health and fitness

“Obama and Bush are not so far apart”Since Barack Obama incessantly makes the case that a John McCain administration would equate to another Bush term, it’s worth looking at just how much Sen. Obama himself is in agreement with the unpopular president. Does that mean that he, too, would be a repeat of President Bush? If one were to apply his logic, maybe so.”Is college worth it?”Money is only one of the reasons to go to college, of course. But with college costs skyrocketing and the economy worsening, the question of whether higher education is a worthy financial investment is no longer a no-brainer.”Elite students depend on public welfare for family medical care”[Stanford graduate] Students are not considered employees and so are not eligible for university’s job-based coverage, even though they work as research or teaching assistants — grading papers, doing lab work, teaching seminars. Many grad students get modest stipends, worth under $20,000 a year — but under the terms of their position, they cannot seek work elsewhere. Even those who land lucrative summer jobs at law firms, for instance, find themselves a little too wealthy for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families — but too poor to support a family on private insurance. “In Generation Seen as Colorblind, Black Is Yet a Factor”Adam French, a 21-year-old white senior and supporter of Mr. McCain, said: “It would be interesting to consider if Barack Obama had the same credentials but was John Smith, a white guy from Texas, that he would be in the same position to run. I don’t think anyone with his credentials could come anywhere close to being on a presidential ticket” without being black.Mr. French is the president of the FarmHouse chapter, where all but one member are McCain supporters. The exception is Kevin Mattingly, who said that his parents, dairy farmers, were Democrats and that he was leaning toward Mr. Obama. “I don’t have any problem with a black president,” he said. “I think it would be fine, because a lot of things people stereotype black people with, I don’t think Obama has any of them.””Why Institutions Matter”The new institutionalism … treats institutions as bundles of rules that are constantly evolving and that interact with social and cultural processes in unpredictable and sometimes idiosyncratic ways. Contingency is in; inexorability is out. … new institutionalists track outcomes, which they conceive of as “legacies.”Among the most distinctive features of the new institutionalism is its practitioners’ reluctance to regard the rise of the United States as inevitable. For too long, in their view, the history of the United States has been regarded as decisively different—for better or worse—than the history of any other modern nation. No longer is the existence of a uniquely American society taken for granted. No longer are the country’s major institutions presumed to be nothing more than the stage upon which its supposedly “real” history has been played out. And no longer is the country’s institutional development assumed to have followed some “exceptional” trajectory that distinguished it from, say, Germany or France. Indeed, no longer is it assumed that there has, in fact, existed an American society from time immemorial. If the new institutionalists have a mantra, it is this: institutions beget institutions, shape social relationships, and influence cultural conventions. Specific institutions do things: in the lingua franca of the history profession, they have agency. Configurations of institutions, in contrast, are not agents, but have effects that no group or individual willed. (Phil Marino for The New York Times)

New and unkown deadly weapons used by Israeli forces’direct energy’ weapons, chemical and/or biological agents, in a macabre experiment of future warfareby Professor Paola ManducaAugust 7, 2006GlobalResearch.caEmail this article to a friendPrint this articleBy now there are countless reports, from hospitals, witnesses, armament experts and journalists that strongly suggest that in the present offensive of Israeli forces against Lebanon and Gaza ‘new weapons’ are being used.New and strange symptoms are reported amongst the wounded and the dead.Bodies with dead tissues and no apparent wounds; ’shrunken’ corpses; civilians with heavy damage to lower limbs that require amputation, which is nevertheless followed by unstoppable necrosis and death; descriptions of extensive internal wounds with no trace of shrapnel, corpses blackened but not burnt, and others heavily wounded that did not bleed.Many of these descriptions suggest the possibility that the new weapons used include ‘direct energy’ weapons, and chemical and/or biological agents, in a sort of macabre experiment of future warfare, where there is no respect for anything: International rules (from the Geneva Convention to the treaties on biological and chemical weapons), refugees, hospitals and the Red Cross, not to mention the people, their future, their children, the environment, which is poisoned through dissemination of Depleted Uranium and toxic substances released after oil and chemical depots are bombed.Right now, the Lebanese and Palestinian people have many urgent and impellent problems, yet many people believe that these episodes cannot and must not pass ignored. In fact several appeals have been launched to scientists and experts with a view to investigating the issue.With the intent of responding to such appeals, we have set up a team to investigate the testimonies, the images, and possibly the material evidence that delegations and NGOs will be able to bring from the affected areas. We want to offer support to the health institutions of Lebanon and Palestine, which ask constantly for help and external verification and monitoring, and we are examining all available materials in order to formulate hypotheses which can be verified or disproved.We ask for the active participation of our (Italian) scientific institutions, and, following the request from medical personnel in the conflict area, we are requesting that the UN set up an international independent verification and investigation committee, with a view to facilitating entry into the conflict zone, as well as collecting material and testimonies directly in the field, and undertaking inquries and verifications concerning the various claims regarding these new kinds of weapons of mass destruction being used by Israeli forces in Lebanon. We request that such investigating teams be set up immediately, and that procedures be defined and implemented with a view to supporting future investigations. Of particular concern is the issue of how to collect and store samples from the different theatres, with a view to preserving important information regarding the various impacts of these weapons.We ask that the international committee have access to all sources of information, that it be fully operational, while abiding by relevant investigative procedures, including cross-checking of information between different laboratories. The international committee is to report to the competent authorities, including the Human Rights tribunals and international courts, if appropriate..As people and as scientists, we are offering our time and expertise in order to reach an understanding of the underlying facts, in the belief that a perspective of justice, equity and peace among people can be reached only with the respect of the rules defined up to now within the international community of nations. The issue pertains to the behavior of the parties in an armed conflict.We ask that the respect of these rules be verified in the context of the present conflict.We invite scientists to contribute to this effort by offering their specific competences. In particular we seek collaboration of toxicology experts, pharmacologists, anatomy pathologists, doctors with an expertise in trauma and burns, chemists.They can reach the working group at the E-mail address: nuovearmi@gmail.com Paola Manduca, Professor of.Genetics, University of Genova, Italy——————————————————————————–Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization.To become a Member of Global ResearchThe Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) at www.globalresearch.ca grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles in their entirety, or any portions thereof, on community internet sites, as long as the text & title are not modified. The source must be acknowledged and an active URL hyperlink address to the original CRG article must be indicated. The author’s copyright note must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: crgeditor@yahoo.com www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com© Copyright Paola Manduca, GlobalResearch.ca, 2006The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MAN20060807&articleId=2918 ——————————————————————————–Privacy Policy© Copyright 2005 GlobalResearch.caWeb site engine by Polygraphx Multimedia © Copyright 2005http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MAN20060807&articleId=2918

