Last night my car was broken into. About $1500 worth of gear* was taken. Fortunately I was not inside, therefore I was not taken. My guitars, which I keep with me always, were not taken. My car was not taken. Therefore the tour will roll on.
When I woke up this morning something made me want to go check on the car. So I left my friend’s apartment and as I approached from the outside I noticed the contents had shifted. I was slow to realize what happened, as I didn’t notice any broken glass/point of entry. I actually thought maybe there was an earthquake or something. A CD case containing a couple hundred CDs was dumped on the driver’s seat. I was shocked at my carelessness for leaving it in view… but I knew I didn’t. Or did I? Was I sleepwalking? It’s amazing how long it took me to realize my car had been ransacked. Then I saw the rear cover dislodged, and dresses thrown over the back seat. And then… my backpack containing the files of everything I have composed since 2004… was gone.
I called the police as I rifled through what was left behind: books, dirty laundry, lots of rice. I also called my mother. As I took inventory of the unwanted, I became aware of my connection with the person who stole my belongings. It might sound strange, but I felt his energy wash over me, and I still do. I’m overwhelmed by the intimacy of our experience… our bond.
This person exhibited incredible respect for me through his handling of my possessions. Nothing was broken needlessly. It’s apparent that the act was not one of menace or meanness, but one of perceived need. What was not taken was sifted through, but unharmed. Only things of perceived resale value were taken. (I’ve listed the stolen items below, just in case you are in the neighborhood and happen to run into a couple of discarded bags in dumpsters, bushes, pawn shops, etc. I’m offering a reward for any of these items.)
* What I’d like to recover the most:
Navy blue backpack (North Face) containing external hard drive with six years of works-in-progress files (audio and text). This is the greatest loss, and of no value to anyone else, really. I will give a generous reward, no questions asked, for the recovery of this hard drive.
Black band bag (LeSport Sac) containing guitar pedals: one Big Muff, one Boss Chromatic Tuner, one Open Road Overdrive; Shure SM 58 mic, assorted cables, a couple dozen of my CDs, and smaller items (packs of guitar strings, etc.)
Garmin Nuvi GPS with charger.
Other puzzling stolen items: over forty assorted crystals and gemstones and an absurdly large Thesaurus. I don’t know how this person carried it up the hill along with all the other items. Plus, my expense reports/tour receipts from January through March and a wallet of emergency credit cards which have been cancelled.
My initial reaction – a feeling of monetary loss and personal violation – waned surprisingly quickly as my focus shifted from me to him. I’ve spent the majority of the afternoon reflecting on his motivation and his process, repeatedly visualizing how I imagine it was done. After getting off the phone with various credit card companies, police, pawn shops, and used guitar stores I decided to go looking for my stuff because, you know, I am very optimistic. And it was a beautiful spring day. A nice day for a walk.
So I walked through nearby parks, peaking into trashcans along the way. I felt myself slip deeper into this person, becoming him as I traced his hypothetical path… as a kind of meditation. And I found so much: clothing, furniture, food, books, personal items… I even found two ditched bags that fit the exact description of mine, though they were not.
There are so many people living on the street in San Francisco. And life gives us so much more that it takes. So much more that I don’t think I can even claim a loss.
As I headed back to my friend’s apartment, skin saturated with sunlight and gratitude in tact, Dylan’s lyric entered me, “She’s got everything she needs, she’s an artist, she don’t look back.”
Very true indeed. An artist is never poor. An artist is never without. And we are all artists. Our lives are our creations.
I am deeply grateful for the tools and the gifts I have been given.
So thank you, San Francisco, for the perspective. Tonight is my last show before heading South. Let’s make it our masterpiece.
Designed in classic contemporary colors, this convenient Travel System includes an infant car seat and stroller to make out-of-the-house time with baby even sweeter. * Newborns and up. * Includes stroller and matching, removeable carseat. * Padded, print fabric lined interiors. * 5-point harness system. * Stroller features: Protective canopy, removable snack tray, large storage basket, locking wheels and sure-grip handle. * Imported. SB Link Address
Please click on the following link to visit this daily featured deal.
We spent almost 3 hours in a car dealership yesterday pondering over buying a new car…..the people where very nice and gave us coffee and a free test drive of their new model (a Citroen Berlingo Multispace) Now as a rule I have absolutely no interest in cars whatsoever….to me they are just a means of getting from a to b. I do appreciated however that somebody, somewhere has designed, engineered and manufactured this gas polluting evil of the modern world. To be honest if it were not for work I wouldn’t have one……I didn’t learn to drive until I was 35 and then….bingo (or Berlingo)….here I am spending nearly 3 hours talking about cars and trying to look interested and as if I know something!
A very nice sales man called Dave sat us down in front of his computer and started talking about ‘horse power’ ‘engine size’ and ‘doing nought to sixty in 12.5 seconds’……yawn! That’s all very well but how much? And what about part exchange? And? And?………isn’t it funny how car sales people always leave the most important stuff till the very end…..after almost three hours of seductive talk, tea, coffee and a nice drive….they tell you the stuff you really wanted to know and would of taken just 2 minutes of complete honesty. But no……like some ritual Japanese tea ceremony…..buying a car is not that simple.
Let’s face it, if my faithful 8 year old Vauxhall Agila wasn’t on its last legs and I didn’t need it for work I wouldn’t even be here…..what the hell I’m I doing here? I used to be a PUNK!!
The New Citroen Berlingo
But here I am now, looking at the Berlingo with envious eyes just ready to throw all my phantom children’s hard earned inheritance away.
OK, it’s no great looker, no fanny magnet and it certainly won’t impress the neighbours but it will get us from A to B, carry all our art materials and keep us in work for a few years more. It is stylish in a ‘French’ kind of a way and it drives well I suppose, It looks a bit like a van and that’s exactly what it is a car come van….all the rage in Paris so I’m told!
When the Berlingo first came out in 1998 Jeremy Clarkson from BBC’s Top Gear programme apparently raved about this motorised machine which resulted in everybody going out and buying one, increasing sales three fold…..all I can say is I never watch the programme and Jeremy Clarkson is a T**t.
Salesman Dave god bless him did his best to close the deal there and then but we decided to sleep on it and do a bit of research but buying a car is a big commitment Dave and we must be sure we’ve got the right one……I think he understood but he did have a bit of a houndog look about him after three hours of love making to us, he even called his boss over to join in the ‘love fest’
If you want to kill a couple of hour, have a day out then book a free test drive…tis fun!
Well I’m off now to do a bit of research into cars….. got any tips? ;-)
Well, not to many people know but I am not close to my father-in-law. In-fact, my husband isn’t even close to him. Thoughts of disowning him have swirled around.
Well, he heard that I had opened up two saving accounts. He for some reason was really impressed by this. So, he gave us $150 just to put into savings!! We were so surprised!! It helped us a ton though and we are really grateful!
I also sold one of our old cars yesterday. It was the car we had our wreck in so we didn’t get much for it, only $230 which I haven’t put into my savings yet, but I will in the next few days! So my stats on the side are not including this $230. And, tomorrow I will be depositing another $200! Lots of money going to a new car this month!
Also, I thought I would let everyone know that I have been tracking all of my spending for this month and at the end of the month I will post it for everyone to see how I’ve been managing and where I’ve saved money.
Ada banyak dealer untuk memilih dari ketika mencari dealer mobil bekas di dealer pulsa termurah Los Angeles. Dealer mobil bekas di Los Angeles dapat membantu Anda menemukan mobil impian Anda. Jangan lupa Dealer Voucher Pulsa tentang dealer mobil bekas di Los Angeles ketika Anda siap untuk membeli kendaraan berikutnya.
Langkah pertama dalam mencari mobil bekas adalah membuka koran atau pergi online dan browsing iklan mobil bekas di Los Angeles. Sementara melihat iklan mobil bekas di Los Angeles Anda akan dapat menemukan banyak penawaran khusus dan menawarkan bahwa dealer lokal telah tersedia. Anda dapat melanjutkan Dealer Pulsa Electrik untuk memilih dealer untuk memeriksa mobil secara pribadi.
