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June 17, 2005
Canada’s Evangelical movement: political awakening
It wasn't that long ago that Canada's Supreme Court said it's up to Ottawa to decide who gets married in this country.
Canada might not make as big a deal of it as some in other countries do, but this country is founded on principles that recognize both the rule of law and the supremacy of God.
If that last part is news, check your Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The reference to the supremacy of God is right off the top.
Posted by thdyck at June 17, 2005 | Comments (0)
June 16, 2005
Friends 'help people live longer'
Good friends promise to be there for you, and their presence can actually help you live longer, researchers say.
Australian scientists said having friends around in old age can do more for life expectancy than having family members around.
BBC NEWS | Health | Friends 'help people live longer'
Posted by thdyck at June 16, 2005 | Comments (0)
June 13, 2005
IRRI staff housing compound pool
Tim: This blog is written by two people who moved to the Philippines in 2004. They live in the IRRI staff housing compound in Los Banos, Philippines, which is where I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. There are a lot of familiar photos from the area and I loved looking at just a few of them! This pool is where I learned to swim.
After I got back, my shoulders weren't any more relaxed, so I walked up the hill to have a swim at the pool. I took the camera in case I saw anything interesting. Before I started my swim, I sat on the taller of the two diving boards and took about five pictures of the lifeguard swimming laps at the end of his day, just as it was getting dark. I liked this one.
Posted by thdyck at June 13, 2005 | Comments (0)
IRRI staff reunion
Tim: I am the child of a scientist at IRRI during its early days (V.A. (Arnold) Dyck, 1970-1982).
Four of IRRI's five former directors general (DGs) attended. Dr. Ralph Cummings, who succeeded Chandler in 1972, and his wife Eunice came from Raleigh, N.C. Dr. Nyle C. Brady (1973-81) and wife Martha attended from Gilbert, Arizona. Dr. Klaus Lampe (1988-95) and AnneMarie came from Frankfurt, Germany.
Reunion organizers were Walter G. Rockwood, former IRRI editor, and Beverly, his wife. "Why should people who lived together, worked together, played together all those years in Los Banos come from across the world to see one another here in Florida?" Rockwood asked. He answered his own question in the wording of the program: "Bringing together those who served at IRRI since 1962--and who retain love and respect for the institute and for their former colleagues."
...
About 20 children of IRRI international staff, who grew up together on the IRRI Staff Housing Compound, attended as young adults. Martin Moomaw, the "first IRRI baby"—meaning the first child born among the international staff, was there, along with Carolyn Moomaw, his mother. The late Dr. Jim Moomaw, his father, was the first IRRI agronomist. Martin is now a legal assistant in Dallas.
"The young people were the best part of the reunion," said Dr. Edwin C. Price, IRRI agricultural economist from 1975 to 1985. "It let them recapture, reconfirm the culture they came from." Price is now Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University.
"I wanted to review my life, to be reminded of my roots and what helped me reach where I am today," said Dr. Angel Khush, who arrived in Los Banos at age 1 in 1967, and left after her 1984 graduation from Manila International High School.
AGCOM INTERNATIONAL: LOYALTY TO RICE DRAWS 250 TO IRRI REUNION IN FLORIDA
Posted by thdyck at June 13, 2005 | Comments (0)
June 6, 2005
Japan Squeezes to Get the Most of Costly Fuel
But Japan is where energy consciousness probably reaches the highest levels. The country has the world's second-largest economy, but it produces virtually no oil or gas, importing 96 percent of its energy needs.
This dependence on imports has prodded the nation into tremendous achievements in improved efficiency. France and Germany, where government crusades against global warming have become increasingly loud, expend almost 50 percent more energy to produce the equivalent of $1 in economic activity. Britain's energy use, on the same measure, is nearly double; the United States nearly triple; and China almost eight times as much.
From 1973 to today, Japan's industrial sector nearly tripled its output, but kept its energy consumption roughly flat. To produce the same industrial output as Japan, China consumes 11.5 times the energy.
Japan Squeezes to Get the Most of Costly Fuel - New York Times
Posted by thdyck at June 6, 2005 | Comments (0)