A recent post by Akusai reminded me that I wanted to write a post about Direct Buy (warning that stupid link talks). Unlike Russel’s story about Amway, this is not a tale of a cult-like business, preying on the simple minded who seem to have trouble with simple arithmetic. However, its not that easy to find much detailed information about Direct Buy, so I thought I would post some stuff about how it works, and why it works for some people. Its not a pyramid scheme, and I want to say this up front: I fully believe some people may save a ton of money by using Direct Buy. I just think that most people won’t.My wife and I renovated our kitchen recently. It cost quite a bit of dough (in the 40 grand range - wow). It looks great, we love it, and from my engineers perspective its solid (Corian is a bit wimpy, but the new stuff is nice looking). And yes, it took twice as long and cost twice as much as we expected. It seems to be a law of nature.We also recently bought another building that we are renovating. This time, while we still wanted to put in a nice kitchen and bath, we decided we wouldn’t be going full guns. We would be cool with looking nice without necessarily being nice. Since we ultimately have 3 apartments to do, we thought we would look into Direct Buy (there is one very near us).I asked two friends of mine who did join Direct Buy if they thought it was working for them. They both said that they feel like it does. You know, that word really sets off alarms in my head. It means they didn’t check. They each gave me one example where they were sure they saved a bunch. But as I pried more and more, it was clear that they didn’t know about the majority of their purchases because once you join, you might as well get everything through there and presume that each item is a good deal.So the first thing we did was schedule a time for one of their introduction meetings. They sit down with you, give a very short schpiel and then put you in a room where they give you a longer schpiel with some movies. The host was very nice and friendly. All in all it is very much like one of those sessions where you go somewhere to win free airline tickets and all you have to do is listen to a timeshare pitch for an hour or two.The movie/talk session discusses their basic plan: You pay a fee to join, then after three years you pay a yearly fee. You are free to leave to program at any time (err, without your fee reimbursed). Their claim is that they have a direct link to the manufacturers, so that you don’t pay ANY mark up between the manufacturers price. They claim that Direct Buy only makes their money from the membership fees.To be clear, this fee is 4500 dollars. It pays for your membership for 3 years after which you pay something like 180 dollars a year. So when they tell you this, they also break down the average savings. They have a bar graph that shows the average savings for different types of products (I tried but could not take a picture of it, so I’m recalling this from memory. For example, the average savings for furniture was something like 44% off of the MSRP. Appliances were like 25%. The average of all the averages was something around 30%. I have no reason to believe that these numbers were faked in any way. But you will see how it works in a second.The play is that since you save 30% on your purchased goods, you will get your membership fee back as long as you spend over 15,000 dollars. Will you spend 15K over the next 10 year? Of course you will, and they have everything for your house you will need: Lawn chairs, floorings, windows, kitchen cabinets, bathroom stuff, tile, couches, chairs, tables, beds, and the list goes on. They have over 700 products that you can buy.Then came the anecdotes. Being relatively used to skeptical thinking, all of these anecdotes, even if true, have no basis in reality. The 4 people interviewed could be the only 4 people who this works for, how the hell should I know? For each anecdote they presented you can find many more who feel oppositely. So I am not a big fan when presented with anecdotes to support a case.OK, so showtime is over. They give us a little tour. You see that there are lots of shoppers there. You see that they really do have lots of product that you would use if you renovate or are building a house. But I had no real way to evaluate their claim. I didn’t have prices for things that I would buy from somewhere else. Frankly, no one sells at MSRP. So what are the average savings when you take that into account?Folks, here is how Direct Buy can make their claims. When someone is using averages to make quantifiable claims you have to remember that an average is a single number that represents many points. So when they say they save you an average of 44% on furniture, that means that they save you 80% on some furniture and 10% on others. So, are you happening to buy the stuff that you save a lot on, or the stuff that you don’t? There is no way to know without actually deciding what you want, checking some prices and comparing those prices when you get in there.But we didn’t do that. So I was trying to wean out the system from him right there. I wanted to know if this was going to work for me or not. He caught on that I was an engineer, and stereotyped me. Brokers do the same thing, apparently engineers and teachers are the worst. They want all the detailed information. Well excuse us!Anyway, I asked about how many people continued their membership after the first 3 years. I wanted to understand the basic level of happiness from this. He told me it was close to 85%. But in retrospect, to me its amazing how many people are making choices on what ‘feels’ good. I asked about appliances. He admitted that they actually don’t do that well on appliances. Only around 10% savings.Thanks to my handy little iPhone i was able to pull out some more questions to ask him. I told him to describe all the costs associated with making a purchase. Now a shipping cost reared its head. He couldn’t tell me what the shipping cost was, because it depended on the item. Then I asked about KraftMaid cabinets. Well those are done through a distributor, so there is an extra 1-2% cost associated with those. There were a variety of other things that were done through partners/distributors.Other tidbits: They claim that if you refuse the offer, then you can’t go back to Direct Buy for 7 years. This is to protect their ’secret’ pricing. Even though the only pricing you have heard by this time was the anecdotal stuff in the movie.Shopping ExperienceI told my wife to go and try to find something she liked. The dude helping us out was friendly and explained that shopping there was different than in normal stores. You had to look through manufacturers catalogs. To be honest, its a pain in the ass, however all the sales people are quite knowledgeable and helpful if you are trying to find some sort of look. but it didnt matter, there is no real way to get an idea of the look and feel of a piece of furniture from a 3″ picture.Apples to ApplesThis is something you will hear often from a Direct Buy sales person. “When you do an apples to apples comparison, you will find Direct Buy to provide significant savings”. Well folks, there is one problem with that statement and its a huge one. There is almost never, apples to apples. What are really identical matresses differ from store to store by markings, stitching, the