Well, obviously, the title of this post doesn't have anything to do with Lilah, so on to the point. The weather this weekend was not really conducive to riding. They don't like to get too far away from home when it looks like it could come a downpour at any moment. On Monday afternoon, they still had one more errand to run, and because they hadn't been on the bike all weekend, they decided to take the long way into town to the grocery store. What we wanted to share with you here, is how they managed to come home with over $70 worth of groceries on the motorcycle!

Yep, all of this was brought home on the motorcycle, thanks to the leather saddle bags and the sissy bar bag. Sport utility vehicle? I think it is! It is definitely sporty, obviously utilitarian, and just imagine an "SUV" that gets this kind of gas mileage! They find new reasons to fall in love with this bike all the time!

Of course, it doesn't say much for the state of our economy that it cost $70 for this amount of groceries!

Boomer

For those of you outside Arizona, remember that Arizona doesn't participate in daylight savings time. For the time being, 7:00 PM Arizona time is 10:00 PM Eastern.

Saturday's show will feature Matt Bunk, managing editor of the Arizona Capitol Times. Without taking sides, we'll be exploring the ramifications of a yes or no vote on Proposition 101, the Medical Choice Initiative. This proposition would affect just about everyone on Medicare, so we'd better get the facts straight before we blow this vote!

We will also chat with Melle Amade, co-founder of Festival of the Wise. You can click on the ad located on the right-hand side of this post to go to the Festival of the Wise website. It's chock-full of information about all the ways you can "get your boomer on" with thousands of other boomers.

Melle will entice us with updates on events planned for the inaugural festival making its debut on December 6 and 7 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. If you're a baby boomer, aptly also a member of The Wise, you'll want to be on hand for the music, fun and thought-provoking breakout sessions. Matt Thornhill, founder of the Boomer Project and co-author of The Boomer Consumer, will be appearing on the Atrium Stage. In our role as emcees of the Atrium Stage, Pete and I will be introducing Matt and all the other remarkable thought leaders and talent assembled for the two days.

Thanks for checking in. We have other news to share about exciting programs we are planning for our radio show and other media.

So if you're a baby boomer searching for people with similar time specific memories or maybe  just a person who’s fond of staring at optical illusions, playing psychological games and pondering upon the mysteries of the human brain, www.boomeryearbook.com is the social network for you.

In the sixties I heard the "generation gap" talked about by the talking heads on the TV news.  When I left my career in the information systems industry and traded it for a Bible (life with Jesus) and a volunteer position in a small church I began to hear about all kinds of generations: The Builders, The Boomers, The Generation X(ers), The Ys, The Busters.  

During the past several years the books written for people who work in churches have used the terms "modern" and "post-modern" referring more to two paradigms of thinking about life and events than actual chronological generations. In essence these terms refer to the same concept as "generation" and really harken way back to the sixties, because what the terms are really about is a generation gap.  The moderns don't really understand the post-moderns, and visa-versa, and a lot of thought is being spent on bridging the gap so that the two groups will be able to talk to each other and communicate.  

Communication along these lines appears doubtful.  I read the other day that post-moderns do not like to be called post-moderns. They think of themselves as "birds."   So modern paradigm book writers and even some post-modern paradigm authors have been calling them (themselves)  the wrong thing all along.  

I begin this blog in hope of pointing to the ultimate end of all this relatively meaningless discussion about generation gaps and to energize a global conversation and even activism centered on our essential unity.  It is time we recognize the end of the gap.  Two-thousand-years ago The Creator of The Universe and of human-kind became flesh and in so doing ushered in a generation to end all generations, a transcendent generation.  

Many of you already know this.  The problem for me is that the only place you ever hear about this remarkable event is in some (not all) churches.  So, this blog is going to attempt to illuminate events in the light of this "new" understanding of generational politics.  The generation of those who have met Jesus needs a voice in things that does not sound Catholic, or Presbyterian, or Southern Baptist, or Independent Baptist, or Episcopal, or Lutheran, or Methodist, you, get, the, idea.  Lets engage in a great conversation coupled with action and see where Jesus leads His generation.  

