Vets in New York have reportedly diagnosed the first known case of H1N1 Swine Flu in a dog.

The LA Times reports…The virus has been found before in other pets, including at least three ferrets, several cats and pigs and a cheetah named Gijima at a wildlife preserve in Santa Rosa.

A couple of the cats died, but most of the animals recovered.

Full story here-http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-sci-swine-flu-dog23-2009dec23,0,2022503.story

They say we should not be alarmed by this alarming development. Reportedly it is a “rare” occurence.

What do you think? …how are we going to get the dogs and cats to wash their hands?

I am kind of concerned, lots of dogs around here!….

The H1N1 Swine Flu virus knows no borders,has no boundaries, and has absolutely no respect for religious or cultural traditions.

This year at the annual Hajj to Mecca,  Four foreign pilgrims have died of swine flu, the Saudi Health Ministry announced on Saturday.

The Saudi Arabia Health Ministry  said none of the four foreign victims had been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, as has been recommended by The Health Ministry.

An official statement released by the ministry said all had underlying health problems, including cancer and respiratory illness, AFP news agency reported.

Three of the victims died in Medina and one in Mecca.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=128688&d=22&m=11&y=200Over

The BBC is reporting that….up to three million Muslims from around the world take part in the holy pilgrimage every year, but health officials have expressed fears that it could provide a breeding ground for the virus.

Authorities had tried to prepare for any outbreaks by installing thermal cameras at airports and sea terminals, deploying 15,000 additional health workers and ensuring hundreds of extra beds were available.

The Hajj (Arabic: حج‎ Ḥaǧǧ) is a pilgrimage to Mecca. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world,^[1] and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a moral obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah (God).^[2] The pilgrimage occurs from the 7th to 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj)

The Health Minister has reported that there are 16 other people that have been diagnosed with swine flu and four remain in hospital in “critical condition”.

He added 12 others had recovered following treatment.

The Saudi government has recommended the elderly, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and children skip the Hajj this year.

The Saudi government has said all pilgrims need a certificate of vaccination before they can apply for a visa.

This is real people, and this disease is spreading worldwide,at a rapid pace.

I encourage everyone to get a H1N1 swine flu shot as soon as you can.The reports of any side effects are exaggerated, and will cause millions of people to perish from the lack of the vaccine.

Any paranoia surrounding any alledged complications from the shot are totally unsubstantiated, and if those people out there insist on not receiving the vaccine, then we as a society should only expect more mounting mass casualties from the swine flu, as exhibited this weekend, unfortunately in Mecca.

If it can happen in Mecca, it can happen anywhere.

Please everyone, wash your hands, and go get the shot.

To follow the full story, click on the links for my sources below…

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iDApMAhUln5jw-ffhzIZCh0I_-bgD9C41MJ00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8372378.stm

http://www.saudiembassy.net/latest_news/news11210903.aspx

First off, the highlights:

AEKMAN74 posted a review earlier on this match which covered most of the main points so be sure to check that out as well. I’d just like to add a few things.

We lined up with Saja as keeper, Araujo, Arce, Majstorovic, and Georgeas (who played left back) playing defence, Hersi, Geurreiro, Jahic, and Manduca playing Midfield, with Scocco and Blanco playing attack. Our formation varied at times. I believe that when we were attacking our defence became only three with Araujo moving up and Majstorovic covering right back. I saw this on a number of occasions and am not sure if it was intended, but it happened more than I remember seeing from other games. It is clear though, that after last week’s victory over Benfica we went into this one fighting for nothing but a win. Unfortunately, we got caught many times on the counterattack. Xanthi released forwards quickly and caught us many times with more attackers than we had defenders. This was worrying but luckily thanks to some luck and some decent goalkeeping from Saja we never conceded on one of these counterattacks.

Hersi played up front much of the game and clearly wanted the goal, and a goal is what he got in the 15th minute, as you can all see from the video above. However, the goal, apparently because the ref saw a handball, was dissallowed. As you can see when you watch the video however, there was no handball at all and the goal should have been allowed. So, that is a third game in the “Super”league where we have been negatively affected by terrible referee decisions (let me remind you that a foul was not called which eventually allowed PAO to score and a penalty was not given to AEK from clear handball at the Olympiakos game, along with numerous other poor calls). Our team’s psychology would have been completely different had the goal counted, but it didn’t, and we ended up conceding a goal which could be considered a handball from Poy. However, our defending was poor on the corner and Poy should not have had the time or the space to score such a goal.

