Steff

QUOTE(Iwritecode @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 10:06 AM) Huh? I thought Sara Lee made bread... Snacks, cakes, and cookies I thought.

QUOTE(AssHatSoxFan @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 09:50 AM) let the thread hijacking begin...beerfest is out tomorrow as well! Let it not. The films thread is down there...

Ms Carasia should get a swift kick in the ass and a bill for the time of the officers, the court employees, and anyone else involved in this stupidity. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_...isdemeanor_meow Judge to rule if 'meowing' is harassment JEANNETTE, Pa. - Meow. A district judge has been asked to decide whether that word is a harmless taunt or grounds for misdemeanor harassment. Jeannette police charged a 14-year-old boy for "meowing" whenever he sees his neighbor, 78-year-old Alexandria Carasia. The boy's family and Carasia do not get along. The boy's mother said the family got rid of their cat after Carasia complained to police that it used her flower garden as a litter box. The boy testified Tuesday that he only meowed at the woman twice. Carasia testified, "Every time he sees me, he meows." The boy's defense attorney, David Martin Jr., argued that the charge should be dismissed. "This should never have been filed," Martin said. "This is not something that police should be wasting their time with or wasting the court's time." Jeannette District Judge Joseph DeMarchis decided to wait 90 days before ruling. DeMarchis said his decision will be based on how the boy and his neighbor get along in the meantime.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 08:50 AM) I'm not weighing in on this particular case, because I don't know enough about it, I was just giving Tex a little perspective on his statement about people confessing to things that they didn't do. Noted. Scardecat.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 08:38 AM) I am guessing that things have only gotten worse since this time, but apparently over 200 people "confessed" to the Lindberg baby kidnapping. The guy was on the "short list" for three different crimes in three different states. Worth at the very least a look, IMO.

Wow.. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14490666/ Oregon dad saves newborn after birth at home Father performed CPR on daughter after sudden delivery Updated: 10:35 p.m. CT Aug 23, 2006 PORTLAND, Ore. - Acting on the instructions of a 911 operator, Boe Ellis breathed life into his newborn daughter as paramedics raced to the house where the baby arrived sooner than her parents or doctors expected. "I would give Dad all the credit in the world," said Bob Pulford, one of the paramedics. Only hours earlier, Sharon Ellis had gone for a routine checkup at Willamette Falls Hospital, where doctors told her she'd probably have the baby this weekend, Boe said. Sharon had a few minor contractions leading up to the Monday appointment, so Boe took the day off, and the family spent the afternoon at a friend's house. The couple went to bed at about 10 p.m., expecting little more than a restful night's sleep, Boe Ellis said. About 1 a.m. Tuesday, Sharon went into sudden labor in the bathroom of their Canby home and yelled to her husband there was no time to get to a hospital. In a matter of minutes, the baby was born. But instead of warming to a healthy pink, she was pale and struggling for air. As paramedics raced to the Ellis home, Boe, 29, followed instructions from 911 operator Tammy Shaver. He cleared his daughter's breathing passage, blew two puffs of air into her mouth and gently pressed on her chest to stimulate her heart. Finally, Boe tapped on his daughter's feet, and Bridget took her first light breaths as Pulford and fellow paramedics Val Codino and Tighe Vroman arrived. They found the baby's pulse and respiration were slow, so they left her connected to the umbilical cord and receiving oxygenated blood from her mother while they continued resuscitation. Over the next 18 minutes, they provided physical stimulation and supplemental oxygen. But the paramedics all agreed that Boe Ellis saved his baby's life and protected her from brain damage or other long-term effects. Bridget Ellis was doing fine with her mother at Legacy Meridian Park Hospital in Tualatin, with her father and her 2-year-old sister, Brooke, all smiles. Sharon Ellis, meanwhile, said she was still amazed at her husband's calm response: "I thought for sure he would have passed out in a situation like that."

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 08:28 AM) Curious what your thoughts are on this subject Steff... My thoughts are specific to my body. I have no interest in playing God.