I think we need a name for it!

Lets call this generation "the icthuse generation".  Icthuse is the transliteration of the Greek word for fish.  Some followers of Jesus put little "fish" symbols on the rear bumper of their cars. That's it, the icthuse. The icthuse generation cuts across all age groups and intellectual styles. It puts an end to the trivial differences and celebrates the essential unity of all of us in the midst of our humanity.  In the icthuse generation there are no races, no sexes, no nations, no religions, no us, no them.  We have all become one people by the unifying act implicit in the birth, death, and resurrection into a new life (a life we may all share in) of Jesus The Christ.  

The icthuse generation exists because Jesus is alive.

We are all invited to join with Him as He lives out His Life among us.  If this seems difficult to believe - if you think there is some kind of nuttiness going on here - that's cool.  Just come back once and a while and check out this blog.  I am attempting to make sense of if all, free of the constraints of the usual religious thinking.  Let me know what you are thinking along the lines of this whole God thing or no God thing and perhaps the conversation will grow large and inclusive and turn into a pleasing symphony of voices seeking meaning and perhaps God as we all walk together on the journey. The only journey.  

Thanks for being part of the beginning.

Robert Curtis - activist, the icthusegeneration - santa rosa beach, florida

Las canciones se conjugan con imágenes, y el autor logra hacer saltar esa chispa para que todo el público se ponga a cantar viejas canciones que estaban aparcadas en nuestra memoria y que son fiel reflejo de lo que fue nuestra niñez. Todos se sienten identificados y participan del espectáculo. Cuando acaba, sales con esa sonrisilla de haberlo pasado estupendamente, y agradeces poder comentar con tus amigos lo grato ha sido recordar esos momentos. 

Yo fui uno de ellos, de esos espinetes en un país donde todos veíamos el mismo canal de la tele, el único que había. Aquellos tiempos en que aprendimos a diferenciar marcas de los chuches, no eran los mismo los Chimos que el Boomer. Ni que los Reyes te trajeran un Scalextric que un CinExín.

Yo pertencí a esa generación en la que mi máxima aspiración era conseguir cinco duros de mis padres para ir a gastarlo al kiosko, nuestro pequeño paraíso sin saber lo que era un alquiler, una hipoteca o la tan manida palabrita, crisis.

Harley-Davidson built a Servi-Car (a three-wheeled utility motorcycle) from 1932 to 1973.  Then for the 2009 model year Harley introduced the new Tri-Glide Classic. 

Customers who are turned off by the thought of sliding atop a motorcycle have more options these days, but few options exist for small displacement (below 400cc) trikes.  

I'm speculating here, but Harley may be looking to change this and bring a more diverse selection to new riders entering the sport.  According to the Wired Magazine Blog, Harley is planning to introduce a "leaning trike" at the Intermot Motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany next month.  They surfed across information and images from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and posted the information which shows a trike with 2-wheels upfront and pivoting on an independent suspension to provide motorcycle-like "leaning" capability.

One could argue this is similar to the Can-am Spyder Roadster designed by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) and that Harley is playing copy-cat in its effort to create a new category of on-road vehicles.  Who knows.

If indeed small displacement then clearly it's all about sales of Harley products.  Scooter sales have skyrocketed in the first half of 2008.  Up 66% as compared to a year ago and at the same time overall motorcycle sales have only achieved a meager 0.5% increase.  Meanwhile Harley sales have decreased 8.7% so for them to go looking at other alternatives would seem prudent for the stockholders.

However, the last time I was on a trike I was 5 years old.  I had a neighbor buddy that stated the only reason to ride something with three wheels was that I was too scared to ride something with two...I reacted and went to two.

Clearly I'm not a motoring writer and just not connecting with these.  Is it closer to a car than a motorbike?  Do you steer it like a snowmobile and forget that the brake is on your foot rather than the handlebars?  Do you clamp your thighs to it like it's a Quad in the sand dunes or did I lose you all with that semi-bikespeak and should be using horse riding metaphors?

