There are SO MANY Saints tribute fans at this site.
Please take the time to check them out before Sunday's game It will get the Saints fans in the mood and ready to cheer our boys to victory~!
Well, if not victory, it'll get the fans psyched up~~~
here's my fave
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
one "list of the decade"
Taken from what's left of NOLA dot com, the highlights of the 200x decade:
December 29, 2009, 12:52PM
Was it only a decade ago that a blackberry was a mere warm season fruit? That green was, well, a color, and reality TV was that one show sandwiched between music videos on MTV?
The Associated Press
Crocs, life-changing? The ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes people loved to hate. There were, of course, huge political and social upheavals that roiled the world in the past decade, but there also were the gradual lifestyle changes that people do not always notice when they are happening; kind of like watching a child grow older. Here is an alphabetical look at 50 things that changed our lives since the beginning of the millennium:
AIRPORTS: Remember when you did not have to take off your shoes before getting on a plane? Remember when you could bring a bottled drink on board? Political terror changed all that.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: From acupuncture to herbal supplements to alternative ways of treating cancer, alternative medicine became more mainstream than ever.
APPS: There is an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade's gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom's house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)
AARP (American Association for Retired People) cards ... for baby boomers! Some prominent Americans turned 50 this decade: the pop singers Madonna and Prince. Comic Ellen DeGeneres. The Smurfs. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop -- who also died at 50. And some prominent "early boomers" turned 60: Rocker Bruce Springsteen and actress Meryl Streep, for example.
AGING: Nobody seemed to look their age anymore: Clothes for 50-year-old women started looking more like clothes for 18-year-olds, tweens looked more like teens, long hair was popular for all ages, and in many ways women's fashion seemed to morph into one single age group.
BLOG: I blog, you blog, he blogs ... How did we spend our time before blogging? There are more than 100 million of these Web logs out there in cyberspace.
BLACKBERRIES: Considered essential by corporate CEOs and moms planning playdates. Introduced in 2002, the smartphone version is now used by more than 28 million people, according to its maker, Research In Motion Ltd.
BOOK CLUBS: Thanks in part to TV personality and business mogul Oprah Winfrey, the decade saw not only a profusion in book discussion clubs but a growing reliance on them by publishers.
CABLE: Cable 24-hour news made the evening network news seem quaint, cable dramas reaped Emmys ... and at decade's end, even Oprah was making the move to cable.
CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she is probably e-mailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.
CELEBRITY CULTURE: Celebrity magazines fed a growing obsession with celebrities and the everyday minutiae of their lives. By decade's end, Americans still were obsessed, though Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie had ceded many covers to reality stars like Jon and Kate Gosselin. Celebrity Web sites like TMZ took hold mid-decade.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85 percent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines. On the downside, they have made cheating on a spouse more difficult -- just ask Tiger Woods.
CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic pean to the late Julia Child.
CONNECTIVITY: As in, we are all expected to be connected, wirelessly, all the time. Boss e-mails you on a Sunday? Better answer, because unless you are off in Antarctica, you have no excuse.
COUGARS: A new TV series called "Cougar Town" focuses on a phenomenon that gained its name this decade: women dating younger men.
CROCS: Those ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love 'em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: Michelle Obama, who wore them on vacation in 2009.
DANCING: Dancing never went out of style, but this decade saw the huge popularity of dancing contests like "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With the Stars."
DATING: Dating was transformed like everything else by Internet sites, rendering other ways of meeting people obsolete. And it was not just the territory of the relatively young: Seniors found love online, too.
The Associated PressAn icon of the digital age, the iPod was launched in 2001. Six years later, the 100 millionth iPod was sold.DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb, and what it means is this: There's no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.
EMBARRASSMENT ENTERTAINMENT: Embarrassment has always been part of comedy -- you need only think of Don Rickles -- but this is the decade of cringe-worthy Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Ricky Gervais, and of course Sacha Baron Cohen, who as Borat and Bruno shamed perhaps the entire country.
FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it is a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Whom to friend on Facebook?
FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama -- second in national obesity rankings -- introduced a tax on overweight state workers.
FOODIE: It is not just that guy in the White House who liked arugula -- this was the decade of the foodie, when we all developed gourmet palates. Even a burger became a gourmet item -- as in Daniel Boulud's truffle burger, stuffed with foie gras and short ribs.
GOING GREEN: From the kind of light bulbs we use to the kind of shopping bags we carry to the cars we drive, "going green" took hold this decade. Now, it is not strange to hear a schoolchild tell a parent to use a cloth grocery bag.
GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie -- when was it? Just Google it.