Ada beberapa hal yang harus tetap sadar ketika melihat mobil dari dealer mobil bekas di Los Angeles. Beberapa di antaranya adalah kondisi ban kondisi rem warna dari knalpot dan kondisi minyak. Meskipun dealer mobil bekas di Los Angeles akan dapat membantu Anda dalam seleksi adalah bijaksana untuk mengetahui apa yang Anda cari sebelum pergi ke setiap dealer.
Untuk memeriksa kondisi ban membawa sepeser pun. Tapak ban dapat diperiksa dengan cepat dengan memasukkan satu sen dengan kepala Lincoln menunjuk ke dalam sebuah kebun di ban jika Anda bisa melihat bagian atas kepala Lincoln Dealer Isi Pulsa ban dikenakan dan harus diganti. Pastikan untuk memeriksa semua ban Dealer Pulsa Telkomsel karena mereka Bisnis Dealer Pulsa dapat memakai merata jika mereka tidak dirotasi sesering Daftar Dealer Pulsa yang seharusnya.
Rem ini sangat penting terutama karena mobil Anda tidak bisa berhenti tanpa mereka. Pastikan bahwa bantalan rem dan Cari Dealer Pulsa rotor yang lebih baru dengan sedikit memakai. Hal ini dimungkinkan untuk mencukur tepi rem rotor untuk membuat yang baru berhenti tepi Dealer Pulsa Elektrik Termurah yang bersih tapi ini dealer pulsa termurah hanya dapat dilakukan begitu banyak kali sebelum harus diganti sepenuhnya.
Akhirnya menghidupkan mobil dan periksa warna knalpot. Jika anda melihat asap tebal maka mungkin ada masalah dengan sistem pembuangan atau catalytic converter yang keduanya perbaikan mahal. Akhirnya Anda perlu menyadari kondisi minyak.
The number one reason people in villages give for not wanting to move in London is that it’s “too busy”.
I don’t agree. Sure, there’s a lot to do: restaurants wafting out scents from around the globe, venues for bands playing everything from heavy metal to folk and galleries open all hours, not to mention some of the most exciting landmarks in Europe. But London isn’t all that fast. Slow cooking, slow dancing and slow thinking are all here as well.
The people in my home village who think the over 80s shuffling through the twitten are slow have clearly never been behind a family of foreign tourists trying to fathom the London Underground network, while traversing the heart of King’s Cross tube station.
I have never seen healthy people move as slow as when groups of young girls come within four metres of the Topshop entrance.
In the village I grew up in, two of our cats were hit by cars that were speeding right outside our house. A boy my brother’s age flipped his car 180̊ because he was going so fast through a narrow pinch point in the village. In London you are lucky if you ever reach 40 miles per hour before stopping for a traffic light, speed bump, pelican crossing or bus.
To drive two miles in the countryside takes about six minutes, or 10 if you’re on a very busy bus. In London, two miles can easily take 20 minutes, only slightly quicker than walking it.
London may be a lot of things; too big to know in a short time, too congested and too rude at times, but it is not too busy.
There is an old saying that, “Leaders are Readers”. However, so often in such a fast paced world, it can be difficult to read as much as you might like. So that’s why I like to say, “Leaders are Learners”. The key is to be learning as much as you can each and everyday. So what can you do when you don’t have as much time to read as you’d like? Simple…turn your car into a University on Wheels.
There are tons of CD’s and MP3’s that can be listened to while you’re driving that will make your drive time more productive. Having trouble reading the bible? Ok, listen to it instead. Need to get some more info on healthy living. Listen to something. Have a big project at work you need to have more knowledge for. Find a book that touches on the subject then buy the audio version instead.
I’m a huge fan of music and periodically you just need some music to listen to while driving, however if you’re smart you’ll start introducing some learning into the mix as well. Even just 1/2 hour per day will add up to significant amounts of learning over the course of a year. I started this habit back in the mid 90’s and now I hardly ever listen to music while in the car…between Cd’s and podcasts there is a never ending source of great teaching out there, the question is are you tapping into it? Leaders are learners…how you doing?
After finishing the deal on your new car, you will likely see the person in the Finance department of the dealership. This person is probably the “Last-line-of-Defense”. Just similar to the saleperson, the person in the finance office will also receive commissions from the loan and extra pieces which he would likely to recommend you to put on. And the list is very long such as extended manufacture’s warranty, paint coating, fabric protection, and… many more.
My advice is, “Do not bother if you have no knowledge about the item you are about to add on”. Even in the case you know the topics, let think in a reverse direction. What should happen if you do not have these things put on.
Extended warranty should be the first thing the financial person recommend you. It might sound correct for speding a little more in order to get extra coverage. However, most cars do not fail in the first 5 years or 100,ooo miles. Therefore, it sounds like you have extra coverage, but in reality, you merely have no coverage at all because you car will likely to fail after the extended warry expires.
Fabric protection, paint coating, and some others are items of which you should not get bothered. They are useless. In the case of fabric protection, color-fading seems the only chance to be protected. Other than that, the dealership will have hundred of stories to refuse you. So why bother?
So far, I have discussed about the techical factors. Now, let see a little about the human factors. First, let acknowledge that people who operate the dealership are not stupid. They have been paid to creat ways to earn profits at maximum lelvels. (I dare not to say they get paid to cheat.) Just simply look at their operation hours. It will somehow tell you a little. There are 2 operation hours which you may find at a dealership: showroom hours and maintenance shop hours. The showroom may open very late; however, the maintenance shop will open at the time you go to work. And, trust me, they will close at the time you are on your way home. The only chance for most people to have their cars’ fixed is Saturday. And it is very likely that most people cannot get their cars on the same day due to dozens of reasons which the dealership can make up even though the dealership can fix the problem right way.
From my opinion, if you like to car, just buy the car. And that is it. If you need a few extra options installed, considering the Yellow Book may be a better way. And most important, do not let the dealership influenced you. You spend the money. You are God! Do not let things happen in the other ways around.
Not long after I bought my MX5, I joined the MX5 club of NSW and then went on a club run down the south coast to Kiama. There were about 45 MX5’s on the run and we gathered near the Kiama lighthouse. This photo was taken on 19th March 2006 with my Sony point and shoot camera.
Incidentally, if you follow the link above to the MX5 club website, the banner at the top of the main page is a photo of a bunch of MX5’s parked near the Kiama lighthouse taken on the same day.
The chargeless car or get paid to drive affairs is a new agency of announcement which dominates the market. People like you and me are acceptable to be sponsored by the companies all about the apple to drive a car. If you apply you accept adventitious to get a car for chargeless or get some added money to abutment your living.
The companies are accommodating to accord you a new chargeless car to drive but they will adorn it with the logo and ads. This does not matter for it will not affect your driving. You aloof charge to drive as accepted – drive to aces up your accouchement or drive to the appointment and wherever you want. All you accept to anguish about is advantageous for ammunition and insurance.
The companies action the chargeless car or get paid to drive programs for the promotional purposes. The added money you get can awning your car acquittal such as car aliment and oil. And you will no best accuse that it is annoying after a car. Perhaps you are clumsy to allow a car but today you can get it for free.
Others are earning a abundant accord of money for artlessly agreement ads on their car while they are continuing to drive their accustomed accustomed routes. The ads are magnetic so they will not accident or affect your car. The beyond the advertisement is the added you will be paid. If you drive a specific avenue at specific time you may get added payment.
Would you like to get paid to drive your own car If you would adulation to aloof join. These companies will pay you every ages for wrapping your car with their advertisement.
If you don’t own a car or you don’t appetite your car to be captivated with an ad you can accept to drive one of the chargeless cars endemic by the ad companies instead.
