New York City cabdriver Oleg Roitman says his nickname is “The Human Computer.”  He asks his passengers – “Tell me the date of your birth and in less than a second I will tell you which day of the week you were born.”  To prove that his answers are correct, he carries a book with calendars from 1900 to 2020.  He says passengers often pay him double what the meter reads. 

Studies show that waiters can boost their tips from 10 to 100 percent by doing any of the following:

• Lightly touching the customer
• Smiling at the customer
• Squatting next to the table
• Introducing themselves by name
• Thanking them for dining there
• Forecasting good weather
• Drawing a smiley face on the check

Joanne and I invite my Eagles Club coaching clients to stay at our Sanctuary (pictured) as part of the coaching experience.  We share our morning tea and muffins with them and take them to dinner at some of our favorite restaurants.  It’s enjoyable for us to include them in our lives as the next season of that client’s career is being developed – and that little difference creates a memorable and often life-changing experience. 

What are you doing to create that “little difference” in your work and life?  An advanced degree may do nothing to separate you from the crowd.  But what could you do today to engage your customers, clients or co-workers in a way that they will never forget? 

Could that little difference double your income next year?

The month of October seemed busy enough, and it just flew by! The Saturday before Hallowe’en was the Harvest Family Dinner and Dance in Port Rowan, put on by the Long Point Lions Club at the Port Rowan Community Centre. I have taken my kids to this event since the oldest was about 4 or 5 years old. Everyone can wear a costume and take part in the judging parade which usually kicks off about 7 p.m. My oldest has won first prize for the last 2 years. This year, he’s 14. He ran back to the table after his age group was called and announced, “I’m undefeated!!” He didn’t mention that he was the only entrant…..! LOL Always a laugh at that dance!

This year for Halloween I stayed to hand out the treats. There was a noticable decline in visitors compared to last year, which was a zoo. I know I had enough treats for 100 tricker-treaters last year, and I ran out by 9. This year I only prepared for 60, and I just handed out the last one at 9. The seasonal dampness may have discouraged the usual numbers from turning out – oh well!

November 4th the contractors arrived at my house at 3:30 p.m. to start on my carport. It very badly needed to be re-roofed but I put it off for 2 years while debating whether or not to convert the existing structure into a garage, raise the carport so I can actually park underneath it, or tear it off the house alltogether and use the extra parking that way. Since it is the only structure partially sheltering the front end of our van and the family of bicycles and lawn-mowers, I finally committed to having the carport raised 18 inches and re-roofed.

Rob and son-in-law, ripping the roof completely off, dumping debris and rotted plywood boards into their trailer, parked IN-side the carport.

They only stayed 2 hours and never returned until Sunday, where they began hammering, sawing, and drilling at 9:30 a.m. and never stopped until 9:30 that night, and then only because, reportedly, they blew a lightbulb in the floodlight, or they probably would have continued until midnight!!! Who knows??!

My tiny front lawn was converted into a temporary parking lot for the next week and a half!

Debris from years of bird’s nests came crashing down when the header on the front of the roofing was removed. All I could say was “wow” and “don’t anybody walk through that”.

The view of the outer wall of the carport, from within the structure, facing away from the house. You can see where the contractor build a sub-frame right ontop of the existing framework. Those timbers were not torn down due to the fact that the original builder had set the side-supports right into the horizontal supporting beam.

This shows how much the roofline was raised by 18 inches. New sheets of “chip board” were laid over the trusses before shingling, instead of what I was expecting: actual “plywood”. Jeff is telling me however, that plywood is extraordinarily expensive. Well, all I can say is I hope those shingles never leak!

Would I reccommend this particular outfit to others looking to remodel/reconstruct? Hmm, I don’t think so. As far as the shingling and trimming goes, it looks good. As far as meeting my expectations go, not quite. Also, eavestroughing was not replaced and, even though I was reassured by phone that they would get around to completing that, I’m not holding my breath. I also told them that they caved in the roof of the storage shed attached to it, either by standing on it to work on the trusses or by dropping heavy objects on it, either way it has to be repaired to the way it was before they touched the structure. Still WAITING!!