Throughout the match we dominated in possession, and created a number of decent chances, but once again could not get the ball in the net. When our lineup is compared to the lineup we fielded against Benfica, we notice it was quite similar. However, what allowed our team to be the stronger team against Benfica was the passion with which we fought that game. Against Xanthi yesterday I saw little passion from our players. Scocco, when he had the ball, seemed as if it made no difference to him whether AEK scored a goal or not.  Unfortunately, with refs making such poor calls against us every time we play a game in this league, the only way to assure the win is to fight that extra bit more, rather to wait and hope for the result. After the Xanthi goal was scored there were still seventy minutes left in the game plus extra time. Against a Xanthi side which is playing some of their worst football in recent years that is plenty of time to score at least a couple of goals. But without the passions or the energy that will not happen. We have seen often in past years that Xanthi is never an easy team to play against, especially up in Xanthi. Our results up there are generally poor, with most of them being draws.

Bearing that last fact in mind, I believe its safe to say that all is not lost yet. Clearly, seeing as we are eleven points behind first place, the championship will not be won this year. However, we can still turn things around and start winning some games, at least keep the pressure up on the tables and regain a higher position. As we saw at the match with Benfica, AEK have a good squad this season, one that is certainly capable of making things happen.

As for our players yesterday, everyone played a decent level. Guerreiro, as AEKMAN74 said, is a creative player who will help us much more in the future. Blanco missed a few great chances, chances which he would have put away with ease had he been on form. Scocco seems to play well when we wants, and yesterday he clearly did not want to. He provided very little to the team in general. The other attackers and midfielders played a decent game, not uch more can be said about them.

As for defence, Arce has shown that he can be an alright defender, but I remember one counter attack in particular where clearly his speed was lacking and there was little he could do but drop and cover in the middle. Araujo played a good game, and likes to throw his weight around, something which I like to see from a defender. However, the refs seemed not to and called fouls every time he touched an opponent. In a league such as the EPL such a play would hot even be considered by the officials.

Due to Juanfran being injured I believe, Georgeas took his place. Hedefended well, and fought hard, as we have seen before, but he had to make his runs cutting across through the middle, rather than up the left wing. Perhaps he doesn’t feel as confident with his left foot, but either way, we created few chances from the left, far fewer than from the right or through the middle.

Overall our play was quite static. We didn’t see the quick and fluid passing we saw at the Benfica match. This makes for a much less effective style of football, as well as one which is far less enjoyable to us, the spectators. Hopefully we will see a much more fluid game against Panthrakikos, a team which is in terrible form at the moment.

Santa Fe’s Duke von Schamann was named the All-Edmond Baseball Player of the Year. Von Schamann is headed to Texas Tech to pitch and play third base.

This is my last All-Edmond photo. Kind of sad. They turned out to be a lot of fun and forced me to get better at shooting portraits. Well, more comfortable, at least. After being please with the policeman photo, I thought I would break out the single, usable studio light and stick it on the nearly expired light stand. I brought two extenstion cords and even that wasn’t enough to reach the mound from the dugout. Darn.

So, I shot yet another portrait with a single, handheld strobe.

I plan to invest in a light stand or two and another strobe. The thing about photography is that there are always more GREAT gadgets, software, hardware, etc. to buy. The thing about me is that I am always watching my money go elsewhere, to places like car repairs,  gasoline, university fees and girls. OK, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.

I’ve had to learn that it isn’t the camera, the lens, the editing software, etc. Those things are helpful and have their place. But they don’t make great photos. Anyone getting started should learn this lesson very early. My favorite comment is from people who come up and say, “Hey, I like your photos, you must have a great camera.” Um… thanks? Actually, my camera cost less than many point-and-shoots.

Well, this is turning into a rant, so I will sign off now.

Stay classy, people of the interwebs.

punya panggilan baru nich dr mamih buat kami ber-3..
puy: panggilan nama temen 1
poy: temen 2 yg suka poya”
pay: paya mengkel –> aku

masa aku dibilang paya mengkel.. emang aku kaya paya ya.. ga tau lah.. mungkin.. hehe..

mulai skrng semua anak kantor manggil kita 3P.. n panggilan itu cepet bgt nyebar di site” kantor..

Starting from the great A Photo Editor’s blog, I’ve seen the great photo selection of the Picture of the year international winners for the 66th contest.

Take a look at the gallery ’cause it’s very worthwhile.

