What To Do Before Your First European Cruise

Tags you'll need for your luggage. See below.

As I’ve posted previously, I’m currently on Carnival's newest cruise ship, Freedom, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

Disclosure: Reasons I’m Here

I enjoy having a fun time in general and would love to tell you that I’m on this cruise ship without having any intention on doing any research. But that would be wrong. I’m on this cruise ship for a couple of reasons:

1. First and foremost: to have fun with the family. With me are my parents, my sisters, my aunt, my wife, and my infant daughter. My little baby is experiencing a lot and she’s only eight months old. While she might not remember all of the things she’s visited when she gets older, she can see through the albums and DVDs that she went everywhere with her family.
   
2. Second: to write about my first cruise experience. Since this is my first cruise, it would be foolish of me to simply ignore the opportunity to write about it…in a book. The book, which for now I’ll title, “The Complete Guide to Your First Cruise” will be a how-to handbook of sorts: what to bring, what to expect, and how to have fun. It will be my first color book as well and should be hitting bookstores early next year.
   
3. Third: to “experience” biblical archaeology. My itinerary will stop over at Rome, Ephesus, and other ancient biblical sites. Aside from using a time machine, the only way to appreciate the culture and the architecture of what it was like 2,000 years ago is to go to these ancient sites physically. My whole family is of the Christian faith, so this trip will not only be a physical experience, but also a spiritual one. If you have a similar interest of biblical archaeology or share the same faith, I invite you to read my book, The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Scholars Chime In.
   

Passports and Visas

If you are an American citizen, you’ll have no problem going to most of Europe with just your U.S. passport. If you don’t have a U.S. passport, you’ll need to get one as soon as possible. The U.S. State Department is currently backlogged with passport applications, so make sure you apply half a year in advance. Also, if your passport is expiring within the next six months, you’ll need to get it renewed as soon as possible as some countries restrict you from entering. A friend of mine asked me if I needed to get a passport for my baby for the cruise and the answer is yes. Infants traveling internationally need a passport too!

If you are not a “first world” citizen (U.S., Canda, EU, Japan, etc.), Europe does discriminate against other countries. You’ll need a current passport (not expiring within six months) plus you’ll need to apply for the Schengen visa, which is a universal visa that you can use to enter into Italy, Spain, France, and other EU countries. My wife has a green card in the United States so we had to drive to the Italian embassy in Miami to apply for a Schengen visa which basically requires:

1. Visa fee.
   
2. A valid passport.
   
3. U.S. residence card and/or driver’s license (optional).
   
4. Birth certificate (optional).
   
5. Proof of reservations (plane and hotel/cruise line).
   
6. Proof of emergency medical insurance (search on Google, these guys are everywhere).
   
7. Proof of employment and monetary support (show that you have enough money to support yourself while in Europe, show credit card balance and bank statement that can support $150/day).
   
8. They will ask to take your passport and mail it back to you with the visa in a few weeks if you are approved.
   

Prior to Departure – Important!

The U.S. government requires specific passenger information on all cruise lines ahead of the embarkation date. You’ll need to go online or call your cruise line for more information on how to submit your passenger manifesto. If you do not submit your info on time, you may not be allowed on board or you may delay the entire ship.

Before the Cruise: For Adults

By now you should have already packed your bags. I tend to be unconcerned on how things are organized and arranged in my suitcase, so thankfully my wife packs all of my clothes. Here are some of my tips on what to bring and what to do with your luggage:

1. You’ll want to bring formal attire if you wish to attend some of the more formal festivities of the ship such as the captain’s dinner.
   <,li> Bring a swimsuit if you want to swim at a European beach or the ship’s pool decks.
   
2. Proper dress code is required in some European sites, such as the Vatican (no bare legs or bare shoulders).
   
3. A cheap rain coat or an umbrella just in case there’s rain.
   
4. Remember that most cruise ships have a laundry service. Carnival’s cruise ship charges $15.00/bag for their laundry service, so you don’t necessarily have to bring clothing for every day of the trip.
   
5. Bring walking shoes for port excursions that require you to go on foot a lot. Bring slippers and other footwear that doesn’t easily slip, especially if you want to swim on the upper deck’s swimming pool and spa.
   
6. You’ll want to mark all of your suitcases with the cruise’s tag. These tags require you to put your name, address, phone, sailing date, airline, flight number, returning flight number, and cabin number. When you land and check out your baggage, the cruise line will pick up your suitcases and automatically place them in your cabins.
   
7. On international travels, bring at least a couple days of clothing on your carry on. There have been a couple of people where the airline lost their luggage. This is unfortunate and a practical reality in airline travel.
   
8. Your carry on should have your medicines and other essentials. Please note as of 2007, the airlines are currently restricting the amount of liquids you place in your carry on luggage due to security threats.
   
9. Passports, tickets, cameras, medications, and other high value items should be in your carry on. It should not be in your checked in luggage.
   
10. Make a copy of your passport information and visas at home just in case you lose your passports. Also make a copy of your credit cards that you bring with you plus the toll-free numbers of each credit card just in case you need to cancel these credit cards if they are stolen or lost.
    
11. Bring sunblock lotion. I bought Neutrogena’s SPF 45 UVA and UVB protection from my local store. Neutrogena is non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores). There are other similar products available out there, just make sure you have UVA and UVB protection.
    
12. Watch out for your airline’s weight limits. Some airlines are now restricting international suitcases to 50 lbs. It used to be 70 lbs for international flights. Continental Airlines charged me $25.00 for every suit case that was over 50 lbs. Yikes!
    
13. Do you have a large party on board? Bring cheap walkie talkies! In order to communicate back and forth when we weren’t in our cabins, we utilized cheap short-wave radios to communicate throughout the ship.
    
14. Cameras and batteries! Part of the fun is recording video and taking photographs of your experiences. You don’t want to forget about what you’ve experienced on the trip. For professional looking pictures, I highly suggest the Canon Rebel XT, it’s a relatively inexpensive digital SLR (semi-professional) and can take better quality photos than point and shoot cameras. It wouldn't hurt to bring a tripod if you want to take pictures of yourself as well.
    
15. Do not bring heating elements like candles, irons and heating pads. Since they are a fire hazard, the cruise line will probably confiscate them. There are irons and ironing boards on each deck at the launderettes.
    
16. There are towels in your cabins and at the pool deck – so I didn’t bring any towels with me.
    
17. Bring at least one credit card with cash advance access so you can charge items such as water onto your cruise line’s boarding pass and withdraw money from foreign ATMs. Thanks to U.S. federal laws, your credit card also offers protection from fraud – the worst that can happen to you is a loss credit card and $50.00 worth of charges. This federal law protection does NOT apply to debit cards.
    

Before the Cruise: For The Baby

Having my baby girl with me on the trip is a blessing. But it would have been a nightmare if we weren’t adequately prepared. Here are some of my tips on what to bring and what to do before the cruise:

1. Make sure you’ve paid for the baby’s travels. Domestic airlines are happy to let you fly with the baby for free, but on international flights, you are required to pay. A round trip international fare from Florida to Italy for a seat less infant cost me around $429.00. The cruise line also charges you for the infant at a discount.
   
2. Inform the airline and cruise line regarding your baby, they'll usually give you higher priority in boarding. Our family managed to skip all lines at the airport thanks to the little one. This works on theme parks too.
   
3. My wife had to make sure all of the baby’s diapers and formula was in the carry on luggage. We also bought medicines for the baby just in case she has a fever or diarrhea. Talk to your pediatrician for more information on what you should bring.
   
4. Bring a toy or two to help her get comfortable in her environment.
   
5. We bought a lightweight stroller. Normally, the little one is on a heavy stroller. But for travel, you want to use one of those umbrella strollers, designed to be easily folded and opened at moments notice. They weigh roughly 2-3 lbs.
   
6. On the same note, make sure your baby gets enough shade from the stroller as well. On really sunny days, we used an umbrella.
   
7. Bring a couple of pieces of the baby’s clothing in your carry on just in case there’s accidents during the flight or they’ve lost your baby’s luggage.
   

If I remember more tips, I'll just add it to this post.

