The Sisyphus Comments

The Top Ten Reasons Men Prefer Guns Over Women

#10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

#9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you’re on the road.

#8. If you admire a friend’s gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.

#7. Your primary gun doesn’t mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

#6. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

#5. A gun doesn’t take up a lot of closet space…

#4. Guns function normally every day of the month.

#3. A gun doesn’t ask , “Do these new grips make me look fat?”

#2. A gun doesn’t mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

And the number one reason a gun is favored over a woman….

#1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN

– Author Unknown

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My Latest Website Picks

It has been a while since I made any Website recommendations so I thought I would take a moment and throw a few out there for my readers consideration.

The first site won’t improve your quality of life, make you better looking or make you rich but if you misplace your cell phone, it will save you a lot cushion lifting. Just surf on over to WheresMyCellPhone, enter your number, and it will ring your cell phone.

They don’t keep your number or share it with those nasty phone solicitors either. If you are the paranoid type or you have a stalker for a boyfriend, you can block your number so use the service to mess with you.

Just visit: http://www.wheresmycellphone.com/

My second Website recommendation can help you out with a variety of projects. I am not real good at picking out colors but I can look at Website or room in a house and tell who is good at it. This Website will help you pick the colors for any project.

You begin by uploading a picture from your computer. What you get back is a palette of colors that may work well for your project. If you are designing your Website it will even give you the codes for the colors!

I am thinking this will be a great place to start for my next home painting project but the uses are only limited by your imagination.

Just visit: http://bighugelabs.com/colors.php

Finally, there is an old saying that I wish I could keep in mind more often – You can keep your mouth shut and people may think you are stupid or you can talk and confirm it.

One way people judge you is by the size of your vocabulary. The good news you can build your vocabulary, have fun doing It and help feed the hungry all at the same time.

The game is simple. They give you a word and you have to pick the correct synonym from the list of answers. But that’s not all. For you auditory learners, you can also hear how the word sounds so you are sure to get the pronunciation right.

If you mess up and choose the wrong word, the game points out your error and then repeats the word later.

Now for the really cool part. Every time you answer correctly 10 grains of rice are donated to feed the hungry. So you can build your brain power while you help provide a meal for someone who needs it.

Just visit: http://www.freerice.com/

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Check Out A Free e-Book From Google

Anyone that spends much time on a computer knows that there are tons of places to download movies and videos. But what if you just want to take a break from the assault on your senses and just read a book. You can still turn to your computer to find your reading material. Google raised a few eyebrows a few years back when they started digitizing books for its site but they persisted and now they have a wide variety of books available.

Of course, even Google has to obey copyright laws so you only get a preview of the books that are still under copyright. They do tell you where you can purchase a copy of the book if you like what you see.

Google has over one million public domain titles available that are in the public domain which means the full book is available at no cost.

You can download the public domain titles in PDF or EPUB format. This means you can read them on your computer, phone and many e-books.

Check out a book from Google

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Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”

The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military.

Read The Full Article

Posted in Training | 1 Comment »

If You Have A Few Minutes – Check Out These Websites

I have been off for the last few days but I have been busy trying to finish the renovation of the master bathroom. By the end of the day, I have been totally exhausted. In fact, I can’t wait to get back to work so I can rest. After a hot shower to wash off the saw dust and sweat, I find myself plopping down in my recliner and grabbing the Mac Book to relax. Fortunately, my online friends have been feeding me a some new Websites and articles to explore so I thought I would share a few that I have found interesting.

The first article is 50 Useful Mind-Mapping Tools for College Students. The authors say that they wrote the article to provide a “. . . list of 50 useful mind-mapping tools that are designed to help you see your ideas more clearly, analyze and outline research papers, become more efficient when you study, and get inspired to be more creative in your work.” If you are an organization freak like me, you will find a mother load of free software and tips for putting it to use in this article.

The article is located on the Associate Degree Website, a site loaded with tips and resources about getting an associate degree. They have a multitude of information about the types of online associate degrees and how to find the one that is right for you. The site has a clean look and it is very easy to use so take a look. Although the site focuses on obtaining an associates degree, they also the Quick Degree Finder also lists information about online bachelor and masters degrees programs.

Next is a website that is just fun to visit because we can all identify with its sentiment. It is easy to get so tied up with the bad things that happen in life that we overlook the small blessings we experience on almost a daily basis. This 1000 Awesome Things Website will help you refocus on the little pleasures and happy coincidences that will help make you happier and more relaxed.

If you are a traveler, you may want to check out the Oyster Hotel Reviews before you book your next trip. The website is emerging as a sort of Consumer Reports of hotel review sites. It is gaining notoriety for its candid and honest approach to hotel reviews from qualified and experienced journalists who document their stays through extensive objective reviews and hundreds of undoctored photographs.