Newspaper Photographer of the Year - from POYi - Emilio Morenatti Associated Press

Magazine Photographer of the Year - from POYi - Uriel Sinai, Getty Images

World Understanding Award - from POYi - Jakob Carlsen, Freelance

Global Vision Award - from POYi - Balazs Gardi, VII Network

First up, have some Poy:

Alpha version which Sam presented to the queen or something.  The music is coming on – a few things have changed since then: levels; transitions; timings.  And the ending will be fleshed out soon.  Nut I’m happy how it’s coming along, and Sam’s animation is beautiful.

Completely unrelated, but I’m currently doing National Certificate music technology at college, and with any art-based course, Macs are a huge part of things.  I’m using Logic 8.0 for the bulk of my work, but Reason and Pro Tools too.  I was talking to one of my lecturers the other day about Final Cut Pro, and he asked me if I had a Mac.  I said I didn’t.  He asked me if I was planning to get one.  Again, I said no.  He was surprised by this.  The conversation moved to trojans and porn websites, and undoubtedly Macs are better when it comes to internet safety.  But, in my experience anyway, that PCs are fine if you don’t act like a durr-brain.  I’ve used anti-virus scanners, spyware scanners, and I haven’t been an idiot, so I’ve been fine since I got my first PC.

Obviously, they have conked out on occasion. but Macs conk out too.

I just don’t like them.  Maybe I’m too used to Windows, but OSX is a nightmare for me.  A fiddly, beautiful-looking nightmare.

In conclusion: I wouldn’t mind a Apple Netbook when it is released.

Hello again.  It’s been a tad quiet for old 5 of 6 over the past year or something.  I did a few things, but nothing of any real note.

Recently, I’ve been working hard on a soundtrack for an animation.  It’s called Poy, a short film by Sam Miller; a taltented artist who I first met on the Rllmuk.com forums.   It’s about a girl named Poy, whose mum dies.  You can follow Sam’s Poy blog here and I’ll post demos and stuff here.

Case in point. This is the Poy animatic with my music. It’s an unused demo track, but parts will be used in the final score, and other parts may make it into future 5 of 6 songs.

I’ve added my Twitter to the right (I much prefer ‘Twats’ to ‘Tweets’) and I’ll add more stuff soon. This design is temporary until I figure out how to use goddam CSS.

The POYi Judging War Room

If you want to know why I am not answering my phone, answering emails or seeing the light of day, it is because I am sitting in a dark room for the next 3 weeks updating the Pictures of the Year website during judging.  That sounds like a terrible thing, but it definitely isn’t.  I couldn’t be happier sitting in a dark room looking at some of the best photos in the world flash before my eyes.  Its a great learning experience for sure.

You can be part of the action too!  This year, we stream the judging live on our website www.POYi.org

See the website and watch live judging here!

Until later, I’ll see you in the dark room.

After traveling to Charlotte, NC on Friday, with my esteemed colleague Derek Anderson, I was honored to receive 4 awards from the North Carolina Press Photographers Association..
I got 2nd place in News Feature Story, for my ongoing “War At Home” series, 2nd and 3rd places in Sports Feature Story, for my story on the Triangle Rattlers, a semi pro football team that I followed for a season and for a story I did on an Alley Kat race, a sort of bicycle scavenger hunt, and an honorable mention in the Election 2008 Multiple category for a story I did on the last days of John Edwards’ presidential campaign. You can view the War at Home photos and the semi pro football story on my website, or the NCPPA site, if you want a closer look.
It was a great evening and I am grateful to receive the awards going up against a bunch of great work coming out of NC this year. Congratulations to everyone who won, and submitted, and hopefully we can all meet the standards we set for ourselves in this semi new year.

Sources report that it was not actually pot.

Scientists discover new way of taking steroids

Happy New Year, lets start 2009 with a big jug of gatorade and a look back at some of the best pictures of 2008. Here are a bunch of fantastic Pictures of the Year / Year in Review galleries that I have found on various newspapers websites. Please post more in the comments section if you find more.

Boston Globe

Globe and Mail

L.A. Times

Maclean’s Magazine

MSNBC

National Post

New York Times

TIME

Reuter’s

Sacramento Bee

USA Today

Bg

Congratulations to Padraig Harrington who, two days ago, was named the 2008 PGA Tour Player of the Year. Was he the best choice? Absolutely. Paddy became only the fourth player since the inception of the Player of the Year Award in 1990 to win both the British Open and the PGA Championship. He is also the first European player to win the award.

