Norsehorse's Older Home Turf

2004-05-11T13:48:00.000-04:00

Norsehorse's New Turf

Norsehorse's Home Turf has moved to New Turf: http://norsehorses-turf.blogspot.com.

This first personal blog of mine will now serve as the Old Norsehorse's Home Turf.

All future posts can be found on the new blog.

Please update any bookmarks (i.e., Favorites), links and BlogRolls you have for Norsehorse's Home Turf or for Morgan W. Brown accordingly.

Thank you for reading.

2004-05-11T12:40:00.000-04:00

Working on New Personal Blog

Came across the new blogger late yesterday, but did not have any time then to explore it much.

It was not until this morning however, having come across The Homeless Guy blog's new (temporary) look and reading Kevin's post about it (here) that I found out about some of the new templates, the Bloggers new commenting features and all.

Doing a complete redesign of Norsehorse's Home Turf is something I have been thinking about doing for a while and now with Bloggers new launch I can finally get it going. Excellent.

As I want to keep my old blog up as is, especially so I can preserve the comments I have there with the Haloscan commenting feature I have used on that blog, etc., I am in the process of creating an entirely new blog using a different blog address: http://norsehorses-turf.blogspot.com

There is not much to it yet however, as I am only getting started.

Once I get enough done on the new blog and begin posting there, I will make a final post to this old blog accordingly and change the title of this blog so it will read as being Norsehorse's Old Home Turf.

2004-05-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

brief personal update

have been off-line since Tuesday, May 4th resting up for the most part. this is my first day into town as well, only managing to get in late this afternoon to do a few errants and slowly beginning to try to catch up on e-mail, etc.

will be back online tomorrow (Tuesday, May 11th).

2004-05-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

Greens

what I did not yet mention within my Sunday, May 02, 2004 blog post concerning the day previous was that as things happened to turn out earlier on Saturday, while I was out walking around downtown Montpelier, I came across the sign for where the VGP was soon to be holding its convention that morning and wandered in to check it out.

once I spoke with a couple of the organizers, whom invited me to stay around and received an information packet from them, I went off for a small breakfast and came back in time for the portion of the VGP's convention schedule when they would discuss the Presidential nominees and, then, vote accordingly.

additional information about the convention, as well as the results of it, can be found within my blog post today on the Unofficial Vote4Nader Blog, here.

2004-05-04T14:47:00.000-04:00

Gracious Extra Miles & Beyond
continued

additional examples I have experienced over the years of someone going gracious extra miles and beyond without being asked include those who have opened doors in various other ways.

sometimes it is a person whom surprises me out of the blue with a kind and thoughtful offer of letting me stay at their place for a night, without expecting or demanding anything in return and without my having asked either, which is enough in and of itself as being a gracious extra mile in my book.

then when I show up, not only are they very hospitable, but an offer beyond the one they first presented might be made for either another one or two nights in a row and, then also, being able to stay like that other times when needed or, that I can come back for another night when I need it every week or so.

the fact is that even being offered the single night over was a big help in itself, especially without my having asked in the first place. when it turns out to be even more, sometimes it is more than I can always easily fathom and understand. it has never been easy for me to always accept such offers either.

ever so slowly over the years however, especially when I have come to know some of the people better whom are doing so and also when circumstances actually warrant it in my opinion, I manage to take some of them up on their generosity of spirit, but not always; though I am still very careful to try not to wear out my welcome, whenever it can be helped anyway.

at times it is actually enough for me just to know an offer is available when it is most needed, that helps me find my own way, strength and resolve to get through a difficult moment and circumstance; and, when I cannot, then I may lean more on others and take them up on their offer(s) of support and assistance.

of course there are numerous other examples I could provide about how people have gone the extra mile and beyond as well and may do so eventually, but will save some of these for yet another time.

2004-05-03T15:58:00.000-04:00

*Updated*

Gracious Extra Miles & Beyond

once I got settled yesterday (Sunday) into the place I will be until Wednesday morning, I relaxed, ate, watched television and, then late in the afternoon, went to bed. did not get up for good until sometime around 9:00 AM this morning (Monday). it took me a while to get going too and I took my time.

it was good to sleep and it was surely much needed. believe it or not, my body and spirit still feels tired though.

as it is easier to hitch into Montpelier than it is to hitch out to where I sometime stay just outside the city limits and as I am having to pay for the local transit bus (and, still under construction, here) these days, I tend to hitch in when I can in order to save a little money.

got a ride right away by someone I know, even before I managed to hold out my thumb. at first they were only going a mile down the road, where they would then head out to the village they live in, but wanted to offer me a ride at least that far. however as we were talking together and without my asking whatsoever, they decided to go in as far as the Hunger Mountain Co-op.

since I was at the food co-op, I went in and bought a few dollars worth of dried fruit to help keep my system's strength up and going a little better. then I walked the short distance into downtown from there, which is always a pleasant and gentle walk down the bikepath that parallels Stone Cutters Way. walking around Montpelier is always better than driving, unless one has a bicycle anyway.

anyway, back on topic:

this past Sunday, when the only way I had to get from Montpelier to where I was going was to hitch in with my arms heavy with bags of supplies, someone else did the same sort of thing after they picked me up: i.e., bringing me to my destination without my asking.

as I blog this, I also recall this sort of thing happening a week or two ago as well. that time I was heading out of Montpelier to the same place on a Sunday I think and once again with some supplies in hand. a young married couple went by and it appeared for a moment that they were looking my way possibly and then I noticed them looking in back in their car. they continued on, so I turned my attention back to hitching. then the next thing I knew, they had circled back and stopped in the driveway just in back of the spot where I was hitching from. the young wife then went to the backseat and got in next to their young child, who was in a car seat. they then called me over and invited me for a ride to where I was going.

these are additional examples of someone doing something so simple and basic for another without having been asked and without asking or demanding anything in return, going gracious extra miles and beyond.

no matter how small or large the effort made, it means a lot when someone does something like this, it certainly always has to me anyway. in fact, it usually makes all the difference in the world to me, more than people often know or could ever imagine.

*note*: made several, mostly minor, edits for the purposes of clarification and readability only; also made a few additions as well: last updated on Monday, April 3, 2004 at 5:23 PM [EDT].

