trublue

FYI......some of you may already know this but Georgia uses their lottery funds for the Hope scholarship. Had neighbors few years ago that moved (job transfer) from CA for their kids to take advantage of the GA Hope scholarship. Following is an excerpt: HOPE "(Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally), created under the supervision of Georgia governor Zell Miller, is a state-financed merit-based scholarship program. Funded by lottery-ticket revenues, HOPE pays for four years of full tuition and fees, as well as a $300 per year book stipend, at a Georgia public university, college, or technical institution for students who graduate from a high school in the state with a 3.0, or "B," average. Students must maintain this average at the college level to retain the scholarship. (The scholarship pays up to $3,000 for students attending private schools.) As of 2006, more than $3 billion in HOPE funds had been awarded to more than 900,000 students." http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1483

Wow BT.....what a great post!!!!!!

.....financially.....no .......personal validation.....probably

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky high school football coach was charged Thursday with reckless homicide in the death of a player who collapsed at practice as temperatures soared. http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9120016?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

Prices are rising in ATL.......1.55 couple wks. ago.....paid 1.75 yesterday.

Wall Street Journal article by Juan Williams. If you do not know who Juan is.....he is a contributor on Fox, also on NPR and a supporter of Obama. I think this is a very good read....actually heard Rush talking about the article today on his show. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249791178500439.html

Taylor Knapp Collins Hill High School Suwanee GA VT commit Sunday, January 18, 2009 Smackdown Collins Hill cruises past Pope to win dual state title By Brandon Brigman Staff Writer Gwinnett Daily Post MACON - Collins Hill solidified what a lot of people in the state already knew. The Eagles' wrestling team is hands down the best and everyone else is a distant second. Collins Hill won 11 of its 14 matches to beat Pope 47-9 on Saturday at the Macon Centreplex on its way to the Class AAAAA state duals championship. It's the second straight title for the Eagles and the third since 2005. "We've been looking forward to this all year," Collins Hill senior Taylor Knapp said. "Everyone has been saying all year we are the favorites." The Eagles, which are ranked No. 27 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, have not lost to a team from Georgia since its season opening loss to Pope. Collins Hill (30-3) had seven starters out at the time, so with a full lineup on Saturday the Eagles blew away Pope (23-3). "We won more close matches than they did," Collins Hill coach Cliff Ramos said. It's the third dual state championship for the Eagles, joining McEachern as the only other Class AAAAA school to win three titles. Collins Hill improved to 27-6 all-time in the dual state tournament and 19-2 at the Macon Centreplex. Collins Hill breezed through Friday's competition, beating Valdosta 67-12, Newton 58-15 and Camden County 58-6 to reach the finals. "Collins Hill is a phenomenal team," Pope coach Jim Haskin said. "They have very good wrestlers." ==================================================================== By Kurt Aschermann Jr. | Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 03:32 AM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Eagles making case for Georgia’s finest ever With each strong finish at national tournaments, and as more of its wrestlers climb the individual rankings, Collins Hill stakes its claim as perhaps the finest wrestling team in the state’s history. This past weekend at the Clash National High School Duals in Minnesota, the Eagles went 4-2 against some of the nation’s finest teams. Blue-chippers Taylor Knapp (Amateur Wrestling News’ No. 8 152-pounder)] and Joel Smith (Wrestling USA Magazine’s No. 22 junior at 135 pounds) both went 6-0 in Minnesota.

I doubt anyone reading that article had "dry" eyes.....a wonderfully written article.

Thanks for the info.....I've wondered about Sprint.....I know the deals they're offering are great. How is their cust. service? Verizon has been touted in the industry in the past to have the best..... but I have heard differently in some cases. I always had great CSR w/Cingular and kinda was spoiled. Sorry, I've departed from the thread topic .......