GPS: We cannot get lost anymore -- or at least it is pretty difficult, with the ubiquitous GPS systems. But you had better type in your location carefully: One couple made a 400-mile mistake this year by typing "Carpi" rather than "Capri."
HELICOPTER PARENTING: Translation: helicopters hover, and so do many parents. After years of obsessive attention to safety and achievement of the youngest children, some said a backlash was under way.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD: An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything. It is at our fingertips, but is it accurate? Some call it part of a larger phenomenon, namely ...
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Otherwise known as being able to get anything you want within an instant. Often referred to as a theme of the decade.
IPODS: An icon of the digital age, it is hard to believe this portable media player was launched in 2001. Six years later the 100 millionth iPod was sold.
LIFE COACHES: In the aughts, there was a coach for everything! So why not life itself? Some say life coaches are merely therapists without the license or regulations.
MUSICALS: They have been around forever, but this decade musicals came back to film, starting with "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago." But for kids, it was Disney's extremely successful "High School Musical" franchise -- three movies and counting -- that brought back the musical magic.
NETFLIX: The DVD by mail service, established in 1997, announced its two-billionth DVD delivery this year. For many, those discs on top of the TV are just one more thing to procrastinate over.
ORGANIC: Americans rushed to fill their grocery carts with organic food, making it big business -- now a $21 billion industry, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. At decade's end, Michelle Obama planted the first White House organic vegetable garden.
PREGNANCY CHIC: If you've got it, flaunt it: That was the new ethos of the pregnancy experience, with chic clothes that emphasized the bulging belly, personal pregnancy photos, and endless coverage of celebrity pregnancies.
REALITY TV: As a nation, we became addicted to reality TV, from the feuding Gosselins of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to "American Idol" to "Project Runway." At decade's end, the Heenes of Balloon Boy fame and the Salahis of gate crashing fame give reality TV some unwanted attention.
RECESSION CHIC: Fashion skewed to more severe styles, and much black, as so-called "recession chic" took hold in the latter part of the decade.
RETRO CHIC: Once you forget the smoking, the racism, the sexism and the homophobia, the early 1960s depicted by the AMC series "Mad Men" sure looked good. The swinging Madison Avenue ad men make neckties cool again.
SEXTING: Combine texting with a cell phone's camera function and you get this parental nightmare. A survey from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that 15 percent of teens ages 12-17 with a cell phone had received sexually suggestive images or videos.
STARBUCKS: It is a cliche that there is one on every block, but sometimes it seemed like it, and millions now consider it normal to spend $4 or so on a coffee drink in the morning, perhaps a venti half-caf half-decaf vanilla latte with an extra shot.
TATTOOS: It started innocently enough -- maybe a butterfly on the shoulder or a tribal symbol on the bicep. A few characters from the Chinese alphabet later, it seemed any hipster who really meant it had a full sleeve of tattoos. The trend extended to middle-aged moms and even 'tween idol Miley Cyrus.
TEXTING: R u still rding this sty? Hope u r. This is the decade we start communicating in the shorthand of text messages. Get used to it: E-mail is so '00s.
TV SCREENS: Television screens became bigger and flatter, making some ordinary living rooms and dens the equivalent of big-studio screening rooms. At the same time, though, people were watching movies and videos on the tiniest screens imaginable, their iPods or other mobile devices.
'TWEEN CULTURE: 'Tweens, especially girls, became an economic force to be reckoned with, buying everything from clothes to electronic devices to music to concert tickets.
TWITTER: The new social network introduced tweets, retweets, follows and trending topics, as long as the message fit into 140 characters.
UGGS: Not since the Croc (see above) has functional footwear created such a frenzy. The fur-lined snowboots were everywhere, no matter the climate. Los Angelenos insisted on wearing them with shorts.
WII: In a sea of ever-more-sophisticated video games, this simple console became the decade's breakout hit by appealing to the nongaming masses. Wiis became a center of family gaming, home fitness and even senior socializing.
WIKIPEDIA: A boon to lazy students everywhere, the open-source encyclopedia used the masses to police its entries and keep them (mostly) (sometimes) accurate.
YOGA: Madonna, Gwyneth and other bendy celebrities brought the eastern practice mainstream. By the end of the decade, even Grandma could do downward-facing dogs on her Wii Fit.
YOUTUBE: Let's end this list and go kill some time by watching ... YouTube videos! The video-sharing site was born in 2005. Political candidates in 2008 even had their on YouTube channels. The most popular video yet: "Charlie Bit My Finger," in which baby Charlie bites the finger of his brother Harry.
December 29, 2009, 12:52PM
Was it only a decade ago that a blackberry was a mere warm season fruit? That green was, well, a color, and reality TV was that one show sandwiched between music videos on MTV?
