(CNN) — Law enforcement officers may secretly place a GPS device on a person’s car without seeking a warrant from a judge, according to a recent federal appeals court ruling in California.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Oregon in 2007 surreptitiously attached a GPS to the silver Jeep owned by Juan Pineda-Moreno, whom they suspected of growing marijuana, according to court papers.

When Pineda-Moreno was arrested and charged, one piece of evidence was the GPS data, including the longitude and latitude of where the Jeep was driven, and how long it stayed. Prosecutors asserted the Jeep had been driven several times to remote rural locations where agents discovered marijuana being grown, court documents show.

Pineda-Moreno eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to grow marijuana, and is serving a 51-month sentence, according to his lawyer.

But he appealed on the grounds that sneaking onto a person’s driveway and secretly tracking their car violates a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

“They went onto the property several times in the middle of the night without his knowledge and without his permission,” said his lawyer, Harrison Latto.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal twice — in January of this year by a three-judge panel, and then again by the full court earlier this month. The judges who affirmed Pineda-Moreno’s conviction did so without comment.

Latto says the Ninth Circuit decision means law enforcement can place trackers on cars, without seeking a court’s permission, in the nine western states the California-based circuit covers.

The ruling likely won’t be the end of the matter. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., arrived at a different conclusion in similar case, saying officers who attached a GPS to the car of a suspected drug dealer should have sought a warrant.

Experts say the issue could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

One of the dissenting judges in Pineda-Moreno’s case, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, said the defendant’s driveway was private and that the decision would allow police to use tactics he called “creepy” and “underhanded.”

“The vast majority of the 60 million people living in the Ninth Circuit will see their privacy materially diminished by the panel’s ruling,” Kozinksi wrote in his dissent.

“I think it is Orwellian,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which advocates for privacy rights.

“If the courts allow the police to gather up this information without a warrant,” he said, “the police could place a tracking device on any individual’s car — without having to ever justify the reason they did that.”

But supporters of the decision see the GPS trackers as a law enforcement tool that is no more intrusive than other means of surveillance, such as visually following a person, that do not require a court’s approval.

“You left place A, at this time, you went to place B, you took this street — that information can be gleaned in a variety of ways,” said David Rivkin, a former Justice Department attorney. “It can be old surveillance, by tailing you unbeknownst to you; it could be a GPS.”

He says that a person cannot automatically expect privacy just because something is on private property.

“You have to take measures — to build a fence, to put the car in the garage” or post a no-trespassing sign, he said. “If you don’t do that, you’re not going to get the privacy.”

source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/27/oregon.gps.surveillance/index.html?hpt=T2

1. Take a bicycle trip.

2. Make homemade ice cream or visit an ice cream parlor.

3. Bake a double batch of cookies and deliver one to a needy family.

4. Visit an airport and watch the planes take off and land, or go to a lake and watch the boats, while you have a picnic.

5. Go on a breakfast picnic.

6. Go to a park and hike or climb trees.

7. Make popcorn, maybe even caramel corn.

8. Go swimming or water skiing.

9. Plan a scavenger hunt for outside. Or plan one for in the house using every letter of the alphabet.

10. Bake plain sugar cookies and let each member of the family take part in decorating them.

11. Make playdoh and sculpt objects or people (even from Bible stories).

12. Look through photo albums or view family slides, movies, or videos.

13. Play miniature golf or croquet.

14. Make a tape recording of the most recent news and send it to a close friend or relative whom you seldom see.

15. Make a “birthday flag” for the next upcoming birthday.

16. Go fishing.

17. Play a board game that all can enjoy—Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble.

18. Work on a jigsaw puzzle.

19. Go roller skating or ice skating.

20. Make family silhouettes. Use a slide projector or a bright lamp to project the head profile on a blank wall. Hold paper against the wall and trace the silhouette. Cut out and glue it on a contrasting sheet of paper or poster board.

21. Have a candy treasure hunt.

22. Work on a crossword puzzle.

23. Play “Start a Story.” One person starts the story and talks for three minutes (use timer). The next person must continue the story, and so on. After going around the family circle two or three times, the youngest child gets to end the tale.

24. Provide old magazines, scissors and glue. Pick a theme for your collage (families, God’s creations, things to be thankful for, etc.). Everyone cuts out pictures and glues them onto a large piece of paper or poster board.

25. Go to the flea market or bright and early one Saturday morning visit ten garage sales and see who can come home with the best bargain for a dollar.

26. Sing favorite choruses, hymns or nursery rhymes around the piano or guitar. You could even use a tape or CD to follow along.

27. Make plaster of Paris hand prints. Put name, year and age on the back.

28. Make a family banner. The banner should be made of felt or the flag fabric found in fabric stores. Decorate with pictures that illustrate interests of family members.

29. Go to the zoo.

30. Go bowling.

31. Make your own homemade pizza. Add mushrooms, peppers, onions, black olives and crushed pineapple to the pizza sauce and cheese.

32. Invite another family over for a game of charades or “Guesstures.”

33. Listen to recordings of your favorite music.

34. One sunny Saturday morning, get out the gardening tools and find someone (a shut-in, perhaps) who could use some free yard work. Everyone can pitch in and help.