Exterior
The TSX kept its muscular exterior in the 2009 redesign. The wheels are accented by large fender flares, and the front of the car is defined by a grille that features a silver-colored upper bar. The TSX is 185.6 inches long and 72.4 inches wide, making it both longer and wider than its competition. A cross-braced roof improves rigidity, and the TSX has dual-mode dampers that vary their response based on driving conditions.
* Xenon low-beam and halogen high-beam headlights with integrated fog lamps
* Wide trunk opening helps with loading large or awkward objects
* 17-inch silver alloy wheels standard on four-cylinder models
* 18-inch silver alloy wheels standard on V-6 models
I read about her passing on muslimmatters.org and I also recieved this forward about her achievements in the mail which I would like to share. We would like to say, Innaa lillaahi wa Innaa ilahi raji’un and ask Allah to forgive her and grant her the highest ranks in Paradise. We also ask Allah to give her family patience in these hard times.
Aminah assilmi is a renowned female scholar of Islam she travels around the United States to give lectures , her personal story has admired hundreds of individuals ,she is also President of International Union of Muslim Women , the organization that has many achievements under its belt.
“I am so very glad that I am a Muslim. Islam is my life. Islam is the beat of my heart. Islam is the blood that courses through my veins. Islam is my strength. Islam is my life so wonderful and beautiful. Without Islam I am nothing, and should Allah ever turn His magnificent face from me, I could not survive.” Aminah Assilmi
It all started with a computer glitch.
She was a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist. She was a girl with an unusual caliber, who excelled in school, received scholarships, ran her own business, and were competing with professionals and getting awards – all these while she was going to college. Then one day a computer error happened that made her take up a mission as a devout Christian. Eventually, however, it resulted into something opposite and changed her life completely around.
It was 1975 when for the first time computer was used to pre-register for a class in her college. She was working on her degree on Recreation. She pre-registered for a class and then went to Oklahoma City to take care of a business. Her return was delayed and she came back to college two weeks into the class. Making up the missed work was no problem for her, but she was surprised to find that the computer mistakenly registered her for a Theatre class, a class where students would be required to perform in front of others. She was a very reticent girl and she was horrified to think about performing in front of others. She could not drop the class for it was too late
Failing the class was also not a choice, for she was receiving a scholarship that was paying for her tuition and receiving an ‘F’ would have jeopardized it.
Advised by her husband, she went to her teacher to work out some other alternative to performing, such as preparing costumes, etc. Assured by the teacher that he would try to help her, she went to the next class and was shocked by what she saw. The class was full of Arabs and “camel jockeys”. That was enough for her. She came back home and decided not to go back to the class anymore. It was not possible for her to be in the middle of Arabs. “There was no way I was going to sit in a room full of dirty heathens!”
Her husband was calm as usual. He pointed out to her that God has a reason for everything and that she should think about more before quitting. Besides, there was the scholarship that was paying her tuition. She went behind locked doors for 2 days to think about. When she came out, she decided to continue the class. She felt that God gave her a task to convert the Arabs into Christianity.
Thus she found herself with a mission to accomplish. Throughout the class, she would be discussing Christianity with her Arab classmates. “I proceeded to explain to them how they would burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior. They were very polite, but did not convert. Then, I explained how Jesus loved them and had died on the cross to save them from their sins. All they had to do was accept him into their hearts.” They still did not convert, and so she decided to do something else: “I decided to read their own book to show to them that Islam was a false religion and Mohammed was a false Prophet”.
At her request, one student gave her a copy of the Qur’an and another book on Islam. With these two books she started on her research, which she was to continue for the next one and half years. She read the Qur’an fully and another fifteen books on Islam. Then she came back to the Qur’an and re-read it. During her research, she started taking notes that she found objectionable and which she would be able to use to prove that Islam was a false religion.
Unconsciously, however, she was changing from within which did not escape the attention of her husband. “I was changing, just in little ways but enough to bother him. We used to go to the bar every Friday and Saturday, or to a party, and I no longer wanted to go. I was quieter and more distant.” She stopped drinking and eating pork. Her husband suspected her of having an affair with another man, for “it was only for a man that a woman changes”. Ultimately, she was asked to leave, and she soon found herself living in a separate apartment
“When I first started to study Islam, I did not expect to find anything that I needed or wanted in my personal life. Little did I know that Islam would change my life. No human could have ever convinced me that I would finally be at peace and overflowing with love and joy because of Islam.”
Throughout these times, she continued studying Islam and although she was changing subtly from within, she remained a devout Christian. Then one day, there was a knock on her door. It was a man in traditional Muslim robe, who appeared to her as a “man in a long white night gown with a red and white checkered table cloth on his head”. His name was Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik and he was accompanied by three other men in similar dress. She was very offended by Muslim men coming to her in nightgowns and pajamas. She was further shocked when Abdul-Aziz told her that he understood that she waited to be a Muslim. She replied that she was a Christian and she did not have any plan to become a Muslim. However, she had some questions to ask if they had the time.
At her invitation, they came inside. She now brought up the questions and objections that she noted down while she was researching. “I will never forget his name”, she said of Abdul-Aziz who proved to be a very patient and soft-mannered person. “He was very patient and discussed every question with me. He never made me feel silly or that a question was stupid.” Abdul-Aziz listened to every question and objection and explained it within the proper context. “He explained that Allah had told us to seek knowledge and questions were one of the ways to accomplish that. When he explained something, it was like watching a rose open – petal by petal, until it reached its full glory. When I told him that I did not agree with something and why, he always said I was correct up to a point. Then he would show me how to look deeper and from different directions to reach a fuller understanding.”
It would not be long before she would externally submit to what she had already been submitting to internally during the last one and half years. Later in that same day, this Southern Baptist girl would declare in front of Abdul-Aziz and his companions: “I bear witness that there is no god but God and Mohammed is His Messenger.” It was May 21, 1977.
Conversion to Islam, or to any other religion for that matter, is not always a simple thing to do. Except for a few fortunate ones, a new Muslim usually face consequences. The convert may face isolation from family and friends, if not pressure to go back to the family faith. Sometimes, a convert may even face sever economic hardship, as in the case of those who are asked to leave the house because of converting to Islam. Some converts are fortunate to continue to be well respected by family and friends, but most of them face minor to severe hardship especially during the first few years after the conversion.
But the difficulty that Aminah Assilimi had to go through and the sacrifice that she had to make for the sake of her conviction and faith is almost unheard of. There are few who could rely so much on Allah as she did, standing firm and meeting the challenges, making sacrifices, and yet maintaining a positive posture and influencing people around with the beauty of what she found and believed in.
She lost most of her friends, for she was “no fun anymore”. Her mother did not accept her becoming a Muslim and hoped that it was a temporary zeal and that she would soon grow out of it. Her “mental health expert” sister thought that she lost her mind. She attempted to put her in a mental health institution.
Her father was a calm and wise man. People would come to him for advice and he could comfort anyone in distress. But when he heard that his daughter became a Muslim, he loaded his double-barrel shotgun and started on his way to kill her. “It is better that she be dead rather than suffering in the deepest of Hell”, he said.
She was now without friends and without family.
She soon started wearing hijab. The day she put it on, she was denied her job. She was now without family, friends, and job. But her greatest sacrifice was yet to come.
She and her husband both loved each other very much. But while she was studying Islam, her husband misunderstood her for her apparent changes. She became quieter and stopped going to the bar. Her changes were visible to him and he suspected her of having affair with another man, for whom she must have been changing. She could not explain to him what was happening. “There was no way to make him understand what was changing me because I did not know.” Eventually he asked her to leave and she started living separately.
After she openly accepted Islam, it went worse. A divorce was now inevitable. This was a time when Islam was little known, much less understood for what it is. She had two little children whom she loved dearly and whose custody should have rightfully be given to her. But in a grave violation of justice, she was denied their custody just because she became a Muslim. Before giving the formal verdict, the judge offered her a harsh choice: either renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave the children. She was given 20 minutes to make a decision.
