Jeffrey James Update

From: Jeffrey James Pearson
Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Subject: TIA - This is Africa
To: jpearson@ctmt.com


I'm in Rwanda. I'm safe. I'm well fed. It's 80. My safari in Kenya was awesome - soo many zebra, giraffe, crocodile, rhino, baboon, monkey, scavengers, gazelle, etc. I was the first person to stay in my hotel for 10 days, it had no power the first night and the owners were leaving the country on Wednesday... I felt fine going around Nairobi during the day but would never go out after dark.

Tomorrow we are going to track gorillas near the Congo then we are going to hopefully cross over into Uganda - track up to a village and go and camp out on an island near the city of Kabale. After this we are off to Fort Portal to hike though the crater lakes & biwindi for a few days, then off to Murhison Falls to track hippos & elephants and see the falls, then down to Jinja to raft down the Nile.

On my flight from Nairobi to Kenya we met some UW Badgers and played the name game and found some mutual friends - small world.

Last night it thundered and poured here in Kigali. Nairobi is very arid and Kigali is very tropical. The flight was awesome - flying in & out of Burundi. Rwanda reminds me a lot of Kyrgyzstan - more than any other country I've been to.

Everyplace in Africa seems to smell like B.O. or friend chicken.

I'm safe and having fun. Hope y'all are too.

Regards,
Jeffrey James

Mesa Listing

If anyone wants to send a weblink for the Mesa property instead of sending an attachment, just send this link to people. Right click on the link below and copy and paste it or select "send link" and you're good to go.

Mesa_listing

Cheers,
BBlebowski

Olivia's Summer Adventure

Astronaut Training

Course name: Pathfinder: Space Adventure

Dates of course: June 13-15

Course Description: Pathfinder is a three day, two night program at the Rocket and Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Experience a simulated shuttle mission by training in a three-part simulator to launch a Space Shuttle, dock it to the International Space Station, re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, and safely land. Build and launch rockets and visit the space museum where you can try out astronaut training equipment. Enjoy a fascinating IMAX film and tour one of the largest lunar and propulsion collections in the world. The cost includes transportation, lodging, program registration and food.

Grade Level: Incoming 6th graders through exiting 8th graders

Time of day course will meet: Flight, early morning of June 13th, Return late evening of June 15th

Location of course meetings: Huntsville, Alabama: Rocket and Space Center

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Course Title: Extreme Science – Metro Style

Date: June 23-27

Course Description: Join us for a week of “day tripping” around the metro area. We’ll venture into the realm of the known and yet to be discovered. Our journeys will take us through a sampling of the sciences (disciplines: Astronomy, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Hydrology, Physics). Trips in the journey include Como Zoo, WCCO , Minnehaha Falls, Wargo Nature Center, St. Paul Brickyards, Fort Snelling State Park, Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, and Valleyfair. Our day will be filled with fun as we investigate science questions through journaling our everyday observations. You won’t want to miss this bus! Special Note: We will be hiking on average 2 miles per day. Please dress appropriately for the weather, including a good pair of tennis shoes, sunscreen, bug spray, and a hat.

Grade Level: Incoming 6th graders through exiting 8th graders.

Location: Coon Rapids Middle School 8AM (room 175 for pre-trip meetings in the morning, enter via door # 6), on location for the majority of the day, returning by 4PM for pick-up.

Instructors: Cheryl Sill Cheryl.Sill@anoka.k12.mn.us
Leila Youakim Leila.Youakim@anoka.k12.mn.us

Uno sounds off

Start dancin', Snoopy. You're out of the Westminster doghouse. At long last, a beagle is America's top dog. Baying and barking to his heart's delight, Uno lived up every bit to his name Tuesday night, becoming the first of his breed to win best in show at the nation's biggest canine competition.

By BEN WALKER, Associated Press



NEW YORK - Start dancin', Snoopy. You're out of the Westminster doghouse. At long last, a beagle is America's top dog. Baying and barking to his heart's delight, Uno lived up every bit to his name Tuesday night, becoming the first of his breed to win best in show at the nation's biggest canine competition.

