Americans' Charitable Giving Hits a Record

Americans gave a record amount to charity in 2007, topping $300 billion for the first time, despite mounting economic worries.

Still, there are indications that slowing growth is taking a toll on giving. The 3.9% increase in donations last year was far less than spikes of roughly 10% and 13% in 2004 and 2005, respectively. In addition, researchers revised 2006's giving increase downward to a meager 0.4% from 4.2%.

Americans donated $306.39 billion last year, according to the closely watched annual report from the Giving USA Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization in Glenview, Ill. After adjusting for inflation, donations rose only 1% from the roughly $295 billion donated in 2006.

The report culls data from the Internal Revenue Service and Bureau of Economic Analysis, among other sources. The findings are preliminary estimates and subject to revision.

More at the Wall Street Journal

Accidental fungus leads to promising cancer drug

A drug developed using nanotechnology and a fungus that contaminated a lab experiment may be broadly effective against a range of cancers, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.

The drug, called lodamin, was improved in one of the last experiments overseen by Dr. Judah Folkman, a cancer researcher who died in January. Folkman pioneered the idea of angiogenesis therapy -- starving tumors by preventing them from growing blood supplies.

Lodamin is an angiogenesis inhibitor that Folkman's team has been working to perfect for 20 years. Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, his colleagues say they developed a formulation that works as a pill, without side-effects.

More at Yahoo News

State frees teachers to criticize evolution - Global warming, origins of life, cloning also may be scrutinized

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal this week signed into law the Louisiana Science Education Act, which allows school districts to permit teachers to present evidence, analysis and critique of evolution and other prevalent scientific theories in public school classrooms.

The law came to the governor's desk after overwhelming support in the legislature, including a unanimous vote in the state's Senate and a 93-4 vote in the House.

The act has been criticized by some as an attempt to insert religion into science education and hailed by others as a blow for academic freedom in the face of pressure to ignore flaws in politically correct scientific theories.

Robert Crowther, director of communications for The Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank on science and culture, called the act necessary.

Specifically, the act allows teachers in the state's public schools to present evidence both for and against Darwinian theories of evolution and allows local school boards to approve supplemental materials that may open critical discussions of evolution, the origins of life, global warming, human cloning and other scientific theories.

More from WorldNetDaily

Magnetic stimulation blocks migraine pain

A hand-held device that painlessly sends a magnetic pulse into the head may offer some migraine sufferers relief, a small study suggests.

The device delivers a therapy known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. It sparks a magnetic pulse that, when held against a person's head, creates an electric current among the nerves cells of the brain.

This, in turn, disrupts migraines in the "aura" phase, before they trigger pain.

Though migraines strike without warning in most cases, some people experience an aura stage, which is marked by visual disturbances, like flashes of light or zigzag lines, or other sensations such as tingling or numbness.

For the new study, researchers recruited 201 patients suffering from migraine with aura, then randomly assigned them to use the TMS device or a "sham" device the investigators used for comparison. Patients were instructed to apply the device over the site of the migraine, at its onset.

More from Reuters

It's Offical - The Critics are going CRAZY over Wall-E

The site Rotten Tomatoes sets up its ratings on how many critics nationwide like or dislike a film. If it gets a 60 it gets a ripe tomato, and that's a good thing, because less than 60 gets you a rotten tomato. As of the time I'm posting to this blog, Wall-E has a 97, one of the highest ratings any film has ever gotten. And just wait till you read some of the reviews. Remember, this is a PIXAR film, that is fine and safe for the whole family.

The Reviews at ROTTEN TOMATOES

14 Simple Ways to Super Charge Your Brain

Have you ever felt exasperated when you bumped into someone at the store but absolutely couldn't remember their name? Sure, it happens to all of us.

Despite being the strongest computer on the planet, our brains do lapse. It's hard to blame them really. As humans, we spend much of or existence stuffing our brains with stuff. Some stuff is worthless, some of it's meaningful, some of it, well, it's just stuff and there is an endless amount of it.

No matter how powerful our brains are, they need recuperation time, to be kept in shape, and even an occasional charge. Think of it as a tune up for your brain. Skipping brain maintenance is as silly as the person wandering the parking garage because they forgot where they parked. Is that you? Are you that person? Sure. We all are at some point. No worries, there is hope.

Now I am not a brain surgeon and I am not going to suggest you do anything surgical or dangerous. I am however an astute student of human behavior, so I always look for simple ways to super charge my brain.

Here are some things you can begin doing as soon as today to begin the great brain tune up.

From Dumb Little Man

Supreme Court finds individual right to own guns - YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY

For the first time in U.S. history, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that individual Americans have the right to own guns for personal use, and struck down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital.

The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years the country's high court has addressed whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia.

In the majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said the Second Amendment protected an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

More from Reuters

100 mpg? For 'hypermilers,' that sounds about right

After a 29-mile jaunt from his Phoenix office to his home here, Louis Hudgin proclaimed his gas mileage "pitiful."

He averaged just 88.3 miles per gallon.

Most drivers would take a victory lap if they managed to squeeze that kind of mileage out of increasingly precious gasoline. Even on this, a bad day, Hudgin coaxed 28 mpg more out of his 2000 Honda Insight hybrid than its federal highway mpg rating.

Hudgin's disappointment — he usually averages about 100 mpg this time of year — stems from his pride in being no ordinary driver.

He's a hypermiler, part of a loose-knit legion of commuters who've made racking up seemingly unattainable mpg an art. And a sport.

Hypermilers practice such unorthodox techniques as coasting for blocks with their car's engine turned off, driving far below speed limits on the freeway, pumping up tire pressure far beyond car and tire makers' recommendations and carefully manipulating the gas pedal to avoid fuel-burning excess.

More at USA Today

Girl, 3, uses song lyrics to call 911 for mom

A 3-year-old girl used the simple song lyrics "911 green" to call 911 and get help after her pregnant mother fainted. Jessica Eaves, 24, taught her daughter Madelyn the song a week before she fainted due to a medical condition called vasovogal syncope.

When Eaves fainted, Madelyn picked up her mother's BlackBerry phone and pressed 911 and the green button and was connected to a dispatcher.

In the recently released 911 call, Madelyn was able to answer questions about her house and cars outside that led emergency workers to the home.

And this isn't the first time Madelyn has used a phone to call for help for her mother.

Eaves first learned of her condition a year ago and taught her daughter the lyrics "green, green, green."

When Eaves lost consciousness then Madelyn picked up a cell phone and pressed the green button which called the last person Eaves had called and that person called for help.

From Yahoo News

92% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, Pew survey finds

Americans overwhelmingly believe in God and consider religion an important part of their lives, even as many shun weekly worship services, according to a national survey released today that also found great diversity in religious beliefs and practices.

Ninety-two percent of those interviewed for the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said they believe in the existence of God or a universal spirit, and 58% said they pray privately every day. But California, like other states along the country's two coasts, resisted the prevailing national tendencies.