Good morning from the Mediterranean Sea

Good morning to you from the Mediterranean Sea! After eleven hours of air travel, bouncing from Florida to New Jersey to Rome, I'm finally here. I'm waking up to a slow, beautiful sun rise, just watching fishermen and other sea farers move about their business. As you can see from this picture, my wife and daughter are still sleeping. I'm not sure how they are doing it; I can't seem to adjust to the six hour jet lag that quickly. Or it might be because I'm extremely excited to see the ruins of Pompeii in the next few hours.

I know some of you have been here before and I would love to know what your favorite sites were. It’s my first time in Italy, and I wouldn’t mind any “beginner’s tips”.

I’ve already learned a handful of lessons that I’ll be sharing within the next day or so that are absolute must do’s before you come here. I have a rather unique perspective, seeing as I’m traveling with eight family members, one of which is my baby daughter (8 months old).

So join me if you’re bored or just plain curious, go on the blog www.donsausa.com.

Cruise company: Carnival

Cities toured so far: Rome

Happy July 4th!

This image is of the Washington Monument with fireworks in the background. This was taken on July 4th, 1986. Aside from the hot dogs, and the burnt fingers, July 4th means something so much more.

I have and will always remember the Declaration of Independence, the document that was adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the New World colonies were free and independent from Great Britain. From this stemmed the U.S. Constitution, perhaps the most 'advanced' document of its time, heralding a new kind of government of what we now call modern democracy.

If you are an American or someone that benefits from America's freedoms and liberties, you should celebrate this day. And to those that have taken the oath, it is definitely a day to be glad.

Part of the Oath of Naturalization
...I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law..."

Terrorist group (Hamas) pressures another terrorist group (Army of Islam) to release BBC reporter

Now I've seen everything... Alan Johnston, a BBC reporter that was kidnapped over 16 weeks ago in Gaza, has been freed...not by Palestinian security forces, not by Israel, not by U.S. special ops, but by Hamas? Hamas, a known terrorist group, surrounded another terrorist group, the Army of Islam, and told them, "Either free the foreign journalist or die." After much negotiation (first through random bullets, killing one civilian) and then through talking -- Johnston is free!

I can honestly now say, the pigs are flying. Hell is frozen. And the fat lady has sung.

Why did Hamas do this?
First, Hamas' main mission is to shutdown Israel and to retake Arab "territory". They clearly wanted to differentiate themselves from the likes of Al Queda, who has a philosophy of kill anything that moves and praising Allah for it. By paying respects to the media and international reporters, Hamas set a "tone" on how they will resist. They will not harm neutral parties but only attack known enemies.

Second, Hamas wants to show the world that they are running Gaza. As most people know, Hamas has overthrown Fatah in Gaza, the official security force of the Palestinian government. Fatah has struggled to maintain law and order in Gaza, and with this particular move, Hamas has shown that not only does it have the manpower to fight to maintain peace, it also has the will to do it. In short, this move was meant as a slap in the face to Abbas' Fatah forces.

Final thoughts
Hamas deserves credit for freeing Alan Johnston.

Does it free Hamas criminals from their previous crimes of suicide bombings and assaults on the civilian population of Israel? No. But it does offer some hope that Hamas is showing a moderate side, that there are people in the organization that actually care about life rather than a campaign of death.

Tony Blair, in his new respectable role of Middle East envoy, should offer an olive branch to Hamas: drop the suicide belts, drop the death to Israel mantra, and go to the negotiation table to create a lasting Palestinian state and Middle East peace.

Philippines taxi driver returns lost cash worth US$17,000

Imagine this, a 45 year old Filipino motorcab taxi driver, named Iluminado Boc, was behind on rent and had an ailing wife at home. Then one day one of his customers left a bag in his cab containing $17,000 (USD). This is equivalent to about 800,000 pesos. He would have been one of the richest men in his town if he kept this bag! But instead of keeping it for himself, he goes to the police and says, "It was not mine." Roughly around the same time, the original customer who owned the bag came to report it missing to the same police station.

He was rewarded $32.00 by the original owner.

While the money would have certainly helped out his family, Mr. Boc remained honest. Clearly, this man deserved more than $32.00, but at the very least he can keep what can't be bought or lost: his character.

(To the bag's owner: put your money in the bank! Use a credit card.)

Product Review (2007): Sony's DVDirect [VRDMC3]

Have you ever had miniDV or VHS tapes lying around that you wanted to convert to DVDs? If you are like me, you have several tapes that are itching to be converted. DVDs after all can be universally played almost anywhere now days, and the format has a longer shelf life than your average tape format. The only problem with converting tapes is that it takes FOREVER if you go through a computer. You first have to upload your tape into your computer, then convert it into DVD format.

But! There is a solution to this. Today, I purchased Sony's DVDirect VRDMC3, which removes the computer from the equation. I simply attached my JVC camcorder (all camcorders will work), and put in a writable DVD disc and click Record. Of course, you make sure your camcorder is sending the video through an audio and video connection.

I now have two miniDV tapes fully converted into DVDs and it plays well on my generic home theater system. For those looking for a shortcut to converting VHS or miniDV tapes, I seriously suggest Sony's DVDirect device.

Food Critic Review (2007): The Sandy Butler, Fort Myers, FL

RATING: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)
Phone: (239) 482-6765
Web site: The Sandy Butler
Managers: Jamie & Jason Nelson

The Sandy Butler is the newest restaurant that opened near Fort Myers Beach, FL. If you are coming from Summerlin Blvd, Sandy Butler is just a couple miles before the Matanzas Bridge. You'll find the restaurant and gourmet market on your right. The Sandy Butler is a mixed treat, it offers a 150-seat fine dining restaurant but also offers a gourmet market with rare, and unique foods. In fact, one of my favorite gourmet treats in the market is the chocolate-covered strawberries.

When I go to fine dining restaurants, there are two main things I look for: the meal and the atmosphere. While the meal part is common sense, you have to balance that with the proper mood. There are certain things you expect in fine dining restaurants: soft light, low-level noise, a relaxed pace, and delightful service. Luckily for me, Sandy Butler had all of this on June 25th, 2007.

The main entrée I had was the sea bass. Tenderly made, the meat was cooked to perfection. Forgive this trite expression, but the meat basically "melted in your mouth". Combined with a butterly sauce, it was a nice ending to the evening. My only regret was that I only ordered one sea bass. :-)

Movie Review: Ratatouille (2007)

Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
Actors/Voices: Patton Oswalt (Remy), Lou Romano (Linguini)
Rating: 5 STARS

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his predicament -- that he is a rat! He is encouraged by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau, who always had the motto that anyone can cook.

Throughout the movie, Remy tries to find his purpose in life for his specific skills, the ability to smell sensitive ingredients and imagine tastes, far better than any rat. While his family wants him to stick to the family business of stealing garbage, Remy seeks out to do better in the world by creating and inventing fine meals. Through friendship, and hard work Remy's perseverance ultimately brings him closer to fulfilling his dreams.

Final Thoughts
Like previous Pixar films, the technical aspect of this movie was well done. The plot also was well thought out, as it encourages kids to chase after their dreams despite the struggles going there and despite your environment telling you that you can't do it or you shouldn't do it. Overall, this is a wholesome film that I would definitely recommend seeing.

U.S. national symbol alive and well

A spike of bad news has been on the tube for the past few days: floods in Texas, car bombs in Britain, fires in California, and many others. But what seemed to have missed the headlines is the U.S. national symbol of freedom, the bald eagle, recovering from near extinction.

You see, for over two centuries, bald eagles were killed, hunted, and poisoned. So much so that by 1963, out of the tens of thousands that used to fly in the sky, there were only 417 nesting pairs left in the continental United States. After discovering their numbers dwindling, federal and state governments added the bald eagles to the endangered species list.

On June 2007, the federal government announced they removed the eagles from the list after 40+ years of conservation. Some estimate there are now over 11,000 nesting pairs all over the United States. What's interesting is, roughly about 10% of the population is in my home state -- Florida. Apparently, they love to fish.

As you celebrate our nation's birth this July 4th, be happy to know our official and national symbol stands strong and healthier than ever after 200 years.