The Associated Press
Crocs, life-changing? The ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes people loved to hate. There were, of course, huge political and social upheavals that roiled the world in the past decade, but there also were the gradual lifestyle changes that people do not always notice when they are happening; kind of like watching a child grow older. Here is an alphabetical look at 50 things that changed our lives since the beginning of the millennium:
AIRPORTS: Remember when you did not have to take off your shoes before getting on a plane? Remember when you could bring a bottled drink on board? Political terror changed all that.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: From acupuncture to herbal supplements to alternative ways of treating cancer, alternative medicine became more mainstream than ever.
APPS: There is an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade's gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom's house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)
AARP (American Association for Retired People) cards ... for baby boomers! Some prominent Americans turned 50 this decade: the pop singers Madonna and Prince. Comic Ellen DeGeneres. The Smurfs. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop -- who also died at 50. And some prominent "early boomers" turned 60: Rocker Bruce Springsteen and actress Meryl Streep, for example.
AGING: Nobody seemed to look their age anymore: Clothes for 50-year-old women started looking more like clothes for 18-year-olds, tweens looked more like teens, long hair was popular for all ages, and in many ways women's fashion seemed to morph into one single age group.
BLOG: I blog, you blog, he blogs ... How did we spend our time before blogging? There are more than 100 million of these Web logs out there in cyberspace.
BLACKBERRIES: Considered essential by corporate CEOs and moms planning playdates. Introduced in 2002, the smartphone version is now used by more than 28 million people, according to its maker, Research In Motion Ltd.
BOOK CLUBS: Thanks in part to TV personality and business mogul Oprah Winfrey, the decade saw not only a profusion in book discussion clubs but a growing reliance on them by publishers.
CABLE: Cable 24-hour news made the evening network news seem quaint, cable dramas reaped Emmys ... and at decade's end, even Oprah was making the move to cable.
CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she is probably e-mailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.
CELEBRITY CULTURE: Celebrity magazines fed a growing obsession with celebrities and the everyday minutiae of their lives. By decade's end, Americans still were obsessed, though Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie had ceded many covers to reality stars like Jon and Kate Gosselin. Celebrity Web sites like TMZ took hold mid-decade.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85 percent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines. On the downside, they have made cheating on a spouse more difficult -- just ask Tiger Woods.
CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic pean to the late Julia Child.
CONNECTIVITY: As in, we are all expected to be connected, wirelessly, all the time. Boss e-mails you on a Sunday? Better answer, because unless you are off in Antarctica, you have no excuse.
COUGARS: A new TV series called "Cougar Town" focuses on a phenomenon that gained its name this decade: women dating younger men.
CROCS: Those ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love 'em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: Michelle Obama, who wore them on vacation in 2009.
DANCING: Dancing never went out of style, but this decade saw the huge popularity of dancing contests like "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With the Stars."
DATING: Dating was transformed like everything else by Internet sites, rendering other ways of meeting people obsolete. And it was not just the territory of the relatively young: Seniors found love online, too.
The Associated PressAn icon of the digital age, the iPod was launched in 2001. Six years later, the 100 millionth iPod was sold.DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb, and what it means is this: There's no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.
EMBARRASSMENT ENTERTAINMENT: Embarrassment has always been part of comedy -- you need only think of Don Rickles -- but this is the decade of cringe-worthy Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Ricky Gervais, and of course Sacha Baron Cohen, who as Borat and Bruno shamed perhaps the entire country.
FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it is a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Whom to friend on Facebook?
FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama -- second in national obesity rankings -- introduced a tax on overweight state workers.
FOODIE: It is not just that guy in the White House who liked arugula -- this was the decade of the foodie, when we all developed gourmet palates. Even a burger became a gourmet item -- as in Daniel Boulud's truffle burger, stuffed with foie gras and short ribs.
GOING GREEN: From the kind of light bulbs we use to the kind of shopping bags we carry to the cars we drive, "going green" took hold this decade. Now, it is not strange to hear a schoolchild tell a parent to use a cloth grocery bag.
GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie -- when was it? Just Google it.
GPS: We cannot get lost anymore -- or at least it is pretty difficult, with the ubiquitous GPS systems. But you had better type in your location carefully: One couple made a 400-mile mistake this year by typing "Carpi" rather than "Capri."
HELICOPTER PARENTING: Translation: helicopters hover, and so do many parents. After years of obsessive attention to safety and achievement of the youngest children, some said a backlash was under way.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD: An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything. It is at our fingertips, but is it accurate? Some call it part of a larger phenomenon, namely ...
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Otherwise known as being able to get anything you want within an instant. Often referred to as a theme of the decade.