Sick SOB's http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14491888/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14497678/ FDA OKs non-prescription ‘morning-after’ pill Decision allows over-the-counter sale of Plan B for those 18 or older WASHINGTON - Women may buy the morning-after pill without a prescription — but only with proof they’re 18 or older, federal health officials ruled Thursday, capping a contentious 3-year effort to ease access to the emergency contraceptive. Girls 17 and younger still will need a doctor’s note to buy the pills, called Plan B, the Food and Drug Administration told manufacturer Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. The compromise decision is a partial victory for women’s advocacy and medical groups that say eliminating sales restrictions could cut in half the nation’s 3 million annual unplanned pregnancies. The pills are a concentrated dose of the same drug found in many regular birth-control pills. When a woman takes the pills within 72 hours of unprotected sex, they can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. If she already is pregnant, the pills have no effect. Barr has said it hopes to begin nonprescription sales of Plan B by the end of the year. The pills will be sold only from behind the counter at pharmacies — so the pharmacist can check photo identification — but not at convenience stores or gas stations. There isn’t enough scientific evidence that young teens can safely use Plan B without a doctor’s supervision, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA’s acting commissioner, said in a memo obtained by The Associated Press. But Barr did prove that over-the-counter use is safe for older teens and adults — and licensed pharmacies are used to checking for proof of age 18 before selling tobacco and certain other products, von Eschenbach wrote in explaining the agency’s age cutoff. “This approach should help ensure safe and effective use of the product,” he concluded.

QUOTE(SnB @ Aug 23, 2006 -> 03:53 PM) have an awesome one justin. get a birthday haircut HB Kiddo..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060823/en_tv_eo/19833 A Racy Twist for "Survivor" By Gina Serpe Wed Aug 23, 7:21 PM ET Some may call it exploiting racial tensions. CBS calls it darn good television. Jeff Probst popped in on The Early Show Wednesday morning, confirming the reports that the 20 castaways for Survivor: Cook Islands will be grouped by race, with competitors divided into four tribes consisting of whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics. Apparently, "separate but equal" holds only the warmest of connotations for Mark Burnett. Like a good host, Probst had nothing but praise for the producers' controversial brainchild, calling the exercise in segregation a valuable social experiment, rather than a stunt to dig up some controversy--and raise ratings. "The idea for this actually came from the criticism that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough, because for whatever reason, we always have a low number of minority applicants apply for the show," Probst said. "So we set out and said, 'Let's turn this criticism into creative for the show.' And I think it fits perfectly with what Survivor does, which is, it is a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment, which is taking the show to a completely different level." Different level, yes. Good level, still to be determined. "If I had been a producer of this show, it is not an idea I would have come up with or given approval to," Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told E! Online. "It's like a return back to segregated leagues in sports. The unseemly interest this will invite certainly is not worth the dramatic elements it's going to bring." "To the less-than-open minded person, it is very easy to trash us," Burnett explained to Entertainment Weekly. "But we're smart enough to not make it negative. We're smart enough to have gotten rid of every racist person in casting." Though more to the point, the producers haven't and can't weed out every racially sensitive person in their audience who may take offense to the seemingly archaic, and potentially socially irresponsible, division. While the 43-year-old host admitted that the players themselves had "mixed reactions" to the racial separation, he made clear that the division was not meant to incite any controversy, add to the tension during the competition or simply be viewed as a gimmick. "Our original idea was simply to have the most ethnically diverse group of people on TV. It wasn't until we got to casting and started noticing this theme of ethnic pride that we started thinking, 'Wow, if culture is still playing such a big part in these people's lives, that's our idea. Let's divide them based on ethnicity,' " he said. Though not everyone is as excited about the idea as Probst and his Survivor crew. "It sounds like a gimmick a lot of people are going to have real issues as to the taste of," Thompson said. Referencing Burnett's previous experiments on Survivor and The Apprentice to divide teams by boys vs. girls and, more recently on the latter, by street smarts vs. book smarts, Thompson said that "these things don't often work so well in less dicey situations." And any publicity is good publicity, right? "As far as getting some attention, getting it talked about again, this'll do it," Thompson said. "Survivor is a great game. It's the gold standard of reality TV. But nobody seems to talk about it anymore." Or watch it. Survivor: Cook Islands will be the reality show's 13th installment and comes on the heels of the least watched season in the series' history. Despite garnering an Emmy nod for Best Reality Competition, Survivor: Panama--Exile Island, which split the tribes based on gender and age, averaged a franchise-low 16.8 million viewers. Hence the latest drastic measure. CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler told EW that while she was hesitant to give the go-ahead on the "risky idea," she finally relented, saying it was the logical next step in "a show that explores social politics." "It's not just 18 white people," Probst told the magazine. "Suddenly you have new slang, new rituals--people doing things like making fire in ways that haven't been done on Survivor. I think we have a season where people will say you can never go back to what you were before." It's not the first time a primetime reality show has flirted with race, though it will be the first time one follows through. Last year, Donald Trump hinted that The Apprentice was toying with the idea of dividing his two teams by race, only to backtrack on the notion when backlash started up, saying "I personally don't like it, so it will never happen." Survivor: Cook Islands kicks off Sept. 14. Here's a list of the competitors: Rebecca Borman, 24, makeup artist, Laurelton, New York; Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui, 42, nail salon manager, Christiansburg, Virginia; Sekou Bunch, 45, jazz musician, Los Angeles; J.P. Calderon, 30, pro volleyball player, Marina Del Rey, California; Cristina Coria, 35, police officer, Los Angeles; Stephannie Favor, 35, nursing student, Columbia, South Carolina; Billy Garcia, 36, heavy metal guitarist, New York City; Adam Gentry, 28, copier sales, San Diego; Nathan Gonzalez, 26, retail sales, Los Angeles; Jenny Guzon-Bae, 36, real estate agent, Lake Forest, Illinois; Yul Kwon, 31, management consultant, San Mateo, California; Becky Lee, 28, attorney, Washington, D.C.; Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, 25, waiter, Venice, California; Cecilia Mansilla, 29, technology risk consultant, Oakland; Sundra Oakley, 31, actress, Los Angeles; Jonathan Penner, 44, writer/producer, Los Angeles; Parvati Shallow, 23, boxer/waitress, Los Angeles; Jessica Smith, 27, performance artist/rollergirl, Chico, California; Brad Virata, 29, fashion director, Los Angeles; Candice Woodcock, 23, premed student, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