Moon picture

I came home late tonight and when I got home, I noticed the moon shining brightly with hardly any cloud cover. I took out my camera and tripod to see if I could capture the moon. The moon was still pretty far off, but I was able to get a shot of the surface and the craters of the moon. It would have probably been better if I used automatic settings, but I thought I'd go manual mode and see if I could capture the image. Six mosquito bites later and about four bad images, I was able to pull off the right manual settings to get this shot. Enough to see the craters. My settings are below.

Date: June 29, 2007
Time: 12:02 AM EST
Location: Southwest Florida
Settings: 1/800 shutter speed, 4.0 aperture, ISO 100
Camera: Canon Rebel 350D XT
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm L f/4
Notes: Decrease in shutter speed caused a flare effect, and ISO above 100 resulted in a white out. Higher apperture may be able to get you darker contrast.

Gadget geeks excited about the new iPhone

Gadget geeks across the world are excited about the new iPhone. It is a revolutionary phone -- it surfs, it dials, plays video, and plays music. Plus, your smudgey, oily hands have the ability to touch it over and over again, creating this cloudy aura on your screen. But that's not all, it can offer traffic reports via Google Maps. So you can get turn by turn directions and be able to tell whether you're stepping into a traffic-lagged road.

Coming in roughly about half the cost of Blackberry call plans on AT&T, iPhone is going to be a must-have toy this Christmas.

But despite the hype, am I buying one? The answer: no. I certainly wouldn't mind if someone bought one for me, but the practicality of this cell phone is lacking. You would think for the expense, there would be expansion slots...nope! Plus, if you are not in a WiFi area, the phone's speed is totally dependent on Cingular/AT&T's EDGE network. I've had experience with this network, I traveled 16 states by land and attempted to use it. At best, I was able to get the average speed of a dial-up user. That's not the type of speed I want to experience with a revolutionary product. The keyboard's accuracy is also left wanting, since it is a touch screen, productivity and speed isn't part of the equation when it comes to text messaging.

Suggestions for improvement

• An expansion slot.
  
• Be able to use other networks (ie: Verizon and Sprint)
  
• Small keyboard that can be pulled out?
  

Amanda Ripley, TIME, considers terrorist wannabes

Recently, Amanda Ripley of TIME Magazine criticized federal prosecutors for having a press conference announcing the capture of NY terrorist wannabes wanting to blow up JFK Airport. In her view, they were not much of a threat and the government shouldn't have 'overhyped' the news because it only makes us 'less safe'.

This is by far the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Just because terrorist wannabes weren't 'smart enough' or their plans weren't going to work, that doesn't mean they should be taken lightly. Given enough resolve, people will amount to something, whether it be for bad or for good. I mean, who knew that a failed architect/painter named Adolf would someday run Germany and eventually takeover Europe and kill millions of Jews?

We should never underestimate people and their ability to hold on to a cause. To do so would be stupid, as stupid as those whacky plans made by Abdul Hakim Murad in 1996. Filipino intelligent agents found terrorist plans to use planes to hit the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon. The Clinton administration, at the time, having the same mindset as Ms. Ripley now, thought those plans were too crazy to be fulfilled.

Right...

FSBPT scores released for Filipino PT graduates!

FSBPT scores have been released, verified by three independent sources and also through me looking at FSBPT's online case status. Congratulations to those who passed! The investigation is still not over; however, FSBPT, upon review of the hundreds of letters and calls, has submitted to reason. Thanks to all that helped!

While the investigation is not over, the FSBPT has decided to lift
the restriction on the reporting of NPTE scores. Thus, effective
immediately, the FSBPT will resume releasing and reporting NPTE
scores of all candidates to the jurisdictions, including those
graduating from physical therapy education programs in the
Philippines.


Thank you,

Christine Sousa
Managing Director of Exam Services
Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy
509 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703)739-9420, ext. 201

How to choose the best digital SLR camera

I went to a photo studio today to get some pictures for a new project and I was kinda surprised how much they charged. I looked at the equipment and what they were doing, it didn't really look all that hard.

By the end of the session, I was charged about $470 for 11 shots (full 8x11 prints). The lady at the counter asked me if I wanted to buy a "pearl" version of the prints, meaning a different photo paper for an extra $10 per sheet. Wow. "Pearl" paper aka glossy is about .14 cents per sheet. She's trying to sell it to me for $10. No wonder these guys stay in business. They even showed me how they could smooth out edges with PhotoShop using a filter. While I nodded my head, pretending to be impressed, in the back of my mind, I was asking myself: why am I paying these guys so much?

Thought process...
Everytime I have to do a marketing shot, whether it be myself, clients, or products, I don't want to keep shelling out $40+/per picture. But I also want to avoid non-professional shots that come from point and shoot cameras. While point and shoot cameras are fine, they don't have the same resolution or image clarity as these professional cameras have.

The inquiry
I started asking the photographer what type of camera she was using. I also poke my head at the software she was using, lenses, etc. The equipment all in all was pretty standard.

What I bought tonight
After some careful review online, getting info from the photographer, and calling up some experts at Ritz Camera, I have decided to buy a semi-professional digital SLR for my business. Not only will it save money, but it'll sure be a lot of fun playing with a new toy.

My choice? Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera. It seems Amazon has the best price on it compared to any other retailer.

I'll follow-up with subsequent posts on how this new adventure will plan out.

Gun-wielding teen robbers repelled by store manager

House of the alleged gunmen.

We know in this world, criminals will always have guns. There's no going around that. I originally came from a country that had the strictest gun laws in the planet, but criminals still had guns. My first childhood memories were civilians being shot by criminal gangs -- how's that for childhood trauma.

That's why I'm always happy to hear when civilians fight back because the state government allows them to. Such was the case with an armed robbery in Fort Myers, Florida today. According to NBC-2, and NewsPress, two gunmen, wielding a shotgun and a handgun came into a discount supermarket and tried to shoot at the store manager.

But the store manager fired back, killing 16-year old gunman, Damione Massey of 5047 Centennial Blvd, Lehigh Acres, FL. The second suspect, 14-year old Devon Gallagher, was shot in the stomach as he also tried to shoot at the manager. He quickly ran to a getaway car and drove off to Lehigh Medical Center where he was treated and captured.

Some food for thought
1. The alleged gunmen are young teens. Police say they see an increase spike in juvenille crime during the summer months since school is out, but it is rare for juvenilles to be this violent. From experience, these types of incidents are usually drug or gang-related.

2. My condolences to the friends and family of these kids. It is hard to be a working parent and being able to closely watch your kids. But this doesn't lessen the responsibility, the burden we bear as parents is hard, but we need to continue to educate our children about the friends they choose and the choices they make.

3. Criminals will always have guns. In fact, if you shutdown all of the gun factories and gun stores in the country, guns would still exist (plus an increase in stabbings). In fact, when I was young I met a person that made his own revolvers. So let's stop thinking that violent crime will disappear when guns are taken off the market. Guns will always exist.

The only way to deter these type of issues is to create a deterrant. In Florida, you are allowed to have a gun in your car (glove box), a gun in your house, and a gun in your place of business for self-defense purposes. While we pray that we never have to use these guns against another human being, especially kids, we need to be prepared to be able to not only save our lives but save the lives of others: your family members, your friends, or in this case, your customers.

A new law school in Southwest Florida

Recently I had a brief discussion with Florida Gulf Coast University's legal studies program coordinator about the feasability of a law school in southwest Florida. Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Estero, San Carlos, Sanibel, Marco Island, Lehigh Acres, and Naples would all benefit from a law school in this area. We're one of the fastest growing areas in the country! But, the response I got was rather gloomy: "A law school at FGCU at this time is just not feasible. It would take years of money, planning and building."

SWFL law students no choice but to leave area
Let's pretend that I want to study law, the closest law school for me would be located in the Tampa/Orlando region or in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area. The best option from my own research shows that Florida International University is the best choice not only because they had one of the highest pass rates in Florida history, but also because their tuition costs are very affordable (roughly $8k/year). The next affordable law school is Florida A&M University, a historically black/minority school. They are plagued by some issues (ie: faculty retention), but they are nonetheless, an institution that needs a break: they have struggled to gain a foothold after their struggle to survive in the 1960s. You see in 1966, during the troubled times when blacks and minorities tried to achieve equality, Florida Board of Control shut the law school down.