name and the price. Or oppositely, some products have the exact same part numbers, but differ from store to store by their construction. For example, a lawnmower may be cheaper by 200 bucks at one store, but it has brass pins instead of stainless steel ones. It happens for computer products. So even if you comparison shop, and find that something is cheaper at Loews, then the Direct By people will say “well that’s clearly an inferior product!”The Rest of the Experience.My wife lost her patience and just wanted to get out. To her, she was cool with the claim of 30% savings while I wanted to press on it some more. But nothing pains me more than to see her in distress. We paid 4500 bucks and left.We talked about it and decided with 3 apartments to do, we’ll be fine.New York State has a law that says, that anyone has 3 days to get out of any membership deal. Friday, when we joined was our first day. Saturday was the second, and Sunday (when they were closed) was our third. Further, to really see if there was savings we had to meet with their kitchen counter people to get a quote. I had to meet with their window people to get a quote for windows. Clearly we were not going to be able to check pricing within 3 days.So, my wife went to Loews (if you don’t have Loews near you, its like Home Depot, a gigantic hardware store). She walked around while I checked prices at Direct Buy. We checked on stuff we needed, some lawn chairs, a specific refrigerator, bamboo flooring, and a few other stuff. The lawn chairs were far more expensive at direct buy, simply because they had some far out name brand stuff and didn’t have any of the made in china crapola. For lawn chairs, we are good with crapola. The bamboo flooring which looked identical to the stuff Direct buy had, was 26 cents per square foot cheaper than at Direct Buy. The refrigerator was about 10% cheaper at direct buy. Things were not looking good.I told ‘Todd’ that I was ready to cancel my membership right now. I told him flat out that since I have not had a chance to actually check their claims, and the little that I have been able to check did not bode well, that there was no reason for me to stay. He fed me the apples to apples line again. Then he came up with a new line. This one was about long term investments. If I give 5000 dollars to a broker, what are my expectations. I told him, that on average I expect to double my money every 7 years. He said, “Right, and with this investment, on average we give you a 30% return, not just a 10% one!”. Well, I must admit, I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t put it together immediately. I told him “Wait a second.. The stock market is a long term investment based on future prices of stock. The difference is that I want to check current pricing for what I want to buy that you have for sale right now.” It occurred to me then that, if they are so comfortable in their claims, that they should have no problem with me going to Loews, getting pricing, and coming back to have them match it, apples to apples. I told him, “Either you give me two more weeks to be able to leave with a full refund while I check this, or I am leaving today”. He gave me the two weeks. I got it in writing.In those two weeks, I had a kitchen designed for the apartment that I would really put in there. I’m not doing this for fun and games. I actually need a kitchen, and if Direct Buy is a good deal, then I am all for it. I didn’t choose bottom of the line stuff from Loews, and I didn’t choose top of the line either. Their Shenandoah series is middle of the road. It looks pretty good, and consumer reports rated it about what I expected, middle of the road. We didn’t choose any wacked out styles, just maple shaker style, pretty common. We chose a granite counter top that we liked. I also prices out a large window we need for a renovated barn we have in the Catskills.For a kitchen at Loews, they help you design the kitchen, choose the counter top, schedule the installation and so forth. Everything is done in one spot. Direct buy has subcontractors, who give you a better deal on their work, and vendors. So if you want a kitchen, you buy the cabinets at DB, but then you have to call the granite people yourself and schedule a design appointment with them, then you have to call the installers yourself, and schedule all that work with them. Its far less convenient, but worse…..They couldn’t beat Loews price. As I mentioned before, there is no apples to apples. DB doesn’t have Shenandoah cabinets. They have other brands that Loews doesn’t have (Omega, diamond). Diamond is lower end than Shenandoah, both consumer reports says so, and so did the DB people, by their own admission. So I told them to price it out with their lowest end stuff. Diamond has maple shaker style, so no biggie to me. THey simply could not beat the price. I handed them the exact drawing and parts list that Loews made.So I go over to the windows. I priced out a Pella window. Same thing, it was cheaper but only 10% and the installation was more expensive.Leaving Direct BuySo, I told Todd I was leaving. He sat me down in his office and he told me he was mad at me. He went on about how I didn’t do an apples to apples comparison. I told him about the cheaper bamboo flooring at Loews. He went into the rant about how DB stuff was better and as an engineer I should know that there are differences, and that he was very disappointed in me. I said I just wanted bamboo flooring. I had no way to evaluate the binders they used, and know way to know if one was better. Loews guaranteed their stuff for the same amount of time as DB. I told him that I asked their cabinet people to price out their lowest grade stuff and they still couldn’t beat Loews midrange stuff. The funny part was that they had the consumer reports ratings out there in the open. It showed that Omega was top of the line, Shenandoah was middle and Diamond was lower (mills pride being at the bottom). I said, “why is your low end stuff more expensive than Loews midrange stuff?”. He then went into why things aren’t really apples to apples. I responded with “I know!”. They seem to try to use the Apples to Apples argument in both directions.In the end he kept his word and let me out.ConclusionClearly Direct Buy was not for us. It limited our choices if we wanted to save money on each purchase, and it made shopping harder. Worse, our choices of stuff never lead to a 30% discount from other places.at best it was 10% which would mean I would have to spend 45,000 dollars before my initial membership fee paid off. Forget about the extra shipping charges, or their ‘qualified’ vendors and partners that end up raising costs to you.I have no doubt that someone could save a lot of money. But you have to think about the type of things you buy. do you generally buy high end, name brand stuff? Well Direct Buy might be good for you. I think most people don’t and don’t bother to check if they are getting a deal. I think with their system, most people are not getting a deal.One bit of information I should have asked was if those average savings they like to blab about are averages for the products they have, or average savings of their customers. I strongly suspect its the former.One quick hint. I will not do this, but both of my friends offered that I could use their membership to get the stuff I wanted. I told them not only would it be cheaper for me if I didn’t do that, I don’t have any desire to scam Direct Buy. But I know its being done, the way they are set up, means that anyone can ‘lend’ their member ship to anyone.Lost in AveragesI wrote this post mostly to document how Direct buy works. But while writing it, I am realizing that many things are lost in averages. For example: what if Washington DC’s gun ban actually did bring down violent crime by 10% on average. What if it brought it down by 50%? What gets lost in those averages is individual rights. I for one don’t see how the constitution says anywhere about an individual right to own a gun, but apparently extreme right wing judges disagree with me (big surprise there).Often individual rights are lost in averages. Its important to look for these when discussing the effectiveness of one program or another.