IPODS: An icon of the digital age, it is hard to believe this portable media player was launched in 2001. Six years later the 100 millionth iPod was sold.
LIFE COACHES: In the aughts, there was a coach for everything! So why not life itself? Some say life coaches are merely therapists without the license or regulations.
MUSICALS: They have been around forever, but this decade musicals came back to film, starting with "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago." But for kids, it was Disney's extremely successful "High School Musical" franchise -- three movies and counting -- that brought back the musical magic.
NETFLIX: The DVD by mail service, established in 1997, announced its two-billionth DVD delivery this year. For many, those discs on top of the TV are just one more thing to procrastinate over.
ORGANIC: Americans rushed to fill their grocery carts with organic food, making it big business -- now a $21 billion industry, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. At decade's end, Michelle Obama planted the first White House organic vegetable garden.
PREGNANCY CHIC: If you've got it, flaunt it: That was the new ethos of the pregnancy experience, with chic clothes that emphasized the bulging belly, personal pregnancy photos, and endless coverage of celebrity pregnancies.
REALITY TV: As a nation, we became addicted to reality TV, from the feuding Gosselins of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to "American Idol" to "Project Runway." At decade's end, the Heenes of Balloon Boy fame and the Salahis of gate crashing fame give reality TV some unwanted attention.
RECESSION CHIC: Fashion skewed to more severe styles, and much black, as so-called "recession chic" took hold in the latter part of the decade.
RETRO CHIC: Once you forget the smoking, the racism, the sexism and the homophobia, the early 1960s depicted by the AMC series "Mad Men" sure looked good. The swinging Madison Avenue ad men make neckties cool again.
SEXTING: Combine texting with a cell phone's camera function and you get this parental nightmare. A survey from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that 15 percent of teens ages 12-17 with a cell phone had received sexually suggestive images or videos.
STARBUCKS: It is a cliche that there is one on every block, but sometimes it seemed like it, and millions now consider it normal to spend $4 or so on a coffee drink in the morning, perhaps a venti half-caf half-decaf vanilla latte with an extra shot.
TATTOOS: It started innocently enough -- maybe a butterfly on the shoulder or a tribal symbol on the bicep. A few characters from the Chinese alphabet later, it seemed any hipster who really meant it had a full sleeve of tattoos. The trend extended to middle-aged moms and even 'tween idol Miley Cyrus.
TEXTING: R u still rding this sty? Hope u r. This is the decade we start communicating in the shorthand of text messages. Get used to it: E-mail is so '00s.
TV SCREENS: Television screens became bigger and flatter, making some ordinary living rooms and dens the equivalent of big-studio screening rooms. At the same time, though, people were watching movies and videos on the tiniest screens imaginable, their iPods or other mobile devices.
'TWEEN CULTURE: 'Tweens, especially girls, became an economic force to be reckoned with, buying everything from clothes to electronic devices to music to concert tickets.
TWITTER: The new social network introduced tweets, retweets, follows and trending topics, as long as the message fit into 140 characters.
UGGS: Not since the Croc (see above) has functional footwear created such a frenzy. The fur-lined snowboots were everywhere, no matter the climate. Los Angelenos insisted on wearing them with shorts.
WII: In a sea of ever-more-sophisticated video games, this simple console became the decade's breakout hit by appealing to the nongaming masses. Wiis became a center of family gaming, home fitness and even senior socializing.
WIKIPEDIA: A boon to lazy students everywhere, the open-source encyclopedia used the masses to police its entries and keep them (mostly) (sometimes) accurate.
YOGA: Madonna, Gwyneth and other bendy celebrities brought the eastern practice mainstream. By the end of the decade, even Grandma could do downward-facing dogs on her Wii Fit.
YOUTUBE: Let's end this list and go kill some time by watching ... YouTube videos! The video-sharing site was born in 2005. Political candidates in 2008 even had their on YouTube channels. The most popular video yet: "Charlie Bit My Finger," in which baby Charlie bites the finger of his brother Harry.
Much needed Levity
blog "Hakim Drops the Ball" presents a humorous "dream sequence" to last Sunday's game with Tampa Bay. The link is here
surprise traffic stop
from fox news dot com:
JENNINGS, La. — A South Carolina family passing through Jennings on their way to Texas was pulled over, hauled off to a church, "tried" for not stopping to enjoy local hospitality and "sentenced" to gumbo, presents and a tour.
"We do this every year at Christmastime to some unsuspecting out-of-town person," said Gayle Jones, a member of the Jennings Optimist Club, which has made it part of a more than 30-year holiday tradition.
Neither Leonard nor Lori Pavia of Greer, S.C., could figure out why the deputy had pulled them over as they headed to see friends in McAllen, Texas.