So I have two primary choices, one is FIU and my secondary is FAMU.

New hope
But then I accidentally bumped on a press release dated February 2007. Ave Maria School of Law, a fully ABA-accredited law school is moving from Michigan to the Naples area in 2009!

This is great news especially for students that really don't want to give up on Southwest Florida. Aside from historically good weather (Hurricane Charlie/Wilma notwithstanding), this area of Florida offers a relaxed lifestyle with no metropolitan headaches.

Finally! A law school in the area.

Minister Killer Gets 60 Days, Paris Hilton Gets 45 Days

Ahh yes, the justice system we have in the United States sometimes is quirky. Mary Winkler, the wife that killed his minister husband is estimated to serve about 60 days. Paris Hilton, driving under a suspended driver's license due to a DUI, was sentenced to 45 days.

But despite its quirkiness, I still believe it is the best in the world. I mean, just look at Iran's legal system, try to share your faith and you go to jail!

FSBPT, NPTE update and rumors

JULY 2010 UPDATE: ENOUGH ALREADY FSBPT!  We're sick and tired of your abuse of power.  Visit here to fight back against FSBPT legally!

News about FSBPT and their actions to temporarily ban all Filipinos from physical therapy licensure has already hit the Philippines and other countries such as India. I just wanted to give a brief update on here.

Rumors

• On Friendster and physical therapy forums, there is a rumor of a New York physical therapist that was asked to retake the NPTE, supposedly because her name was on the SLRC list. So is this fact or fiction? And who started this rumor? It took me a while to trace this rumor (the Internet is big), but I found the following post online that seemed to have started it all:
  
  

  
  charmaj_14 wrote:
  
  Hello to everyone. I just want to share this. I receive a call from a friend in New York & she's been working there as a PT for almost two years. Last week she received an email from FSBPT requesting her to RE-TAKE the stateboards. I think she was also enrolled at slrc So, in-short even if you're already in the U.S , you are still affected by the fsbpt's investigation. This is so unfair. We passed the exam because we study hard & all of us deserves it.

  
  
• I can tell you that charmaj_14's account has not been recently created. For instance, if someone just wanted to joke around, they could create a fake account and post a rumor. The account has been active for at least 2 years, giving some credibility that this person is not a spoof or a joke.
  
• The New York state board does not publish their disciplinary actions instantly and we don't have a name on the PT, so at the moment, we have to label this rumor as speculative with some credible elements. I will attempt to contact the original poster to verify the story.
  
• bingbong from the PT forum called the NY state board and said, "i was very surprised when i heard this from a friend and when i read it here. i called nysed office of the professions and they clarified that the rumor is not true. they are not revoking any license unless a therapist commited and was proven guilty of anything that would jeopardize his/her license".
  

Double standards As you may, or may not know, FSBPT temporarily banned all Filipino PT graduates because they believe review centers encouraged students to cheat. If "cheating" is the standard for this type of policy, shouldn't it be applied to every country? Let me explain with some facts below:

• APTA's PT Bulletin, September 13, 2002, Volume 3 Issue 38 reported that FSBPT was investigating cheaters, presumably in the U.S.A.
  
• FSBPT Vol 19 No 3 reported during a meeting in Utah that cheating was prevalent in the United States (Professor Hogan was quoted).
  
• Ann Tyminski, Executive Director of the Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Advisors and a member of the FSBPT Board of Directors gave an update in 2004 that FSBPT was pursuing four candidates that had committed copyright violations of NPTE.
  
• So why didn't FSBPT withhold test scores from all U.S. students when they found U.S. cheaters?
  
• Once you have double standards, the policy, in my eyes, moves away from being fair and balanced to discrimination.
  

Other updates

• Most people recognize that FSBPT has the right to investigate cheaters. This is fair and just if they follow the evidence.
  
• But their actions against an entire country is incorrect and it is excessive. They do not have evidence that the entire country cheated, so why do they temporarily ban all Filipino-educated PTs from licensure?
  
• The only people that seem to disagree with me are people that are already in the United States or Canada and are already licensed. Or people that are in the Philippines that aren't in the situation because they don't want to come over to the U.S. to work. My only words to these critics: Don't criticize people that are suffering from this. If you have nothing constructive to say, don't say it at all.
  
• To people that do not like FSBPT's actions, you need to start writing letters. Yes, letters to newspapers, media outlets, TV, government officials, and to FSBPT. Without the public on your side, nobody will know. Click here for some additional actions you can take.
  
• Look at FSBPT's web site, they have entirely been silent on the issue. Why? Because they know what they are doing is controversial: banning an entire nation's PT graduates without due process is un-American (I'm a Filipino-American, so I can say that).
  
• In America's legal system, due process protects an individual from being punished for a crime before there is evidence against him. For instance, if a murder occurred in the state of New Jersey, should we jail the entire population of New Jersey and then figure out who the murderer is? Due process protects you from that type of unfair, knee jerk reaction.
  
• If FSBPT claims to "protect the health, safety and welfare of the [American] public", they must at least follow the principles of the country's legal establishment. If not, they are hypocrites.
  

I invite discussion and if you have any updates, please click on the comment link below.

The health care debate: an angle not mentioned

The United States, no doubt, is the most powerful country in the world. But when it comes to managing our health care costs and ensuring health care access to citizens, we are one of the worst. Did you know that our health care spending is 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense? (source: NCHC)

As I'm watching presidential hopefuls debate over health care costs on national television, I'm astounded that there is a lack of effort, a lack of recognition on why our health care costs are so high.

Let me introduce a new catch phrase on this debate: personal responsibility.

Ah, yes, that word that seems to strike at the very core of our society. This is where we take responsibility of our own actions rather than blame it on others. We are all guilty of straying away from this principle because it tends to hurt the ego. But the truth is, a lot of our health care costs are due to the lack of personal responsibility, specifically the personal lifestyles we choose that hurts the entire nation.

Here's some examples:

• In a 1998 analysis by health economists of the University of California, cigarette smoking costs about $72.7 billion a year.
  
• According to a CDC report, being overweight and being obese costs us roughly $92.6 billion in 2002 dollars.
  
• According to the Marin Institute, total cost of alcohol problems is $175.9 billion a year.
  
• According to the same site, $114.2 billion a year is spent for drug abuse problems.
  

What I just posted are just some glaring examples of how the lack of personal responsibility equates to higher health care costs. In short, one of the main reasons health insurance costs are so high is that we abuse our own bodies. We don't sleep right, we don't eat right, we drink too much alcohol and not enough water,, we don't exercise, and we abuse substances that we know are bad for our bodies. We then turn around to our politicians and say, when we get sick because of these actions, I want you to pay for it.

So now that we understand the lack of personal responsibility as a major cause of rising health care costs: how do we fix this problem?

Microsoft Surface: throw away keyboard and mice

Want to see the next wave of the future? Give it to Microsoft for bringing on a new gadget toy: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/. This new PC requires no keyboards, no mice. It can recognize bar codes, offers new types of games, etc.



Microsoft Surface is a totally new ball game. Can you find the "Apple eat this" in the video?

FSBPT puts all new Philippines physical therapists on hold

JULY 2010 UPDATE: ENOUGH ALREADY FSBPT!  We're sick and tired of your abuse of power.  Visit here to fight back against FSBPT legally!

New physical therapy (PT) candidates across the United States hoping to work as physical therapists in their jurisdictions are receiving a very sad letter. The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), which oversees and administers physical therapy exams, is withholding the test scores of all new Filipino applicants (Philippines) due to the actions of a couple of review centers in Manila.

According to FSBPT's own web site, the drama unfolded on January 26, 2007:

On Friday, January 26, 2007, agents of the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation, Intellectual Property Rights Division (“NBI-IPRD”) raided two locations of the St. Louis Review Center (“SLRC”) in Manila. The raids were conducted following a complaint made by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (“FSBPT”) that SLRC was believed to be using copyrighted test items from the National Physical Therapy Exam (“NPTE”) in its NPTE preparation courses.