Don't know this kid....but, negative input can be the fuel that ignites a much stronger force/will in someone. Kids transfer all the time ....for whatever the reason. Jodie Meeks, UK, player that just scored 54 pts. transferred into Norcross HS (GA) b/c of their successful BB program. Also, other names you might recognize, A-F Aminu now at Wake, Gani Lawal at GT.....were transfers to Norcross too. It's not only the boys...girls transfer also. As long as the requirements are met, parents and kids have made this decision together and life continues.

Do you mean Bradford (Okla)....b/c the AJC is NOT reporting that at all.

Thanks for affirming (what is in bold) what many of us believe about this young man. Speaking of AT&T....since they've taken over Cingular, I don't think their service (not CSR) but phone reliability is as top notch as it was....any input Lance.

My understanding of the article, he was not being literal in saying he was Jesus.....he was talking about sharing the message of the gospel as Jesus did....we, all at times, don't convey our words to perfect understanding.....this message board can be a prime example....and I count myself among those. lol

The Tebows' faith including Tim's in the following excerpt: "The illness required Tebow to take a series of aggressive antibiotics that she discontinued the day she discovered her pregnancy. But because her doctors thought the antibiotics had caused irreversible damage to the newly formed fetus, they advised Tebow to “discontinue†the pregnancy. She refused, believing that God would sustain her child’s life." “I was not about to have an abortion,†Tebow says. “They said it was just a mass of fetal tissue, but we knew better.†See rest of article in following link: http://charismamag.com/articles/index.php/17874

Rapture....is a translation of the latin word rapturo/raeptius.....which is a translation of the greek word harpazo ......"caught up" used by Paul in 1 Thess 4:17. Jerome's latin Vulgate text (a translation of the Hebrew OT and Greek NT) in the early 400's was the main Bible of the medieval western church until the Reformation. It continues to this day as the primary latin translation of the Roman Catholic Church. The word rapture is not found in the King James Bible but the words "caught up" used in above referenced scripture ....come from a latin word ...translated from a Koine Greek word ....harpazo (snatched up, taken away, to seize).

Saw the Pink Floyd Division Bell World Tour in Bobby Dodd Stadium at GA Tech in 1994. "Money" was the crowd favorite....and the acoustics were GREAT. The huge tower speakers had big pigs on top of them. (53 trucks were used to transport the equipment) To "fess up" I wasn't a big PF fan....I went w/spouse and co-workers. Found the following excerpt about the tour: "Division Bell" tour was one of the first occasions where the Turbosound Flashlight system was used on a full-scale stadium production, on this occasion delivering no less than 232,000 Watts of unbridled music power. Rarely does a rock'n'roll show garner praise for its sonic fidelity in the general press, but throughout the tour, newspapers the world over raved about the "perfect quadraphonic sound system". One reporter, Michael Norman of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, was moved to write: "No rock band can match Pink Floyd when it comes to making a stadium show come off sounding as if it's being held in your living room." Pls. continue w/your Ipod shuffling.......

Eric Berry is a GA native from Fairburn (Creekside HS)......so most ppl from the state of GA are proud of his football prowess at TN.

Georgia's projected QB next season is Joe Cox....a backup behind Stafford. See following on Cox coming out of high school: School: Independence, coached by Bill Guiler...2004 Parade Magazine All-America Team SuperPrep All-MidAtlantic Team...2004 Associated Press Prep Football Player of the Year for NC...NC Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004...Featured in Feb. 21, 2005, Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” for being the Old Spice Red Zone National High School Player of the Year...AP First-Team All-State and two-time Charlotte Observer Offensive Player of the Year...Played in Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas...31-0 record as starting QB and two-time team captain...NC state record 66 TD passes while leading his team to its fifth consecutive state championship his senior year...Twice named the MVP of the state title game...As a senior completed 240-of-363 passes for 4,509 yards and just five INTs...As a junior threw for 3,983 yards and 43 TDs...No. 7 QB in the country by Rivals.com and ESPN’s Tom Lemming...PrepNation 101 All-American Team, Sun-Sentinel All-Southern Team...2004 NCPreps.com All-State, NC Red Zone Player of the Year for leadership and academics. He also played high school ball with a WR Mohammed Massaquoi that went to UGA too. Chris Leake was also a QB at Independence in Charlotte and he (Cox) broke Leake's record GA also has a QB recruit, Aaron Murray that graduated this past month from Plant High School in FL and will be enrolling in Jan. at Athens. Murray lead his HS to the state championship this season after breaking his leg earlier in the season and unbelievably coming back and leading his team to victory. Murray just played in the East West U.S. Army game and was also named MVP at the Elite 11 in Southern CA in July which featured the top QB's in the nation. Not only is Murray committed to UGA....another elite 11 QB participant is also committed to the Dawgs....Zach Mettenberger from Watkinsville GA has verbally committed to GA and will be an early enrollee in January too.

