Beefy Or Peachy

"It is very important to have a phone," she said. "Because— Hang on!"

At that moment her phone began ringing, prematurely ending the conversation.

Cell phones have become so popular that more than half of all teenagers now own one. In some high schools, 80 percent of the students have phones.

School administrators have had to enact strict rules to deal with them. Most schools prohibit using the devices during school hours. If students disobey, the phones usually are seized and kept in the principal's office until the end of the school day.

Parents usually favor their children having a phone. It keeps them connected to home and is vital if they get into trouble.

Teens also are more likely to use the extra features, including different ring tones, text messaging, games, Internet connectivity, and cameras. And that means monthly bills sometimes can get out of hand. Way out of hand.

At Mt. Diablo High School, teacher Randy Depew asked his students how many of them have had problems paying their cell phone bills. Virtually every student raised a hand.

Some students said they had to use their lunch money to pay off charges. Others said they were hounded by collection agencies. And nearly all are in trouble with their parents. That may be no surprise, given the fact that some of the students talked about monthly charges that ran as high as $1,000.

Erin Miller, a senior from Marin, said she had no idea she had exceeded her family cell phone plan. The extra minutes she ran up cost 40 cents each.

"I went over by a couple hundred dollars," she said. "The extra charges weren't made clear."

Her mother, Kathleen Buckley, was upset but understanding.

A responsible parent or caretaker would put a limit on the phone thru the provider so as to not allow them to go over the limit.

 For more information, contact the Arthritis Research Center Foundation Inc. at (316) 263-2125 or visit www.arthritis-research.org.

Individuals with arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus or other rheumatic diseases now have an opportunity to become active players in research aimed at fighting these illnesses.

 Australia will allow human embryos to be used for some types of stem cell research after Prime Minister John Howard's decision not to push for extended restrictions on the use of IVF embryos.

A three-year moratorium was placed on the use of excess embryos for research in 2002 and while Howard had originally pushed for a one-year extension of the ban, he has now abandoned the idea, the Australian newspaper reported Saturday.

Since then individual states, which largely supported an end to the ban, have enacted uniform laws governing the use of human embryos.

Now that the ban will not be extended, embryos created after April 5, 2002, can be used for certain types of stem cell research. However, it is illegal to produce embryos just for research.

A spokeswoman for Victorian premier Steve Bracks said Howard's decision was "a significant step forward in the stem cell debate."

"We believe that we should use excess IVF (in vitro fertilisation) embryos that would otherwise be flushed down the sink," she said.

New South Wales state Minister for Medical Research Frank Sartor said Howard's decision not to press for the extension of the ban was an indication of the nationwide support for stem cell research.

Both the President and his brother Jeb Bush are trying to spare Terri's life.

Where does the public stand overal on this subject? Personally, I can't bear to keep seeing the same clips of her over and over.. it hurts my soul.

I pray for all parties concerned, but most of all for Terri. Whatever her true wisher were, I pray that they will be carried out.

Does your computer look like this?

In 1954 Popular Mechanics magazine ran this picture
with the caption below speculating what the home computer
would look like 50 years later in 2004.

This is the child responsible for this latest killing spree.

I feel anger, sadness, remorse, outrage, disbelief surrounding our children in this violent era we're living in. We must do something to help our kids in the US.

"The FBI believes the student responsible for killing seven people at a northern Minnesota high school used his grandfather's police-issue pistol to carry out the killings, and that he drove to the school in his grandfather's police car. The FBI also told reporters Jeff Weise, 16, was wearing a bullet proof vest during his killing spree. "

What the hell is going on in this world? Who are parenting these children who seem to 'lose' it? What morals are in the fabric of their personalities?

Are parents 'too busy' to notice their kids are not acting 'normal'? They are making bad choices? Are they getting them the help they need?

When children cry out for help with mild acting out, for God's sake, for our sake, for THEIR sake, get them HELP.

When things like this happen, it is not just the fault of the child. We must look deeper. Our society depends on responsible people caring for their children.

A powerful earthquake hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu on Sunday, and tsunami warnings have been issued, public broadcaster NHK said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency warned that tsunamis could hit areas including the coast of Kyushu, NHK said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The tremor was of magnitude 7, measured according to a technique similar to the Richter scale, but adjusted for Japan's geological characteristics.

A new survey by FindLaw finds that only 33% of Americans have a living will. Sixty-seven percent of Americans lack a living will, potentially leaving them with no say over whether they wish to receive life-sustaining medical treatment in the event they should become incapacitated or terminally ill.

The national survey of 1,000 adults was conducted by telephone and results are accurate to within plus or minus three percent.

Martha goes to court to try and clear her name..... ahem.. but I think that determination has already been made through our court system.

Robert Blake is found innocent of killing his wife.

Scott Petersen gets the Death Penalty which really in fact most likely means life in prison until he dies. Oh yes, and don't let us forget his 'celebrity status' and the idea that he'll be getting 'fan' mail. Gag me.

McGwire Refuses to Say if He Took Steroids

Curt Schilling however was quite outspoken on this topic of baseball players using steroids. Take a bow, Curt!

Irish Blessings to you all :)!

May the blessings of light be upon you,
Light without and light within,
And in all your comings and goings,
May you ever have a kindly greeting
From them you meet along the road.

and while I'm waiting to reschedule my gallbladder surgery, I've been quite sick off and on. It has weakened me some emotionally too, as I feel tears come so quickly. Sometimes at silly things, sometimes just touching stories.

Today I feel sorrow if I look into my heart. Some for things that I have done, and shouldn't have, some sorrow for things I'd like to be able to do, but haven't been able to.

Some sorrow lies beneath in my soul from wondering what my life would have been like if I wasn't a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I believe that that turn in my childhood changed my path forever.

I don't know what God wants me to say from here, and my tears are falling too hard to keep writing. Maybe someone has something to say here to help.

copyright, March, 2005, J. R.