Prior to the raids, agents of the NBI-IPRD conducted a criminal surveillance operation of the test centers, which confirmed the unlawful use of the test items. Specifically, SLRC was found to be providing its students with copies of actual NPTE test items that candidates who had previously taken the exam recalled by memory..."

From what I gather, certain individuals were purposely memorizing questions on the board exam and returning/selling those questions back to the review centers in Manila.





FSBPT's president, E. Dargan Ervin, Jr., along with other officials from the organization has decided to hold and not report any test scores of any new candidates from the Philippines effective May 16th, 2007.

As a result, effective May 16th, scores of all candidates who graduated from Philippine physical therapy education programs and sat for the National Physical Therapy Examination [NPTE] will be held and not reported to candidates or jurisdictions pending a full investigation of these matters. In its investigation, FSBPT will psychometrically analyze the data, and seek input from the testing community, legal staff, jurisdictions and government authorities of the Philippines."

Thoughts
Firstly, I'm not a physical therapist, but many of my friends and family members are. I'm angry towards those that tried to cheat the system, who selfishly thought they could get away with something like this. Why not concentrate your efforts on studying and learning rather than cheating?

Secondly, I'm angry at FSBPT. The decision they have made here is a knee jerk reaction (no pun intended). This is a massive, discriminatory, countrywide action against a specific race of people. This type of discriminatory action is illegal in almost all business settings. For instance, try saying, all African-Americans (blacks) are now banned from getting the results of their scores for their driver's license test because some blacks cheated. You would have several hundreds of protestors right outside of DMV offices across the United States.

The Philippines's medical/health schools has tried to answer the medical needs of America. The schools have provided quality nurses and physical therapists, and have done so with honor. These Filipino health workers study, apply for visa screens, educate themselves in U.S. laws and practices, and fly over 10,000 miles to take this test legally only to be spit at. Many of those that fly over have spent their life's savings just to take this test, they do so wanting to make sure they come to the United States legally and to work here legally.

To punish an entire country because of a few idiots is tragic, unethical, and to me, illegal. It is my hope that the investigation is completed quickly, and I hope there is a better process in FSBPT to tackle these problems rather than punishing an entire country.

What should I do?
You could sit and wait and hope for the best. But if you do not like discrimination, if you do not like abuse of power, here are some suggestions:

1. You can fax FSBPT at (703) 299-3110, and call them at (703) 299-3100 and write to them at 509 Wythe Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. You should also e-mail them at: Administrator@fsbpt.org. It is important that you send and communicate your dissatisfaction across all lines of communication, to make sure they receive the message.

2. Even if you are not a candidate, if you disagree with the discriminatory actions taken by the FSBPT that affects the life savings of thousands of candidates and applicants, you should communicate your dissatisfaction to FSBPT. Please be cordial as possible, along the lines of: "While I agree that an investigation needs to be conducted, I disagree with discriminating against an entire country."

3. If you are a U.S. citizen, write to your congressman and senator.

4. Write to your attorney general's office (U.S. citizen or legal resident) and ask for an investigation on the legality of such discriminatory practices.

5. Write to your physical therapy state board body.

6. Contact all Asian and Filipino associations and ask them if they should tolerate FSBPT's discriminatory actions, especially on Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

7. If you are a lawyer or know of a lawyer in your state, ask them if they know of any state statutes that FSBPT may have broken since their ban is across all states.

8. Contact physical therapy associations in your state and lobby for support.

Junk mail annoyance: Internet Marketing Conference

You may have received this letter a few days ago. It offers you a free dinner conference or lunch seminar for two. It has your name printed on it and it usually offers a free MP3 player (an iPod look alike worth ~$4.00).

I received various versions of it over the past couple of years. The first time I received this letter, it advertised eBay. I threw it out in the garbage, much like what I do with credit card offers. Now, I'm getting annoyed. They continue to market my area. So, time to do some digging and research about this company and what I found reinforced my suspicions: it's a company that has many of its customers claiming foul.

THE BAIT

• A guy named Clint Rex Sanderson, Clint Sanderson, or C.R. Sanderson from 16300 Christensen Rd, Suite 217, Seattle, WA 98188 of the Internet Marketing Conference (aka Galaxy Mall, storesonline.com), promises the following:
  
  
  
  • "I personally guarantee a fun, relaxed, and informative conference that could change your life forever."
    
  
  
• It is a dinner for two.
  
• It is usually located in a hotel near the city you live.
  
• The dinner is valued at $120.00 (it was $79.00 before). You get a $4 Chinese MP3 player, potato chips, a soda, a sandwich, and so forth. I estimate it cost them about $9 per person for the MP3 player and food, but the word 'value' is relative.
  
• The seminar will tell you of people's riches by the use of MSN, Google, Yahoo, and eBay.
  
• Their flyer has Michael and Diana Blair stating they've made $280,000 in sales online, or Bryan Castleman with his $50,000/year or Donald Wyatt with $50,000/month.
  
  
  
  • In fine print, "Testimonial results are not earnings claims and are not typical."
  
  

THE CATCH

• Wendy from Creative Work at Home did some digging and found that Internet Marketing Conference is known as Galaxy Mall or storesonline.com or Imergent.
  
• The company(ies) sell online stores. Frank from Florida reported he signed paperwork to take the package home from a seminar and decided it wasn't for him. They got him with a $3,229 bill. What does Frank think of this offer? "This to me is a FRAUD and a SCAM."
  
• Here's one user that spent $1500 on a store and $70/month for web hosting. Bab's thoughts on the whole ordeal? "We have tried to get our money back but they say no refunds. THIS IS A SCAM."
  
• Now, are you thinkin' this is only limited in the United States? Nope, they are going global! Wally from Australia: "storesonline.com are target mailing Australian addresses and holding their BS Seminars in Australia. A friend attended one in Brisbane and the asking price is $5,995 for what they provide, ie nothing."
  
• A law firm is actively looking to sue these guys for a class action lawsuit.
  
• Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against them. See the article here: IMergent defends service after Illinois files lawsuit. It quotes, "Fifteen Illinois customers, who paid a total of more than $91,000 to StoresOnline and Galaxy Mall, were unable to set up Internet businesses and couldn't get refunds, Madigan said in a press statement announcing the suit." More info about it available here as well.
  
• Apparently, Galaxy Mall had some legal issues in the Alabama Supreme Court as well. In this case, they were known as Galaxy Mall aka MicroFinancial, Inc aka Leasecomm Corporation.
  

CONCLUSION
I think it's great that they are willing to feed people for free. I'm tempted to give my meal tickets away to some wonderful people downtown at the homeless shelter. I'll probably drive them to the seminar for free. j/k. Just a warning to everyone that gets 'free' stuff in the mail: do your research before you waste several hours of your life. Remember, you will NEVER be able to get your wasted hours back. There are no refunds for loss time.

It's best to spend your time reading some books that can teach you how to invest rather than speculate.

Indian couple keeps Indonesian slaves in New York home

"A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves were held in jail on Thursday amid new allegations that the women's relatives were threatened and offered bribes to make the case go away."

You can review the article by USA Today here.

The case is still left open and we'll find out to see if they are truly guilty. I really hope some of the claims that I hear on the media is false or exaggerated. I can't see how people see other human beings as property or animals (I mean, do these guys believe in evolution that we are all animals?). It simply doesn't make sense. This couple made millions by utilizing the freedoms America has given them, and how do they give back? Allegedly by torturing and enslaving their maids.

Michael W. Smith's concert in Fort Myers

Michael W. Smith is an award winning Christian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. I saw his concert last night at McGregor Baptist Church. The church was full and vibrant, every single person there, young and old had a connection to Smith, since his career encompasses a couple of decades. Smith sang songs from his new album and also songs from the past such as Friends Are Friends Forever (his encore).

Smith is also a philanthropist and a spokesman for Compassion International, a charitable organization that he promotes during his concerts. I personally recommend this organization if you are looking to sponsor a child's education and welfare in a developing country.

Michael W. Smith also has a new album out called 'Stand'. Click on the link below to hear some of the songs.