Two-wheels up front or two in back, a trike is a trike and they have an image problem as a toy.  Even the fact that you don't have to have a motorcycle license doesn't make sense to me.  And if you are a biker who has reach that "certain age" and starting to think it would be nice to...these will look just as silly being trailered as the motorcycle's do today.

Images courtesy of Wired and U.S. Patent Office.

The path for a young female minister does not seem to be an easy one.  Listening to my wife's reflections and those of her roomates shows me some things that I would not normally pick up on.  Though I am also in seminary getting a similar education as what they got, I am not headed for ordained ministry, I am not looking for a church job, my view is a little different than theirs.  I have sympathy having gone through stressful and dissappointing job search times myself.  What I do not necessarily see is the sexism that they pick up on.

Churches (generally speaking) tend to favor older male leadership.  I can see this for myself.  The age part of it is not hard to understand.  I think that churches with a boomer+ age group tend to look to the pastor has a person of spiritual maturity who can be trusted to give wisdom and guideance through all of life's challenges.  Nothing wrong there.  The dangerous assumption that I think boomer+ people make is that when they look at a young minister who might be their pastor they see their children and/or grandchildren.  They see one who they would expect to dispens life exerience to, not the other way around.  The young minister is the inexperienced minister regardless of what prior job experience they might have.  And relatively speaking, they have a point.  The grandmother with a tribe of 12 under her has more life and family experience than the young female pastor yet to have any children.  How can that pastor minister to young families that are struggling wih out of control teenagers?

And right there, I think is a signal of the underlying problem.  For many the pastor is supposed to be the source of all encompassing wisdom, advice and spirital care.  Many of my generation see the community as its own all encompassing source of wisdom, advice and spiritual care.  It is the pastor's job to recognize the grandmother's experience and desire to share it and pave the way for her wisdom to be a lifesaver for the family with teens or toddlers.  Such leadership is nuanced, it accepts ambiguity and leverages social captial to meet social needs.

This is a radically different paradigm.  Its not even top-down vs. bottom-up, its more like top-down vs. a web of connections and relationships.  Top-down leadership can be done very well.  But things have changed, especially among seminarians.  Ethno-cultural factors have a role in the change as well.  I know that I have seen this the clash in white churches.  It might be even more stark for a recently trained seminarian in an ALANA church.

I find it troubling that so many churches that see their membership numbers dropping and the median age of the congregation going up turn to a "contemporary" service to attract younger people but refuse to invest in young leadership.  If you want to change your churches direction then how is hiring the same person who has been in the church for the past 50 years going to make that happen?

Let us know when you are ready, there are a lot of talented young minister out their eating ramen while you open up your mind.

Part 1: My summer as an employee in Granby Zoo

With summer coming and the semester at CEGEP about to end, it came the moment when I had to start to think again about looking for a summer job. As I mentioned in my post Memories of Bliss, last summer I had had my first job, and it had been a very enriching and fruitful experience. Still, the fact remained that I had worked for only three weeks. This summer, I wanted to try and see whether I was capable of having a job for three or four months, and I also wanted to go a "step" up the ladder of "job evolution"; with this I mean that I could have chosen a job related to my career, Computer Science, but instead I chose to apply to the "Zoo de Granby."

After passing (barely) a test on client service and, later, much more comfortably, a personal interview, I was hired as bossboy for the Marché, the main restaurant of the Zoo. My job there consisted, basically, in making sure that everything was neat and tidy in the zones of the restaurant that the clients could be at. That included, among other things: Cleaning the floors (broom and moping), tables, windows, doors, counters, baby chairs, and everything else you can imagine; refilling the condiment "boxes", answering questions of the clients ("Where is the bathroom?" being the question), opening and closing the restaurant, etc.

The job itself could be pleasant sometimes, tiring at others, and sometimes both: it all depended mostly on how many hours I had slept at night! On a normal day, we woudl have about 8,000 to 10,000 people coming to the Zoo (and sometimes one could swear they all came to eat to the restaurant!), but we also had "light" days, when it rained, in which we would have some 6,000 clients or less (I would never have believed that 6,000 people would come to the Zoo in a rainy day if I had not seen it with my own eyes!); we also had "heavy" days.