More from the LA Times

Build a Better Car Battery and a HUGE Cash Prize Could Be Yours

In the 18th century the British parliament offered a £20,000 prize to anyone who figured how to solve the problem of calculating longitude. More recently, Netflix offered a million-dollar prize for improving its movie recommendation software. And now Senator John McCain is suggesting a new, national prize: $300 million for anyone who can develop a better, more efficient car battery.

“I further propose we inspire the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars,’’ Mr. McCain said here at California State University, Fresno.

“That’s one dollar, one dollar, for every man, woman and child in the U.S.,’’ he said. “A small price to pay for helping too break the back of our oil dependency, and should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs.’’

He made the proposal as he spoke about improving enforcement of fuel efficiency standards, hastening the conversion of cars to flex-fuel vehicles, and offering tax credits to people who buy zero-emissions cars – stressing issues that are popular in California. (Last week, in Houston, he proposed lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling for oil, which is considerably less popular here.)

More from the New York Times

Scientists find childbirth wonder drug that can 'cure' shyness

It can turn anything from job interviews to the most routine of family gatherings into a sweat-inducing ordeal.

But a 'love drug' produced naturally by the body during sex and childbirth could offer hope to the millions of people blighted by shyness, scientists have said.

Investigators believe oxytocin - a natural hormone that assists childbirth and helps mothers bond with newborn babies - could become a wonder drug for overcoming shyness.

More from This Is London

Jesus in China

Christianity — repressed, marginalized and, in many cases, illegal in China for more than half a century — is sweeping the country, overflowing churches and posing a sensitive challenge to the officially atheist Communist Party. By some estimates Christian churches, most of them underground, now have roughly 70 million members, as many as the party itself. A growing number of those Christians are in fact party members.

Christianity is thriving in part because it offers a moral framework to citizens adrift in an age of Wild West capitalism that has not only exacted a heavy toll in corruption and pollution but also harmed the global image of products "Made in China."

More from The Chicago Tribune

Vitamin D May Help Patients Survive Cancer - New Report Suggests Sunshine Vitamin May Have Significant Cancer Benefits

When Joanna Fuchs was diagnosed with colon cancer last year, a blood test revealed she was severely deficient in vitamin D.

"I was obviously very concerned and very worried," Fuchs said.

So, too, was her husband, Dr. Charles Fuchs of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, who is the senior author of a study published today that found colon cancer patients deficient in vitamin D were almost twice as likely to die over a 10-year period than patients with healthy levels of the nutrient.

"These findings make considerable sense," Dr. Fuchs said, "because in the laboratory we find that vitamin D reduces the growth of colon cancer cells, prevents its spread to other organs, and actually reduces the growth of blood vessels to these tumors."

More from ABC News

Weight loss after gastric bypass controls diabetes

Obesity surgery can cause type 2 diabetes to go into remission, but much depends on how much weight the patient loses within the first few months, a new study suggests.

Gastric bypass surgery for severe obesity has been shown to control type 2 diabetes, a disorder that commonly goes hand-in-hand with obesity. The procedure involves sectioning off a small portion of the stomach, creating a pouch that limits the amount of food a person can eat in one sitting.

The surgeon also adds a bypass that reroutes food past the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine to limit calorie and nutrient absorption.

It's thought that the surgery creates hormonal changes that, in turn, improve diabetes control.

More from Reuters

Idea of Offshore Drilling Seems to Be Spreading

Gov. Charlie Crist stepped on the third rail of Florida politics this week when he abandoned his opposition to drilling offshore for oil and natural gas. But surprise, surprise, he did not die. His call for cautious reconsideration, in fact, is spreading.

In the Capitol and along the coast here minds once closed to offshore drilling have been cracked open by the prospects of safer drilling technology and an awareness that dependency on foreign oil has heavy costs.

“It’s something we need to do because of the bigger picture,” said State Senator Burt L. Saunders, chairman of the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee. “We need more energy independence.”

Governor Crist’s position appears to line up with Senator John McCain’s call for an end to the federal moratorium that prevents coastal drilling. With President Bush now in support, Democrats say the proposal is a gimmick that will blow back against the Republicans.

More from the New York Times

Dale Earnhardt Jr Hypermiles to Victory in NASCAR Racing

Who says racing has nothing to do with fuel economy? Honestly, I was rather shocked to hear about the prominence of hypermiling techniques in racing, especially NASCAR. Perhaps the revolution is hitting home with more people than the news would lead us to believe. Here’s the word direct from Earnhardt and ESPN:

Knowing the race was going to be extended beyond its scheduled 200 laps, Eury told Earnhardt to shut the engine off and coast whenever he could under the caution flag in a desperate effort to save more gas.

For those of you who don’t know already, this technique is oftentimes called “Pulse & Glide,” and is widely used by ecodrivers looking to get better gas mileage. P&G works by making your engine work only when it’s most efficient, and shutting it off at other times.

More from Ecomodder

Coffee drinkers may live longer than non-drinkers

Middle-aged adults who enjoy a few cups of coffee every day apparently have a lower risk of dying from heart disease than people who don't drink coffee, researchers reported Monday.

The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, come from two studies that followed nearly 128,000 U.S. health professionals for more than two decades.

The researchers found that men and women who regularly drank a few cups of coffee each day were slightly less likely to die during the study period -- mainly due to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

More at Revolution Health

What's the big deal about agave?

As Prevention’s nutrition director, Grocery Guru columnist, and the R.D. behind the Flat Belly Diet, I receive a lot of info from food companies about new products hitting store shelves, and I’ve noticed a few trends, particularly in the past six months.

More and more companies are ditching artificial or highly processed ingredients (yay!) and embracing natural ones; and one of the most interesting swaps has been agave in place of sugar. This plant-based sweetener is now an additive in everything from granola to ketchup.

It’s sweeter than sugar, so less is needed in its place (use 1/3 cup of agave syrup for every 1 cup of sugar in recipes). One tsp of syrup contains about 20 calories and can be used in a variety of ways, including in hot or cold beverages (it dissolves in both perfectly), baking, marinades and sauces, and in cold desserts (like sorbet or pudding).

More at Shine

Power User's Guide to Firefox 3

You already know about Firefox 3's marquee new features, but now it's time to dig deep and unearth the shortcuts, tweaks, and even Easter eggs that Mozilla marketing doesn't mention. In honor of today's official release of Firefox 3—at 10AM Pacific Time—let's dive in past Firefox 3's most talked-about feature-set into its lesser-known power uses, tricks, and customizations.

From Lifehacker

8 ways to cut summer energy bills

With summer finally kicking into gear across the country, you can almost hear the gentle hum of air conditioners ratcheting up. And with it climb home energy bills.

These days, the average household spends $1,900 annually on energy (based on electricity and gas usage), according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But much of that is money wasted, energy conservationists say.