On another note, I had a slight problem before the concert. I had eight tickets; however, my party increased to nine the last minute. Thankfully, Bill Carl from WAY-FM was able to lend a hand and get me a free ticket. Thanks Bill!

Developments for The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Scholars Chime In

Just wanted to post a quick note on a project I was working on called The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Scholars Chime In. I recently finished an interview with Astraea Magazine. The interviewer was former BBC presenter Guy Leigh.

To hear the online version of the interview, you can click on the link below:
Astrea Magazine Interview

I'm also thankful to archaeologists and scholars who have given me time to assist me in this endeavor. I'm very grateful for those that have endorsed the book.

To see what they said, you can click on the link below:
Endorsements by Scholars

Dr. Craig Evans on The Lost Tomb of Jesus

The Lost Tomb of Jesus is under review again (perhaps for the last time) by Dr. Craig Evans. You can see the article here.

Dan Barry, New York Times, consults Don Sausa on Utah land article

A week or so ago, I posted some real estate problems in Box Elder County, Utah. Little did I know part of my research would go on national news.

Dan Barry, a New York Times columnist, travels nationally to look at the sight and sounds of America. On a restaurant stop, he picked up a local newspaper and found an interesting story about illegal subdividing and land sales in Box Elder County, Utah. He finds out the person doing the original subdividing and hunts down the story. He goes on Google, looks for information regarding the land owner and finds my research on my blog.

He shoots me an email, then we chat on the phone, and I give him some info, and bwam, like a master craftsman, he's got a hot story posted here.

Well, that's one more publication for the resume I guess.

King Herod's resting place found (possibly)

After 30 years of looking for Herod's tomb, Dr. Netzer thinks he finally found it.

On March 2007, we saw one group who supposedly studied the Talpiot tomb for 2-3 years, but keeping to themselves before sharing with academia. What happened? The tunnel vision effect of the research was rejected by secular and Christian scholars. They could have saved time and a bit of their reputations by allowing others to see what they were working on. In short, The Lost Tomb of Jesus was a flap.

On May 2007, after 30 years of searching, Dr. Netzer announces he has found Herod's tomb (possibly). But no documentary or mass media book released -- it's too early for that, he wants everyone to look at what he is working on so they can help him. Dr. Netzer, a true archaeologist and academic scholar, is inviting peer review to make sure his research is sound before they move on and get anything published.

Good move Dr. Netzer.

You can see the press release here.

For more information about Jewish tombs and whether Talpiot was the final resting place of Jesus, take a look at this book:

Box Elder County Land Debacle Cont'd

It seems like people are waking up to letters or notices of noncompliance. They made the notices sound so serious, that they make, at first glance, feel the property owner feel guilty they own the land. The county has since updated their letters to be more friendly, perhaps to save them from the on slaught of phone calls and emails.

Speaking of e-mails, I'm starting to get a steady flow of questions from land owners. I want to reiterate that the county attorney's position (at least when I spoke to them), state they consider the property owners of the illegally subdivided parcels as victims, not criminals. They are reviewing actions on how to deal with the original subdividers.

Another question I'm getting is: what am I going to do with my useless land? Here's a typical email I receive below:

"Back in the day, I also bought 15 acres for around ~$320/acre in Box Elder county.

When I got the property tax statement from the county, it said the all the parcels (60 adjacent 1/4 acre plots) was assessed around ~30k.

I was really happy since I paid a fraction for it. What makes me mad though is that the county is saying that I can't do anything with the land (e.g. sell it) but they want me to continue paying the yearly taxes, which is ~$250 a year.

This brings me to a point: Why is the land worth this much if you can't do anything with it or even access it in some cases? You still think its worth holding on to despite that fact we have no choice as of now.

Best Regards,

...

This is an interesting question. What in the world should I do with it now? The fact that it was incorrectly subdivided does not excuse land owners from taxes. In these cases, your options are limited:

1. You lose your property. Don't pay the taxes and your property will be foreclosed.

2. You sell back your property to the original developer.

3. You keep paying taxes and keep the property for novelty [for the heck of it].

4. You wait for Box Elder officials to come up with a solution [court case injunction, etc.].

If you have invested a significant amount of money into this venture (thankfully, I haven't), #1 and #3 aren't good options.

Zoning Department emails me back

The zoning department has finally emailed me. You should read their response, as it may answer some of your questions. The PDF file is available here.

Have more questions?

Feel free to email me at don [at] donsausa.com.

Want to learn how to conduct due diligence for vacant land? Suggested book below.

A land debacle in Box Elder County, Utah

Back in the day, I looked at some investment properties in Box Elder County, UT. At $300/acre, why not? At the very least it was a paper asset. But according to Box Elder County officials, the people that were subdividing the property without permission was comitting a criminal offense. Youch!

They've sent out "notice of noncompliance" to thousands of people, telling them their property was illegaly subdivided. Most of the property buyers bought the land online from Yahoo Auctions, eBay, Overstock, etc.

One of the people that have allegedly subdivided parcels without permission, according to public records, the county, and my own records, was Larry Madsen of 13871 S. 1950 W, Bluffdale, Utah 84065.

I bought land there from Madsen or other developers, what should I do?
You can send an e-mail to the Box Elder officials at codeviolations@boxeldercounty.org. They are looking at options to alleviate this problem. Do not expect a response, since a few thousand people have already e-mailed them.

Is my deed valid?
If the deed was recorded correctly, your deed is valid and you own the property. It's just that the original owner, Madsen and others, didn't ask permission before they sold it.

What's going to happen now?
I spoke to the county attorney's office and they are still looking at their options. They could technically go after the developers and fine them and leave the properties as is, or they could ask developers to take back the properties (assuming you don't want it anymore).

Are there any other things to know?
Most of the folks I know that bought this property knew it was in the middle of nowhere and it had no electricity. It was flagged as recreational property (Madsen appropriately flagged it when he sold me a parcel). So no one really hid this fact. If another developer tried to tell you this was buildable and it wasn't, they could be held liable.

Why did the developers do this?
Well they sell land to make money, but to answer the question why they didn't ask permissions and fill out the proper zoning permits -- probably because they didn't know. I asked Madsen by email on how they are rectifying this and said, "We have contacted an attorney in Box Elder County to help us determine what needs to be done to rectify this problem. We will let you know what we find out and what we are able to do to resolve this issue with the County."

Stay tune, I'll update this post with more info. I'm expecting a call from the county attorney on Tuesday.

If you are interested in investing in land and how to properly conduct your own research, buy this helpful book below. A lot of it is based on my own mistakes experience in the past.

LAPD beats up innocent reporters, women, children

A peaceful rally was held at a public park. A couple blocks away, there was a group of idiots throwing rocks and bottles at the police. The police department, Los Angeles PD, world renown for its past corruption, and countless beatings against minorities such as blacks (ie: Rodney King) came in full force.

Instead of arresting the individuals that attacked them, they moved towards the public park, where thousands gathered peacefully for hours. The peaceful crowd had no clue there was an incident a few blocks away. Women, children, news anchors, and photographers were hit with rubber bullets and hit with battons/clubs. Broken bones, internal bleeding, and other injuries were reported.

This indiscriminate and shameful action of the Los Angeles PD is inexcusable, especially when LAPD officers were found guilty of breaking civil rights in the past, where they had to pay millions for attacking journalists in 2000.

Beating on innocent people, especially women and children, that are gathering peacefully and legally is not only a violation of the Constitution, but of human decency. This is not how law enforcement officers should act.

For the LAPD officers that were involved in this: you are a shame on your city, a shame on California, a shame on this nation and a shame for every person that carries a badge. On that day, you no longer were police officers but criminals.

That's my 2 cents. For a historical documentary on the LAPD, take a look at this DVD below.

Moderate drinking grows cancer, helps heart, kills liver, hurts brain

We have known in the past that grape juice (unfermented wine) and red wine (fermented wine) has certain health benefits. While I enjoy drinking grape juice (unfermented wine), I do not recommend drinking red wine. One bad thing about alcoholic red wine is that it hurts your brain cells and liver. What we know now is that it can be directly linked to cancer growth as well.