At this point I’ll explain to those who don’t follow along that I was in the middle of taking my readers across Camp Claiborne, La. following the military RR to where it met the main line on US 165 above Forest Hill, La. Before we go any further, I want you to understand that I know that there is a finite number of people that can look at a little bald place in the woods and see multi-ton steam engines driven by soldiers learning how to build and blow up railroads. Not to worry, this report has none of that, well, some.As this report has evolved, and Lord it has, several people, some of whom have been mentioned numerous times and some that are new, offered and delivered multiple maps, pictures, observations and information. I now realize that I was portraying my interest in excess of reality and beyond the technical possibilities of this this little blog to display, as far as I know.I have a few revealing pictures from the rest of the ride and Mark has a few. We both agree, as I said before, that they are for the connoisseur and are probably uninteresting to others not committed to knowing all the nooks and crannies of Camp Claiborne. So here goes. I’ll tell it like it happened. I was back in the back of Claiborne [a generic description of where I was]. I followed the bed that had come from Big Cut on to the east and the main line. My GPS was helping put it together and the right of way was easy to see.If you click on the map it will enlarge and you can see the red line which was the location of the railroad coming from US165, swinging below the camp to where the shops were and then on to Big Cut and points west, all the way to Camp Polk, now, Fort Polk. [all right, now take a breath]This is my GPS tracks map. The hot pink line is the rail bed, the white one is me. The pointed irregular section in the tracks line was a GPS hiccup caused by who knows what. The cause of this anomaly might be linked to what I saw later.One of my reporters, Orville Bloominghouse, seems to be quite interested in the sewer plants at Claiborne. Near the railroad, where it goes due north, you see that hiccup. I saw this and thought it had been part of the RR. Not so. It was identified by OB as a sewage lift station. Not just anyone would know that. He said there are many around the camp, all of which he has documented and registered. At this point, I’m going to insert one of Orville’s pictures. The truth is, I already paid him for it and I don’t pay for stuff I don’t use. This one is called, “Spur to Sewer Plant”. Yes, Julia, it is for sale in the Site Store.I came to FS 264 that took me to present day La.497, which crosses Claiborne in a zigzag route on into Forest Hill. I know it looks like a road patch and that’s what it is, over the bed. I think it is just about where you see the first “ROW” on the left of the route map. If not, it doesn’t matter.I looked at the patch and lined myself up exactly with it. I saw this road next to the assumed trajectory and followed. I could see the bed through the thick undergrowth. I came to a blockade and had to backtrack, going to the last cross street. I then went down a block and continued east. That detour resulted in quite a find. Orville got giddy when I showed him, exclaming, “I knew there was one there, I just knew it!” Of course, it’s what’s left of a huge sewer plant. You can see the large tank to the right that has been broken out. Whew, glad I wasn’t there for the breaking out.I looked closer.I wondered if I should go in. What the heck.I continued.It got dark and I could not make my way any further. The place had a musty odor. I heard noises and decided it was time to leave.Later, I showed these pictures to Randolf Bloom, our intergalactic specialist here at History Hunts. With a shocked face, he responded, “Have you ever heard of the Alien Incarceration being carried on at Claiborne? The place is riddled with tunnels and secret chambers. I think they took the famous Roswell space craft and crew from Area 51 in 1951 because the media was getting close to unraveling the government’s story. They couldn’t fly the thing in, it was too large. It had to be shipped by rail. The incarceration took place at a sewer plant, which by the way, has had the stairways cemented up. It was the one by the rail head. I have the pictures to prove it”. He fumbled around in his desk looking for the pictures but couldn’t find them while I got back up off the floor. If he does find them, I’ll post them. Check back often.Back to the ride, I retraced my way up the stairs, jumped on the bike and left.Collecting myself, I realized that I still had a block to go. Along the way I could see the bed as it was well above ground level.Being parked, I decided to take a look.I had hoped to get a good right of way shot, but there was just brush. Most mortals can’t see past the undergrowth and imagine a railroad like I can. This is what I saw.Most normal people see this.Don’t let that bother you, you’ll get the hang of it.Now for some extas. The ride, as such, is over. I emerged from the ghost camp of Claiborne into the light of US 165.Here’s one of the engines that rode the rails here on the Claiborne and Polk, No.4. (Thanks Everett)And this little honey was sold after the war. She can now be seen pulling trains at the Texas State Railroad. I’ve been in the cab. If ever there was an animated link to our local past, it is this gem. EL sent that picture. A history of the engine for all those that like genealogy can be read from This Site. Ok, so you are stoked up a little with pictures and a whole bunch of text. It’s time to set the C&PMRR aside for a while. Soon we’ll move on to the latest ride where Dave, aka, Couyan, and I explore the peninsula between Simmesport and the Morganza Spillway Levee. If ever there was fertile soil for historic RR action, this is it. I spoke of camping out and waiting for the ghost train at Big Cut. The chugging and whistle blowing at Big Cut would be small time compared to the noise heard out on the peninsula we are going to next.Until then, you can revisit my visit to Big Cut. CLICK HERE.Credits:During this presentation: Mark played Orville and RandolfEverett played himself.Mark also contributed the 2 step pictures and the picture of the patch on the road at the sewer plant. Further: “EL” is Everett.As mentioned earlier, there were several contributors that donated so much of their time and energy to what could have been a serious article on Camp Claiborne, a very serious place. I want to especially thank them and apologize for coming up short in that endeavor. The remaining pictures were taken as I left on 165 and then on the ride down Turkey Creek road from Glenmora.Turkey Creek/Glenmora RoadLake Cocodrie