More on the Smoltz happenings............ Frustrated’ Chipper questions Braves’ dealings with Smoltz Third baseman says Smoltz was upset when they spoke on phone Wednesday The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, January 08, 2009 Chipper Jones took the news of John Smoltz’s departure extremely hard, both in a conversation with Smoltz on the telephone Wednesday evening and in conversations with AJC reporters on Thursday. Q. How did you take all this? A. I am disappointed. Very disappointed. Deflated. Frustrated. It’s been a very long offseason, not a lot of stuff to really get excited about and then to have this it just is the icing on the cake for me. Q. You understand why Smoltz decided to sign with Boston? A. I get it. Ultimately, it’s Smoltzy’s decision to go. But I don’t think anybody is blaming him. The money is significantly different. He doesn’t feel like the Braves are giving him the same respect that the Red Sox are … I’m under the impression they basically told him be ready for June. My whole thing is John Smoltz has earned the right and earned the respect of everybody here to if he wants to come back and pitch and says he is healthy enough, he deserves that opportunity. And you do whatever it takes to get it done. We’ve made so many gambles on players that haven’t panned out over the past few years and if there was one guy in that clubhouse that I’m going to gamble a couple of million dollars on, it’s going to be that guy. If he says he can do it, I believe him.†Q. Fans are questioning why the Braves didn’t offer Smoltz more money when this is an offseason when the Braves have said they had money to spend. Do you agree? A. For Smoltzy! That’s what I don’t understand. That’s what’s frustrating. I’m trying to be as diplomatic and as upbeat as I can possibly be and it is being made very hard on me to be that way. John Smoltz has been one of the faces of this franchise for 20 years. There’s no reason for him at 41 years old to be playing anywhere but here. Q. How was he when you talked to him last night? A. He was upset, as well he should be. You can liken it to a breakup. This organization is all we have ever known. We all have these dreams of playing our last game in this uniform and it goes back to what I’ve said all along. Every dog has his day. And everybody’s got that day that’s coming when a shot of reality sets in. The business of baseball goes on, and no matter how loyal you are as a player, no matter how much you sacrificed as a player for a particular organization, there comes a time when that organization wants to go a different direction. And that time is now for Smoltzy, and I would imagine that my time is not too far off in the distant future. Q. How was the conversation? A.He went through the whole scenario with me. The underlying tone was extreme disappointment — and from my end it was shock. I could see anyone one else going somewhere before John Smoltz. … After everything that’s happened to this organization this winter, the players and the fans need something good to happen. I’ve been keeping up with the news. I’ve been reading the blogs. The one silver lining we had was John Smoltz being back in the lineup this year. We could have had that dominant guy back in the lineup. But we won’t — and for what, a couple of million dollars? Q. You worried now about how things might end with you? A. I don’t know how it’s going to end with me. This is my last year under contract with Atlanta. And this last 24 hours certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by me. I haven’t been offered an extension. If we’re 15 games out in July or August, I doubt they’re just going to let me become a free agent and get nothing in return.†Q. So you’re preparing yourself to be traded? A. It’s not beyond the realm of possibilities. Q. Were you expecting the Braves to make you an offer for an extension this winter? A. I was told that it was going to happen by the Braves. Q. Do you think it still might? A. We’ve got over a month until spring training. Yeah, it could certainly happen. I’ve just been chalking it up to the Braves have bigger fish to fry. But it seems like somebody keeps coming along and eating all our fish. Q. For those who say Smoltz’s taken less money to stay with the Braves before, how do you explain why this time is different? A. It’s easy. If the Braves would have handled this right from the beginning and gone ahead and bitten the bullet and offered him a contract, knowing that when John Smoltz sets his mind to it and says he’s coming back and is going to be back at full strength, that the second another team came into this, the Braves should have taken him aside and said ‘What do we have to do to make this work.’ John Smoltz has earned that respect. We’ve all taken less money to stay here, but the fact of the matter is that John Smoltz has nothing else to prove individually. He wants to win. Who has the best chance to win right now? Boston. Q. Hard to take in, isn’t it? A. Never, even in a million years did I think this day would come for John Smoltz. I never did. He was the one guy, I honestly thought that everybody would go somewhere else before John would, just for the simple fact that his family here in Atlanta, the school, all the extracurricular stuff that he does off the field, never thought this would happen. So that ought to tell you how disrespected he feels. Q. Did you have a chance to tell him you’ll miss him, what he’s meant to this organization? A. We were so upset and so shocked that this is happening. We didn’t even really think about what could happen, that we’d be facing each other, that he could be pitching at the Ted for Boston, that we could be facing him in Fenway Park. We didn’t even allow ourselves to think about that kind of stuff. We’re so shocked that this is actually taking place and that he’s moving on and playing for a different team. I wished him good luck. It’s like losing a brother. We’ve been to war with each other for the last 17 years. Now that’s not going to happen anymore. It’s very upsetting. Q. Does this send the wrong message to players and fans? A. This can only hurt.