So there you have it, a new case NOT to drink red wine: help your heart but kill your liver, hurt your brain cells, and make cancer grow. No wonder the Bible says not to drink alcoholic wine at all.

Here's a snippet from the BBC:

Source: BBC
It has long-been known alcohol increases the risk of developing cancer but the effect of drinking once cancer is present is less established.

A University of Mississippi team found giving mice the equivalent of two to four drinks a day doubled the normal growth of a tumour after four weeks.

Cancer patients are often just told to moderate drinking.

In the study, researchers gave female mice the human equivalent of two drinks a day for four weeks, while a control group were given no alcohol.


The mice were then injected with breast cancer cells.

Within four weeks, the tumours in the alcohol-fed mice weighed 1.4g on average, almost twice the size of tumours in the control group.

The team, which presented the research to the American Physiology Society, said alcohol caused cancer cells' blood vessels to grow which in turn fuelled the growth of the tumour.

The mouse study builds on an earlier research with chicks that showed alcohol consumption increased the expression of a protein known as VEGF.

VEGF fuels tumour growth by spurring the development of blood vessels in cancer cells that might otherwise die.

Normally, the immune system can kill off small tumours. However, when they grow large enough the body can no longer fight off the tumour cells.

Tumours

Lead researcher Jian-Wei Gu said: "The vast majority of tumours result from over expressed VEGF.

"Every day, we produce a lot of cancer cells, but they don't become bigger.

"But if the cells establish blood vessels, the tumour grows and strengthens, a process known as angiogenesis."

And he added he would advise patients not to drink if they were undergoing cancer treatment.

"I don't think two to four drinks per day is okay.

"The public needs to know of these results."

Ed Yong, Cancer Research UK's science information officer, said: "The link between alcohol and breast cancer, and many other cancers for that matter, is well known.

"But this is the first time I have heard of the impact of alcohol once cancer is there."

He said more research was needed to see if the findings were replicated in adults and whether it also applied to other cancers.

Chicago Bulls make history...again!

I have a secret. In the 90s, I was a Bulls fan. Michael Jordan, Jackson, Pippen, etc. I bought Air Jordans, had a Bulls cap, watched all the Bulls games, followed the Bulls scores on the newspapers, got a Bulls pin, etc...then Jerry Krause, the former general manager for the Bulls decided that he was going to replace the champions with an entire new lineup. As a Bulls fan, I gave it a chance, but hopes of a newly revived Bulls franchise quickly evaporated (as did the NBA ratings) after the Bulls lost game after game. I watched basketball games here and there during playoffs (ie: Lakers), but it wasn't the same. They weren't the Bulls.

But thankfully, Jerry Krause left, everyone came back to the drawing board and now we're seeing for the first time in almost a decade, a new Bulls franchise that has a chance of winning...

Tonight, Bulls defeated the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, 92-79. Which means the Bulls won the best of 7 series by winning four straight games in a row against the Miami Heat. This is basketball history and a reminder of what the Bulls once were: record breaking champions.

"A champion hadn't been swept from the first round of the playoffs in 50 years."
Source: Washington Post, Michael Wilbon, April 30, 2007

My hats off to the Chicago Bulls. They still have a long road ahead of them, but this incidental step that made history is significant and if they win anymore games, perhaps I'll have an excuse to turn on the television.

Thoughts on George Tenet's I'm A Victim Claim

George Tenet has recently written a book about his tenure in the CIA. The book is entitled, At the Center of the Storm. In the book, he describes how he was blamed for the pre-war intelligence gathering of Iraq and that he ultimately became a scapegoat for the administration.

While I agree with Tenet that he doesn't deserve all of the blame for CIA's failures, he does deserve some of the blame.

Everyone Was Wrong
Everyone in the world thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the United Nations, NATO -- you name it, they thought of it. Why? Because he used WMD against Iran and his own citizens, Iraqi Kurds. And because Saddam kept playing "bluff" to the world, rejecting inspectors over and over again.

Now what's the reason for the facade? He wanted to scare off his enemies, primarily Iran. He kept them in check. We know that now. But the majority of us didn't know back then (a handful of minority voices in the vast majority of the intelligence network had doubts about Saddam's WMD, but their voices weren't heard till more recently, after the fact).

Where Tenet Fits In
Tenet, in my humble opinion, succumbed to group mentality, or group think. Now what is group think? Wiki describes it as "...a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas." It affects all of us in one way, shape or form. That's part of life. We aren't perfect people.

No matter how he tries to deny it, he had a choice. He rubberstamped the intelligence reports that went to the American people. If he knew factual errors or had doubts about what he was reporting to the White House, there were plenty of opportunities to voice out his opinion (or resign in protest).

Tenet's book is largely an attempt to explain his role in the war and perhaps a way to convince historians down the road that he didn't play a major role in the pre-war foul up of intelligence.

Sounds like he wants a more gracious legacy than what it looks like now.

Former CIA officers respond
Want to know what ex-CIA employees think of Mr. Tenet's tenure? Review the letter they sent to him.

See the book below if you're interested in reading Tenet's defense of himself.

Hackers enticed, Apple's Macintosh gets hacked in less than 12 hours

Time and time again we are told through TV commercials and personally I've had a discussion with Apple 'engineers' that Apple's operating system and the products that they make are invulnerable, or at the very least, it isn't very easy to hack into a Mac that's fully patched compared to Windows where you can find bugs in less than a day.

What they forget to tell you is, the majority of hackers are PC users. The majority of the world are PC users. Hence, it is logical that the majority of exploits, viruses, and spyware are geared towards PC users. BUT put up to the challenge, hackers can break into a Mac in weeks, days...less than 12 hours!

See the article below by The Register:

A New York-based security researcher spent less than 12 hours to identify and exploit a zero-day vulnerability in Apple's Safari browser that allowed him to remotely gain full user rights to the hacked machine. The feat came during the second and final day of the CanSecWest "pwn-2-own" contest in which participants are able to walk away with a fully-patched MacBook Pro if they are first able to hack it.

Picture of Shane Macaulay with back to camera sitting at MacBook in CanSecWest's pwn-2-own contestThe exploit means that Dino Dai Zovi is the rightful owner of the 2.3Ghz 15-inch MacBook Pro and a $10,000 prize offered by Tipping Point, which runs the Zero Day Initiative bug bounty program. More importantly, his work effectively throws cold water on tired claims from Apple and its many lackeys that the Mac is all but immune from the kind of security attacks more regularly perpetrated against Windows-based machines.

That's right folks, a fully patched MacBook Pro gets hacked in less than 12 hours. On a normal day, they could care less because the majority of hackers consider Apple's Macintosh operating system as a waste of time. But when you put money into the mix, sure they'll spend a few hours to break into it with ease.

Virginia Tech: Professor Sacrifices Life To Save Students

A tribute to Dr. Liviu Librescu

List of Accomplishments: VT Staff Page

In scenes you get to only see in movies and read about in the Bible, we hear a true to life hero that selflessly sacrificed his life for his students. Dr. Liviu Librescu, an immigrant that saved lives, is in sharp contrast to the stories we hear of the madman immigrant that killed.

Eye witness accounts state he held the door until his students could escape through the classroom's windows. He was shot down as the bullets pierced the door. A student named Alec Calhoun, 20, said the last thing he saw before he jumped from the window was Librescu, blocking the door against the madman in the hallway.

Let's highlight this man's bravery today by re-posting this bulletin throughout blogs and MySpace. He taught his class the greatest lesson of all: There is no greater love than to die for others.

Why Virginia Tech's gun policy failed its students

A sad day in the nation

Let me preface this post with my sincere condolences to those that have been hurt by the recent tragedy that occurred in Virginia Tech today. Over 20 students have been killed with over 20 more that have been injured. These young adults were innocent, and they were defenseless. I'm saddened to hear this tragedy, which could have been avoidable.

Understanding Virginia Tech's security weaknesses

No matter how you look at it, Virginia Tech's security was NOT enough. Criminals being able to come in and have a shooting rampage is unacceptable in any campus, much less such a prestigious university such as Virginia Tech.