The heavy days were those of 12,000 or more people, and the Zoo would close one hour later. The heaviest period we had this summer was a day in which 16,500 people came to the Zoo, and then the next there were 16,000 people; those days I had to work nine and ten hours respectively (running up and down the restaurant), and enter at 7AM the next day! Funny enough, after that row, all of the bossboys started to get tired of the job.

Fortunately, the ambiance at the restaurant was great, as far as workmates and bosses goes. I made a lot of friends among then, and I was friendly with all the rest; I even got a surprise hug from one of the bosses on my last day!

As for the personal part of it, well, this was what I called my "job experiment #2". From the first day I tried to keep always in mind Yogananda's axiom, the greater the will the greater the flow of energy, and also his counsel for working people: "No matter what job you do, big or small. Do it so well that the patron can't manage without you!". Also, since the job was all about serving people, I took it as a practice of Karma Yoga, and as an act of devotion: serving God as manifested through the people who come to the restaurant.

I cannot tell on my overall degree of success on all of these objectives, but I did do my best to keep up to them. I do know, however, that my efforts reached a certain level of acomplishment, when seen from the eyes of others. Here I will write two of these reassuring experiences:

Once, I went back to my "cleaning cart" in order to pick up something; two girls who were working with me that day were already there, cleaning some trays. As I joined them, one of them, who was seeing me work (from this perspective) for the first time, exclaimed: "I don't know how you do to do everything that fast!". Her companion, Myriam, responded: "He's usually like that," to which the first girl asked: "But you are not stressed?" I shrugged, and Myriam said: "No, he's never stressed. He works fast as four people, but he's always calm. He's perfect [as a bossboy]".

Yogananda's advice, "be calmly active and actively calm" is, therefore, a jewel.

During the party for the end of the season, to which I could not attend because I was flying to California, I was awarded the "WOW prize" (not to confound with "WoW" prize!!!!!) of the restauration department of the Zoo. Thus, the axiom "The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy" is also a jewel!

Independently of these, however, only I know which my mental and emotinal states were during my period of working at the Zoo, and they had their highs and lows. In the overall, however, I believe experiment #2 was brought to a happy conclusion. I learned quite a lot of lessons on service and right attitude to be happy with the result. As a plus, my French improved a huge lot during these few months!

Yesterday, Saturday 27th, 2008, I shaked Michel's hand on the parting moment, after giving back my uniform and my employee card. Thus finished my journey as an employee of the Zoo, among smiles and best wishes!

Part 2: Visiting Granby Zoo

Happy news! Now free from having to work at the Zoo during the weekend, I actually could go there with my siblings and visit. It is a great zoo, named one of the top 10 in North America, but I have written enough already. Let me instead show you some pictures and videos, selected among the 255 pictures and nearly 50 videos we have taken in the place (there were more, but about a third of them were accidentally deleted).

As for the videos, here they go:

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Lemurs playing and jumping around.

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Here is a young tiger and his mother. The kid is running around and bugging her mother, as all little felines do! It's awesome!!

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The alligators being given their food. The first one to appear in camera is the male, who is much bigger; the other is the female.

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Here is Bommer. He looks bored; he must be growing up because he does not move a lot... fortunately, he's not an adult yet: those never move!!!

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I got this video thinking especially of Sheena! The turtle is huge... I think that's its running speed.

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This video is dark and the kids get in the middle, but it shows how they are feeding a snake. This one is fourteen years old, while the species normally live up to twelve years.

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Here is the baby hippo being a pain to his father. They do this all day!!!

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One of the kangaroos, who got a little too confident with me.

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This monkey sure knows how to put a "poor me" show!

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A different monkey species, sillying around.

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A gorilla who is quite comfortable.

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A third gorilla walks in from the other room and puts on a show as an abusive.

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The spectacled bear eating and taking his time.

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One of the snow leopards patroling the zone. I tried four times to get a clear shot of it, but this is the best one that came out. At least you can see her face a couple of times!

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Yet another monkey species jumping around. They do have a lot of monkeys.

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One of the jaguars looking through the window which leads to his inside cage.