The other players who were up for the award were Eldrick Tiger Woods, Vigay Singh, Camillo Villegas, and Kenny Perry. Were any of these players deserving of this award? Yes. But were their years that much better than Harrington’s? No. Every one of those guys had themselves a great year, there is no denying that, but not one of those golfers won 2 majors this year, and that’s the trump card. If you can go out and win multiple majors in a season, then you deserve the title of top dog. Period.

I understand the argument that Mr. Woods won four times in his six appearances, earned $5.7 million onions, and won the US Open in historic fashion. Sure that’s a sexy pick, but this is Player of the Year, not “Player of the First Quarter of the Season Award” and I think that you need to play more than half the year to qualied. And, by that logic, Tiger is out.

Now the other side of the argument is the fact that Paddy missed the cut just about as often as he made it, which is valid. That argument is quite similar to my thoughts on having to play the majority of the year to win the POY, I’ll give you that. It’s pretty similar to CC Sabathia argument of him possibly winning the NL Cy Young after only playing half of a season in the after he was traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee last year. Call me boring or simple or whatever, but I just can’t seem to get over the 2 majors thing with an entire year’s offering.

I think one thing needs to be said about this award: Tiger cannot win just because he’s Tiger. If Tiger simply shows up to tourneys he’s going to finish well, and you will never hear me say that he had a bad year in 2008 or was not deserving of any recognition for having such early success. All Tiger needs to do is show up and play say 10 tourneys a year and you’ll always be able to say he had a year better than the rest, that’s just the way it is. He’s always the headline of the top fields, and Tiger needs to do something amazing for me to give him the title of top dog, fair or not.

I think that Tiger Woods is a great golfer. The best golfer. Ever. He’s incredible, but you can’t assume that just because it’s Tiger that he would have played that way the entire year. To quote Coach Mike Singletary “Can’t do it”. If you feel that Tiger should have won the POY, then you think 1/4 of Tiger is better than every other golfer out there. I think you need at least 9/10 of Tiger to do that the entire year. I just really think that over values Tiger and under values the field.

And personally, I would have given it to Sir Crunchels, the Spicy Fijian, Vigay Singh. Someone call an ambulance, dude was having a stroke at the end of the year.

Congrats to the other award winners…Andres Romero voted Rookie of the Year, Dudley Hart voted Comeback Player of the Year, Bernhard Langer voted Champions Tour Player of the Year, and Brendan de Jonge voted the Nationwide Tour Award.

Each year, members of the Perennial Plant Association vote on the Perennial of the Year (POY.)  This started in 1990.

The Perennial Plant Association’s Mission Statement is …dedicated to improving the perennial plant industry by providing education to enhance the production, promotion and utilization of perennial plants. I have many of the 20-years worth of selections and find they do well in Helen’s Haven.

The Perennial Plant Association’s goal is to recommend perennial plants that meet the following characteristics: low maintenance, relatively pest and disease resistant, multiple seasonal interests, and readily available. These are my hopes when selecting a plant as well, but often times I’m just taken in by a pretty face.

The following is a listing of their selections since the program was initiated:

2010 Baptisia australis

2009 Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’

2008  Geranium ‘Rozanne’
2007  Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ Catnip
2006  Dianthus gratianoplitanus ‘Firewitch’
2005  Helleborus x hybrids
2004  Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’
2003  Leucanthemum ‘Becky’
2002  Phlox ‘David’
2001  Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
2000  Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’
1999  Rudbeckia fulgida var. sulivantii ‘Goldsturm’
1998  Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’
1997  Salvia ‘May Night’ (‘Mainacht’)
1996  Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’
1995  Perovskia atriplicifolia
1994  Astilbe ‘Sprite’
1993  Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’
1992  Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
1991  Heuchera micrantha ‘Palace Purple’
1990  Phlox stolonifera

Perennial Plant Association

Paddy Harrington is a nice player and had one helluva year, there’s no debating that, and I can understand the arguments for him being the rightful PGA Player of the Year, but I’m just not seeing it, I’m sorry. Tiger, even in a half-season, was so dominant and electric that it would’ve taken a 2004 Vijay Singh-esque season to eclipse what he did, and yes, I realize that the Big Fijian only won one major that season, but wins make a world of difference, especially wins in tourney’s with the best fields.