During all that hammering and drilling, I was fortuneate enough to get 2 full weeks of work within my 4 part-time jobs. Thus, I had worked the last 4 weeks, every day, some days 6 hours, some days 8 and still others 12 hours due to the fact that I can be given longer hours at the liquor store depending on the weekend…..and the weather. I had been sick for 3 out of the 4 weeks in October, so the work was really patchy, until these last 3 weeks. I took part of last week to clean the house and move furniture to prepare for a new double-recliner while yanking the old, worn-out over-stuffed blue mult-coloured full-sized couch, OUT the front door. (You truly feel like a red neck when…..there’s an old crappy couch awaiting cartage to the dump-site on your front lawn.)

And here it is, November 23, the month almost over and I am waaaaayyyy behind on this blog. My middle child turned 11 on the 20th and we had to celebrate it with an all-girl sleep-over birthday party, with an outing to the movies in Brantford at Galaxy. We saw Planet 51, then returned to the house here for still more food, more pop, and the party went on til 3:38 a.m., when I, in an extremely sleep-deprived state, shut it down. They slept until 11 a.m., little wonder! 

Happy 11th, baby girl!

A group of women in Southeastern Senegal pooled their money, bought 25 sheep for $35 each, now selling their largest ones for around $165, in their latest business project, called Operation Tabaski… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: development. The blog is also related to: elementary school.

Properties near the best performing primary schools in England can cost 19,500 more than homes elsewhere, research finds…. From BBC News. Full story

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The KKK is sure doing a lot of protesting and marching this past week.

 For a racist organization who routinely mocks the marches,protest, and boycotts organized by the Reverend Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton that they pattern after the Civil Rights protest organized by the late Rev.Martin Luther King,Jr. , they sure are acting a lot like the legendary iconic African-American freedom fighters, with all of their marching and protesting this week.

The protest staged by Dr. King  proved to be  effective in defeating the Klan in the 60’s.

The Klan,just this past week, held two days worth of rallies in Kennett,Missouri in protest of the Heather Ellis versus Wal-Mart case.

http://jerrybrice.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/the-kkk-and-wal-mart-in-memphis-join-forces-and-support-a-15-year-sentence-for-cutting-in-line-down-in-dixieland/

…and on Saturday they held a rally outside the Ole Miss vs. LSU game in protest of Ole Miss dropping  the lyrics and fight song ”Dixie”  from being chanted at their games.

Chancellor Dan Jones had ordered students to stop chanting the homage to the states racist past. After they continued chanting, he ordered the song From Dixie with Love to cease being played.

The Ku Klux Klan came out to rally in lieu of the chant “The South Will Rise Again.”

The medley, combining “Dixie” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was often followed by shouts of “The South shall rise again.”…reports the UPI.

Charise Van Horn of the Examiner.com reports…Chancellor Jones sent an address to the student body of the University of Mississippi. It reads, “We cannot even appear to support those outside our community who advocate a revival of segregation. Consequently, I have asked the band not to play ‘From Dixie with Love’ at upcoming athletics events. The absence of this song will send a clear message that the university is neither facilitating nor indirectly condoning the chant.” The order to stop playing the song, From Dixie with Love, was issued on November 17, 2009 to stop playing the song.(http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m11d21-Ku-Klux-Klan-protest-at-University-of-Mississippi-over-the-South-will-rise-again-photos-video)

The counter protesters outnumbered the klan 10-1 on Saturday, and their ranks included faculty,staff,students, citizens, and alumnae.

They all read  the student creed aloud, including a call for belief in “the dignity of each person.”

“Our major concern was to show that this is what we stand for as a university,” said Artair Rogers, the Associated Student Body president.

Ole Miss, fueled by the insults from the klan, defeated the game LSU 25-23 in the historic rivalry.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/10404452/No.-10-LSU’s-late-confusion-boost-for-Ole-Miss

From the looks of things, the klan needed to be on the sideline helping the LSU coach manage his time a lot better than he did, with those last three plays, as he messed up an easy field goal kick with his loopy clock management and ultra-strange play calling at the end.