"He's a people's dog, a merry little hound," handler Aaron Wilkerson said.

A sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden that called and chanted Uno's name stood and roared when he was picked as numero uno. He got right into the act, jumping on Wilkerson and confirming his other title: noisiest in show.

Years from now, it'll be known as the "ah-roo!" heard 'round the ring.

The only breed consistently among the
nation's most popular dogs for nearly 100 years, a beagle had never won in the 100 times the Westminster Kennel Club had chosen a winner. That changed when judge J. Donald Jones pointed to this nearly 3-year-old package of personality.

No longer an underdog — make that an Underdog — Uno beat out two neatly primped poodles, a top Sealyham terrier, a sleek Weimaraner, a lively Australian shepherd and a sprightly Akita.

"He's perfect, he was a 10," Jones said. "He does cuteness well."

Precocious as he was precious, Uno celebrated by chewing on the microphones of reporters who tried to interview his winning crew. Those had to suffice for the yellow, soft duck that's his favorite toy.

His tri-colored image certainly drew a nationwide following, and that will surely prompt a spike in beagle adoptions. Wilkerson had one bit of advice for anyone planning to get one as a pet.

"Better have a fence," he said.

More than 169 breeds and varieties were represented at the 132nd Westminster show, and the event brought 2,627 entries.

Among the fan favorites early Tuesday evening were a Neapolitan mastiff that lumbered around the ring, a Chihuahua that spun in circles and a miniature pinscher that plucked a piece of food off the green carpet without missing a beat.

No hound of any kind had won at Westminster since 1983, and a toy poodle that began the night with 108 best in show prizes stood in Uno's way.

Formally known as K-Run's Park Me in First, Uno came into this competition wagging his white-tipped tail with 32 best in show ribbons overall. He already had become the first beagle to win the hound group since 1939.

Uno breezed in the 15-inch beagle category Monday morning, then took the group several hours later. So while other dogs tried to reach the final ring Tuesday, Uno went on a brisk walk around Manhattan and took a nap beneath his warm, fuzzy blanket.

But when it came time to show, Uno was as ready as ever. He looked around and soaked up the cheers while parading around the ring, the ovation becoming more thunderous with every step.

When he made his final stop in front of Jones, Uno went to town. Rather than rely on his golden brown, pleading eyes, he began baying over and over.

Even when he walked away to let other dogs be judged, Uno kept going. Quite a win it was for Eddie Dziuk of Columbia, Mo., and his three co-owners.

"When it came for the judge to pick, I couldn't even watch," Dziuk said.

Chances are, millions at home were tuned to their televisions.

"My sister called me today and said she's always turned off the dog show on TV because she's tired of all those poodles winning," Jon Woodring, one of Uno's co-owners, said in the afternoon. "But she watched last night. I think Uno winning would show that an everyday dog can do it."

Longtime dog expert David Frei, the paw-by-paw announcer for USA Network's coverage of Westminster, went even further earlier.

"If he wins best in show, I'll rent him an apartment in New York City because I'll be traveling with him all year, so many people will want to see him," he said. "If he won, it would be the greatest thing for our show."

Better get that first rent check ready — Uno is here to stay.

"We knew he was going to be No. 1. I didn't know he'd do it this fast," Wilkerson said.

Larry Cohen, St. Paul's former 'triple threat,' is back in action

Larry Cohen, right, is Slimey Al's uncle



Last winter, there was much concern about retired Ramsey County District Chief Judge Larry Cohen. He'd slipped on the ice while walking his dog but picked himself up, thanking his lucky stars that no bones were broken.

Unbeknownst to him, though, the fall had produced slow bleeding in his brain. It wasn't until a month or two later, when he and wife, Kathi Donnelly-Cohen, flew to the Cayman Islands, that the problems began.

"The high altitude on the plane did me in," he told me this week.

He was airlifted to Miami, underwent emergency surgery and returned home for a long recuperation.