2004-05-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

keeping plenty juiced

the weather was glorious on Thursday and Friday around here, but even more so yesterday (Saturday). it felt truly great and had been sorely needed.

was able to get three nights of good, solid and restful sleep at a friends place from Wednesday through Friday evening. it helped a lot.

couch surfing by nature is often a night to night situation of staying with different friends or ocassionally even acquintences when they are willing to put you up. sometimes someone is willing to allow you a few nights or more at a time and, then, might be willing to take you back in again later, especially when one is in a particular pinch.

once I got up and out the door, I went to the downtown Shaws market and bought some items for a small breakfast as well as having some to spare throughout the day as well as longer.

among those few items was a half gallon of pure orange juice with pulp, which is now nearly gone, as this morning (Sunday) I was in great need of it.

my diet is not very good or healthy and especially lacks in getting enough veggies and fruits, etc.

with all the stress incurred due to my current and long ongoing circumstances, plus my poor diet, when it can be afforded there are various things I purchase to provide me with some of what I need, which would otherwise not be getting into my system and, simply, to keep myself going with.

A half gallon of OJ is one of the things bought when my body is in really poor shape, especially when sleep is in short supply. sometimes I drink the entire thing down in fairly short order, though usually it may last a day or two or possibly even longer.

another juice I get is a bottle of 100% carrot juice by Bolthouse Farms. it is such a superb product.

last year when shopping for lunch in the market of a nearby town, I came across Bolthouse's carrot juice on sale and have been hooked since.

am just glad that the Shaws market in downtown Montpelier has it available in their store, though sometimes it gets sold out quick and it takes a while for them to get restocked. so sometimes I end up keep going back every day or two until it is it. it is worth it to me, as I buy at least one big bottle once a week and often more, sometimes three or four when I really need to. in fact I just bought two back to back, as I always drink them right up most of the time, though on ocassion it might last in the fridge over a day or two.

anyway, the product has definitely proved extremely beneficial to me.

in the afternoon yesterday I bought a bottle of the carrot juice, a huge and hearty loaf of Red Hen Baking Company's Pain au Levain and an eight ounce tub of whipped unsalted butter.

Red Hen's breads are utterly excellent and certainly well worth the price. when I am able to, I always truly enjoy eating a loave of their Pain au Levain as well as some of their other fine breads, though Pain au Levain is the one I buy most often.

taking advantage of the warm, sunny weather, I sat in one of my favorite spots -- which is a bench next to the Pavillion Building, out front and to the side of the Vermont Supreme Court as well as being right close by and in full view of the Vermont State House green of course -- eating bread and butter, washed down with carrot juice, while slowly reading yet another chapter of Seabiscuit: An American Legend.

Saturday I did not have anywhere to land for the evening, nor any energy to use in the difficult task of finding a safe and quiet place with which to pitch my tent.

however, as I was able to find a place to acquire some online access for a while and, despite being deeply tired, I used that opportunity to both get things done as well as bide some time away and have somewhere to be inside for a spell.

later I went and found a place elsewhere to get a three to four hours of floor sleep. am certainly glad I manage to get that much sleep.

soon I will be heading off to hole up for a two to three day/night stay for a rest up. it will be good to have somewhere to rest and sleep as early as this afternoon for a short nap.

just before going there though, my body is letting me know that it is graving for more of that carrot juice and, luckily, Shaws has stocked up a bunch of it recently so I will not be going without.

that will help me wash down the remaining loaf of bread, as well as also going well with what I am planning on having for my meals today.

so not only will I be eating a little better, but I sure will be keeping plenty juiced.

2004-04-30T08:45:00.000-04:00

*Yet Another Update*

Always Low Prices--Always

Grumpy "OLD" Man came across a really good blog find and blogged about it this morning (Friday, April 30, 2004).

Always Low Prices--Always (ALP) is in fact an interesting team blog, which has a stable of contributors who write about: The Best and the Worst about Wal-Mart [new Web address].

there are seven (7) regular contributors to ALP so far and they also have guest writers as well.

ALP's Disclaimers states that the blog

... is not affiliated with Wal-Mart in any way.

No author owns shares of WM directly.

Those of us who work for WM admit it freely.

The opinions of ALP contributors are their own.

In fact, most of us don't even shop at WM.

the ALP blog has only been up since Thursday, April 08, 2004 and, at the time of my own initial visit this morning, they already have had 17,342 visits to their blog.

for a relatively new blog on the block, that certainly is a great amount of interest and popularity the blog is generating. not bad!

*update*

while browsing through the archive of previous blog posts on the ALP, I came across this invite posted by Kevin Brancato on Wednesday, April 14, 2004:

Interested in Blogging about WM?

Always Low Prices is actively looking for cobloggers.

If you would like to blog the controversy surrounding the world's largest corporation, send me an email at kbrancat-at-gmu.edu.

There are no editorial restrictions or requirements to blog at ALP, save decency and my personal liability, and the desire to post at least monthly.

And yes, we welcome bloggers who dislike WM, but only if they do so out of logic, reason, and experience--not out of hype.

not being able to resist, I e-mailed Kevin about my interest in blogging on ALP. am posting it here fyi:

Dear Kevin,

just came across the ALP this morning, thanks to a blog post by Jonathon on his Grumpy "OLD" Man blog.

while I can see you already have a growing stable of bloggers on the ALP team: yes, if your Wednesday, April 14, 2004 posted offer is still open for accepting additional contributors, I am Interested in Blogging about WM.

am not into hype myself. am a 48 year old white male, whom happens to be living homeless (most of the time under a roof so-to-speak; i.e., couch surfing from place to place; though I may end up tenting out once again very soon) in Montpelier, Vermont. my online access is mostly via public access computers, but I most certainly can post at least monthly and have the strong desire to do so as well. am a social change activist.

