How do you guys feel about the death penalty ban in NJ?

I am definitely against the death penalty for many reasons.  Unfortunately, I'm at work so I'll have to keep this short and simple.

I know, I know, there are truly horrific murderers and rapists who "deserve" to die.  But our system is not perfect; there will always be those who are wrongly convicted.  What of those who are innocent?  Life without parole gives them a chance to prove their innocence with new evidence and emerging technology.  For example, recent DNA tests have freed many of those who were once wrongly convicted. 

Is it worth it, to rid society of murderers and rapists - by murdering innocent people ourselves? 

"DeFazio served on a 13-member commission that issued a 100-page report
in January recommending that the death penalty be repealed. The group,
which also included police chiefs, acknowledged that "despite our very
best intentions, the system makes mistakes and innocent people are
wrongfully sentenced to death." Months before the commission report, a
man who spent seven years on death row for a killing was cleared by DNA
testing."

More here.

Everything
that goes into Frank Pringle’s recycling machine—a piece of tire, a
rock, a plastic cup—turns to oil and natural gas seconds later.

The machine is a microwave emitter that extracts the petroleum and gas
hidden inside everyday objects—or at least anything made with
hydrocarbons, which, it turns out, is most of what’s around you. Every
hour, the first commercial version will turn 10 tons of auto
waste—tires, plastic, vinyl—into enough natural gas to produce 17
million BTUs of energy (it will use 956,000 of those BTUs to keep
itself running).

More here... from Popular Science

"I don't pay much attention to one year ... but this year the change is
so big, particularly in the Arctic sea ice, that you've got to stop and
say, 'What is going on here?' You can't look away from what's happening
here," said Waleed Abdalati, NASA's chief of cyrospheric sciences.
"This is going to be a watershed year."

This week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist
Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly
ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous
predictions."

So scientists in recent days have been asking
themselves these questions: Was the record melt seen all over the
Arctic in 2007 a blip amid relentless and steady warming? Or has
everything sped up to a new climate cycle that goes beyond the worst
case scenarios presented by computer models?

"The Arctic is
often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming," said
Zwally, who as a teenager hauled coal. "Now as a sign of climate
warming, the canary has died. It is time to start getting out of the
coal mines."

It is the burning of coal, oil and other fossil
fuels that produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases,
responsible for man-made global warming. For the past several days,
government diplomats have been debating in Bali, Indonesia, the
outlines of a new climate treaty calling for tougher limits on these
gases.

What happens in the Arctic has implications for the rest
of the world. Faster melting there means eventual sea level rise and
more immediate changes in winter weather because of less sea ice.

Article located here.
 

"The lives of these young people would be much easier, adult
nonbelievers say, if they learned at an early age how to respond to the
God-fearing majority in the U.S. "It's important for kids not to look
weird," says Peter Bishop, who leads the preteen class at the Humanist
center in Palo Alto. Others say the weekly instruction supports their
position that it's O.K. to not believe in God [emphasis added] and gives them a place to
reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have."

"Kneisley, 26, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, says
she realized Damian needed to learn about secularism after a neighbor
showed him the Bible. "Damian was quite certain this guy was right and
was telling him this amazing truth that I had never shared," says
Kneisley. In most ways a traditional sleep-away camp--her son loved canoing--Camp Quest also taught Damian critical thinking, world
religions and tales of famous freethinkers (an umbrella term for
atheists, agnostics and other rationalists) like the black abolitionist
Frederick Douglass.

The Palo Alto Sunday family program uses music, art and discussion to
encourage personal expression, intellectual curiosity and
collaboration."

More about the program here:

I was sitting in my Miata, stuck in neck-to-neck traffic this morning, when I saw a motorcycle zoom right past me.  My initial feeling was jealousy - I wish I could zoom through traffic like that.  My next thought was consoling - I know I'll ride soon... someday. 

Then I realized that time was ticking. 

I can't always ride.  I will be forced to sell my bike on the day I find out I'm pregnant. From that moment on, it won't be about me and my need/desire for freedom or my love for speed - it will be about providing security for the baby. 

