Randy Pausch, the professor at Carnegie Mellon University who inspired countless students in the classroom and others worldwide through his highly acclaimed last lecture, has died of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.
Also a Carnegie Mellon alumnus, Pausch co-founded the Entertainment Technology Center and led researchers who created Alice, a revolutionary way to teach computer programming. He was widely respected in academic circles for a unique interdisciplinary approach, bringing together artists, dramatists and designers to break new ground by working in collaboration with computer scientists.
Outside the classroom, he gained public fame for delivering what would come to be known as "The Last Lecture." On Sept. 18, 2007, only a month after doctors told him that he had three-to-six months to live following a recurrence of pancreatic cancer, he presented a lecture called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" to a packed auditorium at Carnegie Mellon.The moving and often humorous talk recounted his efforts to achieve such childhood dreams as becoming a professional football player, experiencing zero gravity and developing Disney World attractions. In the process, he shared his insights on finding the good in other people, working hard to overcome obstacles and living generously."If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself," Pausch said. "The dreams will come to you."The video appeared on countless websites and has been viewed by millions. Appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC's Good Morning America and the CBS Evening News followed.A book version, "The Last Lecture" co-written by Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal (and a fellow Carnegie Mellon alumnus), became a best-seller upon its release this spring."Randy had an enormous and lasting impact on Carnegie Mellon," said Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon. "A brilliant researcher and gifted teacher, he was a key member of our Human-Computer Interaction Institute and co-founder of the Entertainment Technology Center. His love of teaching, his sense of fun and his brilliance came together in the Alice project, which teaches students computer programming while enabling them to do something fun — making animated movies and games. Carnegie Mellon — and the world — are better places for having had Randy Pausch in them."Pausch was also a pioneer in the development of virtual reality, including creating the popular Building Virtual Worlds class.A memorial service at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is being planned; details will be announced at a later date.He is survived by his wife, Jai, and three children: Chloe, Dylan and Logan. The family requests that donations on his behalf be directed to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245, or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund, which the university will use primarily to support continued work on the Alice project.

I have a new Obsession!!!!
Well not sure exzactly how new it is....Ready? BBC America.
Now you may ask Dale, why are you obsessed with the paticular channel of all the 425 channels that cable televison allows. I really have no answer to this.
And this isnt even a new obsession really...Ive been hooked since Jan of 07. I love the line-up of shows! How clean is your house with Kim Woodburn & Aggi Mckenzie. These 2 old broads crack me up. The premise of this show is they seek out the filthiest....and i mean FILTHIEST houses and flats in the Uk and give the house a totally mollywash....haha!....aka good tidy up!. Im obsessed with the British dialect. I learn so much british slang everyday! I cringe all the time when i see these houses before...sometimes they cant even get through the door...haha!.
Then there is "You are what you eat". Can i just say how much i love to hate Gillian McKeith, the Health guru, Dr, demon. Shes a no-nonsence drill instructor of a dietician and is all of 5 ft. Kinda mindgety lookin if you ask me. She's so mean to the overweight people that participate on this show, which is why i watch i suppose. I dont think shes really that mean in life, but for this show, she's a bobbydazzler. The other 2 shows are "Bargain Hunt" and "Cash in the Attic" which they have marathons of on weekends, and i tell you that i get very little accomplished when its on. I wish American Tv programs were like this. I even have my sister addicted to it now, she didnt even know she got BBC America on her tv...so funny! I know Im a weirdo.....but cmon.
I havent been online alot lately, basically to just check email. When i have free time i just wanna sleep or do things around the house. I stay completely exausted. And sunday night Big Brother is back..... and you know how i get with Big Brother....haha!

Relationships!