I mean,LSU fans…didn’t you expect your team to kick a game winning field goal with that last play, rather than the one they ran to lose the game? …Seemed to me to be a pretty easy play to call, and you would have won that game.

I think, as I have been pondering that play all night,…maybe, just maybe, the LSU coach did not want to actually win the game, as it would have been celebrated as a win for the Klan, instead of what it would have been, just a win against Ole Miss.

Who knows, but that had to be the case, because that call was just as bad as the one coach Bill Belicheck made last week, to lose the game against Indy and Peyton Manning….it had to be something like that!

The Klan will never learn.They always support the losing side, and the failed causes like racism and the defeated and humiliated Confederacy that their ancestors supported with their lives.

Many of their ancestors did foolishly in their futile attempt to preserve slavery here in America, and if the scorched earth of General Sherman’s march did not convince them, them they all are truly ignorant and insane.

I watched this game between these two great institutions that at one time denied black players a chance to compete on their teams,…but all that is in the past.

Someone needs to let the klan know that.

The Grand Dragon of the Klan Shane Tate stated that …”We aren’t coming there to cause problems or cause trouble. Trouble has already been caused by a handful at Ole Miss, including the black student body president, who wants to shape Ole Miss into yet another liberal sodomite college.”

What is a sodomite college…together these words mean nothing!…I find this statement to be whimsical and nonsensical, much like gibberish.

Gibberish sounds like a fair  description of the Klan.

Follow the story here…

http://www.examiner.com/x-17321-AfricanAmerican-Sports-Examiner~y2009m11d22-KKK-used-the-Ole-Miss-vs-LSU-football-game-as-platform-for-protest

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/11/21/Counter-protest-outnumbers-KKK-at-Ole-Miss/UPI-42151258850426/

Scotland is gearing up for what promises to be another record breaking Children in Need fundraising day on the 20th of November.

pudsey bear

After getting past the £2 million mark for the first time last year, efforts are being increased across the country to try to raise the money-making bar even higher.

The BBC’s charity is now in its 29th year and has raised over half a billion pounds for underprivileged children in the UK.

Every penny counts towards giving a child a better future, so whether you sit in a bath of baked beans to raise money, get your legs waxed or cycle over 10,000 miles like Mark Beaumont, every effort is appreciated by Pudsey bear and his team.

going through the pain barrier for Children in Need

“We are overwhelmed by the support of people right across the UK every year as we know that for many people these are difficult times,” said a spokesman.

“The generosity and commitment shown last year which helped us raise £36 million allowed us to make a difference in many young lives.

“We thank all of the people across the country who have organised or are participating in a fundraising event for your amazing efforts.”

Edinburgh student run charity, Children’s Holiday Venture received a £2000 grant from Children in Need in September of this year and are reaping the benefits now.

Claire Austin, the charity’s vice president was delighted to receive the funding: “It was a fantastic boost to get such a generous sum.

“It is really going a long way with helping the children as we help greater numbers in better ways.

“We all enjoy our regular swimming trips but we now have better opportunities to go on day trips which are more fun and educational.”

She added: “The work Children in Need do each year goes such a long way to helping so many charities like us around the UK and the support the receive from the public is fantastic.

“We can’t thank everyone who helps enough for their generous donations.”

The live telethon starts at 7 o’clock on BBC 1 so tune in for all sorts of fundraising fun.

If you want to get involved the check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/news/map.shtml to find out what’s happening in your area.

My Amelie vs. Garden State post has been exceptionally popular this past week. It garnered a month’s unique views in the past 7 days. Someone must be doing a project about it or something.

Not related, to my mind I can’t see how raising the drinking age to 19 will reduce alcohol-related violence. I’m not even pretending to be an expert in the field, but I imagine that doing this would only raise the amount of illegal drinking as 18 year olds become the new 17 year olds. You may reduce some cases of violence as 18 year olds stay at home (but I wonder how much, as a proportion, 18 year olds are involved in the reported violence compared to, say, 20 and over). But you will simply have 18 year olds getting drunk at home. And, without a barman or a RSA-trained person in their company they will likely drink to excess. And doesn’t drinking too much over a prolonged period of time cause as many problems to society as the violence we hear about?

