Thanksgiving. Endless food. Rivalry football games. Top that.

You can’t.

If there is one thing about the rivalry weekend that is certain, it is that nothing is certain. Just ask the ACC. We’ll start out east, in Carolina, with what we learned.

In case you didn’t already know, the ACC is bad. Really bad. The only reason North Carolina got ranked this week is because there was no one else. It might be true the conference beat itself up the same way the Pac-10 did, but the difference is that the Pac-10 won some non-conference games. The ACC, if you recall, started the season with a blowout loss by Virginia Tech outside of conference, lost two games to TCU at home and had those early slip ups against FCS competition. Today, the season closed much like it started, with South Carolina easily beating Clemson and Georgia taking down Georgia Tech. For the Gamecocks, it really was easy. After C.J. Spiller opened the game by taking the kickoff back for six, USC took over, scoring the next 24 points by rushing for 228 yards. During the day, that North Carolina team lost to N.C. State. Ouch. Then as the lights came on, it was the marquee game, Tech and Georgia. A Bulldogs team that was squarely in the bottom half of the SEC all season, with losses to Kentucky and Tennessee, took care of business, using a much-maligned defense to beat Tech. That means that both participants in next week’s ACC championship game lost to second-tier SEC teams on Saturday. Not good.

The Big Ten doesn’t belong. Best part about this weekend? No Big Ten games. And no one noticed. The 12 pm E.T. time slot was significantly better without a sloppy Iowa-Indiana matchup with no flash and no real competition. The conference as a whole, from top to bottom, simply does not belong.

While it has been somewhat of a down year for the SEC, the top of the conference is on a level it hasn’t seen in a while. Yes, Auburn should’ve beaten Alabama, but again, rivalry game. And guess what, despite having their best back and one-time Heisman candidate shut down, ‘Bama took care of business, like they’ve done all season. And Florida played one of the worst defenses in the country, with the numbers to show it. But remember at the beginning of the year, we pointed out that Florida had lost to an SEC West team for the past several years in a row, but obviously didn’t this year. Take that along with Alabama making it through the rugged West undefeated and you have one helluva game set for next week.

Boise State belongs in the BCS. They can thank Oklahoma State, but they belong there now. The Broncos are 12-0 and overlooked. If they weren’t overlooked, Kellen Moore would be a Heisman candidate. This team deserves a trip to Glendale for the Fiesta Bowl, not down the street to their own bowl game. And, should Texas lose the Big-12 championship game, TCU belongs in the national championship game.

No one really knows how good Texas is – yet. The Longhorns have literally just been taking care of business, easily. Texas A&M is going to pretty good next year, on offense at least and again, it was a rivalry game, in College Station. Have you ever been at your best in College Station? Not possible. It will take a game against an SEC opponent for Colt McCoy to validate his career. He needs a “Vince Young moment“.

The Pac-10 is the conference 1A in 2009. If the SEC is the best conference, which isn’t such a slam dunk as usual, the Pac-10 is definitely 1A. From 1-9 this is the one solid conference. ASU lost on a last second field goal to Georgia. UCLA won at Tennessee. They took care of the Mountain West. Washington played with LSU for four quarters. USC won at Ohio State. And then the teams beat each other up every week. Except, again, one.

Which leads to the worst big six conference team in America: Washington State. Here is the most telling stat: Washington State (1-11) did not lead a single game for a single second in regulation all season. Yes, they have a win, but they needed a late touchdown to tie the game against SMU and send it into OT, where they won. They came into the final week thinking they might have a chance, but instead were shutout in Seattle for the first time since 1964. Washington toyed with WSU, dominating them 30-0 in the Apple Cup. The Cougars are now 1-17 in the last two years in the Pac-10 and just 3-21 in Paul Wulff’s two seasons. This is how bad it has gotten for WSU: at one point Washington knocked both of WSU’s healthy QB’s from the game and, not wanting to put their prized freshman into the game, the Cougars inserted their backup punter.