while I do so somewhat reluctantly for various reasons, as certain WM practices causes major struggles of conscience for me, the fact is that I do sometime shop at Walmart out of pure necessity; though I do not apologize for it either, nor do I feel guilty doing so. it is just that if I could afford to shop elsewhere, I would; but I do not have that luxury like some people have. the other thing is many of the things I buy there are the same things made at the very same off-shore low or no wage places Walmart gets them from, but the local stores hike up the prices for their lions share. buying local is not always truly buying local of course. some of these local shops do not always practice being a good or generous neighbors in various ways either. in certain cases, some so-called locals do not always provide livable or even wages much above minimum wage and no health insurance either. so buying local does not translate into an improve locally, except for the snotty locals who think they are better than their local have nots. do not get me wrong though, I am not defending Walmart, but am merely pointing out certain observations and hypocrisies by the
merchant trade in general, whatever size they may be or where they may be located or where the money really goes. of course each of them has their set of pat excuse as to why they cannot do better by their workers or the community, etc. yet I do have deep concerns over Walmarts labor practices and have seen their impact hit home close by, hurting people I know and care about. however, that said, I have had my own up close and personal experiences with some of these very same practices in the past before by others in the merchant and other trades or industry, long before I ever knew or heard anything about Walmart. yes, I think Walmart needs to be taken to task for what they do and also be set as an example, but if we think what they are doing is wrong, it should be clearly and repeatedly pointed out that they are not alone in some of what they do that has such a bad impact on so many people and workers as well as their communities, who each and all end up paying the price for their practices. Walmart is not the first to do may of the things they do, they are merely the latest, though not necessarily the worse either, just possibly one of the biggest maybe.

am simply sharing with you some of my own thinking, experiences and observations concerning these matters so you may be able to better clue into who the person behind this particular e-mail is. of course you can check out my blog as well. it is Norsehorse's Home Turf.

*yet another update*

heard back from Kevin rather quickly this morning in response to my e-mail to him. as a result I am now among one of the co-bloggers of ALP. that was quite painless.

have just finished post and, then, updating my first post with which to introduce myself to ALP's visitors: New Co-Blogger Intro.

feel free to let me know what you think and feel concerning these matters, whether it be within the comments here or on the ALP blog in response to my blog posts there or, via e-mail.

*note*: updated post with mostly minor edits for the purposes of clarification and readability; also included additional information, links as well as an e-mail to ALP of mine; added an update about my becoming a ALP co-blogger: last updated on Monday, May 10, 2004 at 4:59 PM [EDT].

2004-04-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

spring day

today has been a really nice, warm, sunny Spring day.

that may sound odd to those living somewhere the weather tends to keep up with the calendar when it says it is officially spring. well it is vastly different in these parts.

just the early morning before (Tuesday), with the wet, damp, whipping wind and the growing cold, I was getting tempted to wear my long underwear and winter socks again. am not complaining about it either though. that is simply northern New England for you. yet I would not live elsewhere.

have still been feeling quite tired today and even more so now. had a good sleep last night however. it is really restful, peaceful and quiet where I stayed. will be there tonight as well.

2004-04-29T10:13:00.000-04:00

WagBlog is back blogging

Author and Poet Pam Wagner is once again back blogging her blog: i.e., WagBlog.

within some of her recent blog posts, Pam writes about her latest hospital stay, her recent experience with (as well as her decision concerning) ect and a new poem she penned as well.

highly recommended reading!

2004-04-29T09:09:00.000-04:00

*Updated*

milestone

the visitor counter currently has recorded a total of 9,999 visits hitting upon the several various pages that are a part of Norsehorse's Home Turf, which the counter is kept on.

congratulations to my 10,000 visitor.

*update*

and, as best as I can tell, the winner is:

at 9:25:31 am this morning, the 10,000 visitor to Norsehorse's Home Turf was an individual from the eastcoast of the United States, whose ISP is megapath.net and whom had clicked onto the http://nht.blogspot.com/2004_04_01_nht_archive.html URL provided to them within an e-mail they received in their Yahoo e-mail account.

once again, congratulations!

being the 10,000 visitor to this particular blog, if you would like me to, please e-mail me (morganbrown [at] gmail [dot] com) with your mailing address, letting me know that you are my 10,000 visitor and I would be glad to snail mail you a Vermont post card to help mark this particular occasion.

to each and any of my truly longtime and loyal regular visitors (you know who you are I hope), even if you are not the 10,000 visitor, you have certainly made this milestone possible. so please e-mail me (morganbrown [at] gmail [dot] com) with your mailing address, letting me know that you are one of my loyal longtime blog or resource page visitors and, when I am able to, I would be glad to snail mail you a Vermont post card to help mark this particular occasion as well.

thank you each and all for visiting my blog, or otherwise one of its links pages, through its many ebbs and flows. this blog of mine is nothing without you and your interest.

by the way, for those whom do not yet know and may be inclined to ask, this blog was born way back on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 and has, ever so slowly, been evolving since then -- as time, energy and online access allows anyway.

*note*: made several, mostly minor, edits for the purposes of clarification and readability only: added the last paragraph fyi; additionally, have posted an update concerning whom I believe to be this blog's 10,000 visitor: last updated on Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 6:52 PM [EDT].

2004-04-28T19:28:00.000-04:00

driven to distraction

am being driven to distraction with my current circumstances. did not sleep much or well last night, had nowhere to land then or in the foreseeable future either. am tired, my back and neck is aching badly and am very low-energy in general.

got to go. someone wants this computer. my time and online accesss is up for the night.

*update*

quickly: a couple of weeks ago someone I know well, whom is a dear friend, made an offer of putting me up for a night here or there once and a while, if things were getting bad and I had nowhere to go, especially with it being wet or damp and still cold out at night. though it is a very limited thing of course. had not been able to reach them until tonight. am headed over there for tonight, so am okay for this evening. the rest and feeling safe will help. just wanted to post this news fast so no one would be too concerned. am eating well this eve too by the way. got to go. they are expecting me soon.

2004-04-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

*Updated*

current reading

while at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library last evening (Tuesday), I came across a well-worn first edition (Random House, 2001) of the book Seabiscuit: An American Legend, authored by Laura Hillenbrand.

the Seabiscuit movie was based upon this particular book and, in fact, the author served as a consultant for it.

one of the librarians and I discussed the book as well as the movie, which I have already seen twice so far. they told me that, in their opinion, the book was far better than the movie and was a must-read. i'm obviously sold of course.

as I am a very slow reader and reading in general comes hard to me, being that it is not a new book, I have the book for a month and, if no one puts in a request for it, I may be able to renew it for yet another two weeks if I need such an extension.

began reading it last night of course. then continued my reading first thing, very early, this morning over a giant coffee and two donuts (a number 1) at the local Dunkin Donuts, whose new location only recently (re)opened in Montpelier.

*update*

back on March 14, 2001, Salon carried a review of Laura Hillenbrand's book, here.

while we were speaking together last night, the librarian also informed me that the book's author has chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS).

just came across an archived copy of a must-read article written by her, which was originally published in the the July 7, 2003 edition of The New Yorker, on the subject: A Sudden Illness -- How My Life Changed:

[...]