May it not be a better idea to lower the drinking age to, say, 16 but the purchasing of alcohol itself stays at 18 or raise it to 19. That way, people aren’t drinking at home, in secret and causing all sorts of problems, and the person who is doing the purchasing is now responsible for the peoples drinking. And it would take away the whole ‘wonder’ of hitting 18 and going  out to get smashed. The person will have been drinking for some 2 years already – the fact that they can now buy it doesn’t actually change much.

I understand that lowering the drinking age doesn’t eliminate at-home drinking, but perhaps allowing 16 year olds to partake in drinking in public will increase the moderation of their intake. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are medical ramifications to drinking during a key development stage. And I’m happy to hear them and defer to experts. But I would also like to see studies that reflect what impact alcohol has on the brain and body at certain levels which could be the new ‘legal limit’.

Adjustments to the law are not going to stop binge drinking bar a limit on the amount of alcohol someone can buy per hour. People will do so long as they can get alcohol. It has to be a cultural change – the idea that being drunk is acceptable and encouraged needs to go. Maybe by introducing drinking at a somewhat lower age, exposing teenagers to alcohol and all the myths earlier might, in fact, dispel the myths and the attractive ideas of being a binge drinker or drinking to excess.

Other than something like this, it’s either status quo or a massive shake-up of Australian culture. Treating alcohol much like cigarettes and tobacco, and banning advertising, sponsorship, slapping on disgusting labels, etc. That’s the only real other option to changing things as I see it.

Thomas.

More than 1,200 items from the homes of late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge are being auctioned in Paris…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: fashion famous. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: couture fashion.

Japanese electronics giant Hitachi says it plans to raise up to 416bn yen ($4.6bn) in order to cut its debts…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: sendai japan. The blog is also related to: okinawa japan.

Plans to raise a WWII German submarine from the seabed off Malin Head are dropped by Derry City Council…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: city populous. The blog is also related to: city codes.

Plans to raise a WWII German submarine from the seabed off Malin Head are dropped by Derry City Council…. From BBC News. Full story

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Sudan Special Envoy, NSC staffer hear invited guests challenges on the slow pace of halting mass atrocities… From VOA. Full story

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So after 8-9 weeks of scope changes and concept brainstorming & lots of process.. this is “sorta” the end-of-year final video piece I made in the Digital Design program at Vancouver Film School. There are some glitches & some refinements still to be fixed. The concept/brief was to create a 1min. story-based info-graphic commericla for a fake charity organization that sends footballs as a symbol to help under-privileged African children from the daily threats posed on them.
Please comments & critiques welcome…
Thank You,

(a larger version of the video can be seen by clicking here)

Today’s suggestion for changing the world was to get involved in Foundations for change. The suggestion was to set up a foundation or to try and get involved in one, perhaps by becoming a trustee/board member.

Hmmm, there are of course many foundations that one could possibly get involved in. You have a very wide choice, from environmental causes, to health and medical foundations, educational foundations, etc.

I have a very personal reason to get involved in a foundation and that in relation to diabetes research. My most important friend has severe diabetes and died very young. I have a small online memorial set up for here at:

http://respectance.com/Rebecca_Therese_Morris

I have a strong desire to set up some sort of foundation to help raise funds for diabetes research. I have no idea if this desire will ever eventuate into a reality – but it is something I will never forget about wanting to do at the very least.

Some day – some how – some time. That is what I want to achieve here.

For another foundation type idea have a look at this site:

http://www.youthbank.org/

This seems like a good idea – doesn’t appear to be such a thing in Australia.

A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton

Twin White supremacist from Illinois mailed a bomb to an Arizona official responsible for recruiting and hiring minorities in the town of Scottsdale,Arizona, according to federal prosecutor.

In indictment unsealed in July, Dennis and Daniel Mahon were charged with conspiring to blow up buildings and property in an attempt to ”promote racial discord” on behalf of the White Aryan Resistance known as WAR.

WAR is a white supremacist organization founded by Tom Metzger more than a quarter century ago. I guess I can not join…

Metzger is well-known in Southern California as having been a leading member of the KKK, along with his son. He used to reside in Fallbrook,California,where he and his kind were welcomed into the community with open arms.