Users can easily search the site’s growing list of hotel by category, price, special amenities, or unusual features. They have also compiled practical lists like “most family-friendly,” “most pet-friendly,” and “best value” hotels to more irreverent features like “best hotels for celebrity sightings” and “best hotels for a love affair.” The site is definitely worth exploring.

Finally, if you are in the market for buying a home, I have just the Website for you. Check out RealEstateABC.com. If you are a rookie home buyer, the site will help you learn what to look for in a house and what to avoid! It will even help you locate an agent. Of course, it also comes loaded with the obligatory list of calculators to help you figure out how much house you can afford. There is a lot of good info here, even if you aren’t a first time home buyer so be sure to check it out.

So there you have it, a few more places to peruse during your precious time off. Don’t worry you can thank me later.

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Understanding Southern Women and Customs

This speaks for itself. So all my northern friends ya’ll come on down and sit for a spell, have a glass of ice tea, and we’ll talk a bit.

Southern women know their summer weather report: Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots: The beach, The rivuh, The crick

Southern women know everybody’s first name: Honey Darlin’ Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts: Fried Green Tomatoes Driving Miss Daisy Steel Magnolias Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions: Baptist Methodist Football

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm: Chawl’stn, S’vanah, Foat Wuth, N’awlins, Addlanna

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen: Men in uniform, Men in tuxedos, Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate: The Mall, The Country Club, The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins: Having bad hair and nails, Having bad manners, Cooking bad food

More Suthen-ism’s: Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don’t “HAVE” them, you “PITCH” them.

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up “a mess.”

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of”yonder.”

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long “directly” is, as in: “Going to town, be back directly.”

Even Southern babies know that”Gimme some sugar” is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.

All Southerners know exactly when “by and by” is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who’s got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor’s trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between “right near” and “a right far piece.” They also know that”just down the road” can be 1 mile or 20

Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a redneck, a good ol’ boy, and po’ white trash.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

A Southerner knows that “fixin” can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, … and when we’re “in line,”… we talk to everybody!

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they’re related, even if only by marriage.

In the South, y’all is singular, all y’all is plural.

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

When you hear someone say, “Well, I caught myself lookin’,” you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

Only true Southerners say “sweet tea” and “sweet milk.” Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it — we do not like our tea unsweetened. “Sweet milk” means you don’t want buttermilk.

And a true Southerner knows you don’t scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,”Bless her heart” … and go your own way.

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness, Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!

And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, … bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin’ to have classes on Southernness as a second language!

And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long time, all y’all need is a sign to hang on y’alls front porch that reads “I ain’t from the South, but I got here as fast as I could.”

Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fahevah !

Now…… Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or wish they had been! If you’re a Northern transplant, bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could!

Posted in General Interest | 6 Comments »

Did You Realize?

At 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4 a.m., On the 8th of July, this year, the time and date will be: 04:05:06 07-08-09/

This will not happen again until the year 3009!!!

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How Government Accounting Works

It is the month of August, a resort town sits next to the shores of a lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 dollar bill on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the 100 dollar bill and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The Butcher takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt to the pig raiser.

The pig raiser takes the 100 dollar bill, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 dollar bill and runs to pay his debt to the town’s prostitute that in these hard times, gave her “services” on credit..

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 dollar bill to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 dollar bill back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 dollar bill, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism .

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.

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U. S. Supreme Court Ruling: Montejo v. Louisiana

I have been remiss in posting this recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. I think, as mentioned by the Charlottesville, VA Commonwealth Attorney, the operational policies of most jurisdictions will not be impacted by this ruling. However, agencies who do not adhere to a policy of not interviewing defendants once counsel has been assigned, may want to review their operational policies.

Thanks to the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police for providing the following overview of the case and the comments from Charlottesville, VA Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman.

Montejo v. Louisiana, 07-1529 . By a 5-4 vote, the Court overruled Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625 (1986), which held that once the right to counsel has attached and been invoked by a defendant, the police may not initiate an interrogation of the defendant. The Court here reasoned that “[w]hen a court appoints counsel for an indigent defendant in the absence of any request on his part, there is no basis for a presumption that any subsequent waiver of the right to counsel will be involuntary.” The Court found that the prophylactic protections of Miranda and Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981), are sufficient to ensure that police do not compel defendants to speak without counsel or badger defendants into withdrawing their invocations of the right to counsel.