Finally, Toby Gerhart should be the frontrunner for the Heisman. Now, this should be qualified with this: Colt McCoy should win the trophy. McCoy is the winningest quarterback in college football history. Unbelievable that he hasn’t won the Heisman. No, it isn’t a lifetime achievement award, but it isn’t like the guy has bad numbers. In the rivalry game he scored five touchdowns and ran for a career high yardage total. He plays big in big games and has put up some crooked numbers. He should win. However, based on 2009 alone, Gerhart is the man. He just plays bigger as the games get bigger. Against Notre Dame today he went over 200 yards, again. He ran for the game-winning touchdown and that came after throwing for one earlier in the game. A big bowl game (240 yards or so) will give Gerhart 2,000 yards rushing. He is that good. Another Pac-10 guy could split the west coast vote, Jeremiah Masoli, but it should be the big Stanford back. And it will be hard not to look at that head coach, Harbaugh, as coach of the year.

Seattle, Washington (CNN) – The dinner crowd trickles in slowly at first, some taking time to play a little pool in a recreation area, others just wait patiently in line, or find a spot to sit and strike up a conversation.

On the street, Orion Center has a reputation for its pleasant and welcoming staff, and, as Kayla Wyatt puts it, a place to get a good “feed.” And of late, there are many new faces among the familiar.

At a restaurant, that’s a sign of progress. At a support organization for the young homeless — like Orion Center — it is a troubling sign of the times.

More troubling is to take an up-close look at Seattle’s streets and parks after Orion Center shuts down for the day, especially as temperatures drop and the combination of rain and gusty winds makes for bone-chilling conditions.

Full story

Harvested Wheat Fields ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

What I see
blindly pleas
what I smell
does compel
me to believe
that all
of consequence
is physical.

What I hear
does endear
what I touch
pulls much
my heart toward
all that
my senses tell
is material.

What I taste
gives feast
what I feel
makes real
to my soul
that all
I consume
only matters.

What blindness!
What deafness!
What blandness!
What madness!

I failed to perceive
the deepest part of me that
reaches beyond
body, soul, and mind
touches eternity and divinity.
It is my awakened spirit.

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

Some artifacts from Mt. Rainier. Source: Tacoma News-Tribune.

The Tacoma News-Tribune has a nice story about high-altitude archaeology on the flanks of Mt. Rainier.  Sites date back to over 9,500 cal.BP (presumably cal. BP, that is) and some include microblade technology.  If I read the article right, the microblade component dates to about 7600 years ago.  There is an older report on Mt. Rainier archaeology here by Greg Burtchard, but it seems this recent work is what has produced the older dates.  It’s also very intriguing to see ancient “cooking pits” including some that the authors suggest were continuously used for the full 9,600 years of occupation:

The site has also produced other ash evidence, coming from cooking pits.

“They’re small and not elaborate, but pretty clearly they were cooking with hot stones. But I don’t know what they were cooking,” Mierendorf said. “That implies more than just traveling through the area.

“These are repeatedly used, including one individual pit used and reused for all 9,600 years. I’ve never seen anything like that in 40 years of professional archaeology.”

It’s good to see work done in the higher elevations, and is reminiscent of Rudy Reimer’s more theoretically-driven  work in the highlands of Squamish territory. It will be great to see if there is a full report put out soon so I can see the microblades and the cooking pits – if it is put on the web like the earlier report, so much the better!

Please be extra cautious if you’re heading out to Foothills ORV or Sadie Creek/4×4 trail systems in Clallam County. Last week’s storm did extensive damage to the Olympic Peninsula, including some areas managed by DNR. Downed trees and limbs have littered sections of the trails, and some of the trails have been washed out. DNR asks that you be safe and don’t try to cut or clear trail debris yourself. Crews are in the area clearing trails and will get them reopened in the next couple of weeks. Learn more: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/RecreationEducation/News/Pages/nr09_184.aspx

Many, if not all, of you know about my love for coffee – all things Starbucks or Caribou in particular.  I love its smell.  I love grinding my own coffee beans and brewing fresh java to drink throughout the day.  I love trying new beans and new blends of coffee.

Well, then, imagine my surprise when I came across the following article on an uncommon coffee:

“Thanks to the coffee culture explosion, connoisseurs are now proactively seeking new twists on their beloved bean-based beverage.  Cappa-this, frappa-that, double mocca doodah – the permutations are endless….  [Nevertheless] Civet Coffee, also known as Kopi Luwak, is indeed the most astonishing… coffee we’ve ever tasted.