This quote is from Wikipedia…. During the 1970s he joined the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which was led by David Duke, eventually becoming the Grand Dragon for the State of California. In summer 1979, he organized a patrol to capture illegal Mexican immigrants south of Fallbrook, California. Metzger’s Klan organization also had a security force which was involved in confrontations with anti-Klan protesters….

Metzger hosts a weekly radio talk show called Insurgent Radio, on the Internet-based Turner Radio Network (not affiliated with the Turner Broadcasting System).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Metzger

During the investigation  federal agents also raided the Indiana home of the longtime white separatist Tom Metzger, removing computers and other items, but not arresting him.

On Feb.26,2004, the package exploded in the hands of Don Logan at the Human Resources Complex in Scottsdale.In addition to injuring Logan’s hand and arm,a secretary was wounded.

When police arrived at the home of the suspects ,they found assault weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and White supremacist material, authorities said.

MSNBC reports that…the indictment says the brothers conspired to build and deliver the bomb to the diversity office, taught others how to build a package containing a pipe bomb, and sent training materials on the production and use of explosives, techniques to avoid detection by law enforcement, and methods to commit domestic terrorism.

The indictment also says Dennis Mahon participated in the construction of the bomb, disguising it in a cardboard box that was delivered to the diversity office and exploded in Logan’s hands.

Here is a link to the full indictment received on July 16,2009…

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/indictment.pdf

This is  the mission statement from the Scottsdale,Arizona office of diversity….Diversity and Dialogue develops and sponsors trainings, services, programs, and events that create work and community environments where differences are valued, respected, and embraced.  This is achieved through a diversity initiative that addresses education, employee relationships, recruitment, hiring, procurement, community outreach, and deliberative dialogue.

The Office of Diversity & Dialogue serves as a central point of contact for citizens and employees to address diversity matters. The objective is to ensure that there is objectivity in reviewing and evaluating these concerns.

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/HR/diversity.asp

The KKK, skinheads,neo Nazis and Neocon Republicans are disgusted by diversity and freedom for all the races,and they are not interested in intellectual dialogue about it.The opposite is true for them.

Their goal is to create hatred between the races,and they prey on the weak-minded fools that follow them and carry out the actions that their leaders only speak about. Their ignorance is blind,and their actions are even more shortsighted.

That is how they abuse their freedom of speech, but are immune to any form of prosecution unless law enforcement can directly connect them to providing some sort of aid or assistance in their terrorist acts.

Their White Power movement is our number one threat domestically here in the United States.

During the Persian Gulf War in 1991,Dennis  Mahon organized a small rally in Tulsa in support of our enemy Saddam Hussein.

“Terrorism works,” he added.

 “We did a lot of terrorism in Tulsa in the 1980s. We put heads in the road, and people paid attention. You have to give it to the Iraqis, they’re putting us to shame right now. I mean, I hate those cock-sucking towel heads, but they’re showing us how it’s done.”

Dennis Mahon also talked about destroying the nation’s capital. “You nuke D.C., you’re going to wipe out most of the politicians, plus a couple million crack head niggers,” he said.

The quotes above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these two social miscreants. They hate just to hate.

They obviously hate themselves.

For more details of the bigot boys, click on the source here…

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/06/26/feds-indict-white-supremacists-in-arizona-bombing/#more-3221

Please report all suspicions you may have if you suspect someone of plotting domestic terrorism.Call your local authorities, and get them off of the street.This past weeks tragedy at Fort Hood and the rampage in Florida illustrates to our citizens that some of the worst among us, will turn their weapons on US, in an attempt to destroy our union here in the states, and we should not tolerate such actions, or plans for such actions, for not even a moment.

Beware of anyone, especially those on fake news channels or talk radio programs that step over the boundaries of free speech, into sedition followed by a treasonist acts. 

 These people and announcers are all involved in a conspiracy to topple the great United States of America, and their goal is to destroy us from within. If it discovered that the immigrant Rupert Murdoch is at the head of the sponsorship of any form of domestic terrorism, then I call for his assets to be frozen, and for him to be deported, if not detained in Guantanamo Bay as an active terrorist.