I'm in shock..... http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2009/01/08/jolting_news_ab.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab Above link not working.....AJC removes storylines all the time and the links become unavailable....sorry folks. I hate to post the whole article but no recourse..... following is an update on the story. Updated: 4:12 p.m. January 08, 2009 Atlanta Braves Smoltz, Braves dispute contract offer Team says offer was comparable, pitcher says there were ‘large discrepancies’ between offers By DAVID O'BRIEN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, January 08, 2009 Say it ain’t so, Smoltzy. John Smoltz’s career with the Braves is ending. The iconic Atlanta pitcher, who’s recovering from June shoulder surgery, has agreed to a contract to pitch for the Boston Red Sox and will likely inform the Braves of his decision today, a person familiar with the situation confirmed. Smoltz, a free agent, will get a one-year $5.5 million guaranteed contract from the Red Sox, with additional incentives worth up to $5 million. The Braves offered a $2.5 million guarantee and multiple incentives that could have pushed it to just above $10 million if Smoltz had stayed healthy all season. “I have always loved the city of Atlanta, and it will always be my home,” Smoltz said in a statement Thursday. “I will cherish my 21 years with Bobby Cox and all my Braves’ teammates. I continue to wish the Atlanta Braves nothing but success in the future.” Braves general manager Frank Wren declined to comment Thursday morning. Smoltz, who will be 42 in May, has spent his entire 21-year major league career with the Braves, pitching in over 700 games and recording 210 wins and 154 saves — the only pitcher in history to win at least 200 games and save at least 150. Smoltz, who contacted Braves players Wednesday night to inform them of his decision, has said many times in the past year that he wanted to finish his career with the Braves. However, the team had not offered a major league contract to Smoltz that was anywhere near the amount that the Red Sox have reportedly guaranteed him. The Braves were expected to go no higher than $3 million guaranteed, regardless of other offers he got. “John is a great guy. He follows his own head, and I just don’t know what’s going on with him right now,” Braves Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk said today. “We’ve offered less of a guarantee, but we’ve offered a substantial guarantee. Coming off an injury like this, we feel like it’s the right thing that we should be doing (in regards to our offer). “We’ve offered him a package that would get him in the $10 million range, if he were to pitch a full season and pitch well. For him to walk away from that and to go to another place, I’m just shocked and surprised. “I read today in something that his agent said the other set of incentives (from the Red Sox) were “more attainable.” If John Smoltz pitches like John Smoltz pitches, I think (what we offered) is attainable. If he’s not healthy, it’s not going to happen.” According to a person familiar with the situation, Smoltz would have been required to pitch 200 innings next season to reach the maximum incentives in the Braves’ offer. Incentives in the Red Sox proposal are more easily attainable. “I was going to withhold comment until the announcement of my signing with a new team, but I now feel the need to clear up any misconceptions and inaccuracies about the contract negotiations between myself and the Atlanta Braves,” Smoltz added in his statement. “There were large discrepancies between the offer from the Braves and offers from other teams.” Smoltz made $14 million last season and had a 2.00 ERA in five starts before throbbing pain in his shoulder forced him to the disabled list. He tried to come back as a closer, but after one painful appearance he went back to the DL and announced he would have shoulder surgery. The procedure on his rotator cuff and labrum was considered career-threatening, and wear and tear to Smoltz’s labrum was extensive. But the stalwart pitcher, who’d already come back from four career elbow surgeries, came back from this one quicker than expected. Smoltz was back throwing off a mound the first week of December, greatly impressing observers including Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell. Still, Braves general manager Frank Wren wanted to wait longer before committing to a 2009 contract for Smoltz. The pitcher, who has declined interview requests most of the winter, apparently tired of waiting for the Braves to increase their offer and found the Red Sox proposal too good to pass up. At least six teams were known to have expressed interest in Smoltz, even though he might not be ready to pitch until May. He will join a deep and talented Boston rotation, and the Red Sox hope the winningest postseason pitcher in history will be ready to help them in the second half and the playoffs. Meanwhile, in what’s already been a troublesome offseason for the Braves, they could now take the biggest public-relations hit in recent years. Smoltz is a hugely popular figure in Atlanta, one of the city’s all-time favorite athletes. He turned down more money to remain with the Braves in the past. Now, it appears he’s leaving in part because Atlanta, the only team he ever pitched for in the majors, wasn’t ready or willing to offer anything close to the guaranteed money offered by a team with no previous connection to Smoltz.