On a cool fall day in 1996, I was sifting through some documents on the great racehorse Seabiscuit when I discovered Red Pollard, the horse's jockey. I saw him first in a photograph, curled over Seabiscuit's neck. Looking out at me from the summer of 1938, he had wistful eyes and a face as rough as walnut bark.

I began looking into his life and found a story to go with the face. Born in 1909, Red was an exceptionally intelligent, bookish child with a shock of orange hair. At 15, he was abandoned by his guardian at a makeshift racetrack cut through a Montana hayfield. He wanted to be a jockey, but he was too tall and too powerfully built. That didn't stop him, though. He began race riding in the bush leagues and fared so badly that he took to part-time prizefighting in order to survive. He lived in horse stalls for 12 years, studying Emerson and the 'Rubaiyat,' piloting neurotic horses at 'leaky roof' tracks, getting punched bloody in cow-town clubs, keeping painfully thin with near-starvation diets, and probably pills containing the eggs of tapeworms.

He was appallingly accident-prone. Racehorses blinded his right eye, somersaulted onto his chest at forty miles per hour, trampled him, and rammed him into the corner of a barn, virtually severing his lower leg. He shattered his teeth and fractured his back, hip, legs, collarbone, shoulder, ribs. He was once so badly mauled that the newspapers announced his death. But he came back every time, struggling through pain and fear and the limitations of his body to do the only thing he had ever wanted to do. And in the one lucky moment of his unlucky life he found Seabiscuit, a horse as damaged and persistent as he was. I hung Red's picture above my desk and began to write.

What began as an article for American Heritage became an obsession, and in the next two years the obsession became a book. Borden and I moved to a cheap rental house farther downtown, and I arranged my life around the project. At the local library, I pored over documents and microfilm I requisitioned from the Library of Congress. If I looked down at my work, the room spun, so I perched my laptop on a stack of books in my office, and Borden jerry-rigged a device that held documents vertically. When I was too tired to sit at my desk, I set the laptop up on my bed. When I was too dizzy to read, I lay down and wrote with my eyes closed. Living in my subjects' bodies, I forgot about my own.

I mailed the manuscript off to Random House in September 2000, then fell into bed. I was lying there the following day when the room began to gyrate. Reviewing the galleys brought me close to vomiting several times a day. Most of the gains I had made since 1995 were lost. I spent each afternoon sitting with Fangfoss on my back steps, watching the world undulate and sliding into despair.

In March 2001, Random House released 'Seabiscuit. An American Legend.' Five days later, I was lying down, when the phone rang. 'You are a best-selling writer,' my editor said. I screamed. Two weeks later, I picked up the phone to hear him and my agent shout in tandem, 'You're No. 1!' Borden threw a window open and yelled it to the neighborhood.

[...]

speaking of The New Yorker, in the August 4, 2003 edition was this article concerning the movie: Horse Power.

ESPN's Website includes these items concerning Seabiscuit: Size doesn't matter (here), Heart of a Champion (here) and, The tricks behind the making of 'Seabiscuit' (here).

in addition, PBS featured an excellent American Experience documentary presentation focused on Seabiscuit.

*note*: updated my initial blog post for purposes of clarification and readability as well as providing additional related information and links on the subject: last updated on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 at 4:42 PM [EDT].

2004-04-27T18:18:00.000-04:00

cool, sweet stuff

today (Tuesday, April 27, 2004), from noon until 8:00 PM, its Ben & Jerry's free cone day at participating scoop shops worldwide.

when I went this afternoon, the line was not too bad and it did not take long at all. they are fairly well organized and have plenty of ice cream on hand, along with having a wide variety of flavors available.

in fact they had a couple of new flavors I never heard of. it was not easy to choose between the several older flavors listed, another tempting new flavor (i.e., Primary Berry Graham) and the new flavor I finally decided upon.

anyway, I ended up with a really good sized cone of Dublin Mudslide™: New in 2004! - Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream with Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies and a Coffee Fudge Swirl.

yummmm.

among the older flavors that were available at my local Ben & Jerry's scoop shop today, which is among my favorites, was Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz®: Coffee ice cream with espresso bean fudge chunks. there were others of course, but I cannot recall them all.

2004-04-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

Aspects of New England:
Western Abenaki

meant to blog about this last week, but was not able to get it done. am also still feeling very low-energy and tired, so this post will be brief and more general in nature.

last Wednesday (April 21, 2004) evening found me at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library for use of the public access computer(s). by chance I was finished up just prior to at 7:00 pm when one of their scheduled events was taking place. so I decided to check it out as it was of particular interest to me.

this particular event was focused on the the Western Abenaki as part of a series called Aspects of New England:

The first in a five-part series exploring the history, culture, and natural history of our region. Scholar Jeanne Brink draws upon her Abenaki family history and M.A. in Native American studies to discuss the first New-Englanders: their culture, history, and language. Jeanne will discuss the importance in Abenaki society of elders and children, the environment, and the continuance of lifeways and traditions. This program is co-sponsored by the Vermont Council on the Humanities.

it was very well attended. Jeanne Brink's presentation was excellent, indepth and highly interactive. there was lots of show and tell too. she was great with taking and responding to questions from those in attendance and there were plenty asked, including several by myself.

2004-04-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

*Updated*

tired out

it appears that I am tired out far more than what I had originally thought was the case.

only managed to get about five or six hours sleep Wednesday (April 21, 2004) evening. ended up being really tired yesterday, but had nowhere to go to get some sleep during the day.

then late that same afternoon (Thursday), I was able to arrange to have a place to stay starting that night and the following three nights as well, through to late Monday morning.

anyway, I got there just before 7:00 PM. did not have any energy left to speak of and, as a result, could not really focus enough to read much or to bother to watching much more television (not that there was anything of interest to watch, because there wasn't) or even to eat for that matter either. so I went to bed around 8:30 PM.

did not get up until twelve (12) hours later and, when I did wake up, it was really tough going for me. plus I was still feeling extremely tired.

in fact it took me a couple of hours until I actually felt like I was finally waking up. it almost felt like a hangover of sorts and I had nothing alcoholic to drink whatsoever. maybe my problem is that I am badly in need of one. am only joking of course.

am certainly glad that I had a real bed and warm space to sleep in last evening. it proved to be well needed. will be using the entire weekend to rest up as much as I am able to during the time I have this particular place to stay put at.