If they close that facility, then just deport him, after he gives up the list of names of the rest of his cohorts involved in the conspiracy against American freedom.

These twin terrorist are just at the tip of the iceberg.

Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck know who their audience is, and two of their followers,the Mahon twins, have been caught in this sweep by the protectors of our freedom. I suggest that all involved in the conspiracy need to be incarcerated along with the twin terrorist.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31555311

London the heart of Europe’s finances has taken a hard hit in the global financial crash. The question is, will she ever fly like Phoenix again?

An industry’s key success factors (KSFs) are those things that most affect the ability of industry members to prosper in the marketplace—the particular strategy elements, product attributes, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities, and business outcomes that spell the difference between profit and loss. Key success factors concern what every industry member must be competent at doing or concentrate on achieving in order to be competitively and financially successful. KSFs are so important that all firms in the industry must pay them close attention—they are the prerequisite for industry success. The aswers to three questions help indentify an industry’s key success factors:

• On what basis do customers choose between the competing brands of sellers?
• What must a seller do to be competitively successful—what resources and competitive capabilities does it need?
• What does it take for sellers to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage?

Determining the industry’s key success factors is a top priority. At the very least, managers need to understand the industry situation well enough to know what is more important to competitive success and what is less important. They need to know what kinds of resources are valuable. Misdiagnosing the industry factors critical to long-term competitive success greatly raises the risk of a misdirected strategy—one that over-emphasizes less important competitive targets and under-emphasizes more important competitive capabilities. On the other hand, a company with perceptive understanding industry KSFs can gain substantial competitive advantage by training its strategy on industry KSFs and devoting its energies to being better than rivals on one or more of these factors. Indeed, KSFs represent golden opportunities for competitive advantage—companies that stand out on a particular KSF enjoy a stronger market position for their efforts. Hence using one or more of the industry’s KSFs as cornerstones for the company’s strategy and trying to gain sustainable competitive advantage by excelling at one particular KSF is a fruitful approach.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Lectures, Line of Sight

Raise or Die

Problema: Tenemos al maníaco a nuestra izquierda. Estamos vendidos. Vete pensando en cambiar de mesa o bien elige todavía mejor las cartas con las que vas a jugar. A nadie le gusta que un maníaco te eche de la mesa PERO recuerda amigo por lo que estas jugando al poker y cual debe ser tu actitud.

PD: tengo una gran entrada para el blog pero hoy me da pereza, mañana tal vez la reutilice xD

Been coming across some stories lately about God raising the dead and I thought you might be interested in reading/watching:

Dead Raised
In April we had a mission trip in route to Tecate, Mexico who happened across an accident just north of Los Angeles. A vehicle had blown its front tire and then plunged into the concrete divider in the median. The team was the second car on the scene and began to ask all the passengers involved if they were okay. As they went from one person to the next they came across a 9 month old baby who had been thrown from the car. He was laying face down across the lap of a lady who informed them that he was not breathing. The mother was crying out for her child and gave the team permission to pray. Finding no pulse or breath they began to command the baby back to life calling him by name (Albert). After a few minutes he twitched. He twitched again and fluttered his eyes. From that point on he began to breath and was in and out of consciousness. By the time the paramedics arrived he was alive and very mad about his new oxygen mask. Meanwhile the mother had given her life to Christ and the team had left; just another day in the Kingdom!

Fish Raised from the Dead
“Michael Addis of Columbus, Ohio said, “I am not a fisherman, but I now have my  own ‘fish story’ from God.” On Labor Day evening, he promised his youngest son they would get a couple more fish for their aquarium. Ten minutes after he released the fish into the tank, one went belly up. His seven-year-old son was very upset. Michael said, “Ian, it’s OK. That will be my fish.” Five minutes later, the fish was still floating. His wife said, “Maybe we should flush him down the toilet.” Michael said, “No, I still have my receipt. Maybe we can get our money back.”

Then righteous anger rose up in him, and he said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, live!”