From time to time I get a guest book entry. That’s amazing. Then, every once in a while I get A GUEST BOOK ENTRY. Such was the case with Terry’s. I just blew up my last write in disgust which is a good sign it’s time to let someone else have the floor. Terry’s note has come just in time. I make comments along the way. they will be in brackets ([my words]) And, I’ve edited it a bit.Hello, Came across your site and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am from Marksville and really enjoyed the Avoyelles stuff. It brings back memories of early “train spotting” as a young kid. [I think he is speaking of ride I did tracing the Texas&Pacific to Mansura, Louisiana]You should have continued to Marksville where there is still evidence of the old grade as well as creosote timbers from the old trestle over Coulee Des Grues. A point of interest [is] the original depot in Marksville [which] became a feed & seed store and was later torn down in the mid 80’s. It was at the end of the line where, as a kid, I remember one or two box cars parked behind the building which delivered feeds and such. We sometimes were brave enough to explore the interior of the cars when the doors were open. The old depot building from Cottonport was moved to Marksville long after the line was abandoned and became a fruit and vegetable stand called “Blink’s.” Now it is a shop that sells concrete yard decorations and such. I also remember, every once and a while, being able to see the old MP engines pushing one or two cars down the line whenever my mother shopped at Dixie Dandy near the line. At Mansura, the line actually passed through the front parking lot of a Texaco station on the corner of Hwy 107 & Hwy 1. [I believe that station is now a tire store with a neat mural on it, my guess]Other vague memories include going to “Simm’s Oil” in Mansura with my uncle to buy drums of motor oil and hydraulic fluid for his farm in Hamburg. There would be one or two tank cars parked in the yard. This was an Exxon products distributor.Also, we would go to Paul Wall Farm supply, which you indicate as the “Ag Industry” on your map. Besides the farm supply, there was the attached grain elevator. Behind that area was Roy Pecan Company which was beside the tracks. The pecan company burned to the ground in the early eighties with owner Shep Roy inside the building. There were sometimes hopper cars parked beside Paul Wall’s and a box car or two beside the pecan company. Speaking of Hamburg, I would spend summers at my uncles farm. I would always run to the corner of the front yard whenever the KCS trains ran along the L&A line to “count” the cars and guess if there was or not a caboose at the end of the train.There was a siding which went to the O.P. Berridon Feeds & Seeds business. I clearly remember going to visit my grandmother from Marksville while catching a ride with my cousin Randy. He was then a reporter for the Marksville Weekly News.I’m not sure of the year, but there was a major derailment at the spur near the feed business. Traffic on Hwy 1 was stopped [for] nearly a mile away, but flames could be seen hundreds of feet in the air. Randy quickly grabbed his camera from the back seat and took off running along the highway to get photos for the newspaper. I think some of his photos were even used in the Baton Rouge paper reporting on the story. Enough rambling. One last bit of info. I remember as an early teen, taking a Jeep ride with my uncle Mayeaux from Hamburg along to Big Bend and then going through woods roads all the way to the site of the old town of Naples on the Atchafalaya. There were concrete blocks where I imagine turn buckles secured the barges for the ferry. I didn’t own a camera then so I have no photo’s. I’d like to repeat that journey. I’m not sure if there are locked gates now, but my family owns property along the river just south of Naples and I may have access that way.Also, I remember “frog hunting” with my brother along Bayou Courville and passing under an old trestle from the “tram” line as it was referred to by locals.Then he wrote back:One correction I just recalled. The Marksville Feed and Seed Store burned down in the early 80’s….. There is a narrow one lane bridge a few hundred yards upstream called the Sarto Lane bridge which has been preserved and placed on the National Register. There is a visitors’ center in the old Big Bend post office across the Hwy from it. My uncle, Carlos Mayeaux was instrumental in getting the bridge preserved.Thanks TerryIf interested in Terry’s Uncle’s achievement, I have done a report visiting Big Bend, the museum and bridge location. The link is listed below. It has a very good collection of pictures in the store. I suggest a visit. It is the best two dollar tour in Louisiana and the ride there is scenic. The guide is very knowledgeable about the whole area and loves to tell it all. That area has a lot of varied history. Plan a morning there. The host is the guy that hooked me up with the train book that has led to so many of my recent adventures. Here is a link to the Big Bend story, Going Around the Bend . I thought I’d done one when C.Alphonso had come but I remember I was too busy keeping him out of trouble to shoot any pictures. But, he insisted I take his picture as the store keeper. There would be no robbers at that store. Guaranteed. C.Al can get a little crazy.Here’s the article he was referring to: The Avoyelles Branch

Having really gotten bogged down over at Claiborne, I wanted to just take a ride. I knew if I went by myself I’d again get into some big investigative mission and have to come back here and write it all out, complete with research, combining the proof with the pudding. To avoid this, I called up C.Alphonso deLaSalle to see if he would lead my proposed no purpose ride as I consider him the man for the job. Maybe I should introduce you to C.Alphonso, first? You may know him if you’ve visited here at any length. C.Al is responsible for the great “Couyan Goes Fishing” trips and a few other articles over in the Back Woods Riding Dept. Those were written during his few attendances to work. Most of the time Al lives in the swamp with his five dogs and a raccoon named Willy. You may ask, what does the “C” stand for? It’s “Couyan”. His parents added that name after he got a little older. He doesn’t know why, but we do. Enough introduction. You’ll get to know C.Al better as we move along. I told him that this was totally his trip and to go where he wanted. He wanted to go to the ferry at St.Francisville. That was fine. There are a number of places I can revisit over and over without tiring. The ferry is one of those places. Regretfully, it will not be with us much longer. We were off to the ferry. Arriving there, we found it closed. Nothing can squash Al’s enthusiasm. He immediately saw the situation as a Kodak opportunity. He wanted his picture taken while holding his trademark half filled coffee cup so that he’d have something to show Willy, and, of course, the dogs, who I knew he was already missing. Maybe I had bitten off more than I could handle? After Al’s big moment, he came apart. I tried to reassure him that the reason I wanted him to come along was that I didn’t want a plan. He said he was lost and wanted to go home. I consoled him and told him that we would head that way with a few stops at places I felt he would like to see. He conceded, and we moved on. I would extend the “return trip” northward to what I call the Torras Peninsula, one of two peninsulas that jut into the Mississippi River between the Morganza Spillway and Simmesport.Here’s the first map: We went north on La.1, crossed the Morganza Spillway and immediately turned east on La. 972. If you look at the map you will see the original location