The primary reason for Civet Coffee’s distinctive taste is that it’s been partially fermented by passing through the digestive system of a Sumatran Civet Cat (paradoxurus hermaphroditis).  No, really!  Basically, this feral feline prowls Sumatran coffee plantations at night, choosing to eat only the finest, ripest cherries.  The stones (which eventually form coffee beans) are then collected by sifting through the Civet’s “number twos.”

Revered for its luscious chocolatey flavour Civet Coffee is totally safe …and delicious.  Plus there’s no discernable aftertaste. … Put the kettle on!”  (http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1077)

That’s the straight p scoop on a rare coffee!

I laughed when I came across this article.  What will people come up with next?  How about you?  Would you consider drinking such a strange brew?  Does the thought of where it came from bother you somewhat?  I bet there are a few daredevils among us who would take a sip or drink a cup!

Palouse Falls Gorge ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

Jewish religious leaders in Jesus’ day were very concerned about coming in contact with things that would defile them and make them unable to go into the Temple and perform their religious duties.  However, Jesus said, “It’s not what a man touches or eats that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart and mouth” (Matthew 15:11-20).

Jesus also said, “A person speaks from what is in their heart.  A good person speaks good things and an evil person evil things.  People will give an account on the day of judgment for every evil and careless word spoken” (Matt. 12:34-37).

If drinking from a brew passed through and out of the intestines of a Civet Cat bothers us, how much more should those things come out of our mouths – instead of in them!  Among the list of all the evil sins that prevent people from entering the Kingdom of righteousness are things that come out of our own mouths: false testimony, slander, gossip, lies, outbursts of anger, and arrogant boasting.

It is no wonder that the book of Proverbs constantly warns us about what we say.  Keep your spiritual garment of righteousness clean by taking the caution of Scripture to heart, “Guard your mouth!”  Be as concerned with what comes out of it as what you put into it.  What you say to other people about other people is more serious than a cup of Civet Coffee!

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

START HERE:

Dear Stock Photography Professionals, Amateur Photographers, Illustrators and Graphic Designers

“Success” is relative …

It was just over two years ago I started to research how to sell my photography when I caught “The Bug” to start selling my images online. In September of 2007 I decided to dedicate two years to explore the possibilities of the incredible world of stock photography. I felt that two years would be enough time to give me a chance to sink my teeth into training myself from any and all sources and to get up to speed, starting basically from scratch, on this rapidly expanding and growing industry. At the time I had never even picked up a photography book or taken a photoshop tutorial. It is now two years later, and while I feel I have come very far and achieved many successes, I find that there is always more to learn. I absolutely love this work !

In July of 2007 I relocated to Washington State after accepting a transfer to work at The Boeing Company’s Commercial Airplane Headquarters in Renton, Washington just outside of Seattle, Washington. Analyzing Market Research was my specialty. Driving out to Washington from Colorado during the course of my relocation I captured a few thousands pictures on a Canon SD750 camera. At that time I was interested in seeing if I could market my images by selling prints of them at festivals, art shows and galleries. It was during this period of research that I discovered the world of commercial stock photography.

My first site that I was approved as a contributor at was BigStockPhoto in September of 2007. For that reason alone I will always have a special place in my heart for them. I found that their entry criteria was not as strict as some of the larger sites. The same applies for 123rf so these are both excellent places to get your first exposure to in selling your photography online. That being said you will want to get into Shutterstock and iStockPhoto as soon as possible. This took me many months to achieve as I was starting from nearly complete scratch with the exception of strong information technology background.  FYI: Recently BigStockPhoto was acquired by the subscription based microstock giant Shutterstock .

Stock Photography Sites are often referred to by short abbreviations. It was more than a little confusing to myself when I first started researching microstock on the various forums so I will list a few abbreviations that you may find useful to know your first time encountering them:

• SS = Shutterstock
• IS = iStockPhoto
• DT = Dreamstime
• FT = Fotolia
• BSP = BigStockPhoto
• MP = MostPhotos
• BME = Best Month Ever
• WME = Worst Month Ever
• BDE = Best Day Ever
• MSG = Microstock Group
• EL = Extended License
• RF = Royalty Free
• Glass = Camera Lens for a DSLR Camera ex. Canon 55-250 IS
• IS = Image Stabilization

My first sale came from the second site that I was approved at as a contributor which was Dreamstime. I initially sought out DT during a time when BigStockPhoto was halting uploading over the weekends. This is just one small example of the kind of roadblocks one faces when it comes to trying to build up an approved portfolio at a microstock agency.