She loved her children very dearly. It is perhaps the worst nightmare that a mother can have: asked to willfully leave her child – not for one day, month, or year, but forever. On the other hand, how could she keep the Truth away from her children and live as a hypocrite? “It was the most painful 20 minutes in my life”, she said in an interview. Those of us who are mothers and fathers, especially of young children, little imagination is needed to feel the pain and torment that she must have passed every second in those 20 minutes. What added further to her pain was that according to doctors, she could never bear another child because of certain complications. “I prayed like I had never done before … I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah.”
She decided to retain Islam. Her two dear children – one little boy and one little girl – were taken away from her and given to her ex-husband.
For a mother, is there a sacrifice greater than this – a sacrifice that is done for no material reason but only for faith and conviction?
“I left the court knowing that life without my babies would be very difficult. My heart bled, even though I knew, inside, I had done the right thing” . She found comfort in the following verse of the Qur’an:
There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Quran 2: 255)
Perhaps the air of Colorado was too thin for justice. Or perhaps there was a plan in Allah’s greater scheme of affairs. Aminah Assilimi later fought back and took her case to the media. Although she did not get custody of her children again, a change was made in the Colorado law that one cannot be denied child custody on the basis of his or her religion.
Indeed Allah’s love and mercy engulfed her so much that, as if, she has been granted the touchstone of Islam. Wherever she goes, people are touched by her beautiful words and Islamic manners and become Muslim.
By accepting Islam, she became a changed person, and a much better person. So much so that her family, relatives, and people around her started appreciating her mannerism and the faith that brought about such changes in her. Despite her family’s initial reaction, she remained in touch with them and addressed them with respect and humility, just as the Qur’an enjoins the Muslims to do. She would send cards to her parents on different occasions, but she would always write down a verse from the Qur’an or the Hadith without mentioning the source of such beautiful words of wisdom. It was not long before she started making a positive influence among her family members.
The first to become Muslim was her grand mother. She was over 100 years old. Soon after accepting Islam, she died. “The day she pronounced Shahada, all her misdeeds had been erased, while her good deeds were preserved. She died so soon after accepting Islam that I knew her “book” was bound to be heavy on the good side. It fills me with such a joy!”
Next to become Muslim was her father, the one who wanted to kill her after she became Muslim. Thus he brought alive the story of Umar ibn Khattab. Umar was a companion of the Prophet who persecuted the early Muslims before he converted to Islam. When he heard one day that his sister became a Muslim, he went out with an open sword to kill her. But upon hearing some of the verses from the Qur’an that his sister was reciting, he recognized the truth and went straight to the Prophet and accepted Islam.
Two years after she (Assilmi) accepted Islam, her mother called and said that she appreciated her faith and hoped that she would keep it. Couple of years later, she called again and asked her about what one would need to do to become a Muslim. Assilmi replied that one had to believe that there is only One God and Muhammad was his Messenger. “Any fool knows that. But what do you have to do?”, she asked again. She replied that if that is what she believed, then she was already a Muslim! At this, her mother said, “Well … OK. But let’s not tell your father just yet”.
She was not aware that her husband (Assilmi’s step father) had the same conversation with her a few weeks earlier. Thus the two lived together as Muslims for years in secret without knowing that the other was also a Muslim. Her sister who wanted to put her in mental institution accepted Islam as well. She must have realized that becoming Muslim is indeed the most healthy and sound thing to do.
Her son, upon becoming adult, accepted Islam. When he turned 21, he called her and said that he wanted to become a Muslim.
Sixteen years after the divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam. He said that he had been watching her for sixteen years and wanted his daughter to have the same religion that she had. He came to her and apologized for what he had done. He was a very nice gentlemen and Assilimi had forgiven him long ago.
Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. Assilmi later married another person, and despite the doctors’ verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allah (swt) makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allah (swt), and so she named him “Barakah
The sacrifice that Assilmi made for the sake of Allah (swt) was tremendous. And so Allah (swt) turned in mercy to her and rewarded her with enormous blessings. Her family discarded her after she accepted Islam, and now by Allah’s mercy, most of them are Muslim. She lost her friends because of Islam, and now she is being loved by so many. “Friends who loved came out of nowhere”, she said. Allah’s blessings came upon her so much that wherever she goes people are touched by the beauty of Islam and accept the Truth. Both Muslims and non-Muslims now come to her for advice and counseling.
She lost her job because of wearing hijab, and now she is the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. It was her organization that successfully lobbied for the “Eid Stamp” and had it approved by the United States Postal Service, but it took many years of work. She is now working on making the Eid Day as a national holiday.
She has tremendous trust on Allah’s love and mercy and she never looses faith on Him. She was once diagnosed with cancer some years ago. Doctors said that it was in an advanced stage and that she would live for another year. But her faith in Allah (swt) remained strong. “We must all die. I was confident that the pain I was experiencing contained blessings.” As a brilliant example of how much one can love Allah, she mentions about a friend of her named Kareem Al-Misawi who died of cancer when he was in his 20’s:
“Shortly before he died, he told me that Allah was truly Merciful. This man was in unbelievable anguish and was radiating with Allah’s love. He said: “Allah intends that I should enter heaven with a clean book.” His death experience gave me something to think about. He taught me of Allah’s love and mercy.”
All praise is due to Allah, she continues to live in good health. She now thinks that having cancer was the greatest blessing that she ever had.
(The biggest change to date for better safety and improved driving)
Phase 1 – change of worn out front and back suspension components, repair of cabin light (which has been short circuiting my fuses), door lock malfunction and repair of the dents on 2 doors (eye sore for many months).
Parts changed and the cost to date:-
2 rear Monroe shock absorbers
2 tie rod end
2 ball joint cover
Brake shoe rear
Suspension rod bush
Trim pillar
Lower arm bush
Lower arm bush iron
Room lamp
Left side centre lock gun
Repair and respray on 2 doors
Change of cracked interior plastics
Replacement of missing rim centre cover
Total cost = RM1,498.00
Phase 2 – change of seat covers
Parts changed and the cost to date:-
Coolmax seat covers – the old one lasted for a long time but in serious tear and wear condition
Total cost = RM450.00
(200++ and more songs at a breeze! The new detachable MP3 player)
Phase 3 – change to MP3 player
Parts changed and the cost to date:-
Sony MP3 player (CDX-GT670US) with remote control but I used back the same old speakers – I paid too much for it, it will be a waste if I replace it now whilst it is still in good working order
Total cost = RM650.00
Phase 4 – yet to commence (change to new rims)
Phase 5 – upgrade of the braking system to a better one
Parts changed and the cost to date:-
Rear axle with attached brake set
Double brake pump servo
Master brake pump
Rear brake pads
Rear wheel bearing
A new season is upon us and i for one cannot wait. The prospect of Michael Schumacher making his return to Formula 1, Jensen Button moving to McLaren and Alonso’s move to Ferrari is just a small part to the story that is about to unfold over the next 9 months. Although lining up on the grid will be four world championship winners there will be no Kimi Raikkonen. Im sure everyone who reads this will join me in agreeing that it isn’t bad news. Mr personality (no sarcasm there) won’t be there to cheer us all up in his press conferences or whatever it maybe. Could it be why Ferrari had such a bad season last year? Some say it’s the Fin’s way which i would agree with if we take a look at Mika Hakkinen’s personality but at least he smiled! Heikki Kovalainen however proves that all F1 drivers from Finland aren’t all morbid.
Let’s take a look at how the teams and drivers line up.
McLaren – Lewis Hamilton & Jensen Button
The all British line up. In my opinion although its great to see i do think this is a recipe for disaster. After a bad season last year McLaren will be looking to get off to the best possible start in Bahrain. I think all eyes will be on Hamilton and Button to see how they pair up as a team because both will want to challenge for the championship title. Button will want to retain and Hamilton will want to regain. Being English and a huge fan of F1 this is clearly my team for the season.
