I am walking to the train for my weekly salsa-lesson. The rain is falling, it is soft and beautiful.
I look up towards the streetlamp, lo and behold: a silly moth is playing suicidal games as it is zigzag flying in the rain.

I try to catch it, but no.

I suspect the moth will reach the light of its choice one way or the other.

Been a long week. Hope you all have been great and enjoying the school holidays!

Yesterday, after studying, I decided to take an eye break by looking out of the window (very important to do that, especially children who read a lot of books and spends long hours on the computrer, protect your eyes!), and to my horror, I saw this!

Children playing on top of walkway shelter

Can you imagine! These boys are about primary 3 and 4, climbing out from car parks and running around on top of the walk way shelter! It is dangerous enough but thankfully yesterday wasn’t a wet day, or else they would easily lose their footing and injure themselves.

Of cos, I had to do something about it instead of just looking at them waiting for one of them to fall down. So I went down and told them nicely (but firmly) that it is not right to climb so high to play up there. Needless to say, I had to explain to them the dangers of their actions and the consequences it entails if one of them falls and breaks his legs. I’m pretty glad these kids listened and went on to play at the playground instead. =)

I guess boys being boys will occassionally have a naughty streak and do something that I really risky and dangerous. But there is a difference between being risky and being adventurous, you need to see what are the consequences if something bad happens halfway. It is always good to have an adult around when younger kids attempts some of the items in the playgroup like the monkey bar or the high wall. Be safe not sorry!

Thats all for now, enjoy your holidays!

Signing off

Marco the Adventurer! Be safe, not sorry! =)

Story in the UK Daily Mail. (H/T Suzanne at Big Blue Wave)

Excerpt:

A toxicology expert from the Forensic Science Service, which analyses evidence for the police, told the Mail he had come across only one sample of blood or urine containing Rohypnol – the most commonly talked about ‘date-rape’ drug – in the past decade.

‘The reality is drink spiking is very, very rare’, said senior forensic scientist Michael Scott-Ham. ‘Alcohol itself is the problem.’

A controversial study, published last week, claimed drink spiking is an ‘urban myth’, a modern scapegoat for a generation of women who cannot face the fact that the vast amounts of alcohol many are imbibing could be in any way responsible for a loss of control, which can have devastating consequences.

‘Something very curious is going on,’ says Dr Adam Burgess, who spent a year researching the issue at the University of Kent’s school of social policy for a project funded by the British Academy.

‘How can you account for this great big gap between lack of any evidence for drink spiking and what so many women believe is going on?

‘There’s a displacement exercise going on here. Why, despite all the evidence, do women so readily blame the spiker rather than the amount of alcohol they are drinking? That is the real issue here.’

[...]Could it be that women instinctively feel that if they admit to themselves how much they had drunk they would also be admitting they were somehow to blame for putting themselves at risk?

Believing your drink was spiked transfers the blame to a malevolent, external force, something which women have no control over. It shifts responsibility.

[...]Dr Burgess and his team interviewed 236 women at three universities in Kent, Sussex and London during 2006 and 2007.

They sought to investigate students’ knowledge of ‘date rape’ drugs, whether they or someone they knew had been a victim and whether they had changed their behaviour in relation to the perceived threat.

And consider closely how the attitudes of these women diverge from reality, such that they perceive themselves as helpless victims, even though they are in fact directly responsible for their own misfortunes.

Only ten out of the 236 claimed to have experienced drink spiking personally and none had been subject to sexual assault.

Yet 55 per cent claimed to have known someone whose drink had been spiked.

But among respondents, 75 per cent believed having a drink spiked with drugs was a more significant risk factor for sexual assault than drinking alcohol or taking drugs, despite the fact that police believe the opposite is true.

Another pivotal study offers further evidence that alcohol is the drug to be guarded against.

The study, conducted by the Forensic Science Service in 2005, examined 1,014 cases of ‘drug facilitated sexual assault’ by analysing blood and urine samples from victims gathered by police forces in England and Wales.

In only 21 – about 2 per cent – were traces of drugs found that the women had not taken voluntarily.

These included Ecstasy, gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB) and tranquillisers. Alcohol was picked up in 46 per cent of cases. Illegal drugs such as cannabis and cocaine were in 34 per cent of cases.

Suzanne, who is pro-life, adds:

I am certain that massive amounts of alcohol consumption contributes to abortions in this country.

If you’re a woman who drinks large amounts of alcohol around strange men looking to score, you’re placing yourself in danger. That is the reality.

Unfortunately, people have a strange way of denying reality.

[...]You are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of your actions. Doing something stupid under the influence of alcohol is one of them. That’s obvious. So don’t get drunk.

Well said!

My previous article on women behaving irresponsibly is here. An article from Laura of Pursuing Holiness also talked about the danger of women refusing to take responsibility for their own choices. Her article has a lot of scary examples. And a previous post that documents how leniently women are treated when committing domestic violence is here. According to the best available research, women commit acts of domestic violence at about the same rate as men, even though male victims are almost never recognized by social services.

103109_Risky, originally uploaded by Erica365.

Theme: Risky

Theme: Costumes

Ahh- Trick-or-Treat! Max was weighing the advantages of getting candy versus having to walk through all of the scary decor. He ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth the risk. His cousin, Candy Corn Carly, however, marched right on up without hesitation to clain her treat.

All the kids in their costumes- Max’s oldest cousin Joe (13) as the Joker, Max dressed as “Dark” Vader (you know, Darth’s less famous younger brother), and Max’s other cousin, Carly (7) as a little Candy Corn Princess or something (who cares- she was cute as a button!).