of 972 before the Spillway was built in 1958. BTW, the original La.1 can be seen from the new elevated La.1. The concrete, even after being flooded for 50 years, is still in pretty good shape. Somehow we un-learned road building.I stopped where I’d seen this machine. I asked Al if he had an idea of what it could be. Al sees and understands stuff. He guessed it to be a part to an old oil rig, seeing a well head across the road. He did correctly identify it as a oil burning twin cylinder engine.In a lonely place atop a rise where 3 levees came together, a pickup stopped beside us. A man leaned out of the window and said that the engine was part of an old cotton gin. Then he disappeared down the road. I guess we had that look?The gin was part of the LaCour plantation. I had recently found the LaCour Spur that came off of the main line and went to the plantation. Next, we’d find the LaCour’s home, Old Hickory.I was again at the focal point of one of my favorite landscapes.Here’s the next section. Points of interest seen along here are the old sugar mill stack across La.1 which is very close to 418 near Innis and St.Stephen’s Episcopal Church.Al seemed to think the top of the stack had been broken off making it look stubby.Next up was St.Stephens and its graveyard.The cemetery contains the famous statue memorializing the Confederate soldiers of Pointe Coupee Parish.Here’s an augmented version of a side view. I tried to get the windows to show up.Next was our visit to the Angola Prison landing. More on it later.At this point, Al shot down to the shore exclaiming that he needed to touch the water. He turned and spread his arms. My jaw dropped.As I flashed on this:It is de LaSalle discovering and placing a cross on the shore of the Mississippi. We are now in the middle of an intense study of Al’s genealogy. He has explained his need to explore repeatedly. The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t work is his proneness to being homesick.That’s it for today. Tomorrow it will be on to Torras Landing and a lot of train history that kept this place shaking for many years.CLICK HERE TO GO THERE

Sunday Afternoon: Company had cleared out and I felt the need for a little ride. It would just be a relaxing meander through lovely Louisiana, no purpose, no plan. Somewhere along the way a place name came to mind, “Big Cut”. I can’t remember how I knew of this place. I think I was doing some research and happened on it. Then I asked the house railroad authority, Mr. Lueck, what the heck it was. He told me. Somewhere out on the Louisiana Plains, I decided I needed to be there. I had done a guess estimate of its location having wandered Camp Claiborne before the free range policy was terminated. I was familiar with what looked like a rail bed and this place was right there, though I’d never been to it, or if I had it had been in a blur of speed and flying mud. What the heck, I thought. It’s only 2:00 PM and I’m not that far. I found it, I shot it, I went to its opposite side and shot it, I went down in it, I shot from there, and then I traced a rail bed all the way to US165. I then came home, terminating the ride in a white out rain storm in the dark. Being soaked didn’t dampen my enthusiasm. The first thing I did was to write Mr.Lueck and tell him that I’d found BC. I really like sharing with people that get as excited or at least portray the same excitement I’m experiencing. Take my word, the number of such people is limited. Obviously, he was excited and almost immediately opened his vault of goodies and started laying them on me. I told him I needed a picture of the bridge and he sent me an article and more and more. Then when I passed that around, Mark, the map man, got into the act and offered up his collection. Seems Camp Claiborne is one of his hobbies. My dilemma is now how to handle this wealth. My pictures and ride report are both brilliant and captivating. Nevertheless, The story and pictures of the men and machines responsible for the Big Cut Bridge, and so much more, do trump my offerings a little.You will get the history first. It’s around 1941. It is one of those getterdone war stories that should be captured as a movie. These guys were not, for the most part, green inductees. They were railroad men gone to war. Let’s get started. Here’s “World War II Railroaders by William T.Church. Some pics by John B.Allen. I like to mention the photographers. First this paragraph whose gist I’ll credit as soon as I find the source. If you were wondering what the heck I was talking about, maybe this will help.The Army’s 711th Railway Operating Battalion arrived in Louisiana in August of 1941. It’s mission was to begin laying tracks connecting Camp Polk to Camp Claiborne some fifty miles away. They trudged through miles of swamps to raise twenty-five bridges, with the help of a clanging steam powered pile driver. The workers designed and built the bridges. After finishing the rail line, the 711th was sent to Iran where their Louisiana experience helped them maintain the Trans-Iranian Railroad which carried vital military materials to Russia throughout World War II.Now I’ll try to explain the necessity of the Big Cut Bridge. Not to get into what I think was a little squabble between the Red River and Gulf and the Army, let’s just leave it at “the Army’s railroad needed to cross the RR&G line to get to Fort Polk”. The Big Cut Bridge was the answer. See the map below.The Red River and Gulf Right of Way through Big Cut before the C&P.In Construction:Ready:Test:Go:There were other bridges:Approaching Spring Creek on the way to Camp Polk.The caption reads:Why were there cars being pushed? The line was notorious for derailments. The speed limit was 15 mile per hour at first and I’ll bet the cars were “track testers”.The crane would often follow at a distance.They turned this:And this:Into this:There was quite a celebration:Dignitaries arriving.And spike driven near LaCamp: Here’s the map on into Polk.Now you have an idea of the historical weight of the place a whim had led me.The NEXT PAGE will be my ride there and beyond. After leaving Big Cut, I made the mistake of following the rail bed of the Claiborne and Polk up the line to the east, then asking about what I suspected. For the ride, CLICK HERE

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I usually agree with Senor Cringely. He writes thoughtful, longer pieces about tech and he often portends grave changes in the industry. Today, however, I’m not quite sure he’s hit the nail on the head.
His piece posits that there is an 85-10-5 split in most markets, most notably the phone market. In this case you have 85% feature phones, 10% smartphones, and 5 odd ducks like Nextel and MVNOs bringing up the rear where the feature of interest isn’t quite smart but not quite mass market - walkie talkie features being a notable example.
He then extrapolates Samsung’s plan to stop producing “smartphones” for the mass market as proof that what they are actually planning is to produce smartphones masquerading as cheaper feature phones. Instead of trying to beat WinMo, Symbian, or OSX, they are going to use Android in a highly customized way to offer smartphone features at feature phone pricing. Fair enough.