But this winter, he's back in action, teaching, serving on boards, working as a special master in lawsuits and engaging in his hobby: people.

"That's a great hobby; people. I spend time all day talking, on the phone and in person," he said.

Cohen trifecta: mayor, county commissioner, chief judge
Cohen, 74, has a unique public service pedigree, earning the trifecta as top dog in the local executive, legislative and judicial branches. He was elected to the Ramsey County Board (including a stint as chairman) and served two terms as mayor of St. Paul -- from 1972 to 1976. In 1988, he was named a judge, retiring 14 years later as chief judge for Ramsey County.

He's a regular at the Friday meetings of the Pat Roedler/Ruby Hunt group, a discussion group headed by two former St. Paul City Council members. The diverse group meets weekly for lunch and lively talk at the Cherokee Sirloin Room in West St. Paul. Last week, Cohen invited St. Paul attorney Jeffrey Anderson to the gathering to speak about his legal work on behalf of victims of sexual abuse.

"I've recovered pretty well," Cohen said. "Pretty much up to full speed. For an old guy."

Cohen doesn't remember anything at all about the Cayman Islands trip last February.

"My wife told me what happened," he said. We were there for three days before I started feeling woozy. She noticed I wasn't reacting well, that I was dizzy and unstable and not walking well."

At the island hospital, the bleeding was discovered. "But they didn't have the facilities or a neurosurgeon, so I was medevaced to Miami," he said.

The aircraft needed special clearance to fly low — to avoid the high-altitude problem that had exacerbated the bleeding — over Cuba.

"I tell everyone that Castro said: 'Oh, it's Cohen. Yeah, you can do it.' "

Serious situation, then recuperation
In Miami, surgeons drained more than two cups of fluid from his head. Back in St. Paul, doctors discovered blood clots in his legs, so there was more surgery.

Then he was sent for recuperation to the Sholom Home on Midway Parkway in St. Paul. One of his fellow patients there was George Latimer, another former St. Paul mayor. Latimer was recovering from hip replacement surgery. "We spent time talking; it made the time go faster," Cohen said.

The recuperation also gave Cohen, who serves on the board of directors of Sholom Home, a firsthand look at the operation, from an in-bed perspective.

Indicative of his recovery is the continuation of his irreverent sense of humor. Last week, he wore a denim shirt bearing the inscription of an out-of-state Catholic Church, with the word "Pastor" embroidered above the pocket. He'd gotten it at a secondhand store. And, he laughingly explained, once, while wearing it, a shopkeeper gave him the clergy discount.

Cohen and his wife spent time this week in Arizona, visiting her parents. It's the first time he's traveled since the operation and marks another landmark in his recovery.

"I've been fortunate. But I think I've used up a few of my lives," he said. "Just how many lives does a cat get? Nine?" he asked his wife.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan

Submitted by: Sara

Blaine Dairy Fire Details

Authorities have determined that a fire which destroyed a venerable convenience store in Blaine last month was the work of arsonists. Now they are trying to determine whether to classify the fire at the Blaine Dairy as a hate crime.

"We have evidence that indicates that it's possible that is the case," said Capt. Kerry Fenner of the Blaine Police Department.

On Jan. 27, three men carrying a paper bag and glass bottles entered the store at 385 109th Av. NE. around 8:30 p.m. They lit the bottles and threw them inside the store, which sparked a fire. Additionally an expletive directed to an Arab was found painted on the west wall of the building, a police report said.

The store's owner, who police believe is Arab or Muslim, suffered minor burns and had cuts on his arms, police said.

The fire severely damaged the store which has been "a fixture in the community for quite a long time" Fenner said. It's likely the store, which has sold dairy products and household items since the 1960s, is a total loss and might have to be knocked down.

As of Friday morning, no one had been arrested.

Fenner said his department is waiting for an analysis of evidence sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to come back before officially classifying the fire as a hate crime.

"The case is still in throes of being investigated," Fenner said. "We hope to have enough information to solve this one."