Do you know your F P B's?

Top Reasons Why Dressage Arenas Are Lettered the Way They Are:

* After riding 500 20m circles in rapid succession, who can remember the alphabet?

* The letters are consecutive and in alphabetical order, in a now extinct language spoken only by early 18th century Hanoverian carriage horses.

* The very first dressage arena was designed by the lowest-bid contractor.

* The letters were originally laid out by beleaguered riding pupils to facilitate pranks on their instructors, in which the pupils would pretend to be schooling various movements and figures while actually spelling out slanderous curses, in German, against their cruel and heartless instructors, their diabolical horses, and whatever silly person invented this dressage thing in the first place.

* The letters are actually advertising billboards paid for by Sesame Street (This piaffe-passage transition was brought to you by the letter G!).

* Well, the letters are supposed to be in alphabetical order, but somebody's Trakehner keeps getting out at night and rearranging them.

* The other letters in the alphabet are there all right, they're just invisible--what do you think your horse has been spooking at all these years?

* What, you mean they're NOT in alphabetical order? Hey, that would explain why nobody else seems to understand how I've organized the office files...

hairball

I brushed both cats today, and that ball was part of the result. I know it doesn't look like much, but its so dense that it actually bounces. Oh... and it totally grosses Joe out.

Te he.

I torture my cat

Happy Easter!

you can almost see the stress in the air

As the school semester comes to an end, I think I may die of stress. Sleeping is only happening with the assistance of drugs. Without them, I wouldn't sleep and would really be worthless all day.

I'm working on trying to get everything together for finals. I have some finals that are "true" finals without outlines available, others where outlines are permitted during the final, one take home final, one HUGE paper and one that the professor has yet to decide what hes going to do... and they start next Friday.

I have to get information from my new employer to apply for my 711 license, and I can see myself just forgetting that all together until I get there. Yup... I see that one happening.

I'm attempting to apply for classes for next semester. My school email went into my work email which then caused me to not know about the applications for TWO classes that I need. GREAT. So Now I will spend a good chunk of my time begging and pleading with the secretary Gods to eventually let me into class. One of my other classes that I'm trying to get into also doesn't even have a number. GREAT. Because I needed this extra little thing right now.

I'm trying to sell a horse, that's in California, to someone here in Illinois... nuff said on that one. Blah.

I'm playing "hide the kittens" with my landlord. They keep calling me and telling me (without anywhere near 24 hours of notice) that they are going to show my apartment. Though they know we have two dogs, they are unaware of the rest of the sardines in the can... which causes us to play "we have no cats" for 30 mins each time they come to show the apartment. Its a big huge ordeal that often invloves friends, crates, benedryl, angry cats, cars and lots of sneeking. I'll be glad when this is over. Shouldn't take too long, its a great place... but I'll be damned if they think they are going to show it while I've got finals going on.

My Graduate Assistantship is coming to an end... for this year... and I'm still without a contract or job description for next year. I'll just sit here... holding my loan application for next year... not knowing whether I'm going to owe nothing or 30k more... and just stress myself to death. Thanks NIU.... thanks for that one. Needed it.

I need a vacation.

Ouch!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYV1aBDH7cA

comments??

Broccoli Cat Broccoli Cat....

Rishta is a different cat. No, I'm not talking about the fact that she'll jump head first into the fridge for no apparent reason. Nor am I talking about how she'll squeak and groan if you move her form a comfortable spot. I'm talking about the fact that she goes completely bonkers for veggies. She'll jump out of her skin for a red pepper, and will go after the other animals if she's got her coveted broccoli stalk. Watch the video... its ridiculous.

our first trot

We're on our way

Yea

new hair (same ol' black eye)

What do you think?

Square format digital photo frame project

Construction Procedure

Before starting, be sure to read the entire procedure just in case you have any problems. It is better to pre-empt problems before they occur rather than at the final step.

Step 1

Here's how our trusty frame started life. It came with 2 removable frames made from craftwood, one stained brown and the other black (note that these removable frames are 4:3 aspect NOT square although it may appear so in the image above). Notice the IR receiver eye visible at the bottom of the frame (a pet peeve of mine and visible on most digital frames I've seen). I think we can do better. In this tutorial we are using a Digital Decor 8" 4:3 frame.