"I couldn't think of anything that I did wrong. I knew I wasn't speeding," Leonard Pavia said. Lori Pavia said her first reaction was to make sure that Sienna, 10, and Dakota, 12, had their seat belts on. They did.
Deputy Terry Guillory, who pulled the family over, said he spent several hours Monday morning on Interstate 10, waiting to find the perfect family to stop.
"I asked them if they'd like to be the guests of our town," Guillory said.
Leonard Pavia said the family left South Carolina on Sunday morning and had spent the night in Baton Rouge before continuing on their trip to Texas.
Assistant District Attorney Stacey Naquin was prosecutor in a mock trial at Immanuel Lutheran Church and local attorney David Marcantel was the defense attorney. Judge Daniel Stretcher sentenced the family to enjoy bowls of chicken-and-sausage gumbo, gift baskets from area merchants and a tour of Jennings.
"It's just a community service project we do each year to bring people in and show them our hospitality," member Leonra Dupuis said.
JENNINGS, La. — A South Carolina family passing through Jennings on their way to Texas was pulled over, hauled off to a church, "tried" for not stopping to enjoy local hospitality and "sentenced" to gumbo, presents and a tour.
"We do this every year at Christmastime to some unsuspecting out-of-town person," said Gayle Jones, a member of the Jennings Optimist Club, which has made it part of a more than 30-year holiday tradition.
Neither Leonard nor Lori Pavia of Greer, S.C., could figure out why the deputy had pulled them over as they headed to see friends in McAllen, Texas.
"I couldn't think of anything that I did wrong. I knew I wasn't speeding," Leonard Pavia said. Lori Pavia said her first reaction was to make sure that Sienna, 10, and Dakota, 12, had their seat belts on. They did.
Deputy Terry Guillory, who pulled the family over, said he spent several hours Monday morning on Interstate 10, waiting to find the perfect family to stop.
"I asked them if they'd like to be the guests of our town," Guillory said.
Leonard Pavia said the family left South Carolina on Sunday morning and had spent the night in Baton Rouge before continuing on their trip to Texas.
Assistant District Attorney Stacey Naquin was prosecutor in a mock trial at Immanuel Lutheran Church and local attorney David Marcantel was the defense attorney. Judge Daniel Stretcher sentenced the family to enjoy bowls of chicken-and-sausage gumbo, gift baskets from area merchants and a tour of Jennings.
"It's just a community service project we do each year to bring people in and show them our hospitality," member Leonra Dupuis said.
Saints Cat Saved
A black and gold colored cat was rescued today after spending a week in a 75 foot pine tree in my neighborhood. here's the link.
The Humane Society is working to see if the cat - who appears docile but does not have any tags - has an owner or if he is a stray. If he doesn't have an owner and is not feral, he will be available for adoption.
Anyone interested in adopting the cat can call 888.648.6263, he said
The Humane Society is working to see if the cat - who appears docile but does not have any tags - has an owner or if he is a stray. If he doesn't have an owner and is not feral, he will be available for adoption.
Anyone interested in adopting the cat can call 888.648.6263, he said
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Jeff Parish Voters need to research
I don't think I would give even a $5 donation to Aaron Broussard and his boy Tim Whitmer . But I live in a different parish and am not aware of the reasons that these two gentlemen deserve the support they get, given their ethical backgrounds.
Thank You Altamura and Associates!
Thanks to Saratoga, NY
for their help.
from the saratogian.com:
MECHANICVILLE — In a year that has wreaked havoc on many small businesses, one local construction company is rallying its muscle power behind the old adage “give and you shall receive.”
Kevin Altamura, of Altamura & Associates in Mechanicville, and a crew of about six volunteers from his family construction business are heading to New Orleans Feb. 22 to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
They’ll spend one week working with other volunteers through Operation Southern Comfort (OSC), an organization based in central New York that helps needy and displaced families on the Gulf Coast with the assistance of charitable organizations.
“They need skilled people, and so that’s why as a business I thought I could bring skilled people,” Altamura said. “I felt it was important for us to go down because it’s been more than four years now, and there’s a lot of people down there that have not received a lot of benefits.”
Thousands of displaced families in Mississippi and Louisiana still live in trailers, he added.
The group’s goal is to build the frame and roof of a small house (about 800 to 1,200 square feet) that will be home to a family of up to six people in the lower ninth ward of the city.
Volunteers will divide into teams to do everything from tearing down old structures and removing debris to erecting new walls.
Local churches and a Knights of Columbus chapter in New Orleans host the volunteers and provide meals, which cost $50 for the week. Other travel expenses are being paid for by the business, Altamura said.
