Mount St. Helens' mini-eruption
Topic: informative
Mt. St. Helens erupts again

Wednesday, 3.9.05

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens released a towering plume of ash Tuesday, its most significant emission in months but one that seismologists did not believe heralded any major eruption.

The volcano has vented ash and steam since last fall, when thousands of small earthquakes marked a seismic reawakening of the 8,364-foot mountain.

Late afternoon television footage showed the plume billowing thousands of feet into the air, then drifting slowly to the northeast.

The ash explosion happened around 5:25 p.m., about an hour after a 2.0 magnitude quake rumbled on the east side of the mountain, said Bill Steele, coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington.

Steele said he did not believe the explosion had increased the risk of a significant eruption and noted that recent flights over the volcano's crater did not reveal high levels of gases.

"We don't expect another explosion," said Peggy Johnson, a university seismologist.

Steele said the ash burst may have been triggered by the partial collapse of a lava dome in the crater, which has been growing steadily over the last several months.

"Until we get a better view in the crater we won't know," Steele said.

Johnson said there had been no increase in quake activity before the explosion.

"The seismicity had been continuing just as it had been," she said.

On May 18, 1980, the volcano 100 miles south of Seattle blew its top, killing 57 people and covering the region with gritty ash.

Mount St. Helens rumbled back to life Sept. 23, with shuddering seismic activity that peaked above magnitude 3 as hot magma broke through rocks in its path. Molten rock reached the surface Oct. 11, marking resumption of dome-building activity that had stopped in 1986.

Scientists have said a more explosive eruption, possibly dropping ash within a 10-mile radius of the crater, is possible at any time.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Happy Birthday Lisa!
Topic: informative
Today is my sister's birthday... # 28!

Happy Birthday sis...I love ya!

May John Paul II live on
Topic: worthy read
My favorite paragraph has got to be:

"In an age that at times seems on the verge of collapsing into its own mush of moral relativism, self-idolatry and existential vacuity, his leadership is a constant, inspiring reminder that Man is still capable of reaching beyond his animal instincts and his selfish gene to something genuinely divine."

**************************************************

Gerard Baker

February 11, 2005

May John Paul II live on
Gerard Baker
His enemies want him out, but we need the Pope's example of courage and dignity more than ever

A SIZEABLE component of the world’s media, and parts of the broader public, have been on a rather unseemly papal death watch for some time now. In scenes reminiscent of the last chaotic days of the Soviet Union, when Communist Party leaders were croaking with the frequency of laryngitic frogs, the world’s broadcasters, newspaper editors and commentators have been readying their battle plans.
Teams of journalists stand ready to pack their bags for Rome at a moment’s notice. In every university in Christendom, theologians have been dredged up to pronounce with great solemnity on the “legacy” of this Pope. While they are at it, of course, they will also be duped into playing the world’s most exciting but futile guessing game: who will be the next Pope? Designers will have been primed to produce imaginative graphics for the conclave — expect 3-D images of the Sistine Chapel and lots of little red hats.

Given the hair-trigger nature of the preparations for this massive media event, the first papal succession of the CNN-internet era, you can imagine the excitement a couple of weeks ago when the Pope was admitted suddenly to the Gemelli hospital in Rome. The balloon was going up.

Around the world, canon law edicts and obscure cardinals’ biographies were consulted as feverishly as Alitalia timetables. One of my local news stations in Washington, its spirit willing but its resources regrettably weak, headlined the story with a live broadcast to camera from outside a local Catholic church. Urbi et Orbi, I suppose they were thinking.

There is, therefore, a palpable disappointment now that the man has left hospital and it appears that he is not going to die at any minute. But deprived of their evanescent moment of Vatican vanity, not to mention three pleasant weeks in Rome spent pontificating (you will rarely find the word used more aptly) about the state of a Church of which they know nothing, commentators have found something else to get their teeth into.

“Should the Pope resign?” they ask. “Is he not really dead in all but the most technical sense?” What a great wheeze! Those dredged-up theologians and church historians could still come in handy after all. Get them to talk about Celestine V and Gregory XII.

When Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, gave an apparently cryptic answer to a question about papal resignation this week, the speculation was suddenly given a kind of imprimatur of curial respectability. I say “apparently cryptic” for good reason. What the cardinal said was: “If there is a man who loves the Church more than anybody else, who is guided by the Holy Spirit, if there’s a man who has marvellous wisdom, that’s him. We must have great faith in the Pope. He knows what to do.” That does not sound to me like a call for the Pope to go, but then again, I am not a headline writer.