Mercedes GP – Michael Schumacher & Nico Rosberg
The all German line up but not the main story from this team. Formally known as Brawn GP, the team that won Jensen Button the title now have Michael Schumacher. Coming out of retirement after failing to do so for the remainder of last season Michael Schumacher will be one driver to watch this year. Never being a fan myself i think it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the latest technology and if he still has it. If i remember correctly Im sure thats why he retired when he did because the FIA removed the drivers assists in the cars. Funny that??? Partnered with Nico Rosberg i think it’s clear who Mercedes GP have as their number 1 driver.
Red Bull – Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber
After a very successful season last year i would put money on an outside chance and another very strong title challenge from Vettel. He is a very talented driver and if Red Bull can put together another good car this year Vettel has a very good chance. Teamed up with Mark Webber who won his first grand prix last season i think Red Bull will be there or there about.
Ferrari – Felipe Massa & Fernando Alonso
Anyone taking bets that this line up could also be a recipe for disaster? Remember Hamilton and Alonso at McLaren? I can see Alonso causing more problems now at Ferrari. First of all Ferrari need to produce a better car. Both Massa and Raikkonen struggled in the car last season with both way of the pace. It will be interesting to see how Massa performs and to see if there is any psychological damage from his bad accident. Alonso certainly has the ability proving it with back to back championship wins a few seasons a go but since then his stubbornness and sometimes reckless driving has taken over.
Williams – Rubens Barrichello & Nico Hulkenberg
The veteran is still going and going strong but this could be his last season in F1. Maybe it was his rare win last year for Brawn GP that is keeping him going. Keep the faith Rubens but by teams standards you have dropped down unfortunately. Nico Hulkenberg is new to formula 1 so not a lot expected from him then. Just enjoy it while you possibly can.
Renault – Robert Kubica & Vitaly Petrov
Another driver that has experienced a horrific accident a few seasons back Kubica has shown signs that he can challenge but is Renault the team that can back this? Coming up to formula 1 the same season as Hamilton, Kubica did show his ability but since his accident he fell off the pace. As i said earlier this could happen to Massa (fingers crossed). It could be a season for Kubica to show again what he can do but that we will have to wait and see. Vitaly Petrov is also a new comer to formula 1 so again lets see how he copes.
Force India – Adrian Sutil & Vitantonio Liuzzi
Back again for another season Force India as we know are a team to make up the numbers. Still in development they have a fairly decent driver line up in Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi and should pick up some points over the course of the season.
Toro Rosso – Sebastien Buemi & Jaime Alguersuari
Another team to make up the numbers Toro Rosso will be looking to do well with Buemi now on board after picking some good experience last season. After picking up 6 points for himself Buemi will be looking to improve on that and develop into a better driver. Jaime Alguersuari is also new to F1. Still only 19 Alguersuari will do well to finish in as many races as he can. Good experience for him though.
Lotus – Jarno Trulli & Heikki Kovalainen
Welcome to formula 1 Lotus and good luck! Red Bull and various other teams had to start somewhere though didn’t they? I have a feeling if they stay in F1 for a while Lotus could go far. With drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen Lotus have drivers with a lot of experience which will be exploited. Jarno Trulli now possibly know as a veteran can lead Lotus to points and Heikki Kovalainen now being dropped by McLaren will feel he has something to prove. Seriously watch this space.
HRT – Karun Chandhok & Bruno Senna
Welcome to formula 1 HRT and good luck! No seriously you will need it. Another new team with two new drivers. It can only mean back of the grid or somewhere round there for every race can’t it? Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna will do well not to crash, never mind get anywhere near points. I do like to be proved wrong though.
BMW Sauber – Pedro de la Rosa & Kamui Kobayashi
BMW Sauber find themselves so far down the pecking order now which is a shame. They too also have a lot of potential to do better and with the experience of Pedro de la Rosa they do have an outside chance of picking up a few points but still end up further down the starting grid. Kamui Kobayashi is new to F1 so same applies to him. Do well, get good experience and be safe! No accidents please.
Virgin – Timo Glock & Lucas di Grassi
This is brilliant! Richard Branson WAKE UP! It’s not going to work again. This isn’t Brawn GP and you don’t have Ross Brawn, Jensen Button or a good car. Good luck to them though. Timo Glock isn’t bad and he does have some experience in formula 1 which will be vital for the Virgin team. It will be interesting to see how it pans out for them and like i said before every team has to start somewhere. Good times maybe ahead for Mr Branson. Lucas di Grassi is also new so pressure is on at this team for him but don’t we all hope he does well?
So there you have it. My preview of F1 2010/11 is complete and now i will wait like the rest of you for 5 more days until it starts. As far as predictions go i think its still too tough to pick out the championship winner from that list of drivers. With the return of Schumacher and drivers swapping teams for the possible best or worst i feel it makes it far too hard to predict. I would hope either Hamilton or Button can do it with McLaren, however i do feel Schumacher and Vettel will have their say on the matter. Yes, that does mean right now Im ruling out Massa, Alonso and Ferrari. Not because Im not a fan though….honest
So a couple months ago I decided to take a nap after school.
It was pretty nice and normal dream until I realized that it was in french. It was as if I was watching a movie but I was in it, just not visible to the people that were a part of the movie. Although every now and again I would be the woman.
It was two lovers, a man and a woman, in a taxi. Both very beautiful people in about their mid-20s. They were kind of bickering when another taxi passed them but then they were stopped next to it at a red light. At this part I was in the view point of the woman and she could see people in the other taxi. It was herself and her lover, but in their future, very much in love. I went back to the watcher and the two french lovers kissed each other passionately and then said some words in french to each other that I woke up not understanding.
I am a good sharer. Maybe it comes from being the oldest sister and cousin and always having to share with the younger kids. Or I’m just an awesome person.
I like to share things I like with other people – I hear a funny story, see a good movie, hear a great song, I want my friends and family to know about it. It’s how I’ve gotten 5 people addicted to LOST, 4 addicted to How I Met Your Mother, and 3 addicted to Dexter.
So. Now that I have this blog, when I find something funny, or awesome, I have an easy way to share it with you all. Right now, these are things that are totally rocking my world, so I suggest you try them out.
“Desparation” by Stephen King. I gave Mr. King a break for a little while..I was kind of pissed at him for scaring me off of clowns, but then he redeemed himself with “Under the Dome” so I bought a few of his older books at Half Price books, because if I ended up hating them, hey, they only cost $3. With this one though, so far, so good. I forgive you, Stevie. But I still don’t like clowns.
This little girl is hilarious. And she loves Justin Bieber. You should also check out the video from Jimmy Kimmel where the kid actually gets to meet Justin Bieber.
Dooce linked to this video on her blog, as did some of the other bloggers who I read. It’s one of the coolest music videos I’ve ever seen. Ok Go was introduced to me in college by a former roommate (not the DEVIL INCARNATE, the one before her), and I’ve loved them ever since. This is even cooler than their treadmill video.
Go see Shutter Island. And prepare to have your mind BLOWN.
iVideo Camera app on the iPhone. It cost 99 cents and I have been looking for excuses to use it since I bought it. The updates are even cooler – you can film in old-time-camera-mode and in breaking news mode..I love it.
I am so sad that this show’s almost over, but feel like I could re-watch it a million times and it’d still feel new. Only 12 episodes left until it’s over. The roommate and I are having a finale party – complete with Dharma Beer, Fish Biscuits and other nerdy stuff.
I love love love the Jeff Buckley version of this song. And then I heard this one. I’ll watch/hear anything JT does – SNL especially – and this is no exception. It’s a great version and I’ve been listening to it on repeat on my iPod since the telethon.
This may or may not be the car I get tomorrow (shhh, let’s not talk about it). My sister got a Yaris and I wasn’t sure I even wanted another little car. But I like this one. And I can afford it. I think. We’ll see. Working on the zombie look now..