The trip will be the family’s second to the area; last winter, Altamura and his parents, David and Lisa, chaperoned a group of college and high school students from schools in Syracuse and Mechanicville.
“We tried to save homes that should have been demolished but due to lack of funding are being rebuilt,” he said.
Altamura, who started his remodeling company in 2006, said he’s eager to give back to the less fortunate despite the financial hardships his and other local businesses have faced this year — an attitude that is shaped by personal experience.
“I lost my house to the tornado of Mechanicville in ’98, and there were lots of people around to help us get it together then,” he said. “Ultimately, I think that if you give, you shall receive.”
Other local builders interested in volunteering with Altamura & Associates in February can contact the business at 470-0032. For more information about upcoming Operation Southern Comfort trips, go to this link .
for their help.
from the saratogian.com:
MECHANICVILLE — In a year that has wreaked havoc on many small businesses, one local construction company is rallying its muscle power behind the old adage “give and you shall receive.”
Kevin Altamura, of Altamura & Associates in Mechanicville, and a crew of about six volunteers from his family construction business are heading to New Orleans Feb. 22 to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
They’ll spend one week working with other volunteers through Operation Southern Comfort (OSC), an organization based in central New York that helps needy and displaced families on the Gulf Coast with the assistance of charitable organizations.
“They need skilled people, and so that’s why as a business I thought I could bring skilled people,” Altamura said. “I felt it was important for us to go down because it’s been more than four years now, and there’s a lot of people down there that have not received a lot of benefits.”
Thousands of displaced families in Mississippi and Louisiana still live in trailers, he added.
The group’s goal is to build the frame and roof of a small house (about 800 to 1,200 square feet) that will be home to a family of up to six people in the lower ninth ward of the city.
Volunteers will divide into teams to do everything from tearing down old structures and removing debris to erecting new walls.
Local churches and a Knights of Columbus chapter in New Orleans host the volunteers and provide meals, which cost $50 for the week. Other travel expenses are being paid for by the business, Altamura said.
The trip will be the family’s second to the area; last winter, Altamura and his parents, David and Lisa, chaperoned a group of college and high school students from schools in Syracuse and Mechanicville.
“We tried to save homes that should have been demolished but due to lack of funding are being rebuilt,” he said.
Altamura, who started his remodeling company in 2006, said he’s eager to give back to the less fortunate despite the financial hardships his and other local businesses have faced this year — an attitude that is shaped by personal experience.
“I lost my house to the tornado of Mechanicville in ’98, and there were lots of people around to help us get it together then,” he said. “Ultimately, I think that if you give, you shall receive.”
Other local builders interested in volunteering with Altamura & Associates in February can contact the business at 470-0032. For more information about upcoming Operation Southern Comfort trips, go to this link .
13 and 2
Watched the game against the Buc's. Like all of the teams playing against the Saints, this team played tough and hard. And the Saints were missing passion.
Cliff has more here
Bless you Boys for a fantastic ride. We love you till the end!
Cliff has more here
Bless you Boys for a fantastic ride. We love you till the end!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Scuzzbucket Grinch
A crack smoking scuzzbucket has been arrested in the case of the stolen Christmas gifts in St. Bernard Parish.
A 45-year-old man on parole for a previous burglary conviction was booked early Wednesday with stealing Christmas presents for needy children from a Violet church over the weekend, according to the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office.
Herman "Peter" Smiles allegedly hurled a cement block through the window of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church about 2 a.m. Sunday, filled six bags with the goods and carried them to his home where he lives with his mommy.
Smiles allegedly confessed during questioning. He told detectives that he broke into the church shortly after smoking crack. He allegedly searched for money but instead stumbled upon a stack of wrapped presents, stashed under a wooden crucifix.
There, Smiles reportedly told detectives, he unwrapped gift boxes and rifled through gift bags for nearly an hour. He allegedly stuffed them into several bags and made two trips carrying them to his room in his mom's house, about 300 feet away.
Members of Our Lady of Lourdes, 2621 Colonial Blvd., worked vigorously to identify needy children in their community devastated by the effects of poverty and Hurricane Katrina. They then bought them Christmas presents, wrapped them and planned a giveaway.
The presents were stolen the day before church volunteers doled the goods out. When they arrived to prepare for Sunday Mass, they found only torn wrapping paper and empty boxes and bags.
After word spread of the crime, people from across the metropolitan area and as far as Wisconsin and Ohio showered the church with new presents and cash donations. By Tuesday night, gifts were piled on the floor about seven feet deep along several of the church's walls. The Boy Scouts in Metairie donated 15 bicycles. The Salvation Army stuffed nylon crawfish bags with toys.
Instead of receiving just one or two presents as originally planned, the children braced to receive a sack about the size of a yard bag packed with gifts. Our Lady of Lourdes, it turned out, amassed a mound of Christmas joy much larger than it ever expected.