His next bit of extrapolation is a stretch. He believes that Android will essentially turn Windows Mobile into an also-ran and could completely subsume Symbian. His expectation would be a world in which the feature/smart/odd duck percentages mentioned above turns into an iPhone/Android/Everyone Else trichotomy. While I’d love to be smoking his happy grass and while I’d love for Windows Mobile to get the heck out of my life, the chance is slim to none. He writes:
If I had to bet right this moment on the mobile 85-10-5 of 2011 I’d say iPhone, Android, then RIM, Symbian, or something completely new from behind Door Number Three.
Why iPhone over Android? For exactly the same reason why the iPod holds that approximate 85 position among music players, including ones using open source software. iPhone has a really great SDK (light-years ahead of any other right now). The App Store distribution platform is great, but locked on too many points. This is a careful timing issue for Apple. If they open the APIs too quickly they risk being blocked. They need to open an API once they are perfectly sure it is the right one and the right way to export that function. Apple is going to relax the restrictions progressively when they better understand the use cases and what are the best APIs. In the meantime it is giving an advantage to Android, but one that I think a year from now Apple will have reclaimed.
Here is my concern: to project the success of the iPod onto the iPhone is tempting but essentially incorrect. The iPod is a CE device. It requires little investment after the initial purchase and frequent and sometimes unnecessary updates encourage brand loyalty. It is a verb, like Google, rather than a formal noun.
The iPhone, on the other hand, is like a MacBook Pro. It’s perceived as exclusive, it’s a bit more expensive, and once you see one you find that you can’t look away. But that doesn’t change the fact that the average consumer will still get the $9.99 RAZR with 10-year contract because of perceived quality issues with networks and phone models. There’s a reason why Verizon runs those “Can You Hear Me Now”/ “You’ve got a whole team behind you” ads and it’s not because their network is better. Networks are highly subjective and my AT&T experience can be excellent while yours is horrible. Perhaps they have incrementally more coverage in areas you frequent. Then, once you’re locked in at a carrier there is very little impetus to switch. Therefore, at best only 1/4 of mobile customers has the opportunity to try the iPhone and over that a miniscule fraction will make the jump. Carriers complain about churn but they never seem to crow about the middle-aged suburbanites who will go through the next twenty years paying $200 a month for a crappy phone in a sad recreation of the salad days of Ma Bell where your grandma leased a rotary for $10 a month.
So, at the risk of having to turn in my fanboy badge I can’t agree with RXC in this case. I could see a 60-20-20 spread with Android in the lead, and WinMo/RIM/Symbian and iPhone picking up the last two slots. I know I’m cheating lumping everyone into a 20% chunk but I think you’ll note that there is no space for feature phones in this equation and that Android will become the de facto feature phone OS.

From Sam and CarmenClick here to watch Carmen Finish (ignore the Navy bit at the beginning - about 30 seconds into the clip)Aloha folks!Carmen had a fantastic day finishing in 13hr 35mins after sticking to the tough job at hand with grit and determination that is epitomized by the Ironman spirit. She has done us all proud. Relaxed and tired after the ordeal of a tough Ironman course, Carmen wants to thank all her friends and family for supporting her throughout her training and preparation for the race. This meant a lot to Carmen.Today is the morning after the race and Carmen has the appetite of a horse and she is up for a mega breakfast. Before we head off, here is a brief run down of the big day yesterday.We had a premature wake-up call at 3am when Simon sent us a well-wishing sms message [Simon says: - sorry guys, I can't apologise enough, I thought I'd timed it to perfection - I feel a real plonker]. To be honest, we could not sleep very well feeling anxious and nervous ahead of the big day.After a light breakfast, we headed down to Kona village where the race organisation was already in full swing. It is difficult to comprehend the number of volunteers at this race but they are in their thousands and every one of them is so helpful. After body marking, Carmen disappeared into the transition area and that is the last I saw of her until she came out from the swim.The swim start is an amazing sight with close to 1800 athletes treading water and edging forward to try and get that extra advantage of clear water for the swim. The whole scene is noisy with a tv helicopter hovering overhead and a military transporter aeroplane doing fly-pasts. In fact, three Navy Seals jumped out from the back of the plane and parachuted down to the start area where they jettisoned their gear and joined the race in their fatigues. I found a precarious spot to watch the start from a narrow breakwater crowded with spectators. It was a good spot and I could see a sea of green hats (men) with a sprinkling of orange caps (women) stretched across the start line. I knew that Carmen was anxious about the mass swim start and was probably behind the main pack. She later confirmed that she was some 50m or so behind the main pack at the start. The announcer warned that there is no countdown to the start but there was no mistaking start of the race, a huge ‘boom’ could be heard as a cannon was fired. And off they went.Carmen’s anxiety in the swim was short-lived when over 200 volunteers on long-boards appeared from around the pier and paddled over to chaperon the swimmers all the way around the course. Luckily, Carmen was not bothered by someone kicking her of swimming over her and she managed to get into her stroke quite quickly. She could see the sea bottom for most of the course and even a scuba diver that was taking photos of the swimmers! They think of everything…. Carmen found the water a bit choppy on the way out and easier on the way back. Nevertheless, she finished the swim in a longer than normal split time of 1.43 but was happy and relaxed knowing that she could look forward to the bike and run courses.The bike course proved to far more difficult than Carmen had imagined. It was windy and undulating and with one big hill. Simon had warned us about the wind and sure enough, it arrived. The worst part was the side wind and not the head wind. Carmen found herself gripping the handlebars tightly to avoid the front wheel from shaking and from getting out of control. I knew something was not right when her split time for the bike went over six and half hours. In the end, she appeared at bike-to-run transition after a bike split of close to 7hrs. As she got off the bike, I could see that her lower back was giving her some discomfort after so long in the aero position. Nevertheless and after a few minutes in transition, she reappeared wearing a different top and lovely smile on her face. I knew then that she would finish come what may.Carmen did what she normally does on the run, she kept to nice and steady pace and gradually ate up the miles. After the Alii Drive out-and-back (14km), she looked comfortable and strong but she told me that she had been suffering from diarrhea after taking too many gels. All she needed to do now was the remaining out-and-back to the National Energy Lab [Simon says: - Isn't it the Natrual Energy Lab?] in the dark. I figured she was running at 4hr30min pace and sure enough, she emerged out from the darkness at just before 8.30pm where I joined her to pass her the Malaysian flag. I rushed to the finish line to catch her coming across the finishing line holding the flag aloft and with a huge smile on her face.Great job Carmen, you have done it again!After relaxing for a while in the post-race recovery area, Carmen and I went back to soak up the atmoshpere at the finishing line. The atmoshpere is absolutely amazing and with announcers like Wit Raymond pumping up the crowd, you could not help but be caught up in the excitement. As we stood there cheering other competitors crossing the finishing line including a 75 year old man that finished in 15 hours (what an inspiration), our very own Chrissie Wellington came by to join the festivities and threw some of her race gear into the crowd as a memento of the day. Carmen put her hand out to catch Chrissie’s race goggles but they bounced off her hand and someone next to her picked them up. Drat! Anyway and by now, Carmen was tired and hungry so we left the party at around 10.30pm and headed for home.So, what a fantastic day and what a fantastic job Carmen did for us all.

