RT @RabbiPerl: Watch June 18-Torah Talk with Rabbi Perl on @livestream: We have been chosen as one of the Top Religion Twitters http://t.co…>•<Think on this a little while.>•< 2 hours ago
Confucius say, “Once you find great Chinese restaurant, go nowhere elsewhere for chop suey.”>•<Think on this a little while.>•< 2 hours ago
@pearprobz What would it be like if there were mandatory recycling laws in the state?>•<Think on this a little while.>•< 18 hours ago
"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
It is important to note that “This document summarizes comments received from businesses and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials.”
• “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity has expanded since the previous Beige Book report, with all twelve Districts characterizing the pace of growth as either modest or moderate.”
WASHINGTON — The trip was much like any of the hundreds hosted in recent years by a nonprofit offshoot of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful Washington lobby, and the purpose was much the same: to solidify the support of American lawmakers for Israel at a time of Middle East tumult.
For eight all expense-paid days, House Republicans visited Israel’s holiest sites, talked foreign policy with its highest officials and dined at its most famous restaurants, including Decks, known for its grilled beef, stunning views of the Sea of Galilee, and now, for an impromptu swim party.
With hundreds of Washington lawmakers having gone to Israel courtesy of the program, the trips have a reputation as being the standard-bearer for foreign Congressional travel. “We call it the Jewish Disneyland trip,” said one pro-Israel advocate in Washington.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I don’t much write about myself on this blog, and there are several reasons for that, not the least of which is that, in some way, I don’t think many people care… either about me, my life, or anything else other than what is beyond the end of their noses. And yet, I may be wrong.
Call it skeptical, if you will, or perhaps even cynical, but to my way of thinking, there are many more things which are far more interesting in life. And of those things which are interesting, I am probably least among them. For those primary reasons, I do not write about myself, or my experiences. Further, I suppose that what I think, and how I feel is adequately expressed in the thoughts that do proliferate on this blog. Besides, I don’t have to be talking about myself all the time. I think that’s a rather healthy self-perspective – to not be self-consumed, but to be more concerned with others, than with self. The word for the antithesis of that characteristic is narcissism. And I am definitely not that.
Be it right, wrong, or indifferent, it’s what I’ve done. And for the greatest part, I probably won’t change that – though I perhaps could, to some extent. We’ll see.
However, this time, I’d like to take a brief respite, or departure from that approach, and share something that, for one reason or another, continues to touch my heart. So for a moment, please indulge me.
THE complimentary wine and fruit platter was sent up to Jessica Griffin and her family moments after they strolled into their roomy suite. They were accompanied by a bellhop who placed their bags near a tidy crib made up with luxurious, high thread-count sheets for Ms. Griffin’s 1-year-old daughter.
The V.I.P. treatment at the Cheeca Lodge and Spa in the Florida Keys last month hadn’t come with an extra cost. In fact, Ms. Griffin said, she paid about $100 a night less than the standard rate for her room. And the deal wasn’t the result of hours of tedious online research either. She had finagled her savings the old-fashioned way: through a travel agent.
“I needed recommendations and someone to steer me in the right direction,” said Ms. Griffin, who opted to work with an agent after years of making her own reservations because she needed a getaway suitable for a toddler and had little interest in scrolling through endless and conflicting user hotel reviews online. “There are so many,” she said. And with every site displaying beautiful pictures and tantalizing offers, “it can be overwhelming.”
“I wanted somebody from a reputable agency who could say yes, you’ll enjoy this stay,” she said.
According to those in the travel agent industry, clients like Ms. Griffin are not alone, and are in fact helping to stanch the bloodletting the industry has experienced since the onset of D.I.Y. booking more than a decade ago. Nearly one in three leisure agencies is hiring, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm. And in 2011 travel agencies experienced Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, November 27, 2011
How would you like to be an Registered Nurse based out of London, work aboard a Private Yacht traveling the Mediterranean earning a tax-free salary, paid housing, health insurance and flight?
If you’re a female – sorry guys – here’s your chance!
Salary, based upon current rate of exchange, is $57, 283/year with a one year contract.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Throughout my life, I’ve owned several pair of cowboy boots. My current pair – rust red Lucchese (pronounce: Lew – casey) 1883s with Cayman inlay – has been resoled twice, and now, the upper has torn on the right outer foot. I still wear ‘em.
When they were prettier, newer, and shinier, they received quite a few compliments. Or rather, I should say, many people (mostly women) complimented me about how beautiful the boots were. And honestly, they still are. They just need some loving attention with saddle soap and cream polish.
It’s just that now, their beauty lies in a very obvious state of wear.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 8, 2010
The Eastern Shore of Lake Tahoe, also known as Galilee Image via Wikipedia
Some years ago, a good friend of mine had encouraged me to begin a blog.
“Why do I want or need a blog?,” I asked him.
“You write very well, and a blog would seem to be a natural outlet for your thoughts,” he said.
Never being one whom chronicled or maintained a “dear diary” in my youth, I was quite amazed to hear his words. I had, however, been periodically sharing thoughts with my kindred and friends via e-mail. Alan was kind enough to host my writing for quite some time, gently guiding me through the technical process.
As things go – at least according to the Law of Entropy – things tend toward deterioration, decay and chaos. In other words, they move from order to disorder. And in time, because of the age of his servers, the bulk of traffic and the increasing complexity of software, he began migrating his servers to another resource, at which point he also began encouraging me to move my blog, which I have, and which you are now reading.
I had purposed to republish my original writings – and inspired by a recent status update posting I’d made to FaceBook – piqued my desire to republish this one post immediately.
Some background: I was in Lake Tahoe, NV at the time of the writing, staying with an extended family member, having traveled West in response to a spiritual urging I sensed. The events surrounding the same are another story in themselves, which I shall reserve.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, June 16, 2010
In a previous entry entitled The Mute, Poignant Ironies of a Life Well Lived, I had shared how God’s provision for my life has included some very seemingly coincidental times, which in reflection, I have perceived as mute irony.
Thankful as I have been and remain, I promised to share this entry with you a bit later, and in keeping that promise, here it is.