Step 2

I've chosen a digital frame with a removable frame surround which is ideal for this modification. We start simply by removing the existing frame.

Step 3

This frame has a "step" around the outside which will prove helpful when it comes to fixing it to a new frame. The green dotted line shows the size of the hole we will need to cut into the backboard of the new frame in order to slot it in. The lower step will be the area that is eventually glued to the backboard with silicone. The step also ensures that we can fit the LCD panel close to the matteboard so that there is very little gap between the matteboard and the LCD surface (approx 2mm).

Note the IR Remote Receiver at the bottom of the screen, this will be covered by the matteboard but should still work with a reduced range (but a nicer appearance). Its an interesting side note that the IR remote will work through 2mm of cardboard.

Step 4

Here we see the new frame, purchased from Ikea. I've chosen this frame as it has a solid wooden frame with deep edges (35mm deep) to contain most of the LCD panel without sticking out too far from the wall when mounted. The matteboard cutout section is exactly 120mm x 120mm and fits the LCD display area with only about 1mm to spare so its important that your measurements are fairly exact when undertaking this modification.

Since the cutout is square and our LCD panel is rectangular (4:3 aspect) part of the left and right hand sides of the screen will be covered by the matteboard and therefore not visible. Using this 800x600 panel as an example, we are left with 600x600 pixels viewable. However, what we lose in horizontal screen size we make up for in originality and appearance. When was the last time your saw a square format digital frame for sale in a store?

Step 5

Turn the frame over and lift the metal lugs to remove the backboard. Here I've placed the LCD panel into the frame to test the overall fit and approximate position. Turn the frame over whilst holding the LCD in place to get an idea how your LCD looks in relation to matteboard. If you are using the exact same 8 inch "Digital Decor" frame as this one it should fit just nicely, however if you are using another model you may need to have a new matteboard cut to size if the cutout isn't quite small enough.

If you are choosing a different digital frame, ensure that the vertical height of the LCD screen is no less than 120mm otherwise you will need a custom matteboard to be cut. Additionally, you don't really want the height to be much more than 120mm or else you will be wasting vertical pixels and the unit itself may not fit the new frame. Remember that you will still need to be able to insert at least some form of storage card and power cable into the unit so ensure that everything fits before going to far with this modification.

Step 6

Remove the matteboard from the frame and place it down directly over the top of the frame's backboard. Ensure that the backboard is smooth side up. The matteboard should sit as flush as possible with the backboard on all sides.

Step 7

Using a pen or pencil, mark the location of the 4 corners of the cutout onto the backboard as indicated by the arrows. Try to be as accurate as possible but take care not to mark the matteboard itself.

Step 8

Remove the matteboard and use a ruler and pen to connect the 4 marks you made in the previous step. You should be left with a square 120mm x 120mm. If you are using a digital frame other than the one mentioned here you can then use this square as a starting point for measuring out the section you will need to cut. Since its not possible for me to be aware of the exact frame you will be using, you will need to use your own method for deciding where to cut in this case. You will however need to measure the edges of the digital frame itself and decide the distance to extend the cut from the square section and mark those measurements on the backboard ready for cutting.

Step 9

For those of you using the exact same digital frame as in this tutorial I have included the measurements required to cut the backboard. The outer green rectangle denotes the area to be cut and removed. I strongly suggest you double check these measurements against those of your own digital frame in the likely event that the sizing is somewhat different. Keep in mind that there may also be some small variations in the production of the Ikea frame itself which may lead to the backboard and/or frame being not quite square. Note the placement of the small notch to be cut so the IR remote signal can be detected by the receiver. Whilst the signal will go through cardboard, it wont go through the backboard itself without the hole.

Step 10

Drill a pilot hole in each corner of the outer cut guides. The hole should be large enough to fit the jigsaw or coping saw blade. The backboard material is fairly flimsy and will flake easily on the opposite side but this can be removed later with a light sanding. You may also wish to use a larger drill bit to cut out the hole for the IR receiver, or you can simply use your saw.

Step 11

Working on the edge of a bench, insert your electric jigsaw or coping saw into the pilot hole and proceed to cut out the marked area. This image shows only one pilot hole, but its best to have a hole at each corner to make it easier.

Step 12

Give the inner edges of the cutout a sand to remove any rough edges. The board splinters very easily but only takes a light sand to smooth. You may wish to give the backboard a vacuum or perhaps even seal the rough side with varnish as the dust from the board can end up inside the completed frame quite easily.