The good news: Cutting back doesn't mean you need to be a tree-hugging naturalist, suffering stoically as you read by candlelight. These days, you can do right by the environment and your pocketbook without any major lifestyle sacrifices. In fact, by taking some relatively painless steps, you can cut your bills by one-third or more.

Here are eight easy ways to save this summer (including a few tips that will work year-round).

From MSN

Check out the American Film Institute's Top 10, in 10 different Genres

The show was on CBS last night but check out the website for all the selections, and you can watch clips too.

AFI Website

NY health official: Higher tax helps smokers quit

New York smokers have been sent outside in all kinds of weather, coughed at in disdain, and now they are burdened with the most expensive cigarette taxes in the nation. Now, to add cost to injury, the state is declaring its highest-in-the-nation cigarette tax a success.

The number of calls to the state's Smoker's Quitline quadrupled to nearly 10,000 calls during the week of June 2, when the full $2.75-a-pack tax kicked in, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines said. Fewer than 2,300 people called for help during the same week in 2007.

"Not everyone that tries, quits," Daines said. "We estimate about 140,000 New Yorkers will successfully quit smoking. We may have more than a million try to cut down or stop, but this is how you get people to try: give them multiple chances and multiple reasons to stop."

More from Yahoo News

Honda releases the zero-emission FCX Clarity

Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the gases believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

Honda expects to lease out a "few dozen" units this year and about 200 units within a year. In California, a three-year lease will run $600 a month, which includes maintenance and collision coverage.

"It's so smooth," said Harris, who played villainness Marie Warner on the hit TV show "24." "It's like a future machine, but it's not."

More from the Chicago Tribune

Tired of high gas prices? Ten ways to save.

As the nation's economic woes mount, many Americans plan to stay close to home this summer. Six in 10 Americans say they will spend less on vacations this summer or not take one at all, according to a new report by TrueCredit.com.

Among those rethinking travel plans, 72 percent cited fuel costs as their primary concern. Indeed, a family planning a 1,000-mile road trip, for example, can expect to pay at least $600 more than they did last year.

But paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump shouldn't be an excuse to nix the family vacation. With just a few minor changes, motorists don't have to buy a hybrid to increase fuel economy by up to 50 percent. So before hitting the road, check out these 10 tips to lower your gasoline bill:

From CSM

Conservatives really are nicer people, latest research shows

There is plenty of data that shows that Right-wingers are happier, more generous to charities, less likely to commit suicide - and even hug their children more than those on the Left.

Those surveyed were asked: 'Is it your obligation to care for a seriously injured/ill spouse or parent, or should you give care only if you really want to?' Of those describing themselves as 'conservative', 71 per cent said it was. Only 46 per cent of those on the Left agreed.

To the question: 'Do you get happiness by putting someone else's happiness ahead of your own?', 55 per cent of those who said they were 'very conservative' said Yes, compared with 20 per cent of those who were 'very liberal'.

More from the Mail Online

HERO - Hiker sacrificed self to save wife on Mtn. Rainier

A hiker who lost his life high on Mount Rainier lay down in the snow and used his body's warmth to save his wife and a friend from the 70-mph winds of a freak June blizzard, national park officials say.

When it became obvious the trio of friends could not find their way back to base camp in whiteout conditions, they dug a snow trench with their hands. Then 31-year-old Eduard Burceag lay down on the snow and his wife and a friend lay on top of him. Later, when they begged him to switch places, Burceag refused, saying he was OK.

"In doing so, he probably saved their lives," park spokesman Kevin Bacher said Thursday.

Mariana Burceag, also 31, survived the storm, as did the couple's good friend, Daniel Vlad, 34.

More at AZCentral

New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'

Genepax Co Ltd of Japan explained the technologies used in its new fuel cell system "Water Energy System (WES)," which uses water as a fuel and does not emit CO₂.

The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively, the company said at the press conference, which took place June 12, 2008, at the Osaka Assembly Hall.

The basic power generation mechanism of the new system is similar to that of a normal fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel. According to Genepax, the main feature of the new system is that it uses the company's membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.

Although the production cost is currently about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), it can be reduced to ¥500,000 or lower if Genepax succeeds in mass production. The company believes that its fuel cell system can compete with residential solar cell systems if the cost can be reduced to this level.

From TechOn

Cut your grocery bill in half - No, REALLY!

Nearly $5 for a box of cereal is outrageous - and it's probably only going to get worse. But there's a crop of new online resources that can help take the sticker shock out of food shopping.

The average U.S. household spent $3,240 on groceries last year, according to the American Express Everyday Spending index, and prices have risen substantially since then.

Of course, clipping coupons can help, but it's time consuming and tedious. The good news is that now there are Web sites that can help make saving much easier.

More from CNN

Finally the Goverment does something good. FCC to tackle some high cell phone fees

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission laid out a plan Thursday to regulate the high fees that cellular phone companies charge consumers for canceling their contracts early.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal was similar to an industry plan put forward last month.

Companies charge early termination fees that can range from $150 to $225 to recover the cost of cell phones, which they subsidize under long-term service contracts, according to wireless companies. The fees also defray costs for signing up new customers, companies said.

Martin's plan would require the fees be related to the actual cost of the phones. A fee for a $50 phone would be higher than for a $5 phone, he said.

Martin said such fees should be pro rated, or reduced over the time of the contract. The nation's two largest wireless carriers have both begun pro rating fees with other national carriers promising to follow.

I hope this goes through.

From AP

Land of the Free - Vacations!

Gas at $4 a gallon? A trip around the country can still be a bargain. These 25 destinations teach a little bit about history, science, nature, and culture -- without costing a cent. Too bad you will still have to pay to get there.

By the way, if your coming through Eastern or Southern KY be sure to check out, Cumberland Falls, Natural Bridge and the The Red River Gorge. They are all great and they are all free too.

From Readers Digest

Drinking four cups of tea a day cuts heart attack risk

Drinking four cups of tea a day cuts the risk of a heart attack, according to a review of studies by the British Nutrition Found-ation.

The review suggests that tea can also improve your mood, strengthen bones, boost hydration and increase alertness, reports the Daily Express.

For her study, Carrie Ruxton, a dietician and member of the independent Tea Advisory Panel, reviewed existing scientific literature on black tea, the type found in most teabags in Britain. The advantageous properties include reducing the risk of a heart attack.

More at Yahoo News

A Few Massive Storms Won't Stop The Ichthus Festival - Christian music festival to begin Thursday as planned

Bad weather has cometh to the Ichthus Festival yet again.

An overnight storm destroyed more than two weeks of preparation for the annual Christian music festival, which starts Thursday in Wilmore. High winds tossed tables, chairs and tents, destroying about 90 percent of the setup.

But as he surveyed the barren festival grounds Tuesday, Ichthus executive director Jeff James said he expects the festival to start Thursday as planned.

"I've gone through some of this every year," he said, unfazed. Nearby, a telephone pole was snapped into three pieces. Several dozen volunteers and workers were resurrecting mangled tents.