The comments below are from Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman:

I received the note appearing below regarding a decision announced today by the Supreme Court. Overruling Michigan v. Jackson, the Court found that consent of counsel is not required prior to questioning an incarcerated defendant for whom counsel is appointed by the Court without his express request. Miranda warnings and a waiver thereof are sufficient protection against a 6th Amendment violation. The case is highly fact-specific. The defendant stood silently by during an initial appearance at which the court appointed counsel to represent him. He was later questioned by police – after receiving and waiving his Miranda rights – and made an inculpatory admission before he was able to speak with his attorney.

This case does not provide a reason to depart from our longstanding practice of considering an incarcerated defendant to be off limits for questioning purposes after counsel has been appointed at an initial appearance in court (unless counsel’s permission is also obtained). In our local courts’ the defendant is always asked by the judge if he or she would like to court to appoint an attorney in the event retained counsel is unaffordable. In our local system the request for counsel emanates from the defendant himself or herself and is a sufficient indication of a desire on the defendant’s part to interact with police through counsel that Miranda warnings and a waiver thereof are insufficient to establish a presumption that the waiver of counsel is voluntary.

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Arizona v. Gant – Additional Commentary From VACP

The Virgina Association of Chiefs of Police has issued the following additional commentary concerning Arizona v. Gant.

In Arizona v. Gant decided by the United States Supreme Court this week, there is a sentence in the majority opinion which is creating a misconception by the media as well as numerous law enforcement web-sites and commentators reporting on the case.

The quote creating the issue asserts: “When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee’s vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies.” This has led to numerous commentators, some of whom are relied upon by law enforcement agencies to state: “The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police need a warrant to search the vehicle of someone they have arrested if the person is locked up in a patrol cruiser and poses no safety threat to officers.” [policeone.com] News outlets, due to their lack of knowledge with respect to Fourth Amendment issues have missed the boat as well in reporting:

“WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has ruled that police need a warrant to search the vehicle of someone they have arrested if the person is locked up in a patrol cruiser and poses no safety threat to officers.” [Associated Press].

What all of these commentators have failed to recognize is that the case is addressing the search of motor vehicles incident to arrest and not any of the other exceptions related to searches of vehicles. In fact, the majority opinion written by Justice Stevens takes pains to recognize: “When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee’s vehicle will be unreasonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies.” It should be noted that this is the same quote that created the problem.

When one examines this quote it indicates that police will not be able to search the car incident to arrest unless they get a warrant. Any law enforcement officer knows that to get a warrant to search an officer must first have probable cause.

If an officer has the probable cause necessary to obtain a warrant for a motor vehicle then he does not need to obtain the warrant because another exception applies. The motor vehicle exception [Carroll Doctrine] applies. Thus, the quote from the case must be read in light of the other exceptions which were specifically left intact by the decision.

The only exception impacted by this case was incident to arrest searches. If the officer meets the criteria necessary to obtain a warrant, the officer is automatically entitled to search the vehicle without a warrant under the motor vehicle exception which was in no way impacted by this case.

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Opt Out Of Google’s Interest-Based Ad Program

As if our behavior isn’t already monitored enough, Google has announced the start of its new “interest-based” advertising program. This new program will track your browsing history and then show you ads based on your interests.

The big G assures us that “sensitive interests” will not be tracked but of course one has to wonder who will be in charge of deciding what will be tracked. That is the bad but the good news is you can opt out of the advertising program.

Google has made a couple of tools available that let you permanently opt out of the program. For folks who are using Internet Explorer or Firefox, all you have to do is i install a plug-in. If you use a different browser, you are going to have to make some adjustments to your options. You will find the instructions and the plugin on the Google website.

CLICK HERE:

Download Google Interest-Based Ad Opt Out Plug-In

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Go The Distance – Know The Distance

Most of my regular readers know that I am an advocate of a healthy lifestyle. It is important to do regular aerobic activity and I like to cycle, run, hike or just walk around the neighborhood.

Most fitness experts recommend that you keep a log of your fitness activities and it is fun to watch your progress over time. In the old days I would drive my regular routes to get the distance but now there is an easier option, the Gmaps Pedometer.

Gmaps Pedometer is a Google map. You just zoom in to your route area, click Start Recording and Double-click the map to highlight your path. The Gmaps Pedometer will calculate the distance of your route and you can save the route and print the map. You can also export your route in GPX format to use it with GPS software on your computer.

CLICK HERE:

Gmaps Pedometer

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Life At The End Of A Dirt Road

This is an old Paul Harvey essay about life at the end of a dirt road. My brother sent it to me today and it brought back many memories from our childhood. In fact, it is so accurate of a description, I almost think he wrote it about us.

CLICK HERE:

Read Dirt Roads

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Take Free College Courses Online

Education is priceless but now you can get it for free at the OpenCourseWare Consortium.  You can listen to lectures, watch videos of special events and even access course materials. Unfortunately, these courses don’t count towards a degree but you will be learning and that is the important thing.

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