35. Make a collage using seeds, rice, cereal, old buttons and sewing scraps.

36. Catch fireflies together, put them in a jar and watch them light up. Let them go.

37. Do needlework: cross-stitch, crewel, candle wicking, rug-hooking, smocking.

38. String popcorn and place on a tree for the birds.

39. Write the words and music to a chorus together.

40. Make puppets out of lunch bags, old socks, felt, wooden clothespins. Put on a puppet show.

41. Have a bonfire outdoors or in your fireplace and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.

42. Go to your nearest hospital and look at the babies in the maternity nursery. (Visiting hours only).

43. Visit a shut-in or an elderly friend or relative in a nursing home.

44. Pick wild flowers and press some of them to save.

45. Read a Psalm together. Then write a psalm of praise for your own family.

46. Play “I think you’re nice because…” Someone thinks of a quality he likes in the person who’s “it.” Other family members try to guess by asking, “Does it begin with an “A?” and so forth.

47. Listen to a tape of a Bible story. You can tape good stories from Christian radio stations.

48. Share prayer requests that affect and concern the whole family, then pray about them.

49. Make a mobile. Gather special treasures (shells, nature objects, hollow, decorated eggs, valentines). Tie thread or yarn of varying lengths to the end of each and attach to a hanger.

50. Ask your children about their greatest fear, and talk about them.

51. Encourage little ones to color a picture to send to grandparents.

52. Make a list together of all the things in your house that use electricity. You might do this when you lose power sometime.

53. Build a village using blocks, Lincoln logs or Leggos. Get out the matchbox cars!

54. Enjoy a shopping trip for something little, but fun—a jar of bubbles, stickers, paper dolls, a matchbox car.

55. Play “20 Questions.” One person chooses a Bible character or object to be guessed. The other members of the family take turns guessing what the secret object or person might be. No more than 20 questions can be asked and each one must be able to be answered with a simple yes or no. Whoever guesses first becomes “It” for the next round. Good for car trips too.

56. Visit a farm. Milk a cow, help to feed the animals. Take pictures.

57. Play badminton, volleyball, tennis, Frisbee, yard darts or ping pong.

58. Take the kids on a tour of where Dad works.

59. Play hide-and-seek (inside or outside).

60. Play “Bible Verse Scramble.” One person chooses a favorite Bible verse and writes each word on a separate piece of paper. Scramble the order of the words and challenge each member of the family to see who can put it together the fastest. It could be one the family has memorized together.

61. Go camping in the backyard. Cook breakfast on the grill.

62. Draw a family tree on paper and complete it as a family. Add old photographs if available.

63. Go jogging or take a walk together.

64. Give each person a large piece of paper and take turns tracing the outlines of their bodies on it. Color in the outlines to look like you.

65. Using white shelf paper or the inside of brown grocery bags, design your own wrapping paper with crayons, magic markers or paints–even potato prints.

66. Go to the library. Check out books, records, tapes and art reproductions. Check out books showing how to make crafts with children. Fun!

67. Gather a variety of leaves and identify them.

68. Write a letter to a missionary family. Your children could write to a missionary’s child his own age.

69. If you have a computer, create a family newspaper. Each child can write a story, Dad and Mom can write a column, and an older child or parent can edit and type. Send copies to the grandparents.

70. Make candy or caramel apples.

71. Fly a kite!

72. Jump rope.

73. Take pictures of all the houses in your neighborhood, then arrange the houses on a large poster board and identify the people living in the houses. Write their addresses and phone numbers at each house too.

74. Visit a friend.

75. Dig out a flower bed and give each family member his own “plot.” Plant seeds, bedding plants, vegetables or bulbs and watch God’s creations grow!

76. Read favorite poems aloud.

77. Put together a scrapbook describing a favorite vacation or any special event (pictures, writing, souvenirs).

78. Rake up a big pile of leaves to jump and play in. If it’s warm outside, turn on the water sprinkler and run through it.

79. Write and act out a play centered on a specific holiday, a Bible story or a character quality. Mom, Dad or one child could be the production manager.

80. Pick apples and make apple sauce together.

81. Gather seashells. Mount and identify.

82. Make snowflakes out of lightweight white paper and hang from the ceiling with thread.

83. Create a traveling friendship basket. Fill an inexpensive basket with baked goodies, crafts, coupons, and so forth. Pass it on to a friend. Leave a note in the basket, directing it to be passed on (within the week) to someone else who could use some cheer.

84. Go to a ball game or play one—football, kickball, softball, baseball, basketball, soccer.

85. Finger paint on glazed paper (shelf paper, freezer paper) with chocolate pudding.

86. Go sledding.

87. Go skiing.

88. Take a trip to an amusement park, a museum or a planetarium.

89. Use fabric crayons to design individual T-shirts.

90. Set a Bible verse to a familiar tune and learn both the verse and song as a family.

91. Write and record an interview with a Bible character.

92. Build a tree house or fort.

93. Go horseback riding.

94. Write and illustrate a short story about an imaginary animal.

95. Build a robot out of empty boxes of all shapes and sizes. Oatmeal and salt boxes work well.

96. Work together on a model kit.

97. Work on a stamp collection together.

98. Decorate your tank top. Start with a solid-color tank, and then go all-out with glitter, beads, crystals, markers, you name it. Personalize your shirt to reflect your unique style. Think of it as a summer souvenir!

99. Play with sand toys and trucks in a sandbox.