Ichthus has had a history of bad luck with weather, earning the nicknames "Mudthus" and "Ickythus."

In 2005, the festival saw a severe thunderstorm Friday night and snow the next day. In 2004, rain created a logistical nightmare getting people into the campsite, and a severe thunderstorm caused evacuation of the campground in 2002.

More at Kentucky.com

Visit the Ichthus Festival Site

The BIG Picture Blog

Ready for some really nice large photography. Boston.com has an awesome new blog of the best pictures that come their way. It's pretty cool. Click it and check it out.

THE BIG PICTURE BLOG

Stinky Feet

Funny Pic. I thought you would enjoy this one.

Pediatrician Says Try Discipline before Ritalin

"Could it be that America would rather give unruly kids a pill than a swat?"

That's what Dr. Lawrence Diller asks in a recent article. The behavioral pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif., said he thinks Ritalin is prescribed too often.

"There's good solid evidence that when you give parents permission to give one or two smacks on the child's bottom if the child defies the rules of the timeout procedure, the family is more often successful with the approach," he told U.S. News & World Report. "Nobody wants to be pro-spanking. I'm not pro-spanking. I just think a well-thought-out spank ain't so bad and shouldn't be banned."

Dr. Bill Maier, psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family, said: "Spanking is most effective when used rarely, judiciously and as a 'backup' measure for other forms of discipline such as consequences and timeout.

"A parent should never spank a child if their anger is out of control, and they should always follow up with a loving embrace and a review of family rules."

From CitizenLink

3 Internet providers agree to block child porn

Internet providers Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block access to child pornography and eliminate the material from their servers, New York's attorney general said Tuesday.

The companies also will pay $1.1 million to help fund efforts to remove the online child porn created and disseminated by users through their services, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. The changes will affect customers nationwide.

Investigators said they found 88 newsgroups devoted to child pornography in an investigation over six to eight months. More than 11,000 images were collected using software that identifies child pornography by tracking patterns in the pixels of the images, Cuomo's office said.

Cuomo said the companies acted immediately when told of the concern. He said it was essential to work with the Internet providers rather than trying to prosecute thousands of users.

More from AP

An iPhone That's Twice as Fast at Half the Cost

Apple, Inc.'s new iPhone 3G will go on sale in the U.S. on July 11 at $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. It's faster and cheaper than Apple's original iPhone and comes with GPS, support for Microsoft Exchange, and automatic switching between Wi-Fi, 3G and EDGE networks. And iPhone 3G runs hundreds of third-party applications.

Apple introduced the iPhone 3G on Monday. The new model has the original features that consumers raved about, but is twice as fast and half the price as the first-generation iPhone.

In the U.S. the new iPhone 3G is priced at $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. The phone goes on sale in the U.S. on July 11.

The iPhone 3G has built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. It can run hundreds of third-party applications built with the recently released iPhone software developers kit (SDK).

"Just one year after launching the iPhone, we're launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third-party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year."

More from NewsFactor

Ever Wonder About The History Of The Food You Eat? Check Out The Food Timeline

Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip...and why?

Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.

This list is amazing, and almost everything in it is likable to a large article. You know you want to know how long people have been eating Ice cream, or when Dr. Pepper, Crisco or Gummi Bears were invented (Hint: It's likely much earier than you think!)

The Food Timeline

Get Rid Of Ants Without An Exterminator

Has warm weather brought a plague of ants down upon your home? We've talked about deterring ants with baby powder, but frugal blog fivecentnickel.com shares the following more aggressive method:

First, pick up some boric acid powder (available at most drug stores) and mix a small amount of it 50:50 with table sugar. There's nothing particularly scientific about this ratio, so it's fine to just eyeball it. Next, put some of this mix into a small container such as the the cap from a milk jug or the lid from a 2 liter bottle. Finally, drizzle some water into it to make a slurry (i.e., a thick suspension). That's it — you're now ready to kill some ants.

Some ants feed off fats and grease instead of sweets, so you can make this mixture with peanut butter instead of sugar should the first round of ant warfare prove ineffective.

From Lifehacker

Check Out The New XO Laptop Design

One Laptop per Child designer Yves Behar (watch his TEDTalk) shares exciting news about the top-to-bottom redesign of the XO laptop -- sometimes called the "$100 laptop." He writes: With the XO (1.0), we pushed the boundaries of what a laptop could be by lowering the cost dramatically, being green (no heavy metals, lowest energy consumption ever), and a human-driven unique design approach.

Now, with XOXO (2.0), we are challenging what a truly collaborative and creative computing experience could be ... a true departure from the traditional keyboard and screen layout, a new way to interface and play with data, information and communication:

- imagine if your learning machine was an un-interrupted screen one could interface with from any direction

- imagine if it was a reading experience just like a book, and at the same time a seamless large visual tablet

- imagine if children could play board games sitting across from each other (or computer games).

Someday all laptops may be able to do tricks like these.

From blog.ted.com

People with type 2 diabetes can help control the disease by taking better care of their teeth and gums

That's the case dentists were expected to make at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in San Francisco this weekend.

"Several recent studies have shown that having periodontal disease makes those with type 2 diabetes more likely to develop worsened glycemic control, and puts them at much greater risk of end-stage kidney disease and death," George W. Taylor, an associate professor of dentistry at the University of Michigan schools of Dentistry and Public Health, said in a prepared statement. "Given the numerous medical studies showing that good glycemic control results in reduced development and progression of diabetes complications, we believe there is the potential that periodontal treatment can provide an increment in diabetes control and subsequently a reduction in the risk for diabetes complications," he said.

Intensive periodontitis intervention, for example, can significantly lower one's levels of A1C, a measure of long-term glucose control.

More from US News

Adam Sandler Beaten by Family Friendly Panda

The Friday night box is in, and the winner is clear: a Panda has beaten Adam Sandler.

In a marketing war that pitted Paramount vs. Sony the former won with "Kung Fu Panda," an animated film that should have continued its conquest all day Saturday and Sunday. The $20 million Friday night take points to a near $60 million win for Dreamworks Animation — distributed by Paramount — and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The title character is voiced by funnyman Jack Black. It's gotten a very critic friendly 84% rating at movie web site Rotten Tomatoes.

From Fox News

Rotten Tomatoes Review section for Kung Fu Panda

Why Pay Four Bucks A Gallon For Gas When You Can Ride The Bus FOR ONE BUCK

The new BoltBus, is a joint venture between industry leaders Greyhound and Peter Pan that began operations in March. "It's brand-new, there's a lot more room between the seats and they have wireless Internet access," he says.

Spurred partly by the soaring cost of taking the car on that weekend road trip, bus ridership is up across the country for the first time in 50 years — a 13% increase this year compared with 2006, according to a DePaul University study. Now major operators are vying for a slice of the growing market for non-stop service between major cities — previously the purview of niche operators catering primarily to immigrants and low-income populations. Both BoltBus and Megabus, which is owned by the Scotland-based Stagecoach Group, are winning over new customers with sleek coaches touting $1 fares from New York to D.C., Chicago to Cleveland and Kansas City to St. Louis. More than a cheap ride, the vehicles feature amenities unheard of on traditional bus lines — including real flush toilets, wider seats and power outlets for all.