*note*: made some, mostly minor, edits for purposes of clarification and readability only: last updated on Friday, April 23, 2004 at 5:47 PM [EDT].

2004-04-22T17:44:00.000-04:00

brief personal update

have arranged to hole up for the next four days/nights in a place where I will be able to rest, relax, read, watch television as well as clean-up a little, etc. it might only be a short-term fix, but this is a good and less stressful one for me. will be in town and, online of course, both tomorrow and Saturday most likely though.

2004-04-21T13:16:00.000-04:00

*****Yet Another Recent Update*****

last updated on
Monday, May 24, 2004
@ 1:53 PM [EDT]

Gmail

*Special Notice*:

to anyone who may be tempted to send me an e-mail with a plea to send you a Gmail account invite: my invites went out when they were first made available. mine were of course sent to two other homeless (or in one case formerly homeless) bloggers I know of online.

If that is not enough to deter you, then read the following: Gmail Plea's or, Just Another Spam Scam?

In my case however, I finally began marking some of these invite plea's via the Report Spam feature that Gmail has and, later, going into the Spam folder, toggling the box beside them and then toggling "Delete Forever" via the "More Actions" feature.

[...]

Enough is enough already.

[...]

After I get done blogging this particular post, I will updating that post with a notice to those who might be inclined to beg from me, that my invites are already gone and also provide a link back to this post just to drive the point home for anyone slow on the uptake.

Any Gmail Plea's that come in from here on out will be quickly reported as being Spam and find their way into the Spam Can.

*Update to the Special Notice*

here is a recent blog post of mine concerning an online resource for those so inclined: Gmailswap.

now back to the original post:

Contact Information Change

please note that I am changing to a new e-mail address. as such, if you have an e-mail listing for me already, I request that you change your contact information listing for me accordingly.

Google is currently testing out offering free web-based e-mail, called Gmail, which includes 1000 megabytes of free storage and some other very useful features.

to learn more, go to About Gmail.

as Blogger is owned by Google, during the testing stages of Gmail, the new e-mail service is now being offered to Blogger users, which I am of course.

my new e-mail address is:

morganbrown [at]
gmail [dot] com

will be consolidating down to a single e-mail address from all the several e-mail accounts I currently have in use. had been thinking about doing this anyway, but until now it was not possible, since Hotmail and most other free web-based e-mail providers only offer a minimal amount of storage capacity. which, for the most part, is why I have been forced to have so many different e-mail accounts, as I am such a heavy e-mail user and also tend to store lots e-mails (mostly copies of stuff I send out though) for future reference. with what Google is offering through gmail (i.e., 1000 megabytes of storage, plus other great features), I can now do it, so I am.

blogger users, whom are interested in obtaining a free Gmail account and have not already done so, can simply sign in and, then, respond to the Special Notice about it; which should be within the upper right-hand column, just above the listing of your blogs.

*update*

to learn even more about Gmail, Google It (here) or, otherwise, Yahoo It (here).

an example of what I have come across already is: The Fuss About Gmail and Privacy: Nine Reasons Why It's Bogus, by Tim O'Reilly.

meanwhile there is Jeremy Zawodny's take on Tim O'Reilly's take concerning Gmail: Blinded by Gmail's Gigabyte?

elsewhere within the blogosphere: on his personal blog earlier this month, Kevin Fox shared some Obligatory Gmail Screenshots. Sean B. Palmer blogged about how he is Testing Gmail and, then, has done even More Gmail Beta Testing. Jason Shellen went into Gmail redux.

within his personal blog, Mark Pilgrim wrote about how he dreamt of Gmail (here) and, earlier, had also written about Gmail accessibility.

fyi:

Kevin Fox and Jason Shellen are both Google employees.

Sean B. Palmer's bio states that he is an English computer scientist.

Jeremy Zawodny is an employee of Yahoo.

Mark Pilgrim is an IBM employee.

Tim O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of O'Reilly & Associates, thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world.

much more:

yet another example, this one focused on growing opposition to Gmail, is from an April 13, 2004 BBC News article: Google's Gmail could be blocked: Gmail, the planned free e-mail service from Google, could be facing strong legal opposition in California.

so far, as of April 19th, Thirty-One Privacy and Civil Liberties Organizations Urge Google to Suspend Gmail (via Privacy Rights Clearinghouse).

Google Watch:

Google Watch posted this indepth Gmail Privacy Alert.

What is Google-Watch?, you ask.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, offers this definition, here:

Google Watch is a website run by Public Interest Research, started in 2001 by Daniel Brandt. Ostensibly its goals are to report on conflicts of interest in Google's corporate structure, the dependency of the public on it for information, invasion of privacy issues, and its increasing commercial links with private interests. However, its critics charge that it is merely the work of a disgruntled website owner whose websites' Google PageRanks were not to his liking.

[...]

additionally, the Wikipedia listing includes external links to a couple of articles concerning Google Watch.

the January 3, 2003 edition of CounterPunch featured an article, written by Mark Hand, Searching for Daniel Brandt. Mark Hand is editor of PressAction.com.

then there is Google Watch Watch by Chris Beasley.

back on track

two more articles, these from CNET News, both last modified on April 13, 2004:

Google to consider Gmail changes: Google said Tuesday it is "batting about" possible changes to its Gmail Web-based e-mail service, which launched last month to a chorus of privacy concerns.

Gmail likely to clear U.K. privacy hurdles: Google's forthcoming e-mail service probably won't run into legal issues in Britain, as long as the company doesn't deceive customers about how their personal information will be treated.

in addition, read up on some of the latest news and controversy about Gmail, Google the News (here). or, likewise, Yahoo the News (here).

*****yet another update*****

doing some related Web searching this morning I happened upon an April 3, 2004 article -- via Dan Gillmor's eJournal, Why I Wouldn't Consider Google's E-Mail (here) -- published in the Register (UK): Google mail is evil ? privacy advocates.

for those inclined to keep up with what bloggers are saying about Gmail, besides what can be found via the usual search engines, searching via Feedster (here), blogdex (here), Technorati (here), popdex (here) and Daypop (here).

then there is Fagan Finder, which has a good one-stop blog search tool.

using some of these blogosphere search tools, I came across the following items:

Ruman's Blog provided a link to this April 20, 2004 article, featured in Extreme Tech: Gmail: Stop the Whining!

