledge was re-written in the 1950s to specifically include god. I think the words were perfect and much more inclusive, because you don't have to believe in a religion to be an American. Like I said, though, I objected to something else entirely. The fight now seems to be over the issue that while children do have the right not to say the pledge, they are not informed that they have this right, and most teachers don't know either. So, even though, on paper, the student has the right not to say the pledge, in reality, oftentimes they're prevented from exercising that right. The situation I had with my teacher is not uncommon. I was standing silently with the rest of the class, hands at my sides, mouth shut. I wasn't doing anything to interfere wtih the class or create a disturbance, yet the teacher informed me that I had to say the pledge. Most kids would've done it, because when someone in authority tells you that you have to do something, most people do it. "Do this or something bad will happen to you" is coersion. For most kids, getting sent to the principal's office is traumatic and a really bad thing, especially when you're a kid that's never been in trouble at school, ever. And yeah, when you get grounded because the principal called your dad at work, that really sucks, because you should't have been in the principal's office to begin with. Also, I missed math class, which was depriving me of my right to a free and appropriate public education.

It'll be interesting to see if the supreme court grants certiorari on this (assuming the state/district appeals) or whether they decide not to address the issue.

When I chose not to say the pledge in junior high, I got sent to the principal's office. The teacher didn't know that I had a right not to say it if that was my choice (which actually had nothing to do with god. I had an issue with some other parts of the pledge which I won't go into for fear of hijacking this thread).

I'm obviously not an instructor, but maybe I can answer this: Because it's something you can do together. Because you won't have much time together otherwise. Because they want to share something they love with you. Because you'll feel like a wuss if you quit because there's someone else who'll know of your wussage (whether or not they think you're a wuss is irrelevant if you feel like you wussed and someone else knows it). I enjoyed my tandem and level 1. On level 2, I got really freaked. On level 3, I met someone who made me want to keep jumping. If it weren't for meeting him, I might've quit. I was getting really discouraged with my landing difficulties, but I kept trying because I had someone else there who really cared whether or not I did well. I was scared to death on the plane and had a terrible time fighting the door monster, but I did it. Once I got to level 6,7, and 8, things really came together for me in the sky; I didn't hesitate at all on level 8, and I had perfect landings on level 6 and 8. The thing is, if it hadn't been for that one person who helped me get through levels 2-5, I don't think I'd have made it to 6. He's still a great friend, and, now that I think about it, I should probably call him and say "thanks." Being a student is hard. Some of the jumps can be really tedious, because since you're thinking so hard about everything you have to do, you forget that it's supposed to be fun. For jumps 2-5, I was jumping because someone else wanted to see me jump. On jump 6, I started jumping for myself again, because that jump reminded me why I'd started in the first place. Everyone's got different motivations to jump. Some jump because they love it. Some jump because someone close to them loves it. Some jump because they want to conquer a fear of heights. Some jump because they want to prove something to somebody. Some jump because they have something to prove to themselves. They're all valid reasons. Sometimes it's not the motivation that's important. What's important is whether that motivation affects the safety of their skydiving.

Talk to your boss and explain that with so much to do, there isn't enough time in the day to get it done right, to the best of your ability. If you never speak up, your boss will think you're doing fine.

It's religion if you believe it, mythology if you don't.

I'm glad that he's recognizing that there were problems, so they can be fixed in the future.

According to a friend with DWP contacts, the problem was with a couple of switches, and things had to be adjusted/rerouted/fixed. City Hall and nearby buildings were on emergency generators for a while.

You're right. BMI doesn't take into account muscle/fat ratio. BMI is just one indicator out of many that, taken together, can present a summary of a person's health and health risks. Even the CDC states that BMI is just a screening tool, and the numbers don't necessiarily mean you're actually overweight. "If your BMI is 25 or greater, and your Waist-to-Height ratio is less than 0.5 and your Percent Body Fat is in the "athlete" or "fitness" category, you are probably muscular and not fat." If a woman, for example, has a BMI of 25-29, it's an indicator to look more closely at her body type and lifestyle. If she's very muscular, she's probably ok, but if she's got a higher proprortion of body fat, then she should take a closer look at her lifestyle. BMI looks at percentages. Soemone with a higher BMI is, statistically, more likely to develop weight related health problems, and should check with a doctor, who can do fat percentage tests and recommend any lifestyle changes necessary. A BIA (bio-impedance test) is probably a better indicator of overall health, since it measures the percentage of body fat, but accurate machines can be very expensive. It's probably not practical for a school to purchase one. A BMI test may get more kids to the doctor's office for a reality check about their lifestyle.