Let's talk about this thing called "Relationships". From the words of a wise man "Why can't we all just get along?" A group of us were talking about this very issue this morning. If we could get to the point of walking in Jesus' footsteps on a daily basis think how much further we would be in our own personal faith but think of where we would be as a; I hate to use the term Religion but as a body of believers in Christ. When we go throughout our day not showing the true Christ through our walk who is getting the glory? You are. Here is the kicker with this or the problem I have with this, we as believers are faithful to those who stroke us and tell us how we are appreciated and like recognition for the "works" that we have done or are doing. Again I say who is getting the glory for that? Not God! We are to be living our lives and in everything we do it is to be giving Him the glory. I have heard growing up that God is a jealous God. As I have gotten older I understand what that means. It's not a bad thing, after all he created us. Why can't we give him credit for our life as we go throughout our day? I can tell you this is something that God has been dealing with me on lately. someone laughed at me the other day, a problem came up and it was something that I wanted God to know that I was concerned about and I said "Look Buddy, I need you to help me through this and only you can do it". I am learning to just talk to God. Throughout the day I have learned and I am still learning to just talk to God. You may call your spouse, family, or a friend throughout the day just to talk. We should be able to do the same thing with God and honestly I feel that is all He is wanting from us. He created us to worship Him and seek Him and through this time in my life I am learning to do just that. It was hard to do at first, to just say to myself, instead of saying something under my breath that I shouldn't be saying anyway and I have made a conscious effort to take that and talk to God about it. What I noticed has been such an uplifting experience. It has helped me to deal with the issues as they come up. I have been praying for wisdom daily, and feel that God has been doing just that. I have tried to have an open relationship with my God. I have included Him into areas of my life that I know He has been just waiting for me to invite Him to be a part of.
Now, let's take that to the next step with the relationships of our friend and families. Are you perfect? Then why do we expect our relationship to be perfect with our friends and our families. Someone is going to make you mad. Someone is going to upset you or do something a way that you don't like. You know what? That's OK! Forgive, because let me tell you something you are going to do something to them to hurt them the same way. Maybe on purpose maybe not but how can we live our lives so wrapped up waiting for the next thing to bother or upset us. Let me tell you something else. That is a distraction from you keeping your eyes on God. Let me clear this up I am preaching to myself the whole time I am saying this stuff. Moving on… Here is the key to all of this, are you ready? It is called communication. Open communication. And sometimes just like with God you need to be ready to hear something that is going to hurt your feelings. No pain, no gain right? Personally I try to make people happy. I don't like knowing that I have hurt someone but I know that it going to happen. I had a conversation with someone once. They were hurt by a church and they were ready to leave the church. I told them that they needed to talk to that person involved with that church to see what they might have meant by what was done or said. My friend said but I don't want to be a part of something that is like this. This is not the way church is supposed to be. I asked my friend, what happens when they have a misunderstanding with their spouse? Are you ready to just give up on them walk away from the time and effort that you have put into that relationship? Of course not! You have made a commitment to that person and you talk to them about the issue to get it resolved. The issue comes back to the three "C's".
1. Commitment
2. Communication
3. Care
So I said, why would we be ready to just give up and walk away from the commitment you have made to God in serving this particular body? Sometimes we need to be reminded of that when it comes to serving our church or our job, that we have made a commitment to be there. If we don't give it our all then we are letting God be seen in a light that He might not be proud of. Remember it's not just your name that you represent, it is God's! That has to be one of the toughest things to remember. We may be the only Christ that a person might see.
I think with these 3 things you should be able to have a "realationship". So let's recap for a minute. If you have open communication, if you have made a commitment, and if you continue to care for this relationship it will grow. Family, friend, or God all different areas of our relationships it can work.

Ganja Queen

Bali, Indonesia. Schapelle Corby, a 27-year-old Australian woman, languishes in Kerobokan Prison for a crime she insists she didn't commit. Shapelle had flown to Bali in October 2004 to join her sister Mercedes (married to a Bali man) for a two week vacation at the beach. Among her luggage was an unlocked boogie-board bag.

