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Bark, Growl, and Think

Name:
Location: Jackson, Mississippi, United States

I need to update this thing at some point.

Friday, July 27, 2007

"Mississippi Teams Win Dell, Inc. Solar Car Contest"


MISSISSIPPI TEAMS

Choctaw Central High School
  • Team members: Tia Anderson (captain), Caleb Willis, Rusty Chapman, Appallonia Clemons, Amber Sampson, Liberty McMillan, Trisilla Willis, Norma-Chae' Isaac, Lynjorae Williams, De'jorae Williams, Tarica Thomas, Colton Wilson, Dakota Farve, Joshua Denson and Rick Wilson
  • Team advisors: Joey Long, Jason Roberson and Liddia Hughes

    Houston Vocational Center
  • Team members: Leigh Anna Springer (captain), Paige Lancaster, Alisha Holder, Jodie Watkins, Brooke Shankie, Ericka Medders, Paige Smith, Hilary Hancock, Jeri-Laken Alexander, Tyler Davis, Patrick Pearson, Lance Whitworth, Caleb Alford
    Clay Fisackerly, Austin Marshall
    Blake McCoy, Josh Griffin and Jayla Alexander
  • Team advisors: Keith Reese & Beverly James

    Newton County Career & Technical Center
  • Team members: Jonathan Federick (captain), Mickey Skinner, Brandon Hughes, Casey Shoemaker, Tyler Peebles, Craig Kelly, Billy Yelverton, Ellen McCaskill, Tyler Davis and Tyler Laird
  • Team advisors: Stacy Addy, Ricky Wyatt and Aaron Cooley

    Keys Technology Center
  • Team members: Caydee Riser (captain), Brandon Rice, Matthew Johnson, Robert Schuman, Isaac Baylis, Jacob Yeagar, Alexander Jewess, Austin Handler, Jordan Lewis, Trey Tinsley and Daniel Watts
  • Team advisors: Jason Smith & Scotty Nichols

  • Four groups of Mississippi high school students competed in the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge that ended Tuesday, including two teams that brought home first-place honors in their respective divisions.

    The Newton County Solar Car Team from the Newton County Career & Technical Center in Decatur took first in the Classic Division, followed by the Ocean Springs Solar Team from the Keys Technology Center in Ocean Springs.

    The Houston Solar Race Team from the Houston Vocational Center in Houston tied for first place in the Open Division with a team from Newburgh, N.Y. The CCHS Solar Car Project from Choctaw Central High School in Choctaw was awarded third place.

    Jason Smith and Scotty Nichols of the Ocean Springs Solar Team also received the Randall Murphy Award, presented to teachers who best demonstrate the spirit of solar racing.

    The Houston Solar Car Team was the winner of the Texas State Conservation Energy Office Award, the prize for sportsmanship.

    The challenge, a part of the Winston School in Dallas, was created 10 years ago to help motivate students in science and engineering and to teach high school students how to build practical solar cars. On odd-numbered years, competing teams drive cross-country to share their projects.

    The 2007 challenge took teams across the eastern United States, starting from Dell Headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, on July 16 and finishing in New York.

    For details, go to www.winstonsolar.org/challenge.

    Thursday, July 12, 2007

    History of Humans: Conservatives vs. Liberals from a beer beginning

    Hope ya'll enjoy.  This was a rather funny e-mail I received.

    Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

    The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:

    1. Liberals
    2. Conservatives.

    Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can was invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

    Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known asthe Conservative movement.

    Other men who were weaker and less skilled at uniting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

    Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie men.

    Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided. Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.


    Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food is standard liberal fare.

    Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

    Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are engineers, IT persons, big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Marines and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

    Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

    Here ends today's lesson in world history. It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it. A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to tick them off.

    Tuesday, July 10, 2007

    Navy returns Singing River Island back to Mississippi

    July 10, 2007

    "State regains control of Singing River Island"



    PASCAGOULA — The state of Mississippi has formally taken control of Singing River Island, a prime piece of industrial property on a deep-water port on the Gulf Coast.

    Economic development officials have been shopping around for businesses to locate on the island for months and those efforts are expected to continue. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, the state’s largest private employer, has expressed an interest in using some areas of the island for its operations.

    Secretary of State Eric Clark represented the state Monday during a ceremony in which ownership of the 437-acre island was transferred from the Navy. Jimmy Anderson, director of the federal Base Realignment and Closure Committee’s program management office, presented Clark with the Naval papers signifying the transfer.

    The island was home to Naval Station Pascagoula for 14 years. It housed 900 sailors and provided a total annual economic impact of $100 million before being closed Nov. 15 by the BRAC commission.

    The Navy was expected to vacate the property last November, but Hurricane Katrina left the government with damaged buildings and a major mess to clean up.

    The state gave the property to the Navy in the late 1980s with the understanding that it would automatically revert back to state control if the Navy stopped using it.

    The Coast Guard already has a permanent presence on the island and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a base there temporarily until hurricane repairs are completed at its facility on the coast.

    The island consists of approximately 437 acres, with about 187 acres comprising the developed area of the island, Clark said. There are some additional 150 acres of developable property.

    Northrop Grumman Ship Systems officials have said they’re interested in using the naval station’s buildings and other facilities to help the shipyard facilitate operations that were damaged by Katrina.

    Mississippi up 16 spots in latest business climate poll

    July 10, 2007

    "State’s Business Climate Moves up Magazine’s List"
    By Laura Hipp
    lhipp@clarionledger.com
    Clarion Ledger

    A national magazine for corporate directors ranks Mississippi’s legal climate a little better than they once did.

    A Harris poll in Directorship Magazine bumped Mississippi to 33rd from 49th place in the publication’s annual composite standings, according to Gov. Haley Barbour’s office.

    “I am very pleased that we’re making strides to change our once tarnished image as a state with an unfair legal system,” Barbour said in a statement.

    Barbour and several Republicans are highlighting tort reform efforts in their campaigns this year. Reform efforts included caps on non-economic damages and a revised punitive damage cap.

    The magazine praised Barbour’s efforts stating the 2004 tort reform battle makes the “state attractive for growth and job creation.”

    Directorship Magazine used three indicators for its annual review of state litigation climates – Hantler-Weighted Variable Index, Pacific Research Institute, and the Harris Poll. The magazine’s 15,000 readers are comprised of boards, chief executives and general counsels who consider state liability climates when making decisions about expansion and investment.