Personally, I don't have a problem with schools doing vision, hearing, scholiosis, and BMI screenings. Parents don't usually have access to the instruments or have the knowledge to check children for this stuff. School screenings was how I found out that I needed glasses. My parents were the most involved, attentive parents a kid could have, and they didn't realize that I couldn't read the chalkboard, and I didn't know I was supposed to be able to see, because I'd never known things to look any other way. Tests like that are usually done by volunteers or the parents write a check to cover the cost, so it isn't paid for by the education budget or tax money. When I was in junior high and high school, learning about physical fitness and BMI was part of the phys-ed curriculum. We had athletic stuff a few days a week, and spent one day learning about kinesiology and health, and science related to the human body. BMI could be a great lesson for kids if the school implements it correctly and puts it in the context of learning about a healthy lifestyle, calories and energy, how the body loses fat and gains muscle, and proper ways to exercise. It's good to learn that there's a better way to measure health than with a scale, and it could be a really interesting and engaging lesson, because the test would make it personal to the kids. A BMI screening takes about five seconds. It could easily be done while kids are waiting in line for their vision/hearing tests, so it wouldn't take any more time out of classroom time.

"Got Termites?" in front of a pest control company. Course, what made it funny was the huge termite tent covering the building. The other funny one was a sign for the movie "Resident Evil." Someone had added a "P" in front.

hmm... were I in your position, I'd invest in a really good radar detector too.

I had great customer service at Ground Zero at Elsinore when I ordered my jumpsuit. Kama must've spent over an hour with me helping me pick colors and options. Square One has been great for gear rental and stuff like altimeters. I haven't ordered anything big through them yet, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so. I also had a great experience at GravityGear in Byron. I needed new risers, and Bonnie and I spent quite a while comparing colors, figured out that the original color wasn't going to match because of fading, so she suggested ordering a contrasting color, and it worked out great. She had the risers sent to my house, and I had them very quickly. Whenever I've ordered something from Para-gear, they've been wonderful. The first time I ordered from them, I was ordering cordura fabric for teddy bears. I'd requested overnight shipping online, and the rep called me to make sure it was what I'd wanted. The shipping was going to cost about $40, because cordura is heavy, and he wanted to let me know that if he sent it standard shipping instead, it would only be about $8, so he called to check when I needed the fabric by, and to see if he could save me some money on shipping. They took the time to save me $32, when it wouldn't have made a bit of difference to them either way.

Travelling. My parents gave me the travel bug when I was a kid. We'd take long vacations and drive halfway across the US, visiting interesting places and national parks. I have a goal to visit every national park in the USA. So far I've seen: Grand Canyon, Kings Canon, Sequoia, Yosemite, Mojave, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Saguaro, Petrified Forest, Hawaii Volcanoes, Glacier, Badlands, Wind Cave, Arches, Bryce Canon, Zion, Olympic, Mount Ranier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone. there's probably a few more I went to when I was really little and don't remember. in 2002, I started working on dinosaur excavations with my mom and a paleontologist (sp?) friend of ours in Wyoming. One of the dinos we dug up (triceratops) is in a museum now. in 2003, I went to Ireland with no plans other than a reservation in Dublin for the first and last night. Had a wonderful time. Later that year, I went to Florida. In 2004, I went to New Orleans, and later that year, went to Utah to viisit Zion National Park in 2005, I went to Kona, Hawaii, and visited Volcanoes National Park. I also went back to Utah to see Bryce Canyon National Park. I'll be going back to Florida in December to visit the Everglades. 2006...hoping to visit Cambodia.

You didn't happen to be at Elsinore about a year ago, did you? I was driving on the road next to the DZ, and a shoe fell out of the sky and bounced off the pavement a few feet in front of my car! Nobody owned up to it, AFAIK

True. doesn't prevent kitty mischief, but it definitely reduces it.

Two kittens are better than one. Get them at the same time so there's no territory problems. If a cat has another cat to play with, he won't be playing with your potted plants, furniture, or other stuff that is "not for kitties". When there's another cat around to entertain them, they're a lot less likely to entertain themselves in ways you wouldn't like. The cost of two cats isn't much more than one, and both you and the cats will be much happier. Cats, although they don't show it sometimes, are social animals and get lonely when left by themselves while you're at work and the kids are at school.

regarding false imprisonment: what we believe or don't believe is irrelevant. Beliefs can be wrong. It's what we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that matters.