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The female ocelot being completely adorable, I love her!!!!!!!!! She's pregnant right now.

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The male ocelot; he reminds me so much of one of my cats!

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Feeding the alligators again, one week later. I decided to include this video, because the male alligator is being so dumb to get his food!

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The adult lions of the zoo. I have never seen them move this much, ever!

And with that, I retire. I hope you liked the pictures and videos!

Joy to you!

Nancy Phleger is a Small Business and Group Benefits Specialist with Pre-Paid Legal. She has been with the company for 10 years. She is also a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS) and trains professionals to understand and address Identity Theft and related fraud. The comprehensive CITRMS course addresses risks and issues for consumers, employees, and businesses / professional practices. The course is available to many professionals, including areas of insurance, finance, legal, law enforcement and others.

Nancy can be reached at 623-486-0375 (office) or 623-261-9242 (cell) or at www.nmdbenefits.com.

Nancy's discussion with us is about what companies need to know about FACTA Red Flag Rules, requirements and possible penalties. Listen here: sep-23-nancy-phleger (takes a minute or so to load, so don't go away!).

running time: 28 minutes

The Boomer and The Babe - getting our boomer on and Always FACTA compliant!

Because at 50, you're just getting started!

The topic of sugar being way too prevalent in our food supply was but one of the health issues we discussed when they were on our show. Apparently we consume about 4-5 pounds of sugar a week -- that's before you put extra sugar on the cereal, mind you!

The good doctors spent an hour with us and described the various modalities they employ to support good health in as natural a way as possible. Dr. Don also discussed the weight-loss protocol he is using that is producing excellent results for men and women alike. Dr. Jennifer, who specializes in women's health and wellness, highlighted her community talks on issues like menopause, chronic fatigue and thyroid problems.

Doctors, best wishes on the occasion of your first anniversary (last month)! You are welcome on the show again to talk about boomer health and quality of life. I look forward to a discussion around something we said in this show about the processed foods we eat and the toxic cleaning supplies we use: "New and improved is not necessarily good for you!"

Listen to the show here. [audio http://theboomerandthebabeshow.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/jul-17-don-underwood.mp3]

running time: 47.5 minutes

The boom operator or Boomer on a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft has his own window to watch the refueling probe as tanker and receiving aircraft travel at hundreds of miles per hour. Put this exciting "Boomer's View" on your wall as a poster or framed print. Visit the PatriArt Gallery today.

Almost 22 years ago - Dec. 17, 1986 to be precise - RaileR Cantrell joined the U.S. Air Force. After spending four years as an administrative troop, he decided he wanted to try a different career field, but wasn't sure what. 

In 1990, while stationed at Hahn Air Base, Germany, after talking with retired Chief Master Sgt. Ron Cain, his mind was firmly made up. The chief was a boom operator who had flown missions in Vietnam, and it was he who was to change then-Senior Airman Cantrell's life for the better. 

Tech. Sgt. Cantrell, 351st Air Refueling Squadron completed his 6,000th flying hour as a boom operator Aug. 18 - 18 years later. He says he would have reached that milestone earlier, but he was involved in a serious vehicle accident left him with major injuries and a forced gap of three years with no flying. 

He's the only boom operator currently at RAF Mildenhall who has reached the 6,000 flying hours milestone. 

"It felt like a weight off my shoulders, knowing I'd finally reached this mark," he said. "I realized my goal was attainable, but it took a whole lot of work - and I did it in a plane that's more than 50 years old. 

"Adding this sortie to my tally was a great relief, but a good feeling, shaking hands with my crew members and thanking them for what they did." 

And just for once, because he was about to reach the 6,000 flying hour milestone, Sergeant Cantrell got permission to choose his own aircrew for the flight. 

To help mark his achievement, he picked Maj. Kenneth Sierra, 351st ARS, as aircraft commander, Capt. Jeremiah Trawick, 351st ARS, as co-pilot (though unfortunately he couldn't do the flight and was replaced by 1st Lt. Brian Morgan, 351st ARS), and Maj. Patrick Knott, 351st ARS, as navigator. 