Not all seats cost $1, of course. Megabus, which launched in the U.S. in 2006 and has carried more than one million passengers since then, guarantees just two seats on each bus for a dollar. Then prices inch up to $7, $10, $15 and $20, before topping out at $25 on the longest routes. (BoltBus guarantees just one $1 seat per bus. "It's our marketing gimmick," admits Peter Picknelly, president of Peter Pan, which co-owns Bolt. Still, even the top prices are a bargain compared to Greyhound's standard $43 fare between Minneapolis and Chicago or $40 fare from Washington to New York City. The rides are also quicker than Greyhound because there are no stops along the way. And though cheap bus lines that run from New York City's Chinatown can compete in price, they don't have the same amenities or offer a guaranteed, reserved seat.

More from Time

Mike Huckabee knows how to save a life - PERFORMS HEIMLICH ON NC LT. GOV. CANDIDATE

He may not be the next president, but he’s a savior to at least one.

Former Arkanas Gov. Mike Huckabee performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking Robert Pittenger during Saturday’s North Carolina GOP convention breakfast, Huckabee’s former campaign spokeswoman confirmed Sunday.

Huckabee was the keynote speaker at the convention, and was sitting next to the Pittenger, who’s running for the lieutenant governor’s seat, when Pittenger began choking.

Huckabee noticed Pittenger couldn’t breathe and took action, giving Pittenger the heave in the chest needed to dislodge the offending food bit.

“I’m glad that Mike was in the right place at the right time and continued to lead by example,” former South Carolina Lt. Gov. candidate Mike Campbell told The Palmetto Scoop. “We all know that [Huckabee] is pro-life, and once again he has lived up to it.”

The newspaper noted that Pittenger apparently suffers from acid reflux, which likely caused the incident to occur. It added that Huckabee, who is also known for losing 110 pounds and promoting healthy living, was trained as an EMT in college and this may not be the first time he’s sprung to action when needed.

From Fox News

Get Ready To Save Some Serious Money - It's The Hillybilly Housewife's Guide to feeding 4 to 6 People for $45 a Week

One trip for 4 to a decent restaurant for 4 people can cost you Forty-Five dollars or more so how can you feed the whole bunch for a week on the same amount. The simple answer is you plan ahead, use simple ingredients, and cook from scratch. Actually, due to the cost increases in groceries lately, if you have to buy everything on the list it will likely now cost you more, but chances are you already have some of these items, so it may even cost you less.

Check this out, even if you don't follow the whole plan your likely to find lots of good ideals here.

The plan from the powerful wisdom of The Hillbilly Housewife

Link to the sites' front page.

9 Ways To Save At The Movies

Summer means movies, but don't get stuck paying $12 per ticket or $7 for a bag of popcorn. Instead, check out these nine ways to slash your movie budget without missing any summer blockbusters.

Check out nine good money savers at The Consumerist

Decalogues everywhere, with thanks to the ACLU! Project Moses promoting God's Laws with Ten Commandments monuments

Thousands of stone Ten Commandments monuments on highly visible properties in communities across the nation, millions of smaller plaques in Christian and Jewish homes, and a massive bronze showing the biblical image of Moses holding the stones on which God wrote… The target of the ACLU? Nope. Thanks to the ACLU! Joe Worthing, the executive director for Project Moses, says his organization, only a few years old, is well on its way to reaching many of its goals of placing Ten Commandments monuments all over the nation, and it's because of a complaint from the ACLU.

The ministry was launched by John Menghini, an Overland Park, Kan., businessman, who was disturbed by a news story about the ACLU demanding and getting the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from a Kansas City courthouse.

The result was Project Moses, which works to install 900-pound stone monuments to God's Laws on church and other private properties in prominent civic locations across the country. Hundreds already are installed, as well as thousands of smaller stone plaques that are offered to families for their homes.

"The ACLU is not the problem [with removing the Ten Commandments from America]," Worthing told WND. "We need to send them a thank you. They awakened a sleeping giant.

More at WorldNetDaily

Edison, Make Way for the L.E.D.’s

If you’re looking for the latest advancements in incandescent light bulb technology, one place you don’t want to go is to a lighting trade show. I learned that in about five minutes last week, while touring the aisles of Lightfair, the lighting industry’s big convention, held this year in Las Vegas.

In case you didn’t know it, Thomas Edison’s invention, in use for more than 100 years to illuminate virtually everything, is quickly heading for the exits. What will eventually take its place is the light-emitting diode (L.E.D.) bulb, made up of tiny light sources the size of a head of a pin that use a fraction of a regular light bulb’s electricity, produce little heat, and last for tens of thousands of hours of use.

L.E.D.’s are not widely used today because of their high cost: An L.E.D. bulb can run as high as $90. Even if they would save money in the long run, few people are willing to spend that much up front.

But costs will come down, and when they do, expect to see the end of what is in essence an interim technology: the compact fluorescent bulb. Fluorescents, while using much less power than incandescent light bulbs, are sometimes too bulky, often can’t be dimmed and produce light that is less pleasing than incandescents.

More at the New York Times

Joel Osteen’s Audio Podcast Hits #3 on iTunes

Joel Osteen Ministries announced today that their audio Podcast reached No. 3 in the list of all Podcasts on iTunes this week. Joel Osteen’s audio Podcast has been in or near the top 10 on iTunes since January of 2007. Over 42 million people have requested the audio Podcast of Joel Osteen’s television program in the past year, one of the top five in the world.

“We were very excited to see our Podcast rise this high in the rankings,” stated Jeana Lawrence, Director of Marketing and Communications for Lakewood. “It reminds us how important it is to provide people a number of ways to hear Joel’s message of hope.”

Joel Osteen’s audio and video Podcasts have consistently grown in popularity since they were first launched in early 2006. With more than 4 million requests per month, the Podcast is a frequent top 10 download among all categories on iTunes and consistently stays at or near the No. 1 spot in the inspirational category.

iTunes offers 30-minute Podcasts of Joel Osteen’s weekly television message in audio or video format, downloadable to iPods, PCs or MP3 players for free. In addition, viewers and listeners can access Joel Osteen’s sermons at JoelOsteen.com.

From PR.Com

Photoscape Fixes and Enhances Your Pictures - AND IT"S FREE!

Windows only: Freeware image editor Photoscape offers a large array of features packaged with a simple and intuitive user interface. View and organize your photos in Photoscape, correct red eye and white balance, crop, add text and frames, and more all from the basic editor. Photoscape also has a batch editor for quickly processing large volumes of pictures, a file renamer, RAW to JPEG processor, screen capture tool, image splitter for printing pictures across multiple sheets, and the ability to create animated GIFs.