By Jim Lynch

Search engine superpower Google recently announced its intentions to offer free a Web mail service, called Gmail, to its users. Well, as we all know, no good deed goes unpunished and Gmail is no exception. As soon as the Internet giant announced the specifics of its offering, privacy advocates and others began lambasting the company, complaining that Google's policies would violate user's privacy rights. While legitimate feedback on such a service can be useful, some "advocates" have gone off the deep end and engaged in outright and crass demonization of Google.

[...]

User Responsibility

The people who are demonizing Google proceed from the false assumption that everyone who might use Gmail is a potential victim. The bottom line here is that everyone has a choice whether or not to use the Gmail service. No one is being forced at gunpoint to sign up for or use the service. Got that? Choice is an important concept that seems to have escaped many, including some in the media.

Users have an obligation to accept responsibility for themselves and for their choices. If one does not agree with the terms of Google's e-mail service, one should simply not use that service If it believes that its policies are threatening the bottom line, Google will have to adjust its policies to attract more users.

Users also need to get a clue about the reality of e-mail security in general. If you think that your communications using free Web mail services or any other unencrypted e-mail service are "private," you're way off. E-mails can be read by anyone with access to the various servers your messages are transmitted to as they make their way across the Internet.

If e-mail security and privacy are your top concern, free Web services are something you should already be steering clear of. You should be using a regular e-mail account hosted by your ISP instead, and then begin using PGP or some other encryption agent to make sure that your e-mail remains truly private.

Google's Responsibilities

Responsibility and accountability are required in both directions, however. Google needs to be crystal clear in explaining Gmail's terms of service to users, including about how data that is deleted by users may still reside on a Google server. And everything needs to be spelled out in language that's easy to understand--no jargon, business-speak or other verbal beating around the bush.

Since Gmail is still being beta-tested, it's probably a good idea for Google to mull over some helpful changes. Here's how it might want to address two of the issues we've raised here:
1. If users wish to opt out of the targeted advertisement version of Gmail, Google should allow them to do so and simply charge a monthly or yearly fee. As I pointed out earlier, Google is under no obligation to lose money by providing free services. So, any user who doesn't want their mail scanned should be able to pay for the service directly.

2. Users should retain control of their data and Google should make sure that users have the option of permanently deleting their data from Google's servers. Yes, data gets backed up frequently onto different servers, but Google would do well to make sure when a user opts to delete something permanently, his or her wishes are respected as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the company seems to have already clarified its position on this issue in a positive way.

These steps would go a long way toward attracting users to Google's e-mail service, reassuring privacy advocates, and preserving Gmail's business model. At this point, Google seems to be listening and they should be commended for that.

one can also keep up with some of Google's goings on through Google Weblog, which is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google, Inc.

via Volume of Interactions (here), two differing perspectives and both must-reads!:

the first is an April 12, 2004 column, written by CNET chief political correspondent Declan McCullagh, entitled: Is Google the future of e-mail?

the other one is a column published in Slate: Read My Mail, Please

The silly privacy fears about Google's e-mail service.

By Paul Boutin
Updated Thursday, April 15, 2004, at 2:26 PM PT

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page were the heroes of the Net from the moment they launched their better-than-the-rest search engine in 1998, right up until two weeks ago. On April 1, they announced plans for Gmail, a Googleized alternative to the free Web-based e-mail services offered by Hotmail, Yahoo!, and a slew of smaller companies. Depending on your take, Gmail is either too good to be true, or it's the height of corporate arrogance, especially coming from a company whose house motto is "Don't Be Evil."

At first, Web hipsters dismissed Gmail as an April Fool's hoax. But Google's offer is real. Gmail will provide each user an entire gigabyte of free e-mail storage. That's about 250 times the 4-megabyte limit of a basic Yahoo! Mail account and 10 times Hotmail's 100-megabyte "super-user" package, which costs $60 a year. In return for all that inbox space, Google wants just one favor: to be allowed to scan the content of your incoming messages and serve content-targeted ads alongside them.

If you haven't tried it, it sounds creepy. But after a week of testing the prerelease version of Gmail, I'm on the other side of the fence. Gmail isn't an invasion of privacy, and its ads are preferable to the giant blinking banners for diets and dating services that are splashed across my other Web mail accounts.

Judging by the reaction of lots of people, Google might as well have asked for everyone's ATM passwords. California state Sen. Liz Figueroa told Reuters she was drafting legislation that, if passed, would prohibit the scanning of e-mail in order to serve ads. In England, watchdog group Privacy International filed a complaint that Gmail would violate the European Union's privacy laws. Silicon Valley's paper of record, the San Jose Mercury News, fretted on its editorial page, "If Google ogles your mail, can Ashcroft be far behind?" The controversy bubbled all the way up to late night, where Conan O'Brien joked about Google inserting ads for 1984.

The outcry isn't new, only the scale of it is. Ten years ago, some Web pioneers had a similarly squeamish reaction when the first search engines began crawling their sites and including them in searchable databases, along with ads matched to users' queries. As a manager for HotBot, one of the first ad-carrying search engines in the mid-1990s, I heard from plenty of Webmasters who demanded that their pages be removed from the system. Today, their objections seem quaint.

[...]

Paul Boutin is a Silicon Valley writer who spent 15 years as a software engineer and manager.

lastly,
two more must-reads

ahhh, in my opinion there is nothing better than a good saga, except maybe for living and exploring it, then, sharing what was experienced and learned from doing so.

speaking of which, Brad Templeton shares some of his insights and observations:

The GMail Saga

[...]

Here's a summary of some of my conclusions
1. While there has been over-reaction to GMail, there are some real issues here to be worried about.

2. Other webmail providers are doing, or will be doing the same things, meaning these issues apply to all of them, including MSN, Yahoo and others.

3. One key risk is that because GMail gets your consent to be more than an e-mail delivery service -- offering searching, storage and shopping -- your mail there may not get the legal protection the ECPA gives you on E-mail.

4. The storage of e-mail on 3rd party servers for more than 180 days almost certainly causes the loss of those privileges.

5. This in turn creates a danger that we may redefine whether e-mail has the "reasonable expectation of privacy" needed for 4th amendment protection.

6. Correlation of search and mail has real risks.

7. Google and others should architect to encrypt your mail.

8. Even the irrational fears over the spooky aspect of advertising being associated with e-mail creates problems that must be addressed.

[...]

