Mark's Notebook

All Articles - May 2005

Hi-Tech Round Dancing

I noticed at the Golden State dance festival in Pleasanton this past weekend, George Gardner brought his round dance music on an iPod.

Not only smaller than stacks of 45's, CDs, or mini disks, the iPod is also much smaller than a laptop computer, yet has most of the convenience and fewer of the hassles.

I didn't talk to George about his experiences with the iPod, and I'm not aware of anyone else using this solution, although I imagine there must be others.

More Scandal

New York Times

"One-party rule has made the Republicans much more sloppy in their corruption," said Ohio State Senator Marc Dann, a Democrat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/national/28coins.html?th&emc=th

Don't stop to smell this flower

San Jose Mercury News

By Holly Hayes, Mercury News

A botanical freak show is about to unfold at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco.

A rare Amorphophallus titanum, said to produce the largest and stinkiest flower in the world, is poised to bloom as early as today or Saturday. Plant enthusiasts by the thousands are expected to troop through the glass-walled Victorian conservatory -- handkerchiefs over their noses -- to gape at the imposing plant and inhale its foul fragrance, a nauseating stench likened to rotting flesh.

The odor, strongest at night, is to attract pollinators, insects such as flies and carrion beetles that normally feed on dead animals.

Those who crowded in to see Ted blossom two years ago described the putrid smell in various ways on comment cards. A few of the more memorable descriptions included "dirty socks," "a stinky refrigerator" and "my friend Mike."

http://www.mercurynews.com:80/mld/mercurynews/news/11751924.htm

http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiAmorphophallus_titanum

Boy Gets Trapped Inside Vending Machine

A 3-year-old boy upset that his mother wouldn't let him use a crane vending machine to try to win a small stuffed animal took matters in his own hands. He climbed up the chute to get the prize himself.

Manges said people leaving the store went back inside to buy disposable cameras to take photos of her son. She bought one herself.

She became upset, however, when Wal-Mart employees said they did not have a key to let James out.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/05/20/national/a132119D01.DTL

Gas prices drop six cents in a day

San Jose Mercury News

By Gary Richards, Mercury News

Gas prices slipped six cents Wednesday at some stations in Silicon Valley in the biggest one-day drop since record highs were reached last month.

In most years, prices rise before Memorial Day, which signals the start of the summer driving season. But both this year and last year have defied that trend, with prices soaring in March and April, then falling before the holiday.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_vall
ey/11742227.htm

S.J. among top in high-risk loans

San Jose Mercury News

With home prices spiraling higher at a double-digit pace, nearly half of the borrowers in the San Jose area took out risky "interest-only" mortgages in the first quarter of this year, according to data released Wednesday.

That's five times the level of interest-only loans in 2002 and double the level in the nation as a whole.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_vall
ey/11742228.htm

Remembering RAMAC

San Jose Mercury News

At 99 Notre Dame Ave. in downtown San Jose, nearly 50 years ago, a small band of IBM engineers developed the RAMAC, the first system for storing data on magnetic disks. The refrigerator-size beast was a technological breakthrough, and it's considered by most to be the forerunner of today's hard drives.

The RAMAC stored 5 megabytes
of data on its 50 disks.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/11743962.htm

Challenge dance of the week: Golden State Round Up

Golden State Round Up features several popular local callers for their challenge dance program this year. The festival takes place Memorial Weekend, May 27-29, 2005 in Pleasanton.

This year, the festival takes place at a new venue, the Hilton Hotel in Pleasanton. Those who attended Round Up while it was in the Oakland Convention Center will remember how convenient it was to have the entire festival under one roof, both dance halls and hotel. Now in 2005 we'll get to have that same experience once again.

The challenge program features John Bowman, Pete Herman, Harlan Kerr, and John Sybalsky calling several hours each of C1, C2, C3A, and C3. You'll find a concise challenge dance schedule here.

For those so inclined, the weekend also features square dancing at all levels starting at Mainstream, with popular callers Bob Baier, Joe Saltel, and Dan Nordbye. There will also be round dancing at phases II through V. You'll find a complete dance schedule here.