At its most basic level, getting started in microstock photography takes just a few basic steps …

• Check-out the various stock photography links on this blog
• Browse the microstock sites and become familiar and get a feel for the photography on them
• Prepare 3-10 of your best images in accordance to the respective standards of the site you wish to join
• Submit your applications to become a contributor (a.k.a photographer) and get approved to contribute
• Shoot Pictures. Post Process Images in Photoshop. Upload Photos to all sites for review. Repeat.
• Collect the revenue from sales made each month across all sites over the years for the life of the image. Large subscription based sites such as Shutterstock will ultimately produce daily sales for you after your portfolio of approved images grows to a modest size of a few hundred images however credit based sale sites such as iStockPhoto will yield higher commissions at a much slower rate. There is constant debate over which is best. Most stock photographers submit all of their work to each of the most profitable microstock sites.
• Receive your payout after reaching a threshold for each respective site. (ex. $50, $75, $100)

I believe a quick recap of where my interest in photography as a child came from will prove insightful to some readers …

Photography had been an interest of mine since I first began taking snapshot photos with “hand me down” cameras from my parents I was about 9 or 10 years old. It was probably around 1979-1981 ish when I first started using 110 film cameras that I usually borrowed from my mother. The first camera that I actually owned was a Polaroid One Step instant camera. I remember having to pay for my own film. Early on I mowed lawns and later on I worked for the family gas station starting at the age of 10 working for $2.00 / hour. At the very least I know I was responsible for paying for the cartridges of film which were very expensive for around ten photos if I remember correctly. This limited my ability to take pictures as I was saving up to pay my way for a $750.00 30-Day bus tour trip across the country with the Boy Scouts to the National Jamboree in Virginia in 1981. Since the film for my instant camera was so expensive my mother allowed me to borrow her Sony Disc Camera. I took both cameras on my 30-day bus tour “Reunion with History” to the Jamboree. The Statue of Liberty was getting a makeover during our tour but it was still amazing and one of my favorite subjects. However, when I went to the top of the “Twin Towers” World Trade Center, that was my favorite scene. The bridges and skyscrapers of New York City fostered my love for architecture and structures which I later studied at length. I plan to dig up a couple of those first photos of mine from that trip, scan them, and post them here as a point-of-reference …

TIMELINE FOR KEY EVENTS THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON MY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY:

1981 “Reunion With History” 30-Day Bus Tour of various historical sites of United States with Boy Scouts. Kodak Disc Camera borrowed from parents when I was 12 years old.

1985 Exposure to Mac Paint Graphic Programs on first Macintosh which parents bought 1986 Drafting  1,2,3 Architecture & Architecture Classes 1987-1991 Travel the world while serving in the United States Navy taking photos every step of the way. 1991 Leave the Navy to study Architecture at the University of Arizona. Learn AUTOCAD. 1999 First Photoshop and Image Ready exposure working with web design. 2000 Graduate University of Phoenix Bachelor of Science in Business  Major: Information Systems

2005 May Bought Digital Camera: Canon SD750

2007 July: Relocate to Washington State road trip from Colorado. Research Selling Prints / Selling digital files online.  Research Selling digital negative files

2007 September: Accepted into BSP

2007 October: Accepted into DT / Forum participation

2007 November: Thanksgiving Day 2007 was my 1st Microstock Sale at DT Accepted into Fotolia . BME across all sites. Joined Microstock Group Forum (MSG). 1st SS Application Rejected. Read Photography & Photoshop Books. Study free tutorials from The MIZ and many others.

2007 December: Join Featurepics. Make plans to buy my first DSLR camera by April or May 2008. New BME across all sites. Bus Travel  from Seattle Washington to Denver capturing many photos on this journey. Caught severe flu and ear infections after many winter weather related travel delays.  That took me out of action for most of January and the first part of February …

Illness contracted from December / January travel …

2008 January: New BME across all sites. Stock sales happen even when your down and out sick …

2008 February: Joined MostPhotos . Joined Zymmetrical.  BME’s at DT, BSP, SXP, Met stock photographer suwanneeredhead (Stacey Lynn Brown) through interactions as two of the first few Americans on MP . New BME across all sites.