Step 13

Remove the LCD panel and insert the matteboard and modified backboard back into the frame and lock the board in place with the metal lugs. Then run a bead of silicone around the perimeter of the cutout, leaving a break at the IR remote hole. The digital frame used in this tutorial has a stepped edged that is about twice as deep as the thickness of the backboard, so in this case I used a double height bead of silicone, applying first one layer and then another layer on top of the first bead (don't let either bead set). This ensures that the silicone makes a good contact with the digital frame once it is inserted into the cutout hole. The overhang of this particular digital frame is less than 10mm so be careful not to apply the silicone too far from the inner edge.

Step 14

Almost finished. After applying the silicone beading, insert the digital frame into the cutout section taking care to line it up carefully before pushing down with a slight pressure. Be careful not to get any silicone on the actual LCD panel itself. Remember that you are pushing onto glass so don't press too hard. You may wish to turn the frame over at this stage whilst holding the unit in place just to check that everything has lined up correctly.The silicone beading should push out a little from the edges of the digital frame if its making good contact. If this is not the case you may need to remove the the unit and apply some extra silicone.

Once your frame is complete you will likely want to mount it on a wall rather than storing it in a drawer. You can see from the angled image above that the modified frame does not extend much more from the wall than it usually would if it had a still image inside. If you are wall mounting the frame you may also want to hide the unsightly power cable from view. If you have a timber framed home with a cavity in the walls the cable can be hidden within in the wall cavity with the aid of an electrician who should be able to advise you as to the best and safest method to do this. I would very much like to describe the technique here as the procedure is quite easy however due to dangerous voltages being involved I think its best if you contact an expert rather than have this tutorial subjected to legal issues.

DO NOT ATTEMPT ELECTRICAL WORK YOURSELF IF NOT QUALIFIED
TOUCHING LIVE WIRES MAY CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH.

a reply to the lawyer/cop conversation:

a friend of mine, who is also a police officer, really wanted to reply to the conversation that was had between me and [redacted] the Chicago Officer/Law Student. As a police officer its not good for him to tie his name to everything, so I told him I would post his comments here anonymously.

[redacted]: I would make several important points...
1) One Police Officer is the same as one human being, he does not necessarily represent anyone but him or herself.

2) We must be very careful with semantics. In law, many times people in debate and controversy get lost in semantics. For example...Communication is 99% of a Police Officer's job. If you consider what previous people stated, and many people agree with, 100% of people lie (not necessarily 100% of the time).. that makes an officer's job difficult and takes a toll on their morale. An officer will do his best to analyze a situation, but after analyzing 100 situations similar, it's hard not to assume (as is human nature).
This is not to defend an officer who is "lying" in his report. But.. I do believe that there is a significant difference between "lying" and "wording reports intelligently".

3) Courtrooms and lawyers have a tendency to do what is best for who they represent. Many defense attorneys will get their client off on a grammatical or semantic technicality. Officers repeatedly see themselves put in the line of danger (danger, by the way, commonly unimaginable by an average joe citizen, and for very little pay) and then work long hours putting together a case, with a report, an arrest, supporting documentation... in many instances, this work is being completed at 2, 3 or 4am... after 15 hours of work..
And ultimately, for what? To see a lawyer walk into the courtroom for 15 seconds, say a fancy motion, and watch the entire case get dropped. Maybe the case got dropped because a small oversight on behalf of the officer who does NOT have law school, who did his work at 4am after 15 hours of work.. .and who was dealing with a dangerous person and/or situation at the time.

Some consideration and respect needs to be given to the type of work and to the type of working environment that we all expect Police Officers, or rather, human beings working as police officers, to deal with 24/7

And once again, I reiterate point #2...

One mistake or statement by one police officer, COMMONLY makes every COP look bad.. and it's a damn shame for the honest and hard working ones because I can guarantee you that the defense attorney billing $350 per hour,... would not have spent one second in the house with his defendent when the original incident began.. maybe it was a 911 call for a woman being stabbed to death, or maybe it was a neighbor complaint of a man beating his wife with a golf club... Would that defense attorney, judge, or courtroom audience kick the door in at 4am with blood on the walls and screams coming from inside, for $28/ hour?

me: I like what you have to say. Though I think you over estimate lawyers really going for what is good for the person... many states attorneys are just looking for numbers of convictions. As do many Officers. And many people convicted for these crimes do not turn to a private defense lawyer, but the public defender's office which is innodated with claims, and not paid by the client at all.