I just don't understand what the harm would have been to bring him in and question him 5 years ago. Maybe the "confession" would have come out then. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_...jonbenet_ramsey Ramsey suspect raised suspicions in 2001 By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES - John Mark Karr first came to the attention of California officials five years ago when he emerged as a potential suspect in the murder of a 12-year-old girl and showed an "apparent fascination" with the murders of JonBenet Ramsey and Polly Klaas. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, which launched an investigation that would ultimately lead to Karr being charged with child pornography, made the disclosure in a statement Wednesday. "In a few instances while he seemed to be wondering about the JonBenet Ramsey murder, he made uncertain allusions to placing himself in the killer's role," according to a statement by Lt. Dave Edmonds. "However, we never uncovered any 'confession' statements, overt murder evidence, or other indications that John Karr possessed secret knowledge that only the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey would know." The Sonoma department also noted Karr made references to two other crimes in two different states, including the 1993 murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas in Petaluma and a child molestation. Information about Karr was provided in 2001 to the investigating agencies in all those states, including Colorado, and there were follow-up discussions, the release said. Boulder police referred questions to the district attorney's office. A spokeswoman for that office did not return after-hours calls Wednesday. The 2001 investigation is the earliest known time that Karr was brought to the attention of authorities investigating the 1996 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet in her Boulder County, Colo., home. Ultimately, Karr, who did not appear to be a viable suspect in the 1997 murder of a 12-year-old named Georgia Moses, was charged with possession of child pornography. He fled and an arrest warrant was issued, but authorities said they were unable to locate him. "During the course of our investigation in 2001, we learned of Karr's apparent fascination with the 1993 murder of Polly Klaas in Petaluma, and the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado. In some writings, Karr presented ideas about what the murderers of Polly Klaas and JonBenet Ramsey must have thought and felt," the statement said. Karr remained jailed in Los Angeles on Thursday awaiting transport to Colorado, which has issued a murder warrant for his arrest. He told reporters in Thailand, where he was detained last week, that he was with JonBenet when she died and that it was an accident. Karr's family contends he was with them in Georgia at the time of the Colorado killing, while an ex-wife has said she believes Karr was likely with her in Alabama. Neither she or the family have offered definitive proof. Beyond first-degree murder, the counts against Karr in a sealed probable-cause arrest warrant include murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault on a child. In other developments Wednesday, Karr's relatives offered up the book and film rights to the family's story in hopes of raising money for a high-powered attorney to defend Karr against charges that he killed JonBenet. "They're not looking for money for themselves," said Larry Garrison, a producer the family hired to represent them in media deals. "They're looking to support John's boys' college education and to make sure all legal fees are covered."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060823/sc_nm/...exico_aztecs_dc Boiled bones show Aztecs butchered, ate invaders By Catherine Bremer Wed Aug 23, 4:23 PM ET CALPULALPAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Skeletons found at an unearthed site in Mexico show Aztecs captured, ritually sacrificed and partially ate several hundred people traveling with invading Spanish forces in 1520. Skulls and bones from the Tecuaque archaeological site near Mexico City show about 550 victims had their hearts ripped out by Aztec priests in ritual offerings, and were dismembered or had their bones boiled or scraped clean, experts say. The findings support accounts of Aztecs capturing and killing a caravan of Spanish conquistadors and local men, women and children traveling with them in revenge for the murder of Cacamatzin, king of the Aztec empire's No. 2 city of Texcoco. Experts say the discovery proves some Aztecs did resist the conquistadors, led by explorer Hernan Cortes, before the Spaniards attacked the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. History books say many indigenous Mexicans welcomed the white-skinned horsemen in the belief they were returning gods but turned against the Spaniards once they tried to take over the Aztec seat of power in a conflict that ended in 1521. "This is the first place that has so much evidence there was resistance to the conquest," said archaeologist Enrique