I hope you enjoy these things that I’m enjoying right now. And if you have any suggestions to share – new books, movies, music, shows, etc. please let me know.
In America, Jacques Henri Lartigue’s claim to fame was that he was replaced from the cover of Life magazine by the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. However, in the wider world, Lartigue was probably the symbol of the transformation of photography into an affordable family pastime. The greatest of the earliest amateurs, he showed how a mundane scene can be transformed into a magnificent image.
He started with photographs of family games and childhood experiences, later moving onto the beginnings of aviation and cars and the women of the Bois de Boulogne. Without even realising it, he became the father of “modern” photography. One of his favourite subjects was the motorcar, which he photographed as early as 1910 in the photo of a two-wheeled bobsleigh taking a turn at 60 km/h.
However, he would receive little attention until September 1954, when the French photography magazine “Points de vue – Images du monde” published “In the heroic times of the motorcar”. Of all photographs of car races taken by Lartigue, the above photo stood out. Automobile Delage, taken at the French Grand Prix in 1912, as someone pointed out, “conveys a remarkable impression of velocity–the wheels of the speeding car are elliptical and tilted forward, their spokes blurred with motion, and the road itself is but a streak of grey”. The picture, ultimately one of Lartigue’s most famous images, transformed him overnight from a painter with photography hobby into “France’s leading amateur photographer”–as the magazine called it. He retired as a society photographer, taking the official portrait for President Giscard d’Estaing.
For someone whose photo career began at the age of six–with his father’s camera–in 1900,the title of his firsbook, a journal he kept throughout his life was especially fitting: Diary of A Century.
I can’t remember why it was just my mother and I going to Grand Rapids that time. I think now, looking back on it that my mother must have had to do more work on my Uncle’s estate, and had to deliver documents in person. But none of my other siblings were with us; my brother stayed with my father and my sister was old enough to be left home alone. My mother and I trekked the three hours west in the late winter.
It didn’t seem that strange to me at all to be surrounded by adults when we visited. In fact, I really loved it. My elderly great aunts and uncles always talked to me with great interest in whatever it was I was doing or interested in. They wanted to share things with me too; my Aunt Maurine always showed me her photo albums full of old photos and told stories of when she was younger. Aunt Katie was always baking, and she taught me how to make her brownies and pie crust. Uncle Dave was the writer in the family, and he eagerly talked to me about my own writing and how he got started. I listened with interest to their dinner table debates on the Irish Republican Army or the death penalty.
We were coming home on Sunday afternoon. The weather was horrible; lake effect snow was falling hard and fast and it was slow going in the car. I was seated behind my mother, even though I was the only passenger. We had the dog with us, and my mother and I both agreed that it simply wasn’t safe to have the dog in the front seat. So I was in the back with the dog.
It was slow going, but I wasn’t worried. We had driven in a similar snow storm on the same route going up to Grand Rapids before. My mother just drove slowly and stayed in the ruts made from the 18 wheelers that always were on the interstate, no matter the weather. Slowly, slowly the miles peeled away…first we hit Lowell, then Grand Ledge, then Lansing, then Okemos. My mother was tense but sure.
And then suddenly, we saw a car on the side of the road. Inexplicably, the car started pulling out from the shoulder, even though we were approaching in the right lane. Silently, I could see my mother gauge what to do; swerving into the unplowed snow of the next lane was not an option. She eased up on the gas but it wouldn’t be enough to avoid hitting the car. She tapped the brake to slow the car just enough to avoid hitting the car.
But it was too much. The pressure was just enough to cause the car to lose control and start fishtailing. As if we were in slow motion, I watched as the car came to a stop at a 90 degree angle to oncoming traffic. I watched my mother, again, still silent, try to move us out of the position that put us directly in the path of any cars that might be behind us. I looked out the window and saw a single pair of headlights coming directly towards us. Without thinking, I leaned forward and put my arms around our dog in a protective grip and waited.
The impact didn’t seem that bad. The car that hit us hit right in the spot where I was crouched forward, where the car door met the frame of my mother’s small car. It didn’t hurt; I don’t remember it hurting at all right away. My mother’s voice came from the front seat: “Are you OK? Are you OK?” I answered that I was, so was the dog, was she OK? She said she was.
I don’t remember getting out of the car, though I suppose we must have. In those days before cell phones, I have no idea how long it was before the police came, and how much longer after that, the ambulance. I do remember being loaded into the ambulance and the paramedics having to ask my mother and I to stop holding hands so that they could walk between us. We were both in shock. No tears, no hysterics, just discussions on which hospital to take us to. We didn’t know exactly where we were on the interstate, and we weren’t familiar at all with the hospitals in the area.
My mother had broken ribs and I suffered a broken collarbone. It could have been much, much worse. The paramedics played with our dog while we were examined and x rayed in the ER. Finally, they helped us find a dog friendly hotel and set us up with a cab to get there after we were discharged.
It wasn’t until we were holed up in our tiny hotel room in Lansing, with the dog curled up on my mother’s bed, that it finally hit us. “Mom, I have stuff in my hair,” I told her, confused. She reached over to me.
“It’s broken glass,” she said as she pulled a tiny, round bit of it out from my scalp. Her voice was thick, and the tears that had waited for hours to come dripped onto the hotel blanket.
It was in that moment, when we both realized how lucky we were to be alive. Neither of us slept well that night.
The WHO released a very interesting and new Global survey on traffic injuries. The document is very long and exhaustive. Two data sets I found particularly shocking.
1. Between the ages of 5 and 29 yrs, road traffic injuries are the main cause of death. At older developmental stages, human beings prefer to die for HIV and hearth diseases.
2. Around 40% of the people slaughtered in car accidents are not (!) inside a car: they are pedestrians, cyclers, motor bikers and so on.
In a normal society, cars would be considered for sure more dangerous than pig, cow, bird flues or whatever. Of course, not in our society, where cars are still sold as powerful status symbols and drivers do not keep in mind they are in charge of a death bringer: their own car.
Speed is one of the big problems in road safety. Drive very carefully on the road. Defensive and smooth drive is also important for your passenger and your vehicle. Drowsy driving is also very dangerous for you and your vehicle. You must alert during parking your car. Understand your car brakes because many cars have antilock brakes. Drive very carefully in water area. Lock your car doors while drive and park carefully. Keep your driving license in your car. Obey the traffic signals. Don’t violate the traffic signals. Improve your behavior on the road. Before drive buckle up yourself and your passengers. Speed is one of the greatest problems in road safety. This thing may cause in increases most accidents. Driving rules are varied country by country. Seat belts are one of the easiest methods to avoid from injury. In 2006 use of seat belts mandatory in all cars. If every person buckled up according to the law so we can save many lives in a year.
Stay calm and cool while driving. Drive with your family always takes extra care during drive. Follow all road side traffic signals. Check your car mirrors. Must understand the road and weather condition before drive. Don’t drive in a bad weather. Check your car tires. Rotate your tire regularly. Check your tire pressure regularly. Choose a best and quality tire for your car. Make sure your vehicle up to date through its maintenance. And also check your car fluid levels system. Check your car tires air pressure.
A road safety is not a responsibility of government alone you also responsible for your road. The commercial sectors and non government organization play a big role in road safety awareness. Traffic signal following is the responsibility of every citizen of a country. Research and development can also play a big role in road safety. Traffic police is also a good method for road safety. Road safety awareness is another important part of road safety. Education and development can take part an important role in road safety. Many developing countries are adopting latest methods for road safety.
Many people die due to road side accidents every year in the world. Use of advanced technology can play an important role in road safety. There are many FM radio channels used to spread the massage road safety education and other traffic related news. Road safety audits also play a role in road safety problems. Avoid from high speed. Wear your seat belt while driving. Drive slow and steady. Use your brakes for avoiding any accident or mishap. Maintain your route. Plan your trip before drive. Long drive is so dangerous for you it increase the mishaps.