There's an abundance of freeware options for all of the above tasks, but Photoscape combines dozens of photo editing jobs into a single and easy to navigate workspace. Photoscape is a free download for Windows only. Note, This file is just over 13 Megs. so if you are on dial-up it will take over half an hour.

From Lifehacker

Link to Free Download

A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool

Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers. The movement is like a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio, or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween.

Unusual allies, like the Methodist and Lutheran Churches, the National Basketball Association and the United Nations Foundation, are stoking the passion for nets that prevent malaria. The annual “American Idol Gives Back” fund-raising television special has donated about $6 million a year for two years. The music channel VH1 made a fund-raising video featuring a pesky man in a mosquito suit.

It is an appeal that clearly resonates with young people.

More from The New York Times

Shroud of Turin to Go on Display in 2010

Pope Benedict says the Shroud of Turin will go on rare public display in 2010.

The shroud, which is revered by many Christians as the burial cloth of Jesus, was last was shown to the public in 2000.

More than 1 million visitors viewed it in Turin cathedral during a special display for the new millennium Holy Year.

Believers say the image on the cloth was left by Christ's body after he was taken off the cross.

More from Christian World News

Golfers Live Longer Than Other People

People, who play golf, can expect to increase their life expectancy up to five years, scientists suggest.

The study conducted at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden found that irrespective of the sex, socioeconomic status and age, golfers show 40 percent lower death rate in comparison to other people.

It is widely known that exercises improve health, still the health effect of different physical activities was not clear. The study included the data from 300,000 golfers to find the potential health effects. The team of scientists revealed that death rate among golfers was 40 percent lower in comparison with other population. This means that golfers have a five years increase of life expectancy.

Professor Anders Ahlbom, the leading author of the study together with his colleague Bahman Farahmand said that the results of the study show that golf has a number of aspects that contribute to better health. First of all, the golfer spends at least four or five hours outside during a round of a game, walking fast pace for up to seven kilometers. Also people can play golf till their old age and benefit from other social and psychological effects.

The findings showed that other factors such as sex, age and socioeconomic status do not influence the death rate of golfers. It was also suggested that golfers having blue-collar jobs had more benefits than those who have white-collar job. And the greatest health benefits were seen among golf players with the lowest handicap.

From Infoniac.com

101 Fantastic Freebies

Whether you're partial to online services or to downloadable software, we have the Web's best free stuff and it'll keep you productive, secure and entertained.

Free. It's the magic word for an ever-expanding wealth of downloadable software and online services. Free doesn't necessarily mean good, however, and hunting for freebies can mean sifting through a lot of junk.

That's where we come in. We surfed, clicked and installed to find sparkling free gems capable of planning your time, keeping you in touch and tuning and securing your PC, not to mention glitzing up your desktop, helping you stay productive and entertaining you with music, videos, photos and games. We paid special attention to programs and services you may not have heard of before. We also singled out two free offerings -- one download and one online service -- as the best of the bunch.

More from MSN

Grandfather builds Web browser for autistic boy

John LeSieur is in the software business, so he took particular interest when computers seemed mostly useless to his 6-year-old grandson, Zackary. The boy has autism, and the whirlwind of options presented by PCs so confounded him that he threw the mouse in frustration. LeSieur tried to find online tools that could guide autistic children around the Web, but he couldn't find anything satisfactory. So he had one built, named it the Zac Browser For Autistic Children in honor of his grandson, and is making it available to anyone for free.

LeSieur's quest is a reminder that while the Web has created important communication and educational opportunities for some people with cognitive impairments, computers can also introduce new headaches for families trying to navigate the contours of disability.

The Zac Browser greatly simplifies the experience of using a computer. It seals off most Web sites from view, to block violent, sexual or otherwise adult-themed material. Instead it presents a hand-picked slate of choices from free, public Web sites, with an emphasis on educational games, music, videos and visually entertaining images, like a virtual aquarium.

Other programs for children already offer that "walled garden" approach to the Web. But LeSieur's browser aims to go further: It essentially takes over the computer and reduces the controls available for children like Zackary, who finds too many choices overwhelming.

More at Yahoo News

Mother's anger turns to delight after her baby survives an abortion

Finley Crampton really shouldn't be here. Although his parents would have loved another child, they knew their baby could inherit a life-threatening kidney condition – and they couldn't take the risk.

After all, their first son had died of the condition and the second was born with serious kidney damage.

So when Finley's mother, Jodie Percival, became pregnant while on the Pill, she and her fiance Billy Crampton, 35, made the agonising decision to abort this child.

'Deciding to terminate at eight weeks was just utterly horrible but I couldn't cope with the anguish of losing another baby,' said Miss Percival, 25.

However, Finley had other ideas. And some time after the operation, Miss Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach.

Eventually her doctor sent her for a scan – and she discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant.

The child had survived the abortion and thrived in the womb. 'I couldn't believe it,' said Miss Percival. 'This was the baby I thought I'd terminated.

More from The Mail Online

We have reached another Milestone - BECAUSE OF YOU!

This blog and its sister blog DAYS OF CAUTION has now reached a total of over 25,000 hits earlier today, with over 800 hits yesterday alone. We only got started in Feb. of this year, so while this is small potatoes compared to other sites, it still seems to be pretty good for us. Keep coming back, spread the blog with your friends, and I'll let you know when we reach our next big goal of 100,000. Thanks so much, it happened because of YOU!

KID CAN DO IT ALL ON ONE LEG - Baseball, football, soccer -- nothing slows him down

Adam Bender slips a chest protector over his Astros jersey, buckles a shinguard to his right leg, positions a mask atop his head, grabs his catcher's mitt and hops out of the dugout.

Adam has his game face on. Or at least what passes as a game face for an 8-year-old. His eyes are serious. His freckled nose is crinkled with determination.

Adam is amazing to watch. He takes his position behind the plate, resting on his right knee.

When a runner rounds third looking to score, Adam jumps up and holds his ground.

He suffered a mild concussion on one collision and missed a practice or two. But he recovered and was ready for action in the next game. At one point this season he led the rookie league in put-outs at home.

At bat, his athletic skill and balance allow him to take a full swing, and he usually makes contact. He hops to first base as quickly as he can. If he's safe, he uses crutches to run the bases. When he gets thrown out, he hops dejectedly back to the dugout.

He's a competitor, and not just in baseball.

Adam, who lost his left leg to cancer when he was 1, has played soccer for a couple of years. He uses crutches, and is a whirlwind on the field in Centenary United Methodist's "I Am Third" league.

More with Video at Kentucky.com

Holy water? Christian man's car 'gets 100 miles per ounce'

With gasoline prices in the $4 per gallon range, a Christian inventor in Florida claims he's developed a way to seriously stretch the fuel mileage on his car. "I get 100 miles to the ounce on water," Anthony Brown told WJXX-TV in Jacksonville. "I can run any water – distilled water, drinking water, tap water."