Doesn’t that sound counter-intuitive to my argument? Yea, it does, and yes, two majors is an incredible feat, albeit one with a giant asterisk. But lets delve deeper into Paddy’s season in the biggest events…5th at The Masters, ok, that’s a good start for him, but he followed that with a missed cut at The Players, the fifth major. A 36th place finish at the US Open isn’t terrible, but the thing that really irks me is completely falling apart at the end of the season and being a total non-factor in the FedEx Cup and didn’t come close to contending in the two WGC events, Match Play and Bridgestone.

Yes, he had two majors, but just looking at his season, he was pretty much a non-factor for the rest of it.

Here’s where Tiger comes into my argument…what’s the ONE indelible image you have from the 2008 golf season? That putt at 18 on Sunday at Torrey Pines to send the US Open into a Monday playoff. Or the ridiculousness that was the Saturday eagle/chip-in fest, whatever, it was all such a surreal weekend, that it seemed scripted, straight out of a movie.

Compare that to the Open…a FANTASTIC 5-wood shot, Greg Norman’s douchery and bad setup decisions by the R&A. Compare that to the PGA…a great putt, a Sergio choke job and an absolute dog of a course that should be stricken from the PGA rota. I’m a golf addict, and while the PGA was exciting, these were two of the more disappointing majors I’ve seen in awhile.

Now lets look at Tiger’s year. It’s a well known fact that he only plays in tourneys with top fields. How did he finish? Demolition at the Buick, a sampler platter of all the great Tiger shots at Match Play, that putt at Bay Hill, finishing 5th at Doral, where he couldn’t putt for shit, 2nd at The Masters and then the US Open. That’s 1, 1, 1, 5, 2, 1.

Lets take a look at the money list, where in SIX events, Tiger still finished above Paddy, and 2nd overall, only behind that Crunchy Fijian. I’m sorry, but how does a guy who wins TWO majors still finish that far behind? Oh, that’s right, because he spent a large chunk of time in Europe, which doesn’t count here, and didn’t do much else.

I see the gaping holes in my argument, so don’t bother to correct me because it’s just my opinion that Tiger was the best golfer this year. The first half of this season was completely dominated by Tiger Woods, and just because he didn’t finish out the season doesn’t discount that reality. Paddy Harrington’s success was, in my opinion, like scoring the final goal of a hat trick when the opposing goalie is pulled, winning, but without the biggest obstacle in his way.

The way Tiger simply obliterated fools, on a gimpy knee no less, has to make you think that he’d have a say in those two championships, even if there’s nothing for certain. We can’t be positive that Tiger would be around the leaderboard, but his game was so outrageously immaculate in pretty much every phase that it’s hard to see him not contend. Does Paddy win with Tiger there? Who knows, but what I do know is that Paddy didn’t put up any fight when Tiger was going crazy earlier this year.

Paddy played an entire season of golf and contended less than half the time. Tiger played half a season and the lowest he finished was 5th. I have to give the nod to Tiger.

I know it sounds like I’m not a huge Padraig Harrington fan, which is partly true, I don’t find him captivating or especially fun to watch, but I don’t hate him like I hate Adam Scott and Camillo Villegas. But, if we’re giving him the trophy based on his later-half results, I’d even go as far as to argue that Anthony Kim, Vijay and Sergio Garcia were more impressive and could even make a case for Camillo based on his high finish at the British and his FedEx Cup run.

So they gave the guy who had two great weekends over the summer over a guy who dominated the entire golf landscape for the entire year, even when he wasn’t playing. Over the guy who gave us probably the greatest US Open in history and provided so many ridiculous highlights over half a year that it became routine. Excuse me if I’m sounding redundant here, but two great weekends doesn’t make an entire year especially when the rest of his year was so bland. Sorry, but I think the ball was dropped here.

Tiger gets enough love as it is, some deserved, some not, but in this case, I just don’t see a couple of historic trophies and nothing else overwhelming a half season of domination in a sport that’s almost impossible to dominate with images that no golf fan will ever forget. That’s why, in my opinion, the PGA made the wrong choice here.

Win for the Missouri Tigers over Kansas State on Saturday night
Win for the New York Jets over St. Louis on Sunday afternoon
Win for the New York Knicks over Utah Sunday afternoon
And one huge Program Of The Year win for Mizzou’s RHA.

On Friday morning, we left Mizzou with a delegation of nine people headed for the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls conference at the University of Missouri of Science & Technology. We checked in, went to a few hours of programming and then checked into our own assignments for the night. For myself, and Ryan (our PCC), Lauren (NCC) and J (advisor), we had our own socials to go to, with our respective counterparts from throughout the region.