"The crew I was able to choose for my sortie was chosen because they are some of the finest officers I have known," he said. "The aircraft commander, Maj. Sierra, and I have flown before and he is one of the best aviators I've known. The co-pilot was a last minute change, so it was great to fly with a young and upcoming aviator.

"'I've only worked with Maj. Knott (on the ground) and we've been trying to fly before this, but never had the opportunity. So having him on board as well was like having an original Strategic Air Command crew of four aviators, working to keep the peace." 

It was the Air Force birthday, Sept. 18, in 1990, when the Woodstock warrior finished his training and went back to his unit (at Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, New York). From then until December that year, he finished his qualifications and became a mission-qualified boom operator. 

"My instructor (then-) Tech. Sgt. Scott Stern, told me something I'll never forget. He said, 'I will impart a year's worth of knowledge to you, in this short amount of time you're here,' - and he did, literally. I was the only boom who would bring my books home every night to study and read, because I had to be in briefings every couple of days." 

Out of the 26 booms who started at the enlisted aeronautical undergraduate course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, only 13 finished, said Sergeant Cantrell. 

On Dec. 7 - the anniversary of Pearl Harbor - he left to deploy to Iraq for the Gulf War. 

"Over there, you learn more of the craft and the trade on your own. You learn what it is to be a boom operator; you don't cut corners, you don't cheat yourself out of what the checklist is telling you," he said, explaining how he thought the experience helped him become better at his job. 

To this day, the Mildenhall boom operator credits the retired chief master sergeant with helping him achieve that goal in the first place. 

"To me, (retired) Chief Cain is a legend; he's the only boom I know who flew 500 combat sorties in Vietnam - that's quite an accomplishment. It was because of him I became a boom operator," the Woodstock, Ga., native said. 

Sergeant Cantrell is the last original member of the 351st ARS, when the unit was set up at RAF Mildenhall in 1992, along with the 100th Air Refueling Wing. He was first stationed here from September 1992 to October 1995. 

"Because of RAF Mildenhall's history, we had the nose art put on all the planes; we had the Box D on the plane and we had a letter signed by the Queen (Elizabeth II) so we could put the crown (which is part of the Royal Air Force patch for RAF Mildenhall) on the tail - you can't put the crown anywhere unless you had permission. 

"Along with the crown and the station patch, there are nine white stars on the tail flash which signify the nine original jets we brought over here in 1992," he said. "When we do the static displays for base tours, I like to go and talk to some of the guys, because I have a history background. I've always wanted to come to England and studied World War II aviation in the European theatre, so to come over here and actually meet so many of the World War II veterans from the RAF is something I'll never forget. 

"I love doing the tours - especially with the RAF guys - because they are all very knowledgeable, and I love listening to their stories. I'll never forget when one of the guys got to talking about one of the missions when they (as RAF pilots in World War II) went into France to free a lot of the (prisoners of war). 

"To see the guy was amazing," he added. "He was looking at me and all of a sudden he got that stare, and he was running that reel right back in his mind, playing that whole tape. He was sitting there telling me what was going on as he remembered flying the plane to rescue these guys, and he was telling me their names.
 
"I remember the movies they've made of it, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh - that was him!' So to meet them is an honor." 

During his first nine years as a boom operator, Sergeant Cantrell spent four-and-a-half years "on the road." 

"I've gone almost completely round the earth - I'm about 3,000 miles away from doing that," he said. 

While racking up his 6,000 flying hours, he's been to 48 states in America and to more than 65 countries. "Only the Thunderbirds have got me beat," he laughed. 

In July 2001 he became a school house instructor at Altus Air Base, Okla., and was there until September 2005, where he became a master instructor and was able to impart his knowledge to other, more junior enlisted people wanting to become boom operators. 

"You're able to mold these guys into becoming boom operators by showing them how to do refueling in the air. We had simulators, but they are nothing like doing it for real - being in the back of a plane going 300 to 400 miles per hour, showing your student how to (hook up the boom and refuel a plane); there's nothing like it." 