2008 March: set-up first home studio. Continue to improve work for next SS and IS applications as these are the two largest revenue producing sites for a microstock photographer.  BMEs at DT, FT, 123RF, MP . New BME across all sites. 5th BME in a row.

Got my first DSLR …

2008 April: Buy first DSLR:  a used Canon Rebel XTI a.k.a 400D continue to shoot and begin working with fractals for part of my SS applications.  Not a BME … streak broken …

2008 May: Accepted into Shutterstock the last week of the month after to many applications to count.

2008 May: BME at DT.

2008 June: BME’s at SS, BSP, 123RF, MP. First Full month of Revenue from SS. New BME across all sites.

2008 July: BME’s at DT, BSP, FP, FT. WME at 123RF. Begin using Cushy Stock management software

2008 Sep:  September 25th propose marriage to suwanneereadhead (Stacey Lynn Brown)

2008 Oct:  Mark Payne (mwp1969) & Stacey Lynn Brown (suwanneeredhead) married in Seattle, Washington. First Extended License Sale on SS …  it must have been a belated wedding gift

2008 Dec:  Canon 55-250 IS lens received as Christmas gift from my beloved wife

2009 April: Accepted into iStockPhoto

2009 May: Upgrade to DSLR Canon Rebel XSI a.k.a Canon 450D

2009 June: Began doubling and tripling my upload efforts to all of the sites that I was behind on …

2009 October: BME for number of sales at DT. Close to BME at SS & IS

2009 Nov: Achieve next level raise at SS . BMEs at both SS & IS. Roll-out initial microstock related blog.

I am always happy to help a newbie try to break into stock photography by submitting their work for sale online.  This is a painstaking task if you try to do it all on your own. I offer my own  trials and tribulations to you so that you might be able to avoid some of  them yourself along your way. Thank you in advance for checking out my image and design portfolios.

If your interested in submitting your own images and want to try and get started right away  you can do so through the links I have provided below.  These links will help you get started with some of the most favorable and profitable microstock photography sites. The commissions from the sale of your own images will pay you again and again for the rest of the life of the image so delaying your decision to start by a day only delays you getting paid by a day down the road.

Best of Luck !

My Referral Links to Top Producing Microstock Photography Websites:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=144463

http://www.dreamstime.com/Mwp1969_info

http://www.istockphoto.com/mwp1969

http://www.123rf.com/profile_markpayne

http://us.fotolia.com/partner/200479231

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/?refid=HW16kzhvJX

Midstock Photography Sites:

http://www.mostphotos.com/mwp1969

Our Website:

www.PayneImages.com

]]> http://wolves.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/what-we%e2%80%99re-really-doing-by-reintroducing-wolves/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:31:07 +0000 Ralph Maughan http://wolves.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/what-we%e2%80%99re-really-doing-by-reintroducing-wolves/

“But is it really ‘bringing back the wolf’ when the wolves wear radio collars and generate better genealogical records than most humans do, and when their whereabouts at any time can be ascertained with GIS coordinates?” . . . from “What we’re really doing by reintroducing wolves.” Writers on the Range. George Sibley.  Missoula Independent.

Sibley writes a clever article/essay regarding all the information that has been generated about wolves, even down to the individual  wolf, and whether such well observed wolves can be properly called “wild.”

I don’t know because “the wild” is a human mental construct of outdoor things unmodified by humans. If the radio collar is placed by Wildlife Services so the wolf can be easily located and killed (this accounts for the largest number of collars), I’d say “no. It isn’t wild.”  If it is a Yellowstone Park wolf where the collar only modifies the animal’s behavior slightly, then maybe “yes” or “it depends.”

Sibley also argues that while the polls in Washington State show a lot of generalized support for wolves, anti-wolf people show up and dominate the public meetings. Apparently this is not true, but some might believe is so based on a couple unrepresentative newspaper articles. Here is some email objecting and giving some facts.