Martinez, director of the dig at Calpulalpan in Tlaxcala state, near Texcoco. "It shows it wasn't all submission. There was a fight." The caravan was apparently captured because it was made up mostly of the mulatto, mestizo, Maya Indian and Caribbean men and women given to the Spanish as carriers and cooks when they landed in Mexico in 1519, and so was moving slowly. The prisoners were kept in cages for months while Aztec priests selected a few each day at dawn, held them down on a sacrificial slab, cut out their hearts and offered them up to various Aztec gods. Some may have been given hallucinogenic mushrooms or pulque -- an alcoholic milky drink made from fermented cactus juice -- to numb them to what was about to happen. TEETH MARKS "It was a continuous sacrifice over six months. While the prisoners were listening to their companions being sacrificed, the next ones were being selected," Martinez said, standing in his lab amid boxes of bones, some of young children. "You can only imagine what it was like for the last ones, who were left six months before being chosen, their anguish." The priests and town elders, who performed the rituals on the steps of temples cut off by a perimeter wall, sometimes ate their victims' raw and bloody hearts or cooked flesh from their arms and legs once it dropped off the boiling bones. Knife cuts and even teeth marks on the bones show which ones had meat stripped off to be eaten, Martinez said. Aztec warriors whitened the bones with lime and carried them as amulets. Some were used as ornaments in homes. In Aztec times, the site was called Zultepec, a town of white-stucco temples and homes where some 5,000 people grew maize and beans and produced pulque to sell to traders. Priests had to be brought in for the ritual killings because human sacrifices had never taken place there, Martinez said. On hearing of the massacre, Cortes renamed the town Tecuaque -- meaning "where people were eaten" in the indigenous Nahuatl language -- and sent an army to wipe out its people. When they heard the Spanish were coming, the Zultepec Aztecs threw their victims' possessions down wells, unwittingly preserving buttons and jewelry for the archaeologists. The team began work in 1990 and is only now finishing its investigation. It found remains of domestic animals brought from Spain, like goats and pigs. "They hid all the evidence," said Martinez. "Thanks to that act, we have been allowed to discover a chapter we were unaware of in the conquest of Mexico."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_...ujols_science_3 Pujols aces tests given to Babe Ruth Tue Aug 22, 11:38 PM ET ST. LOUIS - How does El Hombre match up against the Sultan of Swat? This spring, Washington University scientists, at the request of GQ magazine, put Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols through a series of tests similar to those given to Babe Ruth 85 years ago — tests ranging from finger tapping to visual responses to bat speed. The results? Both men aced the tests, and their results were strikingly similar. In 1921, psychologists at Columbia University put Ruth through scientific tests to try to determine what made him great. He had faster than average reflexes, steady nerves, and superior sight and hearing. The same holds true for Pujols. At Washington University, clinical neuropsychologist Desiree White and cognitive psychologist Richard Abrams and their colleagues gave Pujols tests resembling the ones Ruth took. Both men were 26 and top hitters when they were tested. GQ features some of the results of the Pujols tests in its September issue. For one test, White put a piece of paper in front of Pujols. Capital letters were strewn about the page. White told Pujols to locate and cross out all of the As. White realized she'd never seen anyone scan the page the way Pujols did. Most people scan a page left to right, the way they do when they read. Pujols visually divided the page into sectors and searched each one briefly for the letters before moving on to the next sector. When he'd searched all sectors, he returned to the first and started over. It took him four rounds and a minute to complete the task. "I've never seen anyone scan that way, but it would be important on the baseball field," White said, noting the skill would allow Pujols to scan the field and know where everyone is without missing any action. In another test, Pujols replicated 133 symbols in a minute — a testament to Pujols' hand-eye coordination. The test makers don't even list a score that high. In a test of finger-tapping speed, Pujols tapped at 2.4 standard deviations faster than average — placing him in the 99th percentile. "It just doesn't get any better than that," White said. In fact, Pujols popped the screw right out of the finger tapper. He was contrite, even fixed the machine, tightening the screw with a fingernail. White said Pujols' performance on any one test doesn't explain his abilities; it's the whole package that probably counts. "My hypothesis would be that there's something special about how he puts it all together" on the field, she said.