"Right now it's using a little bit of gas. If anything, it's getting a fuel vapor. I've got the fuel injection system shut down," he added. Sporting a T-shirt that proclaims, "Today, He Forgives," Brown brought his vehicle and the local ABC affiliate to a mechanic to examine his system, which he says is still in development.

Brown, who the station says runs the Wings of Love Ministry, indicated any profit from the invention would help missionaries around the world. "I've just been asking for a way the Lord to show me to raise money rapidly, and I started working on this idea," he said.

I've got my doubts about this one but I hope it is for real.

More at WorldNetDaily

Eastern Kentucky Naure Pics - Cicadas, Baby Birds and Butterflies

Nature is alive here in Eastern KY, and it really is a sight to behold. The cicadas are very loud, I'm guessing they are buzzing at around 70 decibels, and they look as strange as they sound. They only come around once every 17 years here, and only for a short time. Here is a collection of pictures, and you can click on them to blow them up to 600 to 800. Some were taken on my farm, others near Natural Bridge State Park.



More info on Cicadas at Wikipedia

Article at the Charleston Daily Mail

Article from USA Today

FAQ on Cicadas from the Huntington Herald Dispatch

Article at the Louisville Courier Journal

'God loves you, Reno,' billboard says

A Southern Baptist church plant in Reno, Nev., has come up with a plan to counter the hateful messages touted by frequent protestor Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church group: Rent space on a billboard to proclaim God's love for the people of Reno.

"Out here, a lot of people are just kind of ignorant to the Gospel," Mike Stewart, pastor of Discovery Fellowship, said, referring to a cultural lack of knowledge regarding true Christianity. "If they know anything about God, it's either He's indifferent or He's angry or He hates women."

So in a staff meeting at the church, the idea of renting billboard space was conceived. The church learned they could rent space for $7,000 for 16 weeks, and they quickly raised the funds.

"I've heard people say that money follows vision, especially compelling vision, and within two weeks we paid cash," Stewart said. "It came from people within our church, people who know of our church but live across the country, and then the Nevada Baptist Convention helped out too."

Now the proclamation "God loves you, Reno," along with the Discovery Fellowship Web address, is one of eight messages that rotate on a digital billboard on a well-traveled thoroughfare in Reno.

More Good News on this story from Baptist Press.

Developers of New "Superlattice Structure" Lithium Battery Announce Boost in Electric Car Range - Go 200 Miles

Anyone who has followed the electric car industry over the past few decades has heard that, in addition to lackluster and inconsistent interest by gas-addicted Big Auto, the biggest hurdle facing widespread adoption of cleaner cars has been battery technology.

Now that gas prices are at record highs, it isn't surprising that past months would see various announcements of increased innovation and investment in this area.

Now, North Carolina-based Superlattice Power Inc has announced a successful move toward development of a new cathode material, which the company says "will be incorporated to a Lithium Ion Polymer battery that significantly increases operating voltage range and energy density."

Superlattice Power says its new Lithium Ion Polymer battery would allow electric vehicles to be driven over 200 miles, compared to the current 120 to 140 mile range. They are said to be able to operate at a voltage range of 4.3V to 2V.

More from The Daily Green

Poor people of Ohio Rejoice! Payday loans are not nearly as SHARKY anymore.

Gov. Ted Strickland, of the great state of Ohio, has signed a bill that punches the rapidly growing payday lending industry in the face. As we've mentioned before, the bill will cap interest rates at 28% and limits consumers to 4 payday loans per year. A typical payday loan charges around $15 per $100 borrowed on a 2 week loan, which works out to an interest rate of 391%.

"We will not tolerate individuals being exposed to exorbitant rates, which does contribute to the cycle of indebtedness," Strickland said. In the past decade, payday lending in Ohio has grown from a few hundred stores to over 1,600. The bill will likely cause most of these stores to close and 6,000 people to lose their jobs. Ohio says these jobs aren't worth keeping:

"We want to replace jobs that are taking advantage of people with jobs that help people," said Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican.

I wish all of goverment worked like this. Way to go Ohio!

More at the Consumerist

Apple Back-to-School promo to offer free 8GB iPod touch

I'm a little late on this one, but for some this could be a real deal.

Apple on Tuesday will formally announce details of its 2008 Back-to-School promotion, which will offer a free 8GB iPod touch to students who purchase a qualifying Mac. People briefed on the promotion Monday confirm that this year's incentives will be the electronics maker's most compelling ever, offering a rebate good for a $299 8GB iPod touch, as was first reported by AppleInsider last week.

"We've already ordered lots of iPod touches to be ready for [this] week," said one person familiar with the promotion. That person added that students will also have the option to apply the $299 credit towards the purchase of a higher capacity player, namely the $399 16GB iPod touch or a $499 32 GB iPod touch.

More from AppleInsider

Afghan insurgents 'on brink of defeat'

Even though our brave troops due an incredible job overseas, the American Press does not have our best interest in mind and are often afraid to share it. I WILL!

The new "precise, surgical" tactics have killed scores of insurgent leaders and made it extremely difficult for Pakistan-based Taliban leaders to prosecute the campaign, according to Brig Mark Carleton-Smith.

In the past two years an estimated 7,000 Taliban have been killed, the majority in southern and eastern Afghanistan. But it is the "very effective targeted decapitation operations" that have removed "several echelons of commanders".

This in turn has left the insurgents on the brink of defeat, the head of Task Force Helmand said.

"The Taliban are much weaker," he said from 16 Air Assault Brigade headquarters in Lashkar Gah.

"The tide is clearly ebbing not flowing for them. Their chain of command is disrupted and they are short of weapons and ammunition."

More from The Telegraph

Phil Stacey's Christian Roots Anchor His Country Album Debut

American Idol alumnus Phil Stacey has combined his Christian upbringing and a passion for country music on his new self-titled album for Lyric Street Records. As a consequence, the album is being worked in both musical formats.

"If You Didn't Love Me" has already climbed to No. 32 on Billboard's country singles chart, while "Identity," an introspective album cut, is being programmed on several contemporary Christian radio stations. EMI Christian Music Group is distributing the album to Christian music outlets.

"I sing Christian songs on my country record," Stacey says, a point rendered apparent by a close reading of the lyrics, many of which could allude equally well to earthly or spiritual love. The son and grandson of ministers, Stacey was born 30 years ago in the tiny Harlan County hamlet of Loyal, Ky. During Stacey's youth, his father moved to other pastorates in Kentucky and Ohio before settling into a ministry in Wichita, Kan., where Stacey attended both junior high and senior high school.

More from CMT.com

Also - Jonas Brothers bring Christian pop rock to UK from The Telegraph

Crossover Christian Music Festival to celebrate 10th year at Lake of the Ozarks

The nation’s top Christian contemporary and rock recording artists, plus several rising stars, will perform at the 10th annual Crossover Christian Music Festival, June 12-14, Lake of the Ozarks. One of mid-America’s largest Christian music events, the Crossover festival is expected to attract 10,000 music fans to the Stoneridge Amphitheater in Camdenton.