Check engine oil in your car engine. Check the water level in your car radiator. Check your tire positions before drive. And also check the air pressure level in your car tire. These are thing must do before a long journey. Keep a road safety emergency kit in your car like torch, mobile phone, jumper cable, tow rope, first aid kit, and rain coat. You must avoid from stopping your car in a bend road. changing a car tire stop in a safe position. You must wear a white t- shirt or coat while driving.
Keep your car door in a lock position. Carry a cell phone in any emergency. Stop in a well lighted area at night in any emergency. Use the head lights of your car in night time. Adjust your car side mirrors before drive. Don’t overload your car. Drive defensively. Be alert all the time.
It’s a good thing the mainstream media and the federal government are all over the Toyota recall efforts. Yes, I said “efforts”, in plural. We all know that Toyota stunk up the joint with their recent issues. Their President publicly took the blame for the problem. The company has halted production to fix the slew of problems. And they are having to give account of themselves to Congress. Anything to keep the company honest, right? After all, they assemble cars and trucks, right here in America. They need to do things the right way, and the MSM is making sure the story gets out.
In showing a shockingly high level of consistency, the MSM, the Obama administration, and Congress are also showing disdain for another auto company who has just quietly recalled a number of their models. Consumer complaints deal with power steering lock-ups. If the driver cannot control their car, the problem is significant. Harry Reid is all over this story, as are David Axelrod, Nancy Pelosi, and the union leadership country-wide.
Oh, I’m sorry. That last paragraph is just not true. Not when Government Motors is the company issuing the recall. We wouldn’t want the truth to be known, would we?
Oh, I need to do an about face on the MSM involvement. Depending on the search terms used, MSM coverage of this event does not occur until the second or third page of search results. Everything else is either related to auto industry publications or blogs. HuffPo ranked higher than other MSM outlets in covering this story.
Who says we don’t have a government, controlled media? Idiots!
Ferrari 458 Italia
I may not be the exotic car guru but i can recognize the bold sexiness of Ferrari’s new 458 Italia. Complete with the company’s newest mid-engine V-8 Berlinetta, it is said to surpass the company’s legendary Enzo with top speeds hitting 202 mph.
“But each time I seemed to be climbing into a roller coaster and finding myself coming through the downhill run with that sort of dazed feeling that we all know.”
“Enzo Ferrari”
Hello everyone. This will be my first real blog from WordPress! So far I’m really enjoying my WordPress experience. Anyway, that’s not what this post is all about. :D
Anyway, I’m blogging about my cousin’s car. I hope he doesn’t have a transmission problem. :/ As I’ve blogged about on my other site, LittlePoopMachine, his car was having brake and accelerator issues.
As we were exiting the freeway and coming to a stop, the car jerked a little bit. Now that’s nothing new as of a couple days ago, but the acceleration was a different story. As we turned off the offramp and onto our road, the car jerked heavily as my cousin accelerated. It felt like the car’s brakes weren’t disengaging. I have a fair knowledge of vehicles and can identify small problems and whatnot, but when it comes to big stuff like this, it could be anything.
I just hope it’s not the transmission or gears. We’ll have to wait until to tomorrow and see. We dropped his car off at the shop and the mechanic said they’d look at it in the morning. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Suggestion of intent in ’86 shooting – The Boston Globe.
Investigators have discovered evidence they say suggests Amy Bishop may have purposely shot her brother with a 12-gauge shotgun in 1986, prompting Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating yesterday to initiate a judicial inquest into the death, which had been ruled accidental.
Bishop took her father’s shotgun on Dec. 6, 1986, and loaded it in her bedroom before fatally shooting her 18-year-old brother in the kitchen of the family’s Braintree home. She then ran to an auto dealership, where she held two workers at gunpoint and demanded a car.
Supercar is inspired by the squadron of the Air Force in Italy.
Speed of the model exceeds the 320 km / h.
The Italian Pagani announced, on Friday (26), the first images of Special Zonda Tricolore. The supercar won singular view, inspired by the aerobatic squadron of the Italy Air Force. Thus, the body of carbon fiber is painted in blue and has details in the colors of the Italian flag. The car will be exhibited at the Salon International in Geneva in March. The new version is based on the Zonda Cinque and brings the Mercedes-Benz AMG 7.3 V12 678 bhp and 79.5 lb.-ft. of torque. The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in just over 3s. The maximum speed exceeds 320 km / h.
The Pagani not reveal details about the models, but the international press specialized in the sector believe that the supercar will cost more than 1.3 million euros ($ 3.2 million without import tax and tax code).
I got all my tax returns back, and I’ve suddenly got all kinds of money. The urge to spend it on stupid stuff (PS3) is very strong. But I know I need to wait and get a car. It weird having so much saved, it doesn’t even feel real. Its all just numbers.
I think I’m going to go out today, but I’m not sure where, or even if I should go. I don’t want to spend any cash, but that’s the only thing I can think of right now. All my chores are done; I really don’t have much going on.
I’m going to have to figure out something for dinner, since my mom isn’t cooking tonight. Not sure what I’m going to do there…..
Looking to take out a lease on a car in Tokyo Japan?
There are some important questions to ask about the contract before you sign. I’d be happy to discuss those with you. One area is the residual value of the contract and what happens at the end of the contract. The so called residual may not be the residual you think it is! E.g. The residual is set at 800,000 yen. At the end of the contract you have looked after the car well and there has been no damage, the km’s driven are within the limit allowed…you decide to hand the car back and not buy it out. Generally speaking you can just walk away from it at no cost correct? Well not so fast! Depending on the contract if the market value (according to the dealer) is 500,000 yen you will be asked to pay the 300,000 yen difference. Now this can be tricky as the lease company can on purpose up the residual to get the monthly down and hence lead you into a lease that you thought was a good deal…to good to be true!….the lease company has zero risk because they can adjust the amount payable at the end of the contract. You should ask for a guaranteed residual value.
I guarantee the residual on my leases! There are other points to be wary of. For more information on leasing a car new or used car in Tokyo Japan see www.micklay.com or email cars@micklay.com Call 03-3468-0804 or 090-3805-7141. Mick Lay.
If you have found a perfect car for yourself in an overseas country and want to ship it to the United States, I bet it may not be an easy job. With the bundle of rules and regulations related to the safety measures and emission norms needed for vehicles, auto shipping to US is a complicated task. However with some necessary steps taken carefully, you can make this job easier and can cruise down Route 66 easily.
All requirements needed to drive in United States must be met by the Vehicle. You must carefully check the safety features including the ride height, smog emissions etc. before you start the shipping process for the vehicle.
To make the job easier you may hire a customs broker who can handle all your paperwork and push all your necessary forms through. It will ensure arrangement of all necessary documentation before your vehicle arrives at the port, although it may cost you a bit extra. To avoid timely and costly delays at the port, it is advisable to seek professional help in preparing the necessary documents for the Customs and meeting other formalities, which you would have had to do yourself otherwise.
An experienced shipping company having experience in shipping from the country of export to the United States and one which is fully insured should be hired. In case of any unforeseen accidents, it is necessary to make a check before hand whether the shipping company is fully insured or not. A certificate of Insurance naming you as the certificate holder must be obtained from the shipping company.
Before the car’s arrival, ensure that the undercarriage of the car is properly cleaned and there are no foreign particles attached to it. The United States department of agriculture, in order to ensure that the vehicle is free from all malicious pests which are not native to U.S., has a pre-requirement that the vehicle be free from all foreign soil.
For the required licensing and registration in your state, you should contact your local state department of Motor Vehicles. A label of certification identifying the vehicle’s manufacturer, manufacturing date etc. is required. This will also acknowledge the vehicle’s conformity to standards of federal safety at the time of manufacture.
While shipping the car you should make sure that there are no personal belongings in it. Shipping companies do not take liability for missing items and any personal items lying in the car will be susceptible to theft during transportation. With the above steps followed carefully, auto shipping to USA can be made quite less cumbersome and easier.