The Guy and I were up late leaving each other comments on myspace. We both couldn’t sleep. Matt, his new boyfriend, his now ex-boyfriend called him at 2a.m. drunk and upset. Matt called on The Guy’s house phone, which is a number few have (I’m one of probably 3-4 people). The Guy just said he was surprised that he had this number and Matt took it to an extreme and was very blaming, wanting The Guy to commit to a relationship, was upset about the distance, and things like that. Basically they agreed to end things. The Guy told me he probably wouldn’t have ended it if it were Ben who had hurt him worse, but Ben had that “thing.” I didn’t find this out until I got to his house, but it explained why we were both up playing around on myspace.Anyways, we finally met up on AIM this morning and chatted about what we were doing, the weather, the sky, and just about everything else this morning before I took off for school. He told me to come over afterward- just show up. I call him once and leave a voicemail on my way from school at 12p.m. asking if he hungry. He didn’t call back. I sent him a text and asked, “hungry?” No reply. I was going to eat, but I figured since The Guy pulled a muscle in his back on Tuesday when he was clipping his dog’s toe nails he was pretty much confined to the house and didn’t have much food, so i’d just pop in. I get to his place and he asks me if I’m hungry. I said yes. He checks his phone since it was on the kitchen counter and he says “yes,” in response to me asking if he was hungry. I was tasting sandwiches, but he suggested the healthy grille place up the street from his place. He says I’d have to go get anything we wanted, and I volunteered. I was hungry! I was even willing to pay, but he insisted because his mom gave him some loose $5 bills the other day adding up to $25 or so, so he said his mom was treating us. While waiting for the food I hear the Ben, Matt, and other friends stories to get caught up on everything since we hadn’t seen each other in a week. The Guy also says to avoid everything he “Knows a place…” He just downloaded the Petula Clark CD and we went in to the office to listen to it.The Guy joked he loved how I had Petula Clark on my iPod because it shows I’m such a fag hag.I got the food, came back, and we ate our salmon, potatoes, and bow-tie pasta. It was delicious. Afterward it was like old times where we lounged on the couch-him laying down with his computer and me at his feet, with an episode of “Law and Order” playing in the background. We both fell asleep soon however. We probably slept for about 30 minutes before the dog woke us both up when the FedEx guy was at the door. The Guy ordered pain meds off the internet because he didn’t want to go to the doctor. He ordered something that sounded really good- that’s all I can say. The Guy takes his new pills, which I talk out of him and discover he ordered online. He said he knows how to order “good shit” and he went to wikipedia to check what the drug did. Apparently at 20mg you start to feel high- the 1 pill was 10mg. The Guy figured he should try that to make sure he got the full effect. He kept asking how long it would take. I told him maybe 30 minutes for it to kick in- and it did within that time. The Guy had me install Warhammer, his new MMORPG on my computer. I did- I just installed it. I didn’t think to download the patch, and he reminded me later that I should know this by now, not wait for him, think outside of the box, use MY mind… yadda, yadda, yadda.The Guy and I go back to laying on the couch after discussing our favorite new mess, Sarah Palin. She is awesome (not necessarily saying I support her), what can I say? She has given us a lot to talk about and call each other up randomly to discuss, or just sit around browsing the internet seeing what we can dig up. The Guy thinks she is the devil. I tend to play devil’s advocate. See why we make a great team? After we searched the entire internet- literally came to the end of the internet- there was nothing more, The Guy whispers, “Mike… Mike… Mike… I have an idea…” I asked him what it was. He replied to the effect that he thought he had eggs and baking soda, but needed chocolate chips and butter. I said “oh.” He said he was just thinking. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t using me or taking advantage of me and I said nope, never. He went into the kitchen, looked around, and told me to go to Target to get those ingredients as well as a treat. I did. Drove to Target and got the ingredients. The Guy wanted Quaker rice snacks, but they only had caramel. I just bought him a Hershey’s Cacao candy bar instead as a treat. I didn’t buy any milk, though it crossed my mind when The Guy was going to make cookies- I could have called him though, or thought out of the box as he told me later.I get back to his place and put the stuff in the refrigerator. He asks what I bought and I told him to go look. Next thing I know he is in the kitchen with 2 mixing bowls putting his eggs, sugar, etc. in the bowl and having me get a mixer, beaters, and things like that out. He didn’t even look at a recipe which surprised me. He knows his chocolate chip cookie recipe by heart- he uses the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe. He surprised me by how precisely he measured everything for his cookies- he doesn’t do that for most other things he cooks where his philosophy is the more, the better. The Guy warned his cookies always come out really flat, so we stood there in the kitchen eating batter by the spoonful and it was DELICIOUS. So rich!!! The Guy finally made about a dozen cookies for us. We sat in the living room eating the cookies- The Guy made the cookies really large and we each had 3. There were 6 left over that he put on the refrigerator to cool. We sat down and watched an episode of “Family Guy” and both fell asleep. We probably slept 2-3 hours I’m guessing. I am not sure when The Guy got up to go lay down in his bedroom, but he did at some point when I was still asleep. I got up, went to the bathroom about 8p.m., then went in and told The Guy I better take off. I could have laid back down and slept another several hours.