Round dance of the week: Golden State Round Up

Golden State Round Up features Kristine and Bruce Nelson plus local cuers for their round dance program this year. The festival takes place Memorial Weekend, May 27-29, 2005 in Pleasanton.

This year, the festival takes place at a new venue, the Hilton Hotel in Pleasanton. Those who attended Round Up while it was in the Oakland Convention Center will remember how convenient it was to have the entire festival under one roof, both dance halls and hotel. Now in 2005 we'll get to have that same experience once again.

The round dance program features several dance parties, plus separate workshops at phases II, III, IV, and V. Choose the workshop that is right for you. You'll find a concise round dance schedule here.

For those so inclined, the weekend also features square dancing at all levels from Mainstream through C3. You'll find a complete schedule here.

Dance of the week: Golden State Round Up

If it's Memorial Weekend, it's time again for the annual Golden State Round Up. This year, the festival takes place at a new venue, the Hilton Hotel in Pleasanton, California. Featured callers include Bob Baier, Joe Saltel, and Dan Nordbye.

The Round Up is sponsored by The Northern California Square Dancers Association. NCSDA began in 1951, the same year the first National Square Dance Convention was held in southern California. NCSDA held its first Round Up on Memorial Day Weekend in 1954. The Round Up has been held in Oakland, San Francisco, and Pleasanton:

• From 1954 until 1973 the event was held at the Oakland Auditorium.
• From 1974 until 1983 it was held at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium.
• From 1984 until 1999 it was held at the Oakland Convention Center.
• From 2000 until 2004 it was held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
• In 2005, it has moved to the Hilton Hotel in Pleasanton.

Those who attended Round Up while it was in the Oakland Convention Center will remember how convenient it was to have the entire festival under one roof, both dance halls and hotel. Now in 2005 we'll get to have that same experience once again.

This year's festival includes five full-time dance halls: Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, Rounds, and Youth. There will be a part-time Challenge hall with dancing from C1 through C3. In addition, there will be Handicapable sessions on Saturday afternoon. You can find a complete schedule here.

Space Cadets

Mary and I don't go out to the movies very often, but we had the opportunity to see two movies within the last couple of days. On Thursday, we saw Star Wars III. This afternoon, we saw The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

Neither film is a masterpiece. But that was a given.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

I pretty much knew what to expect in terms of plot and dialogue, having read all the reviews and spoilers beforehand. I hoped to see a coherent story that would make sense out of the entire series. The story did not disappoint.

We did not find the dialogue to be as flat as others had told us. Or perhaps we weren't expecting much. The only film in the series that had decent dialogue was The Empire Strikes Back, way back in 1980. So this film fit right in.

This episode also challenged us with a bit of philosophy; Empire was also the only other episode to do so. Anakin (and the audience) was faced with the ambiguity of "good" and "evil" in relation to one's personal goals and the goals of society. Some have found it easy to see reflections in our own ambivalence about the "war on terror." But I personally found more parallels to World War II and the Cold War. WWII saw a strong pacifist movement in the US that almost kept us out of the war. It also saw renegades like Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Germany, a pastor who participated in an assassination attempt on Hitler. Sometimes who is right and who is wrong is decided not by intrinsic moral values, but by the outcome. If Hitler had won the war, or Stalin the Cold War, the world might have a very different opinion about "right" versus "wrong."

Anakin was obviously quite conflicted about the various roles he was asked to take on. It reminded me of when I've been in politically charged situations at work. Who am I supposed to listen to? How do I decide? Talk about the ultimate cross-functional org chart. This made him sympathetic to a point. Fortuately, few of us resort to murder to resolve our work conflicts. This must have occurred "long ago and far away," long before and far from the therapies we have today.

I was disappointed to find Padme so weak. Like Anakin's mother, she was unworthy to be an ancestor of the feisty Princess Leia we meet in subsequent episodes; although perhaps in her we do catch a glimpse of her whiny future son Luke.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

I have read all the books and seen a few of the episodes on late-night TV. Mary was totally unfamiliar with the story, and she found it confusing. We both found it hilarious. If we were disappointed by expectations of an overly-serious Star Wars, this one provided the antidote. We knew from the musical opening that this was not one to take seriously.