On the appearance of surveillance

To close, let me add one other rule about privacy. It is not only important to have your privacy. It is important that you believe you have your privacy. If you even suspect that you are being watched, it changes your behaviour and you become less free as an individual.

Are you the same person at your mother's house for holiday dinner as you were your first year on your own at university? How much you think you are being watched affects your freedom. How much a society thinks it is being watched affects the freedom of the society.

The fear that computerized scanning of our e-mails (to display ads or filter out spam) will result in actual harm is largely baseless. But even irrational fears affect our freedom, and this should be considered in software design.

the point Brad Templeton's essay raises in item 2 (i.e., Other webmail providers are doing, or will be doing the same things, meaning these issues apply to all of them, including MSN, Yahoo and others) was not only well put in my opinion, but also happens to mirror some of my own initial thinking on the subject too.

have not really had an opportunity, nor the time, energy or online access to fully read through the above essay yet. will be printing it out so I can take plenty of time to go over and digest it later today.

lastly, among the very first articles I came across concerning the controversy surrounding Gmail, but ended up forgetting to mention it when I initially began blogging this particular post, is one published Wednesday, April 21, 2004 in PC Magazine, written by Lance Ulanoff, pondering the question: Is Gmail Safe?

what is next?

while I have not yet gathered my own thoughts enough in order to blog a post concerning my own take concerning Gmail, I do intend to stick with the service however. when I am able to find enough time, energy and online access to do so, I will try to blog a separate post concerning my take on Gmail and the controversy and the ensuing debate it has raised.

one thing for certain, such debate is always a very healthy thing. if this debate does not truly manage to influence what is at stake on all sides of these discussions and arguments any more than it may already have, there is still the hope that it will influence how or, even if, we use such Internet services and, if we indeed do, what we do with them of course.

*****yet another recent update*****

fyi: on Friday (April 23, 2004) afternoon I came across the following comment, posted by Mel Ruttan, within the Privacy issues in GMail and other webmail blog post string of Brad Templeton's blog:

Use GMail, but encrypt your private information.
Simple and free.

Type your E-mail, and click the A-LOCK icon.
http://www.a-lock.com/_site/alock/index.mhtml

Posted by: Mel Ruttan at April 23, 2004 07:59 AM

however, if I understand it correctly, it appears that it is only available to those with computers of their own or that can have the downloaded to anyway: i.e., being that my only computer and online access is via public access computers and they do not allow the public downloading new programs on them, I cannot use or access it.

meanwhile, (via a post, posted by Robert Loch, on Marketing VOX News [here]) in an article published on ClickZ, Pamela Parker-(scroll down page for her bio) ponders: Gmail: the Next Gator?: i.e., as in Gator, which is now the Claria Corporation.

*note*: found additional related information and links, which I simply could not resist posting: was forced to put up a *Special Notice* for Gmail invite beggars and spammers; added an update to the special notice re: Gmailswap info: last updated on Monday, May 24, 2004 at 1:53 PM [EDT].

2004-04-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

personal update

last evening (Tuesday) I managed to hole up inside at an undisclosed location within walking distance of downtown Montpelier. actually it is the same place I spent four sleepless hours the evening before (Monday). this time around I actually slept for nine hours more or less.

was in a really foul state of mind last night before I finally got to sleep. am still feeling tired, but not as bad as I was yesterday and my mood in temporarily improved as a result of course.

the place I am holing up at night for now is merely a short term band-aid however. it will not be available to me for much longer.

all this on top of having been in extremely low-energy mode for some time now, much which is linked to what has been going on these past few months.

not sure what to do next, but am certainly grateful to at least have this as a place of last resort; as certain options that have come to mind to use, if or when the need arises, are one's I would really rather not have as my only choice(s).

am not looking forward to having to tent out or otherwise wandering the streets all night, if it comes to that, either.

have heard from a couple more people who have offered support, which is of course well appreciated by me.

more later ...

2004-04-21T10:40:00.000-04:00

*Updated*

National Library Week

below is an edited and *final* version of a letter to the editor I just resubmitted to the Barre - Montpelier Times Argus for publication.

it is a letter written in honor of National Library Week (i.e., April 18-24, 2004) and in support of local libraries, like the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, in general.

Dear Editor, Times Argus

April 18-24, 2004 is National Library Week.

This realization recently caused me to reflect about how libraries have continued to influence, inspire, educate and guide my learning, knowledge, understanding and overall life from the first day I ever walked into one to the present day.

Over the years I have discovered how much can be learned about a community and its people by exploring its local library.

No matter how large or small a local library may be, each of them have hard working, dedicated and competent librarians and volunteers who staff them, as well as dedicated board members, who serve them. Without the huge commitment these people lend, our libraries would not be able to function properly or, even be able to exist.

Local libraries act as an essential foundation of the lifelong learning resources and capacity our communities and each of its citizens have come to enjoy and count on. It is crucial to ensure that this foundation remains solid, strong and sound.

Public libraries, along with those who work within them, are rich and valuable resources. Yet our local libraries are too often taken for granted and under-funded or, at the very least, far down the food chain when funding considerations are prioritized and allocated.

There is far more to the operation of libraries than meets the eye. If people were to possibly learn a little more about what goes on behind the scenes, they might appreciate better why it is important to properly fund and support our libraries more than already may be the case.

Please make every effort to support and use your local public library as the precious community resource it is.

Morgan W. Brown
Montpelier

an edited version of the above letter to the editor was published in the Saturday, April 24, 2004 edition of the Barre - Montpelier Times Argus, here (third letter down the page, entitled Appreciate, use local libraries).

note: updated this blog post with the more recent edited version:yet another update to provide the link to the published version available online: last updated on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 4:40 PM [EDT].