The Sheriff's Office returned the gifts to the church by late Wednesday morning, officials said.
A 45-year-old man on parole for a previous burglary conviction was booked early Wednesday with stealing Christmas presents for needy children from a Violet church over the weekend, according to the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office.
Herman "Peter" Smiles allegedly hurled a cement block through the window of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church about 2 a.m. Sunday, filled six bags with the goods and carried them to his home where he lives with his mommy.
Smiles allegedly confessed during questioning. He told detectives that he broke into the church shortly after smoking crack. He allegedly searched for money but instead stumbled upon a stack of wrapped presents, stashed under a wooden crucifix.
There, Smiles reportedly told detectives, he unwrapped gift boxes and rifled through gift bags for nearly an hour. He allegedly stuffed them into several bags and made two trips carrying them to his room in his mom's house, about 300 feet away.
Members of Our Lady of Lourdes, 2621 Colonial Blvd., worked vigorously to identify needy children in their community devastated by the effects of poverty and Hurricane Katrina. They then bought them Christmas presents, wrapped them and planned a giveaway.
The presents were stolen the day before church volunteers doled the goods out. When they arrived to prepare for Sunday Mass, they found only torn wrapping paper and empty boxes and bags.
After word spread of the crime, people from across the metropolitan area and as far as Wisconsin and Ohio showered the church with new presents and cash donations. By Tuesday night, gifts were piled on the floor about seven feet deep along several of the church's walls. The Boy Scouts in Metairie donated 15 bicycles. The Salvation Army stuffed nylon crawfish bags with toys.
Instead of receiving just one or two presents as originally planned, the children braced to receive a sack about the size of a yard bag packed with gifts. Our Lady of Lourdes, it turned out, amassed a mound of Christmas joy much larger than it ever expected.
The Sheriff's Office returned the gifts to the church by late Wednesday morning, officials said.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Help for Chinese Drywall Victims
from NOLA dot com
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way Tuesday for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and local governments to use Community Development Block Grant funds to help people with toxic drywall in their homes.
This fall, the Louisiana Recovery Authority set aside $5 million to help Road Home applicants with problem drywall. Many homes that were built or repaired after Hurricane Katrina were constructed with wall board that emits sulfuric gases that many people believe are making them sick and are corroding metal fixtures and appliances in homes. Insurers so far have been rejecting claims for damage, leaving homeowners without a source of money to fix the damage.
Tuesday's announcement takes a major step toward making funds available to help drywall victims, but money cannot be disbursed until the federal government comes up with protocols on how to test for drywall and agrees on the proper way to remediate damage. Those decisions are expected to be made early next year.
"This is kind of like half the equation," Stephens said.
HUD's announcement also means that the Recovery Authority could make funds available to non-Road Home applicants with drywall problems, if money could be found.
Similarly, local jurisdictions could use their CDBG entitlement funds to help non-hurricane victims with drywall in their homes as long as such efforts were aimed at low- to moderate-income people, meaning people who earn less than 80 percent of the area median income.
Money could be used to remediate, demolish or acquire homes with bad drywall, or to move people into apartments while their residences are being fixed.
Bad drywall has been found in 35 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, but most of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's 2,360 complaints have come from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia. In recent weeks, the Recovery Authority has registered 574 people with problem drywall in their homes, and is continuing to collect more names.
Reporting the problem to the Recovery Authority will help the state document how big the problem is and make the case for federal assistance. Anyone who hasn't yet registered with the Recovery Authority should complete a form online at lra.louisiana.gov/drywallform or call the state's contaminated drywall hotline at 1.866.684.1713.
Most of the bad drywall was imported from China because domestic manufacturers couldn't meet demand for wallboard after the disastrous 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and because of the housing boom. Recently, problems have also been discovered with some U.S. drywall.
In its announcement, HUD also reminded lenders using Federal Housing Administration-insured loans that they should use existing forbearance programs to work with borrowers in financial distress because of drywall problems.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way Tuesday for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and local governments to use Community Development Block Grant funds to help people with toxic drywall in their homes.
This fall, the Louisiana Recovery Authority set aside $5 million to help Road Home applicants with problem drywall. Many homes that were built or repaired after Hurricane Katrina were constructed with wall board that emits sulfuric gases that many people believe are making them sick and are corroding metal fixtures and appliances in homes. Insurers so far have been rejecting claims for damage, leaving homeowners without a source of money to fix the damage.
Tuesday's announcement takes a major step toward making funds available to help drywall victims, but money cannot be disbursed until the federal government comes up with protocols on how to test for drywall and agrees on the proper way to remediate damage. Those decisions are expected to be made early next year.