It shouldn't be necessary that one be a fan already in order to understand the basic story. Perhaps it was just the accents. It certainly did have better dialogue than Star Wars. But apparently it was not necessary to have dialogue that made perfect sense.

Watch for TV's Marvin in the background of one scene, along with the new Marvin made for the movie.

It is true that a few things were changed to make the movie version. The changes were not disappointing. The addition of a romantic subplot seemed entirely natural, even if a betrayal of the later books' plots.

There's not a lot of action in this movie, so don't expect light saber battles and harrowing space rides.

I hear that Douglas Adams was an outspoken atheist, and his books were meant to express that viewpoint. In particular, the concept of the "infinite improbability drive" seems to express the idea that our current world of life, however improbable, is evidently quite possible. One who believes differently might say that our current world, however impossible, must obviously be the product of a creator who performs the impossible. Adams's atheistic viewpoint does not bother me, and it does not invade the movie unless you think about it more than the film's tone warrants.

Penny Coffee

Do you live in Seattle, Las Vegas or San Francisco? If so, you can take advantage of a new service that provides a convenient way to turn your loose change into a Starbucks Card, without paying a coin counting fee.

http://coinstar.com/us/WebDocs/A3-2-4

Star Wars Photoshop Contest

(click on the image to see more entries)

One-handed cyclist citation torn up

San Jose Mercury News

By Julie Patel, Mercury News

Cycling enthusiasts raised a fit after reading in the Mercury News last week how eighth-grader Matt Jost got a ticket for riding his bicycle with one hand.

"I didn't even know that was a rule," the Terman middle-schooler said after an officer caught him riding while talking on his cell phone.

Turns out, it's not.

Palo Alto police Sgt. Steve Herrera has backtracked on the citation and called Matt to apologize.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_vall
ey/11674630.htm

Personal Data for the Taking

New York Times

By Tom Zeller, Jr.

Senator Ted Stevens wanted to know just how much the Internet had turned private lives into open books. So the senator, a Republican from Alaska and the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, instructed his staff to steal his identity.

"I regret to say they were successful," the senator reported at a hearing he held last week on data theft.

That would not surprise 41 graduate students in a computer security course at Johns Hopkins University. With less money than that, they became mini-data-brokers themselves over the last semester.

They proved what privacy advocates have been saying for years and what Senator Stevens recently learned: all it takes to obtain reams of personal data is Internet access, a few dollars and some spare time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/technology/18data.html?th&emc=th

Bible Illiteracy in America

The Weekly Standard

by David Gelernter

A report just issued by the Bible Literacy Project suggests that young Americans know very little about the Bible. The report is important, but first things first: A fair number of Americans don't see why teenagers should know anything at all about the Bible.

America's earliest settlers came in search of religious freedom, to escape religious persecution--vitally important facts that Americans tend increasingly to forget.

Most historians look to the British and Continental philosophers of the Enlightenment, Locke especially, as the major intellectual influence on America's Founding Fathers and revolutionary generation. Yet the Bible itself, straight up, was the most important revolutionary text of all. Consider the seal of the United States designed by a committee of the Continental Congress consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Their proposed seal shows Israel crossing the Red Sea, with the motto "Rebellion to kings is obedience to God."

Teachers don't necessarily believe that Bible literacy has declined in recent decades. They describe a complex picture; naturally, individuals differ. (One teacher said that "Pentecostal kids or religious Muslim kids" seem better-informed than the others.)

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/606lxblg.asp

This article also has an excellent summary of American history, and the history of the English bible.

Four more years of Vader

A funny short movie ...

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2666990?htv=12&htv=12&htv=1
2&htv=12

SGI tries its hand at forensics

San Francisco Chronicle

Italian police using computer graphics for crime scene analysis

By Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Police in Italy are using virtual reality technology from Silicon Graphics Inc. to re-create crime scenes on cases straight out of an episode of the hit TV show "CSI."

The Italian state police's violent crime analysis unit in Rome has used a Silicon Graphics Inc. supercomputer system to help solve the murder of a University of Rome student and to reopen the investigation into the unsolved killing of a prominent police officer.