The 351st ARS technical sergeant said when it came time for the flight that would push him beyond his 6,000th flying hour, he was nervous. "But the crew I had that day was the best I've flown with. We were refueling F-15s from RAF Lakenheath, then we headed up to Scotland. The weather was bad, but as we broke through the cloud and saw the scenery, it was just beautiful." 

He hit 6,000 hours at 12:48 p.m., over Newcastle, when the crew was heading home to RAF Mildenhall. 

As a boom operator, he can't put in any flying hours without the aircraft commander and co-pilot, but nowadays, with the Pacer CRAG navigation system, real navigators don't get to fly much any more. But for the milestone flight, he made sure there was one on board he could rely on. 

"RaileR and I have worked together for a while on the ground; I was honored when he asked me to fly with him," said Major Knott, navigator on the flight. "I know he misses flying with a navigator, and I was more than happy to oblige. Of course, I'm never going to pass on an opportunity to pour ice-cold water down a crewmember's back as he goes down the crew entry chute!"

"There are very few people in the Air Force who have the privilege and opportunity to accrue such a large number of flying hours," he added. "It definitely says something about RaileR's commitment and ability, and this flight was one of the highlights of my assignment here at Mildenhall."

Along with praise for his crew, Sergeant Cantrell knows there are more people who have made all this possible.

"The maintainers should take a lot of the credit - without them we'd just be a static display," he said.
Karen Abeyasekere

The article, derived from the results of a focus group study, mentioned these caregiver needs in order of priority:

1. Information about available services
2. Stress management and coping strategies
3. Help with financial issues and insurance coverage
4. Help with communicating with professionals
5. Information on disease
6. Help with recruiting competent help
7. Help with learning care tasks
8. Help with communicating with person with dementia
9. Legal advice
10. Information about drugs
11. Help with addressing end-of-life issues
12. Advice on moving recipient to a facility
13. Help with dealing with family

How will the needs of caregivers impact the future of your business? I believe this is something important to consider, whether you are a retailer, a consultant or even as an employer. For more detail, the article is at: Article

Source: AARP press release of September 17, 2008, “Family Caregivers Need Help to Handle Heavy Care Demands – Lack Information, Training.” Press Release. The report mentioned in the press release, “State of the Science: Professional Partners Supporting Family Caregiving” is available at Report and includes the above article and many others on this topic.

Astronave de Combate
Há quem acredite que a vida aqui começou lá fora no universo longínquo.
Por tribos de humanos que poderiam ter sido os antepassados dos egípcios, dos Toltecas ou dos Maias.
Que podem ter sido os arquitetos das grandes pirâmides ou das civilizações perdidas de Lemúria ou Atlântida.
Alguns acreditam que ainda haja seres humanos que tentam sobreviver no distante universo estelar.
Nobres representantes.
Sei que estão ansiosos para voltar as suas naves antes de nosso encontro com os Cylons, mas seria apropriado brindar o evento mais significativo na história da raça humana.
Eu gostaria de erguer meu cálice não só como o quorum de 12 representantes das 12 colônias humanas, mas como amigos os maiores líderes já reunidos.
Estamos nos aproximando
do sétimo milênio terá paz, graças a vocês.
Paz."
Battlestar Galactica começa com a minissérie de 2003 carinhosamente chamada e BSG00, contando sobre o ataque nuclear dos Cylons devastando as 12 colônias e deixando o que sobrou da raça humana à deriva no espaço.

Não entendeu?

ok, vamos com calma.

"A proposta de Battlestar Galactica é a seguinte: os cylons são andróides criados pelos seres humanos para facilitar a vida nas colônias. Alguns desses andróides, os mais "nobres", possuem autoconsciência e, auxiliados pelos menos inteligentes, os centuriões, rebelaram-se contra seus mestres. Seguiu-se uma longa guerra, concluída com um acordo de paz e a retirada dos cylons para outro planeta, um mundo onde poderiam se desenvolver por sua própria conta.