"This is kind of like half the equation," Stephens said.
HUD's announcement also means that the Recovery Authority could make funds available to non-Road Home applicants with drywall problems, if money could be found.
Similarly, local jurisdictions could use their CDBG entitlement funds to help non-hurricane victims with drywall in their homes as long as such efforts were aimed at low- to moderate-income people, meaning people who earn less than 80 percent of the area median income.
Money could be used to remediate, demolish or acquire homes with bad drywall, or to move people into apartments while their residences are being fixed.
Bad drywall has been found in 35 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, but most of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's 2,360 complaints have come from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia. In recent weeks, the Recovery Authority has registered 574 people with problem drywall in their homes, and is continuing to collect more names.
Reporting the problem to the Recovery Authority will help the state document how big the problem is and make the case for federal assistance. Anyone who hasn't yet registered with the Recovery Authority should complete a form online at lra.louisiana.gov/drywallform or call the state's contaminated drywall hotline at 1.866.684.1713.
Most of the bad drywall was imported from China because domestic manufacturers couldn't meet demand for wallboard after the disastrous 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and because of the housing boom. Recently, problems have also been discovered with some U.S. drywall.
In its announcement, HUD also reminded lenders using Federal Housing Administration-insured loans that they should use existing forbearance programs to work with borrowers in financial distress because of drywall problems.
A Saintly Christmas Gift
From the advocate dot com website
PORT ALLEN — As the big white moving truck made a right turn down Village Street followed by a shiny black Cadillac truck with tinted windows, residents of the Village Street Apartments let out a roar.
They knew who was driving the Cadillac even though they couldn’t see inside.
It was Port Allen native and second-year New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter returning to the city he grew up in to deliver gifts to the children from his old neighborhood, known as The Village.
“Feels good when you put a smile on kids’ faces,” Porter said as one young man jumped on his new bike and sped off without saying a word.
“This is a struggling area,” Porter said. “To come back here and see all these kids so happy just warms me up.”
Deshawn Raymond, 12, watched the scene from the side of the street sitting on top of his brand-new lime green bike.
“I feel special,” Raymond said. “Especially because it came from Tracy. He used to stay back here and baby-sit me.”
The event, was sponsored in part by the Baranco-Clark Branch YMCA in Baton Rouge.
Earlier in the day, before the bike giveaway, Porter was at the YMCA, where he worked as a lifeguard and summer camp counselor during his summer breaks from Port Allen High School.
In the past two years, Porter has donated $25,000 to the facility. On Monday, the YMCA returned the favor holding a small dedication ceremony in the facility’s newly revamped weight room dubbed the Tracy O. Porter YMCA Wellness Center.
His mentors and former coaches Curt Richardson and Grover Harrison were on hand at both events to help out and poke some fun at the football player.
“He’s a little guy but he’s always thought he was big,” Harrison said, laughing.
“When he was in high school, he wanted to run a (recreation) center like the YMCA and then go to the NBA. Now he’s in the NFL, and he’s giving back,” Harrison said.
PORT ALLEN — As the big white moving truck made a right turn down Village Street followed by a shiny black Cadillac truck with tinted windows, residents of the Village Street Apartments let out a roar.
They knew who was driving the Cadillac even though they couldn’t see inside.
It was Port Allen native and second-year New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter returning to the city he grew up in to deliver gifts to the children from his old neighborhood, known as The Village.
“Feels good when you put a smile on kids’ faces,” Porter said as one young man jumped on his new bike and sped off without saying a word.
“This is a struggling area,” Porter said. “To come back here and see all these kids so happy just warms me up.”
Deshawn Raymond, 12, watched the scene from the side of the street sitting on top of his brand-new lime green bike.
“I feel special,” Raymond said. “Especially because it came from Tracy. He used to stay back here and baby-sit me.”
The event, was sponsored in part by the Baranco-Clark Branch YMCA in Baton Rouge.
Earlier in the day, before the bike giveaway, Porter was at the YMCA, where he worked as a lifeguard and summer camp counselor during his summer breaks from Port Allen High School.
In the past two years, Porter has donated $25,000 to the facility. On Monday, the YMCA returned the favor holding a small dedication ceremony in the facility’s newly revamped weight room dubbed the Tracy O. Porter YMCA Wellness Center.
His mentors and former coaches Curt Richardson and Grover Harrison were on hand at both events to help out and poke some fun at the football player.
“He’s a little guy but he’s always thought he was big,” Harrison said, laughing.
“When he was in high school, he wanted to run a (recreation) center like the YMCA and then go to the NBA. Now he’s in the NFL, and he’s giving back,” Harrison said.
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