The three-day worship experience will offer both the main stage and a side stage featuring up-and-coming acts, as well as food concessions, merchandise vendors, and opportunities to meet the performers. In addition, Crossover will participate in Essential Records’ National Talent Search on the new Alternative Stage. Admission is free for the shows on the alternative stage from 9:00 a.m. to about 3:00 p.m.

Big Plus - Full one day tickets are only $30 at the gate!

More at Lakeexpo.com

THIRD DAY GRACES COVER OF BILLBOARD MAGAZINE!

We're more than proud to hear that our friends in Third Day have graced the cover of Billboard Magazine as the first ever Christian band to do so! Fans can pick up the June 7th edition of the magazine for the feature story, or simply click this link here from ThirdDay.com to view the article in a PDF file. The article comes just in time for the band's upcoming July 29th album release of Revelation.

Here is my prediction for the release of their upcoming album. I think it will debut in the top 5 and NUMBER ONE is a real possibility.

From JesusFreakHangout.com

31 Places to Go This Summer

THERE used to be a time — oh, let’s call it 2007 — when summer was considered a time of almost limitless possibilities, a time of languorous vacations, of trips filled with the promise of discovery. But the summer of 2008 is starting out like a cruel joke, with air travel increasingly a nightmare and with wildly escalating gas prices threatening to make the road trip all but obsolete. It’s almost enough to make you sit at home and catch up on episodes of “Gossip Girl.”

The summer vacation is still an inalienable right, however. And there is no reason to forgo it this year. It will just take a bit of creativity — and perhaps the willingness to stay a little closer to home this time around — to pull it off in 2008.

Thus, here are 31 options — from river rafting in eastern Oregon to biking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire — for a great summer vacation. Not one involves the terrifying conversion of dollars into euros, many can be enjoyed without ever getting on a plane, and the road trips are ones that actually justify filling up your tank, even if the price of gas hits $5 a gallon this summer.

More from the New York Times

Cut costs by making things last

If there's one surefire way to save money on all kinds of products-aside from not buying them in the first place-it's this: Don't replace them more often than you have to.

So if you'd like to squeeze another year or more out of the things you own and postpone the costly day when you have to replace them, read on. These simple tips were gleaned from Consumer Reports experts and industry sources.

From Yahoo Finance

Finding Faith on the Race Track

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) represents one of the fastest growing sports in North America, and one of NASCAR's newest fans is Dr. James Dobson, who recently went to the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama to watch the National Day of Prayer race car take the track. Dr. Dobson and his wife, Shirley, share their excitement about the National Day of Prayer's involvement in NASCAR. Joining the conversation is Joe Nemechek, who drove the "National Day of Prayer," and Joe Garone, a manager of the NDP racing team. In addition, Billy Mauldin describes how Christian faith plays a role in NASCAR and how his organization, Motor Racing Outreach, is working to share the Gospel with the racing community and its fans. "These fans are passionate about this sport; they love it. And we're hoping ... [to use] NASCAR as a bridge into their lives [and] redirect that passion to the person of Christ."

I love NASCAR and I love The Lord too, so this sounds like it could be a very interesting broadcast of Focus On The Family.

You can check out this broadcast - from Focus On The Family

Fuel-friendly and affordable - Here's a list of 10 fun cars that won't cause much of a pinch at the pump

Gasoline prices are setting records just about every day, and people's driving and car-buying habits are changing.

Small, affordable, fuel-efficient cars are selling well, while big pickups and traditional SUVs are dead in the water, auto dealers and manufacturers report.

But don't despair: Just because a car is small and gets great fuel economy doesn't mean it has to be boring.

The editors at kbb.com -- the automotive consumer Web site of the Kelley Blue Book organization -- have announced their annual list of the coolest of cool, affordable cars on the market now.

All are 2008 models except for the Pontiac Vibe, which is an early 2009.

More at Kentucky.com

How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space!

By 2030, India's Planning Commission estimates that the country will have to generate at least 700,000 megawatts of additional power to meet the demands of its expanding economy and growing population.

Much of that electricity will come from coal-fired power plants, like the $4 billion so-called ultra mega complex scheduled to be built south of Tunda Wand, a tiny village near the Gulf of Kutch, an inlet of the Arabian Sea on India's west coast. Dozens of other such projects are already or soon will be under way.

Yet Mehta has another solution for India's chronic electricity shortage, one that does not involve power plants on the ground but instead massive sun-gathering satellites in geosynchronous orbits 22,000 miles in the sky.

The satellites would electromagnetically beam gigawatts of solar energy back to ground-based receivers, where it would then be converted to electricity and transferred to power grids. And because in high Earth orbit, satellites are unaffected by the earth's shadow virtually 365 days a year, the floating power plants could provide round-the-clock clean, renewable electricity.

More from CNN

$5 a gallon? More? Not if we can help it

Gas prices can be brought down, and they can be brought down by you, says a new website, OilSolution.org.

The website suggests a three-step plan the U.S. government could implement to reduce fuel pump costs in both the short term and long term and encourages citizens to urge their legislators to act.

Craig R. Smith is co-author of the book Black Gold Stranglehold and founder of the website. "Instead of whining, complaining and blaming everyone, from OPEC to big oil to President Bush," said Smith, "let's actually do something about it!"

The website's plan calls for "We the People" to rise up and insist our legislators take three steps: Drill for oil in American territory, build refineries, and strengthen the dollar by reducing the national debt.

These steps, Smith insists, will reduce dependence on foreign oil, increase gasoline supply, counter inflation and "flush out widespread energy speculation from the market."

More from WorldNetDaily

Also Check Out Gaspriceprotest.com

Celebrex shows promise in lung cancer prevention

The Pfizer Inc drug, also known as celecoxib, works by blocking the COX-2 enzyme that causes inflammation, which has been linked with cancer.

A six-month study of 212 current or heavy smokers found a reduction in a specific type of precancerous change in lung cells in people who took a high dose of Celebrex compared with those who took a placebo.

None of the study participants had any heart-related problems such as those with Merck & Co Inc's now withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx, another COX-2 inhibitor.

"Celebrex was safe and we did not see any cardiovascular events," said Dr. Edward Kim of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who presented his findings at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

He said the study suggests that a high dose of Celebrex might alter some of the cellular changes that lead up to lung cancer. But the finding is very early and would need to be confirmed in longer, larger studies.

More from Reuters

BIG DINNER!

Here's a picture I caught in my backyard yesterday. The robins have been just everywhere this year, and this nest is less than 10 feet from my house. The adult is cautious because he has seen me, and is waiting to see if I'll try to harm them or the babies any. The young ones got to partake of the huge bug about 10 seconds after this picture was snapped. It took roughly about 40 shots, most of them blurry to get this one. You can click the pic for a nice 600 by 800 download size.