Ostensibly this little debate touches on some intriguing philosophical and neurophysiological questions. How sick can a pope be before it is determined that he cannot perform his functions? Can a pope who cannot speak, for example, still carry on his duties as head of the Church, the leader of his worldwide flock? But I would find this frenzy of scantily-informed speculation slightly comical if I did not suspect the motives of most of those who seem anxious to have it.

The truth is that, dead or alive, as someone might put it in another context, they want this Pope gone. Whether it is a choking fit or the Camerlengo’s signature, the Pope’s enemies, all those secularist pundits of omniscient modernity, want him out.

I will confess that I know little about the precise prognosis for Parkinson’s or the dogmatic deliberations at the curia, though I thought the Pope himself had spoken fairly clearly about his intentions when he was admitted for surgery on his hip a decade ago: “Doctor,” he said to a surgeon somewhat nervous about his onerous responsibility, “neither you nor I have any choice. You have to cure me because there is no room for a pope emeritus.”

I certainly do not have any special insight into his capacity to discharge his specific papal duties but I will say this: as long as John Paul II is Pope, the rest of us can count ourselves unusually privileged to be alive with him.

In an age that at times seems on the verge of collapsing into its own mush of moral relativism, self-idolatry and existential vacuity, his leadership is a constant, inspiring reminder that Man is still capable of reaching beyond his animal instincts and his selfish gene to something genuinely divine.

Pope John Paul’s life is a long and brave testament to the overwhelming power of human dignity in the face of evil. He saw his native land ravaged by one vile ideology in the 1940s. Improbably, and dramatically, installed in Rome 40 years later, he was the dominant figure in an astonishing triumph over another.

His papacy has borne further witness to his staggering courage — personal and moral; taking his message of hope, love and peace to more of humanity than anyone before him. He is accused by his enemies of a rigid conservatism. What they mean by that is an unstinting refusal to march with the popular will, to ratify through doctrinal approval a steady slide down the path of amorality.

Above all, in his own twilight of pain and suffering he reminds us of the insuperable force that is love for human life. His defence of the weakest — from the poorest souls in beleaguered corners of dark continents, to the discarded unborn, to the inconvenient elderly and disabled ripe for the final syringe — challenges all to think again about our obligation to our fellow man.

He is, and will remain, as long as he has breath in him, a beacon of hope for the lost and loveless. He is truly a pontiff, the bridge between God and his people, in Chesterton’s words “a landmark, walling in the plain”. I hope — and not just to confound the ghoulish pundits — that he lives to 100.

gerard.baker@thetimes.co.uk

15 cents...
Topic: ramblings
I was walking from my apartment to my car when I noticed a man digging through the dumpster outside. I don't know why, but my first thought was that he had lost something in the dumpster and was trying to retrieve it.

As I walked by he said, "How's it going, my good man?"

"Pretty good," I said. "And yourself?"

"Just found 15 cents," he said, "so I can't complain."

In Oregonian lingo, "15 cents" would mean he found 3 pop cans or recyclable bottles which he could later redeem for 5 cents each.

I noticed he sure was a cheerful man for having to dig through the trash to find 15 cents...

"When was the last time you looked at a bank statement?"
Topic: people who need help
So I get a call today from a woman asking about a "$30 charge" she saw on her account. Turns out, the $30 came out for an insurance policy she signed up for. "AD&D" appears on her statement, and it stands for Accidental Death & Dismemberment (Insurance). I explain to her that the insurance is set up by the member in the event that either the primary or joint member should be accidentally killed or dismembered, then the insurance company will pay them according to their insurance policy. The details of what exactly the $30 per quarter (three months) actually would give our member can only be found by contacting the insurance company.

So, I gave her the 800 # and told her they could give her all of the information she needs, as well as cancel the policy if she so chooses. She thanked me and got off the phone.

I was then curious to see how long she had been paying this $30/quarter (essentially $10/month or $120/year). After some quick research, I found out she had been paying this since *at least* August of 1996. Perhaps even longer, but that's as far back as the computer would let me search. She's been paying this for at least 8 years and didn't even know it...seriously...*shakes head in disbelief*

Seinfeld
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Seinfeld - Episode # 139:
Topic: sitcom funnies
Compliments of www.SeinfeldScripts.com.