I got to spend about an hour chatting with other RHA Presidents from about forty other schools from our region. We introduced ourselves, reviewed how our boardrooms were going to be structured the next day and then just compared how semesters were going at other schools.

As much fun as all that was, Saturday was the big day. Boardrooms abounded for Lauren, Ryan and myself in the morning, but although we got a ton of work done in my President’s boardroom, the central part of the day was my bid presentation after lunch.

Mizzou has had a rather lackluster participation in regional and national conferences in recent years, and this bid was our first serious bid in several years. The Program Of The Year award consists of a 20-page written bid about a program that your organization has put on within the past year for the residents. Then comes the presentation at the conference which includes a fifteen minute oral presentation followed by a question-and-answer session with the joint boardroom (NCCs, PCCs, NRHH reps & advisors .. roughly 200 people). In the POY presentation boardroom, the PCC has the speaking power and the school’s vote. The delegation from each school in the boardroom is allowed to converse together before a vote, but the PCC holds the final voting power. One school, one vote. Mizzou’s huge on-campus size counts the same as the 200-resident K-State Salina.

This year, there were three bids for Program of the Year. Mizzou’s bid was for our program Mizzou Iron Chef, which was a recreation of the Food Network’s hit show, Iron Chef America involving teams of student chefs paired with a Campus Dining Services sous-chef. Missouri S&T’s bid for The UnGodly Hour, a 9-session discussion about atheism and christianity. The University of Missouri-St. Louis’ bid was for their Amateur Drag Show which is exactly what the title indicates. Students cross-dressing and walking down a runway. The Mizzou bid you can find by clicking the link provided. The bids for UMSL and Missouri S&T are no longer available online, as only the winning bid remains available on the MACURH website. Although if anyone really wants to read them, I still have the PDF files on my computer.

After reading all three bids thoroughly, I felt our bid was far and away the most impressive of the bunch. I’m not a huge fan of drag shows, but UMSL’s bid was well executed and beneficial to a large number of residents. It did was a good RHA program should do for its residents .. entertain and educate. Missouri S&T’s bid looked very impressive, but after reading it I felt it was rushed, shallow and a quite honestly, a disgrace. What the program boiled down to was two friends got into a religious debate on night and decided they wanted to do that more often. So the two of them stuck up a few paper fliers, read a few articles and just argued with twenty people or so nine times. It was extremely limited in scope and not something that I would have nominated for a Regional award.

The joint boardroom for the POY presentations open with everyone (including presenters) in the boardroom and a roll call of voting schools. Nominations are then accepted for POY bids. A school that bids for Program of the Year are not guaranteed since they must be nominated. This is usually just a technicality as a school’s PCC can nominate his or her own school’s bid. And they usually do just that.

After all three bids had been nominated, the boardroom was emptied and the first presenter prepared the room for her presentation and then the session reconvened. Missouri S&T (being first alphabetically) went first while I and the UMSL presenter sat outside, not allowed to view the other presentations. After the Missouri S&T presentation, the boardroom emptied again and I set up my presentation. I started with our promotional (damn, that was the word I was looking for in my presentation .. ended up using “preview” instead) video created by our then-Speaker of Congress, Tanner Tucker and then transitioned into my killer PowerPoint presentation. After my presentation I entered into the Q&A part of the process. I felt that this was the strongest part of my presentation and the representatives obviously were passionate about our program and presentation as it was moved to extend the Q&A for further information.

After my presentation ended, I was again escorted outside of the boardroom to wait. And this is where my time in that boardroom ended. Everything else is information given to me by Ryan, Lauren and other school’s representatives that were in the boardroom. I hope to soon have the minutes from the boardroom to know exactly what went on.

After the UMSL presentation, which I’m told was okay .. not too bad but not overly impressive either .. they said the presenter seemed uneasy and somewhat unprepared, the boardroom moved into a time of discussion. This starts with a pro/con session for each bid, that start with alternating pros and cons about each program and ends with three unanswered pros or three unanswered cons. Mizzou Iron Chef was the only bid of the three that ended in three unanswered pros. After that process the boardroom was moved to an open discussion.

Let me preface this part by explaining about the representatives from Missouri S&T. They are overinvolved and very passionate about Residential Life. They pride themselves on bidding for everything and everything and are very vocal about their many wins. Add that to the fact that they hosted this particular conference made them nearly unbearable this weekend. And this boardroom sealed the deal and ruined the region’s perception of them.