My in-laws live in Madison WI.....if you want harsh weather....they've got it. For the past month.....MAJOR snow (a record)....wind chills and actual temps BELOW zero and icy streets the other day that sent 177 to the 3 hospitals with related injuries from falls. Of course, they take it all in stride....they consider the 30's a "spring day". Was up there first of Oct. and we traveled up to Door Co. above Green Bay......and I wore a jacket with a down vest not being acclimated to that "early" chilly weather. As for the rain.....we, in GA welcome it b/c of the drought. We got over 3 inches two nights ago that raised Lake Lanier by 1 ft (source for ATL water supply) ....but still 14 ft. below norm. ....we're thankful for it.

"Smithsonian scientist retaliated against because he allowed publication of an article favoring the theory of intelligent design in a biology journal" for more on the article see below: http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/12/the_house_government_reform_su.html

The following site is "chocked full" of science and intelligent design articles .....not being an overly science leaning person....it is still a very interesting site ...especially when it validates my faith. http://www.creationsafaris.com/crev200812.htm#amazing546 Water, Water Everywhere 12/21/2008 Dec 21, 2008 — A press release from the Max Planck Institute says that water has been detected at a distant quasar 11.1 billion light-years away – the farthest detection of water yet. “The water vapour is thought to exist in clouds of dust and gas that feed the supermassive black hole at the centre of the distant quasar,†the press release said. Because of gravitational lensing by a foreground mass, the team was able to make “this remarkable discovery.†A co-author of the paper explained what this means: “This suggests that the water molecule may have been much more abundant in the early Universe than first thought, and can be used for further research into supermassive black holes and galaxy evolution at high redshift.†This gives new meaning to the preamble in Psalm 148:1-5, “Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! ... Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created.â€

....adding more fuel to the fire......Dick and Jane are not the cause....sunspots are the culprits.... http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=315533893763712

Remembering Korey in my prayers....let us know how he is doing.