As I’ve mentioned before on my blog I’m going back to Turkey tomorrow… I have one little problem, my car. I live pretty much in the center of Jönköping, which means parking is really expensive, one month of parking close to my apartment cost me €150 which I believe is way to much. So I’ve got my car parked on a free parkingplace about 4km away.
The problem is that after I came back from Turkey we’ve had a snowstorm here… So I was expecting the worst. When I arrived I was surprised, I thought the car was not even gonna be visible, but it was. Even though it took me almost one whole hour of digging and digging before I finally could release my car from it’s prison of snow. I guess I’ll have muscle pain in my arms tomorrow from all the digging.
I consider myself to be a one with great amount of patience. I just passed another test today! Wow, what an achievement!
My car battery has been giving some trouble for about a month now — every time the car has to be jumpstarted. I, being such a gentleman, don’t want to embarrass others by asking them if I could get a boost from their car. So, I always call the emergency roadside assistance for a jumpstart. It usually takes about a two to three minutes, but I generally have to wait for about 45 minutes for the emergency assistance to arrive.
I decided to replace the battery. So, I called the assistance again to get my car started. I waited for about an hour but nobody came by to help me. Then the despatch called me to inform that the responder was stuck on the road because there was an accident on the road and it’d be another 30 minutes before he could arrive. So, I took out a book from my backpack, lay down on the backseat and started reading. It was very cold outside and I could not but open the window every five minutes lest I got suffocated inside.
Another 45 minutes passed — no one came by! Then I called back the despatch to know what was going on. She tried to explain everything mumbling jumbling and fumbling, but the calmness in my voice got her settled — I told her I understood that it must be very difficult for the responder to arrive in time because the traffic was so bad.
Another hour passed, then Big Joe, the responder came with his huge truck. (He actually signed his name as “Big Joe”). I received in the parking lot. He immediately started explaining why he was late: 1. it being a weekend they were short in number, 2. one of the response truck broke down which had been sent to rescue somebody else, 3. his own car-seat broke — so he had to get it fixed first then he was stuck in the traffic. He was probably expecting a huge outburst from me. I told him it was OK and I was lucky that I had been home. Freaked-out Big Joe came down to ground level of his anxiety and started working on my car. It did not take more that two minutes to get the car started. I signed the necessary paperwork. Big Joe thanked me for my patience and then took off.
After a few minutes I started thinking what I would have done had I not been so occupied with the car: I could 1. get some research done, 2. finish up one of the computations, 3. cleanup my apartment, 4. cook some nice food, and more importantly 5. do the laundry. Then it started happening: a huge raze begun pouring all over my brain slithering down my spine. I thought like pulling my hair out. Why, for heaven’s sake, did I not ask them to send someone else? I got so angry that I could burn the whole car with my eyes.
I few hours later I found myself waking up from a nap — blissfully oblivious of the day’s episode.
I hadn’t planned on going home Valentine’s Day weekend, mostly because there was nothing there Valentines Day related for me and I was helping with the Valentine’s Day dance at the internship. But, after learning I had Presidents Day off and three people suggested it, I decided to head home after I was done with the dance.
The residents really liked the dance of course, we started decorating for it Friday afternoon. There’s a room in the gym called the special activity committee (SAC) room. You step into this room and it’s boxes and piles of decorations for every single holiday or festivity you can think of, lol. A good project would be to organize the room gets some totes and labels working in there, lol. Perhaps though a project that would be better for someone on salary/ paycheck. The residents enjoyed their dance with their punch and sugar-free moistened pink cupcakes and cake slices (Ewwwwwwww!).
I then headed home and had a pretty tame valentines day weekend just hanging out with friends and a little bit of crazy family time. I really needed to get my hair done, it’s been since November, but the shop isn’t open on Mondays. Monday morning I also washed the salt off my car from the past 3 weeks and applied a coat of wax, it looked sooooo nice. Of course on the five-hour trip back to my apartment I got behind two trucks spreading sand and salt, and drove through a snow ran mixture. Then next morning my car looked 100x worse than before I had washed it the day before. So checklist of things to do next time I makes a trip home: get hair done, replace bald tires on the back of car, wax car again, oil change.
# Supported OS: Windows XP (32bit) Windows Vista (32/64bit)
# Processor: Intel Processor 2.2GHz or Higher / AMD 2.2GHz or Higher
# Memory: 2GB or higher
# Graphics: DirectX 9.0c or higher supported graphics cards with 256MB of Memory.
Supported Cards:
Nvidia Geforce 7600 or higher, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher.
Integrated Graphics Chips and Laptops are not supported by this game.
# DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c
# Sound: DirectX 9.0c supported Soundcard.
# Hard Drive: 8GB free hard disk space
NEWS Lawmakers angry Toyota president won’t attend hearing; one sends personal invite By Jerry Hirsch February 18, 2010 | 10:06 a.m. PST
Congressman Edolphus Towns writes to Akio Toyoda asking him to come to Washington ‘to help clarify this situation.’ The company’s North American chief will be at the proceedings.
Hoping to coax Toyota Motor Corp.’s top executive to a hearing, a congressional leader issued a personal appeal Thursday to Akio Toyoda, the automaker’s president.
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) said he had sent a personal invitation to Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, hoping to persuade the executive to testify about Toyota’s recalls at an upcoming hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
At a news conference Wednesday in Tokyo, Toyoda said he did not plan to address those issues on Capitol Hill personally — at least not yet. He said he would not travel to Washington for the hearings, to be held Wednesday.
Toyoda expressed full confidence in Toyota’s North American chief, Yoshimi Inaba, who he indicated would attend the hearing. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also plans to hold a hearing on Toyota’s auto problems next week.
“As you know, there is widespread public concern regarding reports of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota motor vehicles,” Towns wrote Toyoda. “Toyota has recalled millions of its vehicles and even halted production. In addition, there are reports that this problem may have been the direct cause of serious injury and even death.
“There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond. In short, the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars or what they should do about it,” the congressman said. “To help clarify this situation, I am inviting you to testify.”
Toyoda’s reluctance to come to Washington has sparked the ire of several congressional leaders.
“Akio Toyoda doesn’t get it that he’s got plenty of good engineers to fix the problem. He needs to set the tone and fix the public’s confidence,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the top Republican on the House committee panel.
Toyota has issued about 10 million recall notices worldwide, mostly for floor mats that can entrap the gas pedal and for a gas pedal that can stick. It has blamed both problems for causing unintended acceleration.
The Japanese automaker is considering recalling the popular Corolla because of potential steering problems. And the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration is about to launch a probe into steering problems with about 500,000 late-model Corollas, a move that could lead to another large recall. The agency also has launched an inquiry into the speed of the company’s response to problems and the adequacy of its recalls.
Toyota sold almost 1.3-million Corollas worldwide last year, including nearly 300,000 in the United States. The Corolla trailed only Toyota’s Camry as the second-bestselling car in the U.S. last year, according to Autodata Corp.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=d0d4344b-9351-415f-b86b-9887418f01c3)
The prospect of Michael Schumacher making his return to Formula 1, Jensen Button moving to McLaren and Alonso’s move to Ferrari is just a small part to the story that is about to unfold over the next 9 months. Although lining up on the grid will be four world championship winners there will be no Kimi Raikkonen. Im sure everyone who reads this will join me in agreeing that it isn’t bad news. Mr personality (no sarcasm there) won’t be there to cheer us all up in his press conferences or whatever it maybe. Could it be why Ferrari had such a bad season last year? Some say it’s the Fin’s way which i would agree with if we take a look at Mika Hakkinen’s personality but at least he smiled! Heikki Kovalainen however proves that all F1 drivers from Finland aren’t all morbid.
Suggestion of intent in ’86 shooting – The Boston Globe.
Congressman Edolphus Towns writes to Akio Toyoda asking him to come to Washington ‘to help clarify this situation.’ The company’s North American chief will be at the proceedings.
© 2010 The Los Angeles Times