Detectives set up a laser scanner in the middle of the room to record every bit of information at the scene. "The scanner is like a big camera that is connected to a computer, and the computer drives the camera while scanning," said Francesco Camana, technical director of forensics science office of the Italian state police.

The digital data is then translated into a 3-D image that can be projected onto an 18-foot-by-7-foot floor-level screen "large enough to re- create the actual crime with startling realism," SGI said.

FBI Spokesman Paul Bresson said the agency's laboratory "utilizes both 3- D and 2-D animation systems, which allows us to do a fly-through of crime scenes."

But the FBI doesn't "have anything quite like this," he said in an e-mail after reviewing the details of the Italian system.

Greg Estes, SGI's vice president of corporate marketing, said SGI hopes to show the FBI and other law enforcement agencies what the Italian police have been able to do with virtual reality technology.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/16/BUG1HCO
VK71.DTL

Security breaches not on rise

San Francisco Chronicle

By Carrie Kirby, Chronicle Staff Writer

Consumer-privacy watchdogs say that contrary to appearances, there has probably not been an increase in security breaches.

Instead, there has been more disclosure, precipitated by a California law that requires data-holding organizations -- from universities to banks to data aggregators like ChoicePoint -- to notify Californians if anyone gains unauthorized access to unencrypted data, such as driver's license, Social Security and account numbers.

"I think there have always been as many security breaches as we've seen in the last few months," said Beth Givens, founder and director of the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Deigo. "The California security- breach notice law has increased the visibility of those breaches."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/16/BUG1HCO
RRK1.DTL

Vote 'Wrong,' Go to Hell?

Los Angeles Times Commentary

By Amy Sullivan

It's possible that my scriptural education was not quite comprehensive. Even so, I'm fairly certain that there is no verse that reads, "Thou shalt not vote Democratic."

Conservative leaders use the phrase "practical secularists" to describe believers who they feel are inadequately observant.

You don't have to be liberal or conservative to be offended by the idea that a political or religious leader can decide whether your faith is good enough.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-sullivan13may13,1,4879942
.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Dance of the week: Jokers Luau

The Rockin' Jokers sponsor their annual Hawaiian Luau hoedown on Saturday, May 21, 2005. The caller is the popular Ernie Kinney.

The dance takes place at John Muir Middle School, 1260 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA.

The Rockin' Jokers is a new club that started May 1, 2005 as a merger between the Jokers and the Rafter Rockers square dance clubs.

The Rockin' Jokers has a web site: http://www.thejokers.org/

Club of the week: Jokers

The Jokers square dance club dances on Wednesday nights in Campbell. The club started dancing in October 1951 an unfinished store in the Quito Shopping Center. The first caller was Johnny White. Callers through the years include:

• Johnny White (1951-1978)
• Dick Lawrence (1978-1980)
• Johnny Robertson (1981-1982)
• Kip Garvey (1983-1987)
• Scott Slocum (1987-1990, 1992-1996)
• Doug Davis (1991-1992)
• Gary Carnes (1996-2000)
• Bob Elling (2000-2003)
• Roger Smith (2003-present)

The Jokers sponsor the Hawaiian Luau hoedown every year in May. This year, the dance will take place on May 21, 2005 at John Muir School.

Rockin' Jokers

The Jokers merged with the Rafter Rockers club on May 1, 2005. The new club name is Rockin' Jokers. Roger Smith is the caller for the newly-merged club. They hope to have eight to ten squares dancing weekly.

The new Rockin' Jokers dances at the American Legion Hall in Campbell.

Jokers has a web page at
www.thejokers.org/

Jokers has a club history posted at
www.thejokers.org/info.htm

This article has more information about Rafter Rockers:
http://www.mixed-up.com/markb/notebook/20050403a/

But ... but ...

Godcasting may be portable players' first 'killer app'

The Baptist Standard

By Kathleen Murphy, Religion News Service

Godcasting is the latest advancement in online religion, in which preachers convert their sermons to audio to be heard on portable digital audio devices.