One of their delegates spent over half an hour (an entire page of minutes) doing nothing but trashing Mizzou Iron Chef and Mizzou, while praising their joke of a program and pathetic bid – they used 11 quotes in their bid from five people (all students), while I used five quotes from five people (3 students, 2 faculty) .. quotes are often used to spice up a bid, but they also help take up space. Ryan then was allowed to talk and he yielded to Lauren who led with

I’ll try to only take half a page, but..

And proceeded to tear apart everything Missouri S&T had said and then tore apart Missouri S&T. I’m so proud of my NCC and PCC. After that, a boardroom that had been expected to be fairly divided turned drastically in favor of Mizzou. Or perhaps more accurately stated, turned against Missouri S&T. A clear majority is needed to win Program of the Year which probably meant somewhere around 20-25 votes. So multiple votes were expected. But only one was needed. And Mizzou won on the first count.

I sat outside the boardroom for 90 minutes for a discussion that should take fifteen. I spoke with the UMSL presenter who was back to normal dress, except for the hot pink nail polish for most of the time that the boardroom ran. We both expressed a desire to win, but a stronger desire to see Missouri S&T lose. So needless to say, when the winner was announced at the banquet (even though we were back in Columbia) I’m sure both of us were pleased, as I’m sure the majority of the region was as well.

The whole point of this post I guess was to inform everyone that MIZZOU was the recipient of the 2008 Program Of The Year Award for the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls.

The world’s largest amphibian is the giant salamander. It can grow up to 5 ft. in length.
Llll
A car traveling 100 mph would take more than 29 million years to reach the nearest star.

When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second.

Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.

A sneeze travels out your mouth at over 100 m.p.h.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails.

And As Always,my favorite……..

George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

Spent our last night in Koh Tao watching these guys twirl fire at a club on the beach. It was mind blowing. Currently sitting in our temporary place in Singapore watching the Olympics and feeling like I spent the past three months walking here. More on the arrival tomorrow. In the meantime, check these guys out by clicking the box above.

One on One with Jrue Holiday

Gatorade POY

Quit H.O.R.S.E-ng Around

In what is arguably the most revered of the WSOP titles, many of the game’s elite players are set to battle it out in hopes of winning what could be easily be considered the crown jewel of any poker player’s repertoire. With early expectations suggesting that there will be more players at this year’s tournament than in previous years, poker fans can expect the sharks to be out in full force.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Doyle Brunson as he tries to work his magic and win the newly-dedicated Chip Reese H.O.R.S.E tournament. My darkhorse pick is Andy Bloch, although I don’t think you can call him a darkhorse since he finished second to Reese in this event.

Originally the H.O.R.S.E. tournament wasn’t going to count in the Player of the Year standings, but due to the close race, the people behind the rankings decided to include it. A number of the players who are in contention for the title will be playing in this event and the WSOP’s decision to add it to the P.O.Y. race should make it even more exciting for the railbirds. This one should be a barn burner.

Quack Quack

Some players will do just about anything to win. Whether it is reading a book on game strategy or watching players do their thing online, these players are always looking for a leg-up on the competition. Fortunately for students of the game, there is a new weapon that could greatly add to their arsenal of tricks.

According to ThinkLikeAPokerPlayer.com, hypnosis is the way to elevate your poker game and they have put out a free Mp3 to attract poker players to the company’s new hypnosis poker system. In addition to the free MP3, visitors to the new site will also get details for a full poker system which includes other mind improvement techniques used by the TLAPP team.

I’m not sure about hypnosis. I always think about the movie Office Space and I start imagining that my hypno-therapist will have a heart attack and I’ll end up quacking like a duck at very inappropriate times. I have heard of people saying it works for them. Maybe I’ll download it and give it a try.

Antonius is Sick

Everyone’s favorite Finnish poker player just added to his reputation as one of poker’s bravest players. Fresh off of challenging the online world’s toughest competitors, Antonius finally received a venue for these huge match-ups. Recently acquired sponsor Full Tilt has given him several tables that offer the highest limits online. Featuring a variety of games, the tables should attract the game’s elite like moths to a flame and could end up making Antonius a very wealthy man should he succeed against his challengers.

Ante Up for Africa Celebrities Set to Do Some Good

This is the second year that Don Cheadle and his friends have put on the Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament. Taking place July 2, 2008 at the Rio in Las Vegas, this tournament will raise much-need funds that will help to raise public awareness and provide support for the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Poker fans can expect to see many of the entertainment world’s top stars as well as poker’s biggest names at this year’s event. Celebrities expected to attend include Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano, Kevin Pollack, Cheryl Hines, and George Lopez. Poker pros expected include Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, and a host of others.