2004-04-20T10:55:00.000-04:00

Sleeping OutSide?

the following is an edited version of something I originally wrote and e-mailed to certain folks on my e-networks late last night (Monday, April 19, 2004). figured I would post it here as well.

sos?: homeless update

no, this is not really an SOS; as in Save Our Souls or whatever it truly stands for.

rather it means, at least in this particular instance anyway being that it is followed by a question mark, that it looks like I may be Sleeping OutSide once again.

am not sure about tonight, once I leave here shortly, if I have a place to stay overnight or not. if not, it will be a long, sleepless, night for certain. at least it is warmer, that is if it does not rain anyway; as the wind has been blowing hard too.

come tomorrow, after about three to four long years of having at least someplace of last resort to stay at, I may just be back to pitching my tent somewhere. that is if a safe place can be found. there are a lot more people tenting out around these parts these days, as the few good places may be either gone or at least not so safe; especially for this lone, unhappy, camper.

sort of knew that this might be coming, in fact I had been quite depressed about it and had not been sleeping well at times as a result over the last five or six weeks.

without going into all the details, the one place in the area that was my sole resource at times is no longer available to me as such as I have decided to vote with my feet and not be associated with it any longer.

simply put, there was more harm to staying than in my going.

it has been made very clear for a while now by various parties involved that I was no longer wanted around; even though the place is supposed to be funded and made safe for people like myself and not such be a place where non-labeled people (i.e., not labeled with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI)) are allowed to take over, do whatever they want, get away with it over and over, and crowd and then push people like me out.

all too often we are told, including by the head person in charge, in both direct and indirect ways: that if we did not like it, we could leave. so I have left, even though I have nowhere else to go and nothing else to depend on. guess I'd rather live independent and free of abuse, than forced to be made dependent and continually abused, even though it may prove more difficult and stressful, as a result.

to keep up-to-date with these goings on, check my blog. as I will begin updating it accordingly when I am able to -- as time, energy and online access allow.

knowing it would be a long night and also being hungry and already fairly worn out, I decided to eat as good as was possible (am really glad I did too, it was a big help).

after doing that, in addition to making a few phone calls in an attempt to locate a place to stay for the evening and being that it felt urgent to quickly compose and send out the above e-mail concerning my situation, I made use of a little online access avialable to me at that moment in order to do so.

once the e-mail was sent out, I walked around for a time prior to heading for the place where I ended up spending at least part of the night inside.

while not able to get any sleep whatsoever during the four hours I stayed there, it proved helpful laying down and resting for the entire time.

though I am definitely tired, I do not feel so bad, now anyway. am not certain what later will bring however.

so far this morning I received one reply from my e-mail. this particular e-mail message, as well as a few follow up exchanges, came from someone who works for the Vermont Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services (VT DDMHS) (hey, note the excellent new Website design they have there too. great work! it is a vast improvement from what they formerly had available. now if they can only do as good with the actual services they provide, things might actually improve for those of us who depend on them).

am hoping to meet this individual today, as they mentioned they are in town for a meeting and want to speak with me about my current circumstances and also possibly what led to them.

when I am done with my morning online session, I intend to eat at an area soup kitchen for my main (and possibly even sole) meal of the day, before heading off to meet up with the person from the VT DDMHS.

still have no clue what tonight, as well as future nights, will offer. might end up having to pitch my tent somewhere, if I can find the energy and space to do so.

not sure I have any other options left, for the short term anyway.

the long term (i.e., next week), is too far off to even be concerned about now.

these are just facts. nothing more, nothing less.

though it may appear or even sound otherwise, the simple truth is that I do not tend to waste my energy or time feeling sorry for myself during such struggles. it would not help matters any if I bothered.

for more reading material concerning these matters, make sure to read or re-read Dana Szegedy's excellent and well-written essay on this exact subject: An Eye Opening 24-Hour Homeless Experience in Montpelier, Vermont.

Dana was one of five (now former) Sterling College students who spent a night out together one cold rainy evening in Montpelier, Vermont during April of last year (2003).

they began their education that evening in several indepth discussions spanning a variety of matters, including homelessness, housing, mental health, disabilities and related subjects while at the Another Way Drop-In Center before embarking out onto the streets for the night.

more later ...

2004-04-19T19:16:00.000-04:00

at rest

been off-line, attempting to get some much-needed rest, the last week and a half or so.

not much to write about now anyway, but am also very short of energy, time and online access as well.

will try to start blogging again shortly, possibly tomorrow (Tuesday).

2004-04-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Just for Laughs

Yet another satire news article, this one I wrote and posted on The Spoof this morning.

The Spoof
Nadergate?

Democrats Accuse Ralph Nader of being Republican Clone

Washington, D.C. -- April 7, 2004

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe is reported to have sent off a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) accusing Republicans of secretly cloning Ralph Nader.

In the letter, McAuliffe is said to have stated that he has solid evidence that the Republicans are using their clone as a plant to defeat 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry in the November general election.

[...]

Enjoy!

2004-04-06T16:53:00.000-04:00

My Latest News' Spoofs

For those whom might enjoy a few laughs, below are links and a few excerpts for some of my latest satire news articles I have recently written and posted on The Spoof:

U.S. Secret Service Use of President George W. Bush Clones, to Act as Body Doubles, Questioned

Washington, D.C. -- April 6, 2004

It has been learned from high level government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the United States Secret Service has been using clones of President George W. Bush to act as body doubles for the President.

The Secret Service is said to have undertaken this initiative, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in order to provide improved protection of the President at all times.

[...]

It has also been disclosed that the use of such clones in place of the President is just one of the many questions that will be posed by the 9/11 Commission when National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice appears publicly before them to provide testimony under oath.

This is said to be just one of several reasons why the White House initially had stalled concerning allowing Ms. Rice to provide sworn testimony as well as the previous reluctance of the President and Vice President to appear in private before the entire 9/11 Commission.

President George W. Bush Said to Have Dreams of Pro-Baseball Career

Washington, D.C. -- April 6, 2004

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several White House sources are rumored to have stated privately that President George W. Bush has decided not to run for re-election in 2004 after all.

Apparently, based upon his performance of throwing out the first pitch during the St. Louis Cardinals’ season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday (April 5, 2004), the President is said to have been overheard mentioning that he has decided to take up a baseball career as a pitcher.

Several of these same White House sources also shared their opinion that "the President must be dreaming."

[...]

President Bush Vows US Led Coalition Will Find "Weapons of Mass Distraction"

Washington, D.C. -- April 5, 2004

During a short appearance before a throng of cheering supporters gathered outside the White House today, President George W. Bush vowed that no stone will be left unturned within Iraq by the US led coalition, as they continue seeking out the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's), which he insists still remain hidden somewhere deep in that war torn nation.

[...]

Enjoy!

2004-04-05T13:32:00.000-04:00

fyi

Received an e-mail last week concerning the following new America's with Disabilities Act (ADA) online resource: ADA Document Portal: The ADA Collection

The ADA Collection consists of about 3,400 documents organized into 10 categories shown in the left column. Use the links in the left column to browse to the individual categories and documents in the collection.

[...]