There's lots more God on iPod than jazz, theater or movie reviews. Pod preachers, including Christians, Buddhists and Wiccans, are among the most prolific users of the new technology. Just as sermons were among the first type of broadcasts when radio caught on in America in the 1920s, podcasting is creating a new form of wireless parson.

http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&
pid=3120

Mark says: Godcasting is lots more popular than I realized, as an Altavista search revealed:
http://www.altavista.com/web/results?name=mfrm&q=Godcasting&pg=q&kl=en

I thought of this first

I've been eyeing the USB "thumb/pen/flash/keychain" drives that hold up to about a gig of RAM accessible as a hard disk. We have a Zip drive at home that we've used to back up Mary's old PC and sometimes to transfer files between PC and Mac. But it's a little hassle to pull it down out of the closet once in a long while when we need it. Since the thumb drives hold as much or more than a Zip, it made sense.

What didn't make sense to me is that a year ago you could get 256 MB for $50, now you can get 512 MB for the same price, and a year from now you'll be able to get 1 GB. Why not sell a drive where you can upgrade the memory module yourself?

Well, now they've done just that. I got a 512 MB SD card, Kingston manufacture (one of the best), from Mac Connection for only $44. After the rebate it will be only $31, less than some charge for 256 MB.

I also got something called an XtraDrive from mediaGear. It accepts any size SD or MCC card. It was only $9 at Fry's.

Since our new Canon camera also uses an SD card (we bought a 128 MB card), and so does my Palm Tungsten C, we can play mix-and-match between the camera, the Palm, and the thumb drive. Next year, we'll be able to buy a 1 GB or 2 GB module and have even more fun.

Now, why can't Apple use a strategy like this with the iPod Shuffle?

Keep Monitoring It

One of my favorite mail-order retailers is MacConnection / PC Connection. I ordered Mary's present (an HP computer and Acer 17-inch LCD monitor) from them last Christmas. I was so impressed with the monitor that I hoped to get one for myself eventually.

I ordered the monitor on the afternoon of May 9 on their web site. It's the Acer AL1912b. I selected the "free shipping" option (ground). The monitor was delivered around noon on May 11. Didn't take long at all!

I recently had the opportunity to compare this monitor side by side with several others at Comp USA. I really like the true blues. Mary really loves the colors on her 17-inch too. They both have high contast and bright whites. (I sound like a bleach commercial.) As a matter of fact, the first day the monitor was so bright that I had to turn down the brightness. As I get used to it hopefully I'll be able to crank it back up again.

I've ordered zillions of things from MacConnection over the years, including CD drives, Macs, and software. I've never been disappointed with their service. They did take 10 weeks to fulfill my rebate from the Christmas order, but eventually it did come through.

A Shocking Experience

We had an interesting tip at Silver State in Reno last weekend. We took an hour out of round dancing to dance in the A2 hall. We were right in the front. Bronc Wise was calling. We were dancing with Wayne and Donna and two other couples we did not know.

The floor was some kind of rubber material. Mary and I were wearing our round dance shoes. (Since the entire hotel is carpeted, it was easy to put on dance shoes in the room, then go anywhere we wanted, including the restaurants.)

Anyway, I found that we were getting shocks from each other while we square danced. Or more accurately, everyone was getting shocks from me (and from whoever I had most recently touched). Figuring that the round dance shoes were a problem, I took them off. One at a time. While Bronc was calling and we were dancing.

It didn't help. It made things worse. We almost started dancing "no hands." I figured the socks were the problem. So I took them off. Again while dancing. Bronc never missed a beat and neither did our square, but I was rushing to catch up for a few calls.

Now things were impossible! The shocks were the worst! What could I do? We were all laughing and screaming at the same time. No one wanted to touch me. Now the hard part. I decided to put the shoes back on, but there was no time to put on the socks first. I got one shoe on, still dancing, carrying the other shoe with me. I couldn't get it on. Dancing with one shoe on, one shoe half on, both laces untied.

But this solved the problem ... no more shocks. Don't ask me to explain why. Polyester socks, maybe?

I guess it wasn't that bad. One of the couples had so much fun they got in our next square ... which wasn't nearly as exciting, but still fun.