One of the year’s premier charity poker tournaments, last year’s fundraiser generated more than $700,000. According to host Annie Duke, it should be an exciting night. “After the success of last year’s tournament, we are looking forward to another excinting year while raising awareness for an ongoing crisis,” said Duke in a recent press release. This year’s tournament donations are going to ENOUGH (www.enoughproject.org), a joint initiative of the International Crisis Group and the Center for American Progress and Not On Our Watch (www.notonourwatchproject.org).

Long Train Running

Yesterday’s second day of Event #33 looks like it will be the longest day of this year’s WSOP. Unfortunately, after 16 hours of play, Howard Lederer bubbled the final table, collecting $30,668 for his efforts. There are plenty of solid players left at this final table including Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, and Marcel Luske and it should make for an exciting final table. Keep an eye out for online monster Steve Sung as he could sneak one by the experienced field.

Editor’s Note: The final table of this tournament is taking place as I go to print.

Two-Timers Do It Better

“Why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series every year. It’s a skill game,” said Mike McDermot in the movie Rounders. Proof of this exists in the number of players that have made two or more final tables. Led by Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, Andy Bloch, this list consists of several players that are always in the hunt for a title. There is still plenty of action being wagered on the Player of the Year race, so expect several of these players to do just about anything to take down another bracelet.

Hey guys!

The details for Photonights is up now! Click back to:

http://photonightsforcharity.wordpress.com/

Hosted by the ladies at LoveLife Images, Jahi Chickwendiu will be the featured speaker. He was the Photographer of the Year for this year’s WHNPA Eyes of History competition and all around great guy. You should definitely try to come!!

ini adalah kisah kasih antara kita, kereta, dan mamang mbeca in mojo.. *mojokerto versi anak” alay*
kidding, it’s our first trip to mojo for poy n derder wedding.. tp bener lho ada kisah kasih kita ma mamang mbeca *logat jawa*

actor : pay, poy, puy, lolita, derder n last but not least mamang mbeca
location : jkt, mojo n bandung
the story begin,
ga seru kayaknya klo ga ada kejer” kereta klo kita yg pergi.. yup kita hampir ketinggalan kereta karna pesenan hokben kita. demi hokben rela dech ketinggalan kereta untung msh sempet tuh bawa hokben ke kereta, sambil gendong” tas, yg isinya baju, coklat, anggur, minum, makanan ringan.. hehe.. *piknik mode on*
kita, gw puy n lolita duduk nya sebelah n di gerbong yg sama, calon penganten terpisah dr kita.. hiks.. mereka pasti sedih.. trus pas ada pemeriksaan tiket, pak ici n kondekturnya nanya, turun dimana kaan..?? di jawab mojokerto, mereka bingung, ‘kayaknya kita ga lewat stasiun itu dech, ga pernah ada yg turun disana’ nah lho..?? becanda nih kondektur nya becanda.. kondekturnya aja ga tau apalagi kita.. ooo my god.. serangan panik mulai melanda.. kita emang se-kereta ma yg punya rmh nya, tp kita ga terlalu percaya ma dia secara GPS can’t installed in her n penyakit manula nya yg menahun itu yg bikin kita khawatir.. ) wkwkwk.. singkat kata singkat cerita dengan banya doa kita sampe di mojo di jemput bonyok nya poy.. trus dianter ke hotel.. nah dr sini perjalanan pay, puy n lolita menelusuri kota mojo dimulai..

*minum es teh manis dulu.. slurp.. slurp*

menurut informasi dari pak resepsionis hotel, alun” kota nya deket dr hotel n bisa ditempuh naek mbeca.. tengok kiri tengok kanan dapetlah kita mamang mbeca beserta mbeca nya tentunya.. yang katanya deket tuh alun” kok knapa kita ga sampe” ya..?? mungkin hrs di ospek tuh resepsionis deket versi dia itu segimana.. uuhh.. but it’s oke.. diperjalanan yg menyiksa itu *menyiksa buat mamang mbeca nya krn hrs ngangkut kita* nemu hal” unik dr iklan kaen pel n KFC.. betul teman” di mojo ada KFC.. sungguh suatu kehidupan yg ga kita kira ada di mojo.. =)) haha.. *sorry poy.. lu jg ga tau kan klo di mojo ada KFC*

7-10 Agustus 2009