One major problem with Virginia Tech is that it prohibits students from defending themselves with guns. Last year, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear that a gun rights bill was defeated. The bill would have allowed legal citizens with legal concealed weapons licenses to be able to defend themselves on campus if a shooter was going to go on a rampage.

"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

Source: Gun bill

Notice the word "feel". Our gun policies have been based on feelings rather than facts. Fact: Criminals own guns and will use it. Fact: Less lives would be wasted if civilians were able to shoot back. We should not go with "feelings" but rather with reason.

Instead what we have here is a tragic case of good motives but bad policy. The idea that we can somehow control criminals with laws on paper is outrageous. They will get guns, tazers, knives, or other types of weapons no matter what. Our society, our world is 'naturally' imperfect and it will never be perfect until something 'unnatural' happens. We have to understand that as a reality before we can even understand the phrase: "campus security".

Let students and teachers defend themselves

As we can see from the policy of banning legal citizens from having legal guns, it is wrong. Why? Because in this scenario, criminals are the only ones that have guns! Our society cannot be perfect; hence, we have to accept realities. And that reality is to give members of society the ability to defend themselves.

The sheep must look like a threat for the wolf to back off. Otherwise, the wolf will simply attack. Preferrably we'd want law enforcement to be at every classroom, but the tragic truth about govt budgets is, they simply can't do that.

Give students and teachers proper training. Get them through background tests. But for goodness sakes, give legal citizens the right to bear arms to defend themselves against criminals!

8 bodies found in Fort Myers, FL -- possibly a serial killer?

The other day, I commented how I was surprised that a murdered body was found behind the Harley Davidson store in Fort Myers, FL, a stone throw away from one of my old offices [the Teleperformance / CallTech building] where I worked for almost 5 years.

Now, CNN and other media channels are taking a look at 8 skeletons also found just a few miles away, which may, some have speculated, is the result of a serial killer (yikes!):

"Fort Myers police have been deluged with media calls after an Associated Press report hinted police believed eight human skeletons found in a wooded area off Arcadia Street on March 23 were the work of a serial killer."

Source: NewsPress

Murdered man found behind Ft Myers Harley Davidson, near CallTech/Teleperformance

Matthew Haller, 23, of 15513 Monterosso Lane in Naples, was found dead by a city garbage collector at about 3:43 a.m. in the driver's seat of a blue 1985 Mercedes, Fort Myers police said. Authorities are investigating his death as a homicide. The Mercedes was taken from the scene, at 2160 Colonial Boulevard, to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement facility for processing, police said. Matthew apparently had a gunshot wound.

The car was located right behind the Harley Davidson store. The plaza shares its space with a Cuban bar/restaurant and CallTech / Teleperformance. Having worked in that vicinity for 5 years, I find it very surprising that crime has increased there tremendously. Before it was just people getting rowdy at the bar, or at worst, people stealing from the parking lot.

Now a murder. Yikes!

Last three NJ governors = broken legs

Governor Corzine of NJ had severe injuries the other day from a car accident. He broke his leg and suffered other injuries. Thankfully, no one died but the accident has added a strange footnote in history...

The injury to Corzine's left leg means that the last three people elected to serve as New Jersey governor have all broken a leg while in office. Fellow Democrat James E. McGreevey broke his left leg during a nighttime beach walk, while Republican Christie Whitman broke her right leg while skiing in the Swiss Alps.

Source: http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/NEWS03/70413005

Sen. Patrick Leahy says emails cannot be erased

I read an interesting article today where Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont (Democrat) states that e-mails cannot be erased.

His statement is as follows:

"You can't erase e-mails, not today," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. "They've gone through too many servers. They can't say they've been lost. That's like saying, 'The dog ate my homework.' "

His critical comments are aimed towards the White House, who said they've lost some e-mails and are doing their best to recover it. Now borrowing from the senator's own words, can electronic dogs really eat electronic homework? Can e-mails actually be deleted? The short answer? Yes.

The long answer?

• First let's correct Senator Leahy that it goes through "too many servers". The packets are transmitted through a variety of routers and switches on Internet backbones, but in the end, only two servers communicate to transmit the e-mail: the sender and receiver. [smtp]
  
• The e-mail is then processed and stored, which can then be downloaded by email software, usually via pop3 or imapd. This all happens in a few seconds (assuming the 'average size' email).
  
• The assumption made here by the senator is that the sender or receiver servers somehow contain or retain the e-mail indefinitely. The answer is no. The moment the user "purges" the email from his account, it does get deleted.
  
  
  
  • There are backup servers that may be involved in which case e-mails are not deleted and can 'easily' be recovered. This is unlikely since the White House publicly claims its been deleted. Their first attempt would to first recover it from backups versus come out embarrassingly that their emails are deleted.
    
  
  
• Usually, there's copies of e-mails on the email software (ie: Microsoft Outlook's Sent Items or Outlook's Deleted Items folder). However, these folders may be purged automatically depending on the settings.
  
• Any computer forensic experts knows that deleted data isn't actually deleted until the data 'space' is re-used again. Hence, if you delete a file you can still recover it for a certain amount of time since the space has not been taken up yet.
  
  
  
  • Imagine a bowl of cereal that you consider old and in your mind you're no longer going to eat it. You're too lazy to clean the bowl so you're just going to wait until you get new cereal before you empty that bowl. Technically, the 'old cereal' is deleted from your choice of foods but it is still there until you replace it with new cereal.
    
  • In the same way, files still exist on the computer until new files go on top of it.
    
  • If the data is too old and it's been replaced over and over again, the likelihood of recovering anything is minimal.
    
  
  
• There's also crashes and data corruption. Your hard drive crashes, the mail server mail spools are corrupted, the server fails, backup disks get 'fried', etc. There are a number of ways data gets lost. No matter how rich you are, no matter how much money you've invested in a computer, there's still a likelihood that it could crash some day. That's life!
  

In summary, yes, you can lose your e-mail. In this case, the electronic dog can eat your electronic homework.

The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Book Discredits Documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus

Link: PRWeb

A new book says The Lost Tomb of Jesus documentary was deceptive to its viewers and illusory to the scholars that worked on the production.

Fort Myers, FL (PRWEB) April 6, 2007 - New evidence surrounding The Lost Tomb of Jesus including personal interviews by leading scholars consulted in the film, suggest the 2,000 year old Jerusalem tomb is NOT the Jesus of Nazareth’s final resting place. In the new book, The Jesus Tomb: Is It Fact or Fiction? Scholars Chime In, Don Sausa reviews all of the claims, math, and the ‘evidence’ of The Lost Tomb of Jesus, to simply answer one question: Is it fact, or fiction?

The documentary that aired on March 4th, 2007 and the companion book, The Jesus Family Tomb, come from science fiction director James Cameron, controversial journalist Simcha Jacobovici, science fiction author Dr. Charles Pellegrino, and textual scholar Dr. James Tabor.

The book’s findings suggest that some plausible explanations were conveniently ignored in the documentary, such as the different types of family relationships Jesus and Mariamne [“Mary Magdalene” could have had. For instance, they could have been father and daughter, paternal cousins, half brother and sister, or grandparent and grandchild.

“Our review of the evidence, DNA findings, statistical analysis, and personal interviews of the experts used in the film clearly show that the claims are largely based on speculation and hype,” said Don Sausa.

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for a sample review copy), contact Don Ariel at support(at)thevisionpress.com or visit www.JesusTombReview.com. Book distribution date is April 16, 2007, ISBN 0978834690. Author is available for interviews.

About author:

Author and speaker, Don Sausa, is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, an organization that promotes biblical scholarship. He has studied biblical history for over 10 years, and is an ordained elder for the Fort Myers Ortiz Church.

April Fools Jokes Around The World

Just wanted to drop a note on some 'cool' April Fools jokes.

What got me:
- Aftercast.org said they were being added to xm satellite. Ok, Jason, that was good. You got me.

Google's Matt Cutts got hacked
Nope, the shout outs were a dead giveaway.

Google's toilet Internet service
Original, but not believable. Announcing wireless Internet would have been believable.

ThinkGeek inventions
And my favorite of all...