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]]> http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/warm-up-with-winter-treats-at-boundary-bay-brewery/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:08:02 +0000 Boundary Bay http://bellinghamsbestbeer.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/warm-up-with-winter-treats-at-boundary-bay-brewery/

Ski Lift Chocolate Mousse

After Thanksgiving, we’ll be serving up a new Winter Dessert Menu here at Boundary Bay Brewery.  We like to offer up desserts that celebrate the flavors of the season and this new Winter Menu is full of hearty, warming desserts perfect to ward off any winter chill!  Look for our new menu during the first week of December!

Winter Crumble

Winter Crumble: a sweet walnut crumble tops a wintery fruit filling of pears, apples, dried figs and cranberries.  Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  A sweet treat to balance the bitter winds of winter.

Ski-Lift Chocolate Mousse:  a rich chocolate mousse spiked with peppermint schnapps!  One bite and you might think you’re dining in a chalet up on Mt. Baker with this new take on a winter warm-up enjoyed by powder hounds around the world.

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Cake

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Cake: house made caramel ice cream is sandwiched between layers of bittersweet chocolate cake smothered in a warm chocolate sauce.  Both the cake and the sauce are flavored with Boundary Bay Brewery’s own Oatmeal Stout.  A great dessert for sharing…if you have the will power!

Sticky Pecan Pumpkin Cake:  Thanksgiving has come and gone but if you haven’t had your fill of Autumn flavors you CAN have your cake and eat it too!  Pumpkin pie meets pecan pie in this delicious cake with a sticky sweet layer of caramelized pecans covering a decadent pumpkin cake topped with Oatmeal Stout caramel sauce.

Sticky Pecan Pumpkin Cake

Here is a list of the sales tax and use tax rates by city/county.  Tax rates effective Oct. 1st – Dec. 31st.  Click here for the Department of Revenue statistics.

A surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the Gaza Strip. He was reminding the students that we North American “fat cats” knew nothing about gratitude.  Nothing!

On one occasion, he had stopped at a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery.  She and her husband were dirt poor.  Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens.  For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it.  For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens.

The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch.  She insisted on showing her gratitude to him this way.  He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to see another postoperative patient.  An hour and a half later, he was back.  He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat.  He saw one rabbit and two chickens.

The woman had given up her entire livestock supply–her income, her food, everything – to say “thank you.”  He concluded his story by reminding the students that, as Americans, we know nothing of gratitude.  He wept unashamedly.

Old Abandoned Truck ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg (2009)

There is another incident concerning gratitude that will never be forgotten.  It is about a woman who poured costly perfume over our Lord’s feet as she wiped them with her hair.  Make no mistake–the perfume was expensive, three hundred denarii, a year’s income for a laborer in Palestine.  Enough to keep a family alive for twelve months.  Also, in that culture, a woman’s hair was among her most precious personal possessions.

Some, who witnessed that event, including Jesus’ closest disciples, objected to such an extravagant display of affection in view of personal need – or even need of others.  Jesus asked a very pointed question, “Who loved more – the one forgiven much or the one forgiven little?”  Obviously, the answer was – and still is – the one who was forgiven much.

In view of what Christ did for us, how can we be stingy in our worship, our praise, our tithes and offerings, our time in his service or in fellowship with his body – the Church.  The vivid portrayal of Christ’s extravagant sufferings for our sins in Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” should move us to be just as extravagant in showing our gratitude and worship to our Heavenly Father and Savior, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  And yet, according to the surveys made by Barna Research, the average Evangelical Christian gives only about 3% or their income to the ministries of their local church.  Americans spend more on dog food annually than on giving to charities or mission work!

Perhaps it is time some of us got more extravagant in our worship.  It is about time we got radical in our display of gratitude for all that God has done for us and ‘sold the farm’ or ‘broke the bank.’  After all, how much do we really love Him?  How thankful are we?

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

Vince Grippi of The Spokesman-Review had a nice article on Washington State guard Klay Thompson’s 37 point effort on Thursday night.

Thompson is off to a hot start this season averaging 27 points a game on 55% shooting through Washington State’s first three games. The 6′6” sophomore’s hot start earned him the Pac-10’s player of the week award.