To be honest, one of the main reasons why I haven't been riding is because I'm afraid that I can't handle a bike.  I'm under 5 ft tall, so it's very difficult for me to handle a bike. I can't reach the floor and the bike is much too heavy for me.  I dropped my bike soo many times in my motorcycle class that the instructor yelled at me to "STOP DROPPING THAT BIKE!" [For those of you unfamiliar with bikes, dropping a bike is akin to crashing a car.  ] I scraped up my hands and knees.  I embarrassed myself greatly.   And most of all, I disappointed myself.  I think that I, alone, dropped it as many times as the rest of the entire class did that day...

I remember crying that night, and telling my then-boyfriend that I didn't want to go to class the next day... I didn't want to drop the bike again, I didn't want to fail the upcoming motorcycle [riding] test.

He encouraged me, and told me that it'd be okay.  He asked me why I chose to take the class in the first place, and reminded me of my passion for speed and love of freedom.  Riding fits in with my goals in life - to learn as many things and to experience as many things as I can.  And, what if I end up in a foreign country where I need to ride?  I don't plan to stay in the US, where life is always so easy; where automatics and ambulances are readily available.

I needed to learn.

And so I did.  I passed my motorcycle test, and missed only two points.

So, next year, I will sell my Miata and buy a Ninja.   I'll lower it, so that it'll be easier for me to handle.

I'll ride until I get pregnant, and then I will ride no more.

I will be heading to China January 25, 2008 and returning Sunday, February 3rd, 2008.  I will visit Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and maybe even Hainan Dao....

I left GZ last March... and I miss it sooo much.  My time there is so short that... I don't really want to travel that much.  I just want to stay there and visit all my relatives, King & Wood (old law firm) and some of my old haunts...  (food stalls, restaurants, baiyun park, etc).  But HK and Macau are cool places to go...

Oh, Guangzhou, how I have missed you!!!

I can't wait!!  I'm really exciting about my cousins wedding... but even more excited about the FOOD!!

Random Snack Foods.... MMMM....*DROOLS*
HMMM... usually, I walk around with AT LEAST two in each hand.
hehehehehe.

Portuguese Egg Tarts!!!

After you watch the below, perhaps you might in interested in "cycling" $25 to Kiva.Org.

"Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses
in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can
"sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great
strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the
loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from
the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan
money back."

Personally, I love the idea of Kiva and other microfinance
organizations because it gives the poor a chance to better themselves
through the simple input of "borrowed" money.  Microfinance applies
basic financial and social rules to offer the poor a gift of credit. 
The problem with free money is that it eliminates the incentive for
individual achievement, but your Kiva gift provides opportunity - which encourages achievement. 

I know, Kiva's not perfect.  It doesn't help the poorest of the poor - those with no collateral, no "starting" funds.  But it is defintely a step in the right direction.  We'll get there.

My Birthday/Christmas Gift Wish List is short:
1. Kiva.Org - Sponsor a business.  Change someone's life. Cycle that money again.

That is the best gift you can offer me.

Thank you.

If you had to choose one TEDTalk to watch, I suggest you watch this one:

"Echoing the catchphrase, Acumen Fund founder Jacqueline Novogratz
asks, "How do you make poverty history?" She draws on her experiences
financing businesses in Rwanda (microcredit), Tanzania (bed nets) and
India (drip irrigation), to support her conviction that "People don't
want handouts: They want to make their own decisions, to solve their
own problems." Traditional aid doesn't fit into this worldview.
Novogratz advocates building viable systems with people on the ground
to deliver critical and affordable goods and services to the poor, in
ways that are financially sustainable and scalable."

I like this quote:

"Don't impose on us the dirty work of happiness. We don't care about
being happy. We need to live with passion, we likes the ups and downs
of life, we like our suffering because it is so good when it ceases for a
while."

That's not what his TED Talk is about - in fact, he mocks it.  But I find that the quote aligns with my thoughts exactly. Life shouldn't be a struggle, a strive for happiness - it should be acceptance of the ups and downs of life.

For those of you who are adventurous AND planners, here's a website that will help you plan an entire day of activities and estimate your costs: http://www.planjam.com

It's definitely still a work-in-progress, and I think it'd be better if they collaborated with yelp.com or something to get more "activities" in.  But so far, so good.