Month: December 2006

30 in 2007

Well I have 2 new goals for 2007, I’ve actually cheated a bit and started counting already.
But goal number one is to read 30 books in the next 12 months.
I started on one last night, Love for a Lifetime: Building a Marriage that Will Go the Distance, my parents bought it for Laurie and I for Christmas. I guess they think we’re getting married soon or something ;-).
It’s an easy read and I’m about halfway through it as of this morning.
If anyone has any great reads, let me know. I hope the reading will make me a better person overall, as well as a better writer and blogger.
Secondly, I plan to lose at least 30 more pounds by April 28. I’ve lost 25 solid pounds since late May last year and I’ve pretty much stalled out between 230 and 240 since going to Nigeria in October. My goal was to get to 210 or lower when I started so I need to lose at least 30 more pounds to be sure and I’d like to look my best for the above mentioned wedding on April 28, hence the goal. What are you’re goals/resolutions/hopes/dreams for 2007?

And in his name all oppression shall cease

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Holy Night (verse 3)
Take a moment to read Thomas’ thoughts on Christmas.
I’m glad to be able to count people like Thomas as a friend.
Merry Christmas to you all! Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we.

Methane power

Ever want to find a use for all those cow patties on your back 40?
An agricultural college in the UK has found that eight months worth of cow patties produces enough electricity to power a farm for a full year.
Amazing.

Adrian Joynt, farm manager at the college’s new £2.7m environmentally-friendly Harris Centre, said: “Everything that comes out of the back end of an animal goes in [the digester].
“And what we get out is 7,500 kilowatts – or £7,500 worth. We actually get enough energy to supply the farm’s electricity for a year.”
He added: “If you are going to put food in one end of the cow, we have to accept what comes out of the other.
“It’s about what we do with it.
“We can either spread it on the field or we can put it through this digester and get the methane gas out of it.”

Via The BBCI’m sure someone’s got a great snarky remark or two about this. I’m just waiting to read them.

16 tips for Christmas photos

Lifehacker passes along a link for 16 great photo tips for Christmas. Here’s just one example:

There are certain moments during a Christmas gathering that are filled with all manner of photographic opportunities and the opening of gifts is like no other in that it is filled with an array of emotions, facial expressions and excitement – especially if you’ve got kids around. Switch your camera to burst mode (sometimes called continuous shooting mode) and take lots of shots at this time of the festivities. You’ll find you end up with some excellent series of shots when you do this….

Read more. Via Lifehacker.

Legislatures ready for the session

Well a new day has dawned, I received a press release from Don Burnam, State Rep. Dist. 90 (in Fort Worth). No, I’ve received press releases before, but not as a blogger. They’ve all come to my inbox because of my role as a newspaper reporter.
But you know the Legislature is getting ready to start meeting again when everyone’s sending out press releases on their latest bills. Here’s the release from Burnam:

Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Ft. Worth), a member of the Law Enforcement Committee of the Texas House of Representatives, filed House Bill 418 which would limit the use of Tasers by law enforcement officers. Current policy allows individual police departments and officers wide discretion as to when a Taser can be used. Rep. Burnam’s bill would limit Taser use to situations in which the officer is “justified in using deadly force” as defined in the Penal Code.
“The number of incidents in which officers use tasers on unarmed people is truly alarming,” said Rep.
Burnam. “There are currently 16 documented deaths due to Taser use by police in Texas. There is a perception out there that Tasers are safe and generally harmless. That perception is dead wrong. Tasers have proven to be lethal and that’s why they should only be used in situations in which deadly force is justified.”
The situation is bad statewide: in Austin, incidents in which police officers used Tasers went from three in 2002 to 265 in 2004; in Lubbock, a lawsuit is pending after a police officer tased an unarmed man six times even though video released to the public shows he was not resisting arrest; recently in Houston, Texans football player Fred Weary was Tasered for no apparent reason as no charges were filed against him.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Tasers have been used in Houston 892 times in the last two years; in only 39 of those incidents would officers have been justified in the use of deadly force.
“All my bill says is that if you’re going to shoot someone with 50,000 volts, it should only be done when the officer is in grave danger,” Burnam continued. “If a suspect is unarmed or does not present a deadly threat to the officer, they should not be tased.”
Analyses of statistics from around the state show that Tasers are used disproportionately on minorities. In Houston, for example, police data shows that 63% of tased suspects were black.
“Tasers are being used on minorities with impunity,” said Burnam. “It needs to stop.”

I don’t know if tasering is really as bad as its made to sound here, but I would rather be tasered than shot. No doubt about that.
My initial assumption would be that the amount of tasering has increased over the last few years because the number of officers with tasers has increased. Only seems logical.