Then righteous anger rose up in him, and he said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, live!” And he touched the fish and it jolted up and across the tank. Two of the kids saw it happen.

The last time he prayed for a pet fish (many years ago), it took him two hours to raise the fish from the dead.”*

Man Raised From Dead

May 9,2008

This testimony is from Michael Proctor of Elisha’s Request Ministries in Washington:

Greg, a man on our ministry team (healing rooms director in Bremerton), had been ministering to an unsaved man who had been in the hospital. Greg arrived at the man’s room in a rehab center, and the man was not in his bed.  At 5 p.m. the man was found breathless and pulseless (no vital signs) in the restroom. They pulled him into the room where the staff verified no signs of life. Paramedics arrived at 5:15 (brain death/damage occurs within about 5 minutes with no vital signs) and began resuscitation efforts, with little hope of success. Greg prayed as he followed the ambulance to the hospital. Forty minutes had passed since the man had been clinically dead, when suddenly he opened his eyes, fully awake and coherent! Greg was able to go to his room where he was admitted to the hospital and led him to the Lord. The man went home to heaven later that night.

Raised From The Dead

July 21,2009A child was raised from the dead after drowning in a pool.  The child had been under a long time and they were trying to resuscitate; there were believers praying and declaring life!  It was on the front page of the local newspaper.

Resurrection Life came to another person.  People were praying for here (but not in the room.) The person died on the table during surgery and the OR staff were  cleaning up and the person came back to life!  Yeah God!  Many were praying for this person.*

Here’s a long one about a woman being raised. Read it here if you’d like because it’s quite long to post up here.

It’s stories like all fo these that I can’t wait to see God do in front of me and stories like these that cause me continually try to pray for people’s healings, even when I don’t see anything. Actually, we had some dude speak out SAU chapel awhile back about kidney problems. Some friends and I went to pray for him. It’s initially a bit hard to ask, but once you finally get the faith to walk up to that person, sometimes you randomly get more courage than ever to pray.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks.

The new law adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes. Gay-rights activists voiced hope that the Obama administration would advance more issues, including legislation to bar workplace discrimination, allow military service and recognize same-sex marriages.

Congress passed the hate crimes protections as an unlikely amendment to this year’s Defense Authorization Act. In a signing ceremony in the White House East Room , Obama said that the gay rights protections represented a “long-awaited change” that would protect people who are victimized because of “who they love . . . or who they are.”

Legislation barring firms from firing employees on the basis of their sexual orientation could win passage in the House of Representativesby year’s end, gay-rights advocates said. More than half of U.S. states currently allow employers such freedom.

Obama has promised to push Congress to repeal the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that prohibits being openly gay while serving. A Senate panel is expected to hold a hearing on that issue next month, and legislation could be debated next year.

Gay-rights activists also hope for repeal next year of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which would give federal legitimacy to gay marriagesrecorded in states that allow them.

The amendment signed into law Wednesday was named partly for Matthew Shepard , a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who died after a 1998 beating targeting him because he was gay, and whose parents were instrumental in leading the fight for such legislation. The law also was named for James Byrd Jr. , a black Texas man dragged to his death in a racially motivated killing the same year.

The measure also extends protections to those attacked because of their gender or disability.

… so I finally got the “you’re hired” email from my gov’t agency.  And at first I was so ridiculously excited.  And then reality hit.  I’m going to take a paycut.  See, I thought I made 1500 less than I really do.  So when I replied to the email with my current salary, I low-balled it.  On top of that, what they offered me last year is 7k less than I make now.  Ugh.  I cant take a paycut.  It would make things so difficult.

Before I left for the day, I was able to find out that, if anything, I’ll probably get about 2.9% above the ridiculous first offer.  So that takes it to about a 5k paycut.  5k is… hmm, do-able.  But still hard.  And still stupid.

And then I have my father and my husband telling me that this is a great thing, and that the insurance alone is worth the paycut.  And on top of that I have job security of the highest degree, as well as awesome retirement and, oh yeah, automatic raises as long as I can sustain a pulse.

*sigh*  I  really should take this.  I really should.  I just really really hope that the dude I talked to today can work some serious magic.