URL : http://www.flashgame-girl.com/Sports/Risky-Rider-2.html

Game description :

Take daring jumps and reach the sky! Get your bike as hight as possible, beat all the levels and become the ultimate extreme sports showman! You’ll need to fine tune your bike for each new challenge or you won’t make it!

Game controls :

Up Arrow Key – Speed Up.
Down Arrow Key – Brake.
Z, X, C, V, B – Tricks.

Though I’m aware that everyone has been affected by the economic downturn, I feel that nonprofits have an even greater responsibility to maintain conservative fiscal policy and stewardship of the trusts they maintain.

But apparently, even the “little guys” tried their luck at new securities thinking that dividends would take care of the rest.

This was not the case and resulted in one institution with bond payments of $800,000 yearly or 12% of the annual budget.

We are all tired of hearing about the backlash of the economy, and this is just even more disappointing, considering it’s the sector that’s supposed to be focused on service to the community. Isn’t there anyone left in finance who can smell a rat?

URL : http://www.flashgame-girl.com/Sports/Risky-Rider.html

Game description :

Take daring jumps and reach the sky! Get your bike as high as possible, beat all the levels and become the ultimate extreme sports showman. You’ll need to fine tune your bike for each new challenge or you won’t make it.

Game controls :

Up Arrow Key – Speed Up.
Down Arrow Key – Brake.
Spacebar / X / C / V – Tricks.

Check out Risky from the hit show Real Chance of Love and Charm School on the cover of Urban Ink, she has been making huge strides in the industry. She is showing the girls that she has a game plan and she is going for her’s!! Risky keep doing ya thang!!! I rep hard for my ATL people and follow ya boi www.twitter.com/sen1989.  Now I see why they say nothing is like Risky bizness LOL

Everyone follow Risky on twitter at www.twitter.com/riskybizness23

If something is “close to being indecent” it is risque’.

If something is “hazardous” it is risky.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of Risky’s unfortunate passing.  I kept quite busy but throughout the day remembered what I was doing at that time two years ago.

There is no other like Risky. Five too-short years was all that we had together. Grief no longer leaves me torn but the sorrow will probably always be in that place that she made in my heart.

I am still bitter about the staff at the emergency hospital who lied to me about their mistakes. They will never again be let to treat one of my cats. I’d much rather have a cat die at home than to be killed in that strange cold noisy place where inexperienced staff are let to do as they wish. My baby was not a lab animal, but was treated like one. I can only pray that if another urgent illness happens among my felines, that there is a doctor on call at their regular hospital.

Poor little Risky!  Such a bruiser but insecure-she had to be reassured that she was loved.  She hated unfamiliar circumstances, preferring the routine of home.  A giant wimp when out to the vet, or when I’d try to harness her for walks in the yard.  To be left in that place, where I wasn’t let to be with her, must have torn her up.  I believe that that, too, contributed to her passing.  Poor little kitty-girl.

I don’t get it. The offside trap is one of the most difficult defensive strategies to implement successfully, yet I see coach after coach yelling at their young players to play an offside trap, especially on free kicks inside the offensive third. My recommendation is that no teams U14 and under should ever employ this tactic. I would even question if older teams should employ it. It is simply too risky and more often than not will lead to more and better scoring opportunities for the other team. These are some reasons why the offside trap is a bad idea:

• It takes precise defensive coordination to apply an offside trap. All players must be on the same page and must know and when and when not to push up to put the offense in an offside opposition. Invariably, one or more defensive players will not move up which will keep an offensive player onside. Professional players have a hard enough time playing an offensive trap. Just don’t do it!
• You assume the assistant referee (if there is one) will call the offside correctly. Oftentimes at the younger age groups, the assistant referees (ARs) are just a few years older than the players and they are just learning to be referees. Many of the young ARs don’t follow the second-to-last defender so they will not be in a good position to call the offside. In addition, calling the offside correctly is one of the most difficult calls to make in soccer given the new interpretation of the offside law. Just don’t do it!
• The new offside law makes it OK for an offensive player to be in an offside if they are not playing the ball or are not directly involved in the play. This makes the call of the AR that much more difficult and uncertain. Just don’t do it!

Offensive Strategy

If you are fortunate enough to be playing a team which believes in the offside trap, count your blessings and count on more scoring opportunities. The best way to counter an offside trap is to:

• Test the offside trap. The defense needs to be well-coordinated to pull off a successful offside trap. Test them early in the game to see how well they do. If you have several offside calls made against you, so what.
• Kick the ball across the field into open space. The player the defense is least worried about is the opposite winger. As long as that winger is alert and has some speed, they will get plenty of scoring opportunity.
• Confuse the defenders. Have an offensive player stand in an offside position. The defense will become pre-occupied with that player and will often forget the whereabouts of other players. As long as this player does not play the ball or is not involved in the play, she will not be called for an offside infraction. A few offside calls against you will be well worth the confusion this player generates. If the referee and AR are calling this player offside when she is not, abandon this idea.
• If a player is in an offside position and the ball is passed her way, have her stand like a statue or simply turn away from the ball. This indicates to the referee and AR that she has no intention of playing the ball. Good referees and ARs will not whistle this infraction. While the defenders and other coach are appealing for a call, have another offensive player from an onside position, chase after the ball. Use good referees and ARs to your advantage.

Infomation: The latest installment of Risky Rider Game. You have to advance through difficult courses using your motorcycle.
How to play: Up Arrow Key – Accelerate.
Left / Right Arrow Keys – Lean.
Down Arrow Key – Brake / Move backward.

Risky_Rider_4

Risky Laundry

Submitted by: JessieAdair via Engrish Funny Submissions

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