From: Episode # 139 - "The Package"

Jerry opens his package.
Jerry : Is this my stereo?
Kramer walks in.
Kramer : Hey you got it.
Jerry : What happened to my stereo? It's all smashed up.
Kramer : That's right. Now it looks like it was broken during shipping and I insured it for $400.
Jerry : But you were supposed to get me a refund.
Kramer : You can't get a refund. Your warranty expired two years ago.
Jerry : So were going to make the Post Office pay for my new stereo?
Kramer : It's just a write off for them.
Jerry : How is it a write off?
Kramer : They just write it off.
Jerry : Write it off what?
Kramer : Jerry all these big companies they write off everything.
Jerry : You don't even know what a write off is.
Kramer : Do you?
Jerry : No. I don't.
Kramer : But they do and they are the ones writing it off.
Jerry : I wish I just had the last twenty seconds of my life back.

Pet peeve # 2,347,843
Topic: ramblings
Here's another notch for my "pet peeve" belt...

A member calls in today to talk about his account and puts me on hold after a few minutes. He then comes back a few minutes later and talks again about his account. He then asks me to hold on again, only this time he didn't mute me. So I hear in the backgroung him saying...

"Welcome to Jack In The Box, may I take your order?"

The guy was FREAKIN' WORKING while he was calling to talk about his account!

It wouldn't have bugged me so much if I didn't have to repeat myself 3 times to get his story straight...

...geez...

The $50 billion question...
Topic: thought provoking
The $50 billion Question

Suppose you were given $50 billion. You are to spend it on projects that would best foster global development and alleviate human suffering. How would you spend it?

A World Connected (.org)
Topic: informative
A World Connected

The website linked above is an awesome website to go to in order to read about world issues. It's a nice point of view on a lot of the big issues affecting the world and its dealings.

One of my favorite issues as of lately would be sweatshops. Not that I'm a big fan of sweatshops or anything, but this site (out of many others) helps to dissolve the myth that all sweatshops are bad simply by not paying their workers "enough" (or a "living wage" as many say). What most don't consider is the difference between the "real wage" and the "nominal wage." A nominal wage is a literal dollar amount you receive. For example, $10/hr. The real wage is what the money buys for you. Here in America, an 8 hr day at $10/hr will earn you enough to pay for most necessities (food, clothing and shelter). The $80 earned in that one day will easily sustain you for a day, hopefully even 3 or 4.

An 8 hr work day at $10/hr in a Third World Country, however, will allow you the opportunity to purchase much more than you could in America. The $80 that would be earned that day could most likely sustain their life for a whole month.

This is why a corporation with a manufacturing plant in a Third World Country does not pay the same as it would in America. The worker in the other country is more likely to get $2 - $3 per day (depending on the country of course, it could be much wider than that still). Unfair you say? Not really, considering a meal in this same country can be purchased for 10 to 20 cents.

The ethical corporation would then, of course, pass on the savings from paying less in wages (in the Third World Country as compared to the US) by selling the products produced for less. This of course is very ideal, and some (or perhaps "many"?) companies do not do so *cough cough* Nike *cough cough*

But, the nominal wage in this Third World (low by our standards, decent or "good" to their standards) then leads to a higher real wage (i.e. higher spending power) in the US. Children in poorer countries stay off the street and earn money, people in America get to buy things cheaper. Certainly it would be best if children were in school and they had at least one parent working in order to raise them, but that is not always possible (in any nation). So this is about as close to a win-win situation as we can get.

One article in particular emphasizes not only the danger in closing legitimate sweatshops but the benefit to the country to have them. The argument being that sweatshops actually give jobs to many who would have much worse options for employment otherwise (prositution, drugs, crime, etc). Boycotting such products and forcing the shop's closure, studies have shown, leads those shop employees to tend towards said negative results.

Furthermore, the article mentions, every prosperous nation today (USA, Britain, France, Sweden, Germany etc) has had its own "sweatshop days."

"Only with the prosperity brought by international trade, globalization?s adherents say, can a country then afford to demand better working conditions for its workers."

Bottom line, it boils down to this:

"Most free trade advocates agree, for example, that benefiting from slave labor is no better than theft. Sweatshop workers are often the envy of their communities -- they make more money than the farmhands or beggars, for example. But it?s important that they?re working in factories of their own free will. The key to building prosperity is choice, and if workers don?t have the option to quit, or to take a job with a factory across town offering better wages, the "free" in "free trade" is a misnomer, and the benefits of globalization are tainted."

So much for me posting what I had first planned: a website with a quick suggestion or stamp of approval to have you visit it. My "two cents" usually end up being 10 to 20...dollars...

Cardstacker
Mood:  happy
Topic: informative
Ever wonder who holds the Guiness Book of World Records for stacking cards?

Bryan Berg: Cardstacker

I'm kinda fond of his name myself...