Busy week. Phillies game last night. Bears game Friday night. Sox game Saturday. And golfing on Sunday.

I had absolutely no idea the storms headed in were going to be that bad. Glad you guys are OK Mike.

Great big difference between 6.5 and 7.5 back...

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Aug 23, 2006 -> 12:08 PM) flashback to '05 during the funk of late August and September. We were all saying the same thing then and they surprised us. Could happen again. I'm in. Pain and suffering are my constant companions. We BLEW a FIFTEEN GAME LEAD yet last years team keeps being referrered to as one the the greatest...??? It boggles my mind.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 11:56 PM) That's a joke, right?

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Aug 23, 2006 -> 09:11 AM) Im sorry but when you travel a lot like myself... and everytime you get pulled to the side... I think it has something to do w/ the color of my skin. Especially since a few of those times I was with groups of many ethnicities and im the only one pulled aside. My former co-worker gets pulled every time. She's 5'3", overweight, and Ivory White Irish. She's inquired several times and written letters to anyone that will listen. She somehow got on a list and every time she travels she is pulled aside. There is a process to get removed from that list. Maybe inquire about why you are getting pulled before making assinine accusations.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 23, 2006 -> 09:47 AM) Was this really new thread worthy? You aren't serious...? We aren't even half way done with the bulls***. And don't forget about two weeks from now when all those that jumped off this week will be whining like babies with a full load to be let back on the wagon... Sigh.. As said many times last year... wake me when September ends. Just in time for the jumpers and fans to be separated. QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 23, 2006 -> 09:55 AM) I'm surprised that you, of all people, just used that phrase. Old habits are hard to break.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 12:56 PM) Even cuter! Look at those perfectly arched eyebrows! And that would be a mouthful for a kid, Steff is waaaaay better. Oh, and congrats! LMAO.. her eyebrows were the first thing I commented on. The shorter second toe being the second, QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 01:02 PM) What's wrong with that? Its what we all call you Ha. Ha.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 12:07 PM) Oh no. The co-writer of the Sox' fight song died? Talk about a bad omen. :-) Pack it in folks.. the season is over.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 22, 2006 -> 12:04 PM) Oh yea. Like myself, for example. At least you have a broad perspective, can rationalize the importance of the baseball world versus the real world, comprehend the ramifications of both and prioritize them in accordance to the impact they have on your daily life, and still work a 10 hour day.

I wish my employees worried as much, and in as much detail, about their jobs as some of you guys do about the Sox woes.