Contudo, após anos de silêncio, eles desfecharam um fulminante ataque nuclear contras as doze colônias. Esse ataque só foi possível porque os cylons evoluíram e passaram a imitar a forma humana, isto é, tornaram-se humanóides. Dessa forma, eles ludibriaram Gaius Baltar (James Callis), uma espécie de gênio científico responsável por um programa de computador que controlava a defesa das colônias; conseguiram, com sua cooperação involuntária, um vírus que paralisou totalmente a defesa dos humanos, inclusive a das naves de combate.

Apenas a Galactica se salvou desse ataque inicial, isso porque, a mando do Comandante William Adama (agora interpretado pelo ator Edward James Olmos), os computadores da nave não estavam em rede e, portanto, não eram vulneráveis ao vírus utilizado nesse ataque. O resto da história é semelhante ao da primeira série, a Galactica reuniu cerca de setenta e cinco naves civis, com uma população de quase cinqüenta mil pessoas e passou a procurar a Terra, sempre perseguida pelos cylons. Entretanto, a nova série é bem mais profunda, não se limita a aventuras e batalhas espaciais; explora também as relações humanas em uma microcivilização ameaçada de extinção, na qual os humanos lutam entre si tanto como contra os cylons."

fonte

Minha opinião:

Um dos melhores seriados que eu ja assisti, BSG tem batalhas no espaço dignas de filmes Hollywoodianos - um padrão altíssimo para uma serie de tv. Diálogos inteligentes, uma trama que se desenvolve em meio de traições, conspirações, e conflitos de sobra.

Assista que vale a pena, a serie tem 4 temporadas, um filme spin-off e uma micro webserie! Corra que estamos em um hiato até 2009 quando teremos os 10 episodios finais da serie.

Após assistir tudo, forme suas teorias e aguarde o final dessa serie maravilhosa e prepare-se para Caprica.

fotos:

Agora Um Trailer da primeira temporada pra deixar com água na boca.

Boomer / Senior / Mature Market Stat of the Day - Women in the mature market have disposable income and a love of clothes:

"Boomers spent an estimated $42.7 billion on apparel in 2004. But they don’t wear the same sizes they wore at age 18. Clothing stores are opening across the U.S. that specialize in great-looking apparel for woman over age 35 – clothing that has verve as well as elastic waistbands."

Source: Tapping the Boomer Marketplace, by Mary Furlong, 2007

"In fact, 40 percent of female Boomers say they like or love to shop for clothes, according to Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™. And they shop for clothing 1.7 times a month. Compare that to GenXers (women aged 30-42), 45 percent of whom say they like or love to shop, and go out shopping 1.9 times a month.

In 2006, Baby Boomers accounted for 35.3 percent of unit sales and 33.3 percent dollar sales of apparel, according to data from NPD Fashionworld’s AccuPanel. In the first three months of 2007, unit sales of apparel for this age group declined 3.3 percent but dollar sales increased 3.0 percent."

Source: Cotton Incorporated, The Big Boom Theory

Whew, Web 2.0, web 3.0... talk about big backyard!

So I spent a couple of days just mulling it over. When the topic matches the growing size of the national debt, how do you define it and still get the grocery shopping done? I've decided it comes down to one question: What does web 2.0 mean to mean to me?

Well, other than this being my blog, what's behind the logic for me to feel entitled to interpret web 2.0 through my "all about me" special spyglasses?

Some background:

This blog isn't named SheBOOM without reason. Born at the late end of the boom, I'm the mother of three boys and computer literate enough that they were all moving a mouse by the age of one. I've been an voracious web user for years now - heck, I was there with Al Gore. My first paying job in the computer industry? An instructor for Radio Shack, as they marketed the TRS-80. So around? You betcha, to borrow a line from Sara Palin.

Yet, what am I doing, with my ongoing, online life, which utilizes any part of web 2.0? I online bank - while my bank appreciates the arrangement, it falls a little short in the relationship category. I'm comfortable using the web as a tool: an overburdened list of holds at our library, booking a flight, shopping on line, selling on Ebay - but in the nature of 2.0; in exchanging and creating information, I've made some feeble insteps and no real commitments. I'm a long time contributing member of an on-line social group, but really, I like insular - I am insular, reserved and private - can I hop on the web 2.0 train and feel comfort there?

Join me if you'd like while I poke around a little.