He has already attempted 28 free throws over the first 3 games. He only attempted 31 free throws in the 33 games that he played in last season. This has been the key to his improvement thus far.

Thompson is someone who we will continue to follow closely. As of right now, I consider him a 2nd round pick. If he can keep up his good play, he will continue to rise up the board and into the 1st round.

Queer Equality Revolution is a personal blog created by John Bisceglia;

Click on the LOGO above for access.

I had to tweak the formula after I saw what it spat out after this weekend (DePaul is not the second best team in the country right now).  I realized that by doing the actual ranking of a team’s schedule, the differences in schedule were being weighted too heavily.  For instance, the schedule difference between number 270 and number 250 is actually zero, but it was getting counted in the formula as a difference of 20.  That meant that teams with a very good schedule so far were being rewarded way too much and teams with an average schedule were getting penalized.

The solution?  Just use the actual schedule rating.  Now teams that haven’t played anyone good are all even (since that’s the norm this time of year) and any teams that have played against some quality opponents or gone on the road are rewarded accordingly.

I’m also including the AP/USA Today Ranking next to each team so we can compare how voters think they’re going to do against how they’re actually playing.

Here are the rankings for this week as of 5:00 PM:

• Team (AP Rank/USA Today Rank)

1. Duke (7/7)
2. Minnesota (22/16)
3. Kansas (1/1)
4. Arizona State (NR/NR)
5. Baylor (NR/NR)
6. Marquette (NR/NR)
7. Tennessee (9/11)
8. Syracuse (10/9)
9. Kansas State (NR/NR)
10. Notre Dame (23/NR)
11. Washington (14/14)
12. LSU (NR/NR)
13. Oklahoma State (NR/NR)
14. Louisville (16/16)
15. Illinois (20/21)
16. Clemson (19/19)
17. Oregon (NR/NR)
18. Texas A&M (NR/NR)
19. Connecticut (13/13)
20. Washington State (NR/NR)
21. Ohio State (17/18)
22. Virginia (NR/NR)
23. Michigan State (2/2)
24. Arizona (NR/NR)
25. Texas (3/3)

Bottom Ten (10 = Worst)

1. Rutgers (NR/NR)
2. South Florida (NR/NR)
3. Texas Tech (NR/NR)
4. Nebraska (NR/NR)
5. South Carolina (NR/NR)
6. Indiana (NR/NR)
7. USC (NR/NR)
8. Iowa (NR/NR)
9. UCLA (NR/NR)
10. Oregon State (NR/NR)

Ah, the 1920’s…the decade of bathtub gin, the model T, speakeasies, flappers and gangsters.  Referred to as the Roaring Twenties and The Jazz Age, it was a period of American prosperity and optimism.  A time of great social upheaval and change…the most explosive decade of the century.  Women were granted the right to vote, but Prohibition cast its shadow over the decade and inspired the rise of organized crime.  The decade was a time of great advancements as America became more urban and more commercially driven until the market crash in 1929 and the Great Depression.

Join us here at Boundary Bay Brewery for a rip-roaring party on Saturday, December 5th as we relive the 20’s/30’s and celebrate the End of Prohibition! This is a family friendly event that starts around noon and lasts all day.

Costumes are not only welcome, but encouraged! Dress up in 1920’s/30’s period costume and join us as we re-enact prohibition.

In the evening, we’re going to shut down the taps, stage a protest, and then let the beer flow once again.  But that’s not all!  We’ve got good times planned all day for you…FREE horse drawn wagon rides from 1-4 pm, live music from 5-9 pm and costume contests with prizes for best dressed.  And, don’t forget to get your portraits taken by professional photographer, Jon Brunk to memorialize your flapper dress and pearls or zoot suit and tommy gun!

Need costume ideas?  Come as a speakeasy owner/bartender, a factory worker or a moonshine runner.  How about a gangster, a flapper or a protestor?  You could be a Suffragette, model Depression era clothing or just cobble together something that reminds you of the 20’s and/or 30’s.  Think zoot suits, pinstripes, wing tips and martinis.  Feathers, beaded fringe, evening dresses and long pearl necklaces.  Cigarette holders, finger waves in your hair and pinstripe suits.

Come re-enact history with us.  Join the protests.  Raise your voice.  Demand your right to beer!