When she arrived in Bali and was asked by customs officials to open the tote, she discovered a ten-pound bag of cannabis flattened next to the board. Though she says she knew nothing about the marijuana, Shapelle was immediately arrested, never imagining the firestorm that would ensue. GANJA QUEEN explores the origins and outcome of this sensational case through in- prison interviews with Schapelle Corby, footage and interviews of her family (mother Rosleigh, father Michael, sister Mercedes, brother-in-law Wayan, and half-brother James) both in Bali and at home in Australia, flashback footage of Shapelle's arrest, and footage taken in and outside the courtroom during Schapelle's incendiary trial. As the sympathetic heroine at the center of the cauldron, Schapelle faces an unknown and unforgiving judicial process that could, potentially, have her executed (by firing squad) if found guilty. For Shapelle and the Corby family, the stakes could not be higher.

For the media, in both Bali and Australia, the story could not be more compelling. Schapelle's comings and goings from her prison cell to a variety of meetings and interrogations make front-page headlines for months, with the public jostling nearly every day for a peek at Schapelle as she is hustled by authorities through a gauntlet of reporters and protesters (both pro and con). In addition to chronicling the public and behind-the-scenes maneuvering by Corby, her family and legal team in the days, weeks and months leading up to her trial, the documentary explores numerous explanations for the appearance of the drugs in Corby's bag. Did this seemingly average young woman actually commit the crime for which she is accused? Did one of her family members put the marijuana in her bag without (or with) her knowing? Was there a connection to the Australian neighbor who grew pot on his property? Or was Schapelle simply the unlucky victim of a domestic drug-running operation? Indeed, with regard to the latter hypothesis, several intriguing developments arise during Schapelle's incarceration. In one report, we learn that Corby's flight occurred on the same day as a large shipment of cocaine was shipped out of the airport by a drug ring involving corrupt baggage handlers.

In another, an Australian prisoner named John Patrick Ford comes forward to testify that he overheard a conversation in prison between two men in which they discussed planting the marijuana in Corby's boogie-board bag. Both pieces of news raise hopes for Schapelle's acquittal, as do reports that the marijuana bag had not been fingerprinted, and that baggage-handling security cameras in Sydney had not been working the day of her trip. One thing is certain: The evidence against Corby is sketchy, and most likely wouldn't rise to the level of "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" required in U.S. or Australian courts. Explaining why she might put a huge amount of marijuana in an unlocked bag, Corby scornfully asks, "Do you think somebody can be that stupid?" Among Shapelle's most ardent advocates is Ron Bakir, an entrepreneur known to TV viewers for a series of outrageous commercials selling cell phones. Explaining that a nerve was struck when he saw an emotional Schapelle for the first time on TV, Bakir becomes one of her most vocal supporters, and pumps his own money into her defense. However, Bakir ends up crossing the line when (without consulting with her attorneys) he accuses the prosecution team of seeking a bribe to reduce the requested sentence - an unfounded allegation that might cost her the court's sympathy, as well as a more lenient penalty.

Ultimately, Shapelle's fate boils down to the opinion of a triumvirate of judges. Following an explosive trial, delayed when Schapelle collapses at one point in the courtroom, the verdict is finally carried live on television both locally and in Australia. Following the shocking sentence (not to be divulged in this summary), the Court orders the evidence - both the boogie-board bag and the marijuana - burned on a pyre. As a gaggle of police officers smile in the background, we see smoke rising up into the clear Bali sky. CREDITS: Written, Produced and Directed by: Janine Hosking; Producer: Robin Eastwood; Editors: Janine Hosking and Stephen Hopes; Consulting Editor: Geof Bartz; Director of Photography: Ian Pugsley, A.C.S.; Music: Matt Walker. For HBO Documentary Films: Supervising Producer: Sara Bernstein; Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins.

Who said I couldnt cook!....Look at that steak right there buddy!!!! Thats what you call a man's Meal!

We always hear " the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be. 1. Crying is blackmail. 1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that. 1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, football, fishing, hunting or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.