Progress Report

I saw the surgeon again the last week of April. At our February appointment, he noticed signs of bone loss. Now he says things look much better and he's no longer worried. He says I can take up just about any exercise except jogging.

(Apparently I misheard him in February when I thought he said jogging would be good. Mary correctly remembered that he had specifically ruled out jogging then, as he did again in April.)

He especially suggested that I get back on my bicycle, or continue to use the stationary bicycle. He also says that just about anything at the gym is OK, as long as I take time to warm up first.

Mary and I attended the Silver State dancing festival in Reno on May 7. This was the first time we tried to round dance. Our rationale was that if I was unable to round dance, we could still square dance. I did not have any problems with my hip. The only problem we had was a lack of stamina. We slept in Sunday and came home instead of dancing the final sessions.

I went to the gym on May 5. I started with the treadmill, like usual, but I also did the 360s (walking sideways and backwards) like we did in physical therapy. Also some stationary bicycle. I was unable to do the stairmaster, again due to lack of stamina. This is always a problem when I start exercising again after a hiatus.

I was able to do lots of weight machines but I started really low. Also, the physical therapist suggested that I do about 50% more reps with the bad leg; in practice I did alternating sets of both legs together, then just the left leg, for five sets total instead of the usual three.

We hope to start dancing again soon with a class to build up our stamina. We hope to spend a week at McCloud, possibly in June but probably in August.

Thank God, It's Doomsday

Church and politics part 2

Church Members Ousted in Dispute Over Politics

New York Times, Associated Press

WAYNESVILLE, N.C., May 10 (AP) - A Baptist preacher who was accused of forcing nine members to leave his church because they refused to support President Bush said on Tuesday that he was stepping down.

Congregants of the 100-member church have said that Mr. Chandler endorsed Mr. Bush from the pulpit during last year's presidential campaign and said that anyone who planned to vote for the Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, needed to "repent or resign."

The church members said that he continued to preach about politics after Mr. Bush won re-election, culminating in a church gathering last week in which the nine members said they were ousted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/national/11baptist.html

Challenge dance of the week: Barry Clasper at PACE

Northern California PACE hosts Barry Clasper for a weekend of challenge dancing at all levels from C1 to C4. The dance takes place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday May 13-15, 2005.

Here is the schedule:

Friday    8:00 pm C1
Saturday 10:30 am C2
Saturday  2:30 pm C2
Saturday  7:30 pm C4
Sunday   10:30 am C3A
Sunday    2:30 pm C3

Dancing takes place at Oak Park Center, 1700 Oak Park Blvd in Pleasant Hill.

The PACE web site has a schedule of future events, a PDF flier, and a map with directions.

Stay tuned to the PACE web site for more news about changes in upcoming callers and a possible change of location.

Dance of the week: Black and White Ball

The Krazy Dazys sponsor their annual Black and White Ball this Saturday, May 14, 2005. Jim Osborne calls Plus level squares from 8:00 until 10:30 pm.

Chuck Hurst cues pre-rounds from 7:30 until 8:00 pm.

There will be an Advanced level star tip at 10:30 pm.

The dance is held at John Muir Middle School, 1260 Branham Lane, in south San Jose (near Almaden Expressway).

Krazy Dazys has a web site:
http://www.krazydazys.org/

They have posted a flier for their dance:
http://www.krazydazys.org/BandW-5-05.html

Added 86 new cue sheets to the database

Added 86 cue sheets from Annette and Frank Woodruff's web site.

There are now over 7500 cue sheets in the database.

http://users.skynet.be/asperule/

http://www.mixed-up.com/round/all-over/

Added 89 new cue sheets to the database

I've linked 89 more dances from sites "all over" into the database. Here is a sample of the dances you can now access:

• 4 He Was Beautiful, Waltz, IV+2, Blackford
• Aphrodite, Rumba, IV+2, Kincaid
• Autumn Tango, III, Oetelaar
• Baby Elephant Jive, III+1, Hamilton
• Buy Me A Rose, Rumba, V, Oetelaar
• Chattanooga Cha, V, Schneider
• Coronado Sunset, Waltz, III+2, Oren
• Gitchy Goomy Jive, IV+2, Mitchell
• Gotta Get On This Train, Quickstep, VI, Shibata
• Half Heaven, Half Heartache, Rumba, IV+1, Oren
• Happening, The, Two Step, II, Oren
• Happy Just To Dance With You, Two Step, II, Oren
• I Just Wanna Dance With You, Cha Cha, IV, Grahm
• I Talk To The Trees, Rumba, IV+2, Bradt
• Let's Stay Together, Cha Cha, IV+1+2, Tevlin
• Lion Sleeps II Night, Two Step, II, Hamilton
• Munca Cita, Tango, VI, Read
• Pastorale, Waltz, VI, Prow
• Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, Foxtrot, III+1, Bingham/Oren
• Sail Away With Me, Two Step, II, Leisi
• Saturday Night at the Movies, Two Step, II+1, Callen
• Song We Fell In Love To, The, Two Step, II+1, Baldwin
• Tell Him, Two Step, II+1, Oren
• They Can't Take That Away From Me, Foxtrot, VI, Goss
• You and the Night and the Music, Foxtrot, IV, Pyles
• You Took Advantage Of Me, Jive, V+2, Goss

Search The Cue Sheet Database

A very strange test, but fun

The Self-Referential Aptitude Test

Mamapalooza

San Jose Mercury News

MAMAPALOOZA FEST PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON MUSICAL MOTHERS

By Marian Liu, Mercury News

Fueled in part by the urge to shatter stereotypes about motherhood, some bands have given themselves names that embrace the good and bad of all things maternal. There is the Oakland punk rock group Placenta, formerly known as the Lactators, and the band that started it all: Housewives on Prozac.

For these women, inspiration lurks even in life's most mundane moments, leading to such fun tunes as "Eat Your Damn Spaghetti" and "Pee Alone."

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/11598321.htm

http://www.mamapalooza.com/

http://www.housewivesonprozac.com/

Theft, Politics, and Videotape

While we were parked at the Reno Hilton for 36 hours this weekend, my "support our troops" ribbon-magnet disappeared from the tailgate of my truck.

The truck was dirty enough that even after all the rain we drove through, the magnet's imprint was still visible. Mary says she sees fingerprints toward the top of the imprint, which indicates that someone took it.

Why would someone take my magnet? Mary says she hopes whoever stole it did so because they support our troops and wanted to display the magnet on their own car. But I think that theft is a funny way to show support for the troops. After all, our troops have died to defend our freedoms, the freedom to steal not being one of them (unless you are a politician or a corporate executive).

If this was a statement of disapproval of the "support our troops" message, then we are in a very sorry state indeed. My stepson just return from serving seven months with the Marines in Iraq. I might not personally fully approve of the war and the way in which our government has conducted it, but I am 100 percent behind our troops because several of them are my family members.

History Redux

San Jose Mercury News

By Ron Hutcheson, Knight Ridder

Speaking to a Latvian audience with bitter memories of Soviet domination, Bush expressed regrets about the 1945 Yalta agreement that divided Europe into U.S. and Soviet spheres of influence. The pact, approved by Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin near the end of World War II, effectively cleared the way for the creation of Soviet satellites in Eastern and Central Europe.

"Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable. Yet this attempt to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability left a continent divided and unstable. The captivity of millions in Central and Eastern Europe will be remembered as one of the greatest wrongs of history."

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/11595092.htm

Uh ... Mr. Bush ... Hellllooooo?

The house I grew up in

Maybe ...

http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/fb/2005/05/07/index.html

Will housing bubble burst?

San Jose Mercury News

SOARING BAY AREA HOME PRICES WORRYING BUYERS AND ECONOMISTS

By John Boudreau, Mercury News

Some economists have watched soaring home prices with alarm, fearful the steep rise could lead to a plunge. They see a combustible mix of low interest rates, easy credit and rising speculation, coupled with a widely held belief among buyers -- especially younger ones -- that real estate values never decline.

But other economists point to forces that buttress the housing market, at least in the Bay Area, from steep drops. Those include a chronic shortage of homes, a lack of available land for new developments and a willingness of many people to pay what it takes to own a home here.

Robert Shiller, a Yale University professor of economics, probably paints the most dire bubble scenario of all prominent economists when he predicts a plunge in housing prices rather than a leveling off.

Housing price volatility is not new to Silicon Valley, which just a few years ago experienced a drop in prices.

In November 2000, eight months after the Nasdaq stock bubble burst, the median price in Santa Clara County was $510,000. A slide began the next month, with the median eventually dropping to $435,000 in November 2001, according to DataQuick.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/11580640.htm

Lay Pastor May Face Martyrdom

Christianity Today

Convert from Islam accused of evangelizing Muslims

by Compass Direct

Iranian Christian Hamid Pourmand, a former Muslim, faces possible execution, the first religiously motivated death sentence in Iran since 1990.

Arrested last September when security police raided a church conference he was attending, the Assemblies of God lay pastor faces charges of apostasy from Islam and of proselytizing Muslims. Both "crimes" are punishable by death.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/006/3.22.html

If Moses had only asked for directions ...

Round dance of the week: Silver State

The Silver State squre and round dance festival, held every year in early May, is upon us again! The weekend features separate halls for Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, and Rounds. There are also part-time programs for Youth and Handicapables.

All dancing takes place inside the Reno Hilton, which makes it easy to move from hall to hall, get to dancing early in the morning, and stay up late to play ... the hotel has several nice restaurants, a mall downstairs, and, of course, gambling.

Silver State always has a great round dance program, and this year is no exception. Bill and Linda Maisch of southern California will teach three dances at Phases 4, 5, and 6 on Saturday. There are also three-hour dance parties on Friday and Saturday evening, hosted by Bill and Linda Maisch and Tami Helms of Portland.

The Mainstream, Plus, and Advanced halls also feature round dancing between tips. cued by local cuers.

See you there!

For more information:
Silver State Web Site

Dance of the week: Lucky Steppers

Lucky Steppers sponsors a January class newer dancer hoedown on May 7, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose. Long-time club caller Harold Fleeman leads the festivities.

For more information:
Newer Dancer Hoedowns in San Jose
Lucky Steppers Web Site

Club of the week: Lucky Steppers

The Lucky Steppers square dance club has been a fixture on the square dance scene since 1958. They meet in of Santa Cruz on Thursday nights. The club is well known for hosting a series of slab dances in Ben Lomond (in the Santa Cruz mountains) every summer.

According to club president DeAnne Alcorn, the club started when one of the charter members was going stir crazy with two kids at home, and her husband needed to learn to have fun. They knew and contacted Harold Furlong, who was a young, avid dancer and caller. They got a group together and after 15 weeks were declared accomplished square and round dancers.

Harold Furlong called for about ten years, after which Ernie Trimpey called for a short time. Harold Fleeman has been calling for the club since 1967, which might make him the longest-lasting caller in the area.

The club currently has about 30 members. They try to hold a beginner class every year, which is not always easy. In a situation that has become increasingly typical, last year they had several false starts before getting a full square of beginners. The club accepts all beginners, of any age, singles or couples. The club is always supportive of the newer dancers. Caller Harold Fleeman and several dancers attended the Sunnyvale Singles Spring Fling newer dancer hoedown recently.

Thursday evening club nights start with a round dance teach by Sue and Phil Harris. The remainder of the evening is split between the square dance teach and club-level dancing.

Lucky Steppers hosts several dances every year. In July and August they host the popular series of slab dances in Ben Lomond. These include the club's anniversary dance in July, and a special A2 level dance in August. In 2005, the anniversary dance takes place on July 23, and the other dances take place on each of the four Saturday evenings in August.

The club also invites everyone to their annual Toy Dance, this year to be held Thursday, December 1, 2005. All proceeds go to the Salvation Army.

During the class season, Lucky Steppers sponsors a September-level newer dancer hoedown and a January-level hoedown. This year, the January class hoedown takes place on May 7, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose.

For more information:
Newer Dancer Hoedowns in San Jose
Lucky Steppers Web Page

Darth Vader's heart of evil is no match for Hollywood executives'

http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/1659/

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009