[redacted]: true
I agree
CPD... especially in some of those "ghettos" or "bad areas"... are inundated with some of the most horrible, heart breaking experiences every 10 minutes on their shift..
It's hard to expect any human being to handle that professionally.. especially when 99% of human beings couldn't be paid enough to work his job.
I'd love to see one of the people who takes the time to write out long and critical statements on these subjects, to TRADE places with the officer, for 2 years.. and actually put their money where their mouth is and attempt to make a difference.

Happy April Fools!

I love Aprils Fools day. I've played pranks on my roommates before and my parents. One year I took tiny little flashing lights from stickers I got at the bar I worked at and placed them in every crevice and drawer and blank space in my freshman year roommate's room. Good think Maryam didn't have epilepsy, and good thing she also has a great sense of humor because we are still friends to this day.
I didn't have time, nor the frame of mind to play a prank on anyone (though I did consider telling my parents that I'm engaged now, but that would have required me going to their house, which I just don't have time for right now). So I thought I would post here some of the funniest cases I have come across in my many law searches. I knew keeping them on a random sheet on my computer would come in handy sometime!
So here they are... in no particular order:

• Schmuck v. United States 489 U.S. 705 (1989)
• United States v. Vampire Nation, 451 F.3d 189 (3d Cir. 2006)
• United States v. 2,116 Boxes of Boned Beef, etc., 726 F.2d 1481
• United States v. One Lucite Ball Containing Lunar Material (One Moon Rock) and One Ten Inch by Fourteen Inch Wooden Plaque, 252 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (S.D. Fla. 2003).
• 7 Fifths Old Grand-Dad Whiskey v. United States, 330 U.S. 828
• Cummer v. Butts, 40 Mich. 322 (Mich. 1879).
• United States ex rel. Mayo v. Satan and his Staff, 54 F.R.D. 282 (W.D.Pa. 1971) (leave to proceed in forma pauperis denied in view of questions of personal jurisdiction over defendants)
• Wiener v. United States, 357 U.S. 349 (1958) - Opinion delivered by Justice Frankfurter
• United States v. Article Consisting of 50,000 Cardboard Boxes More or Less, Each Containing One Pair of Clacker Balls, 413 F. Supp. 1281 (D. Wisc. 1976
• Juicy Whip v. Orange Bang, 185 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
• good ol' Loving v. Virginia for allowed interracial marriages - how can you beat Mr. and Mr. Loving standing up for true love??
• United States v. Bad Marriage, 439 F.3d 534 (9th Cir. 2005).

and finally... what is my favorite one:

• U. S. v. 43 1/2 Gross Rubber Prophylactics Labeled in Part ""Xcello's Prophylactics"", 65 F.Supp. 534, 536 (D.Minn. Feb 11, 1946)

if you have more... feel free to post them in the comments and I'll add them on!!!

Sorry for the break!!

I just wanted to say sorry for the break in writing. I've got about ten things that I want to write on here, and have actually hand written down a few (which I never do).
Its 5:30AM right now and I'm still up and have work at 8:30 tomorr..... today. I've spent a good portion of my night trying to get my back in place. I have no idea what happened to it, but it is NOT my friend and even laying in the "egg" position (picture to come??) didn't help, and it usually does. So I took some nerve drugs, some other herb or something my Mom gave me, and waited a long time. After waiting, I worked on my seminar paper.
For those of you who don't know what a seminar paper is: its a paper for a class that you'r required to take to graduate from law school. It covers your third year writing requirement, jus tlike grade schools have, though this one has very specific sites and footnotes and is around 30 polished pages when you finish. I'm required to finish on the 27th of April. I'm in a decent positon at this point, over 20 pages down on paper and semi polished with OK sites (they have to be done in a very particular way). But I feel like I have a lot to go, and I have a professor tha tis very good at talking about himself and his accomplishments in the Entertainment Law world, but horrid at directing you at writing anything or what should or should not be in this paper, which... did I mention... is my only grade.
God, help me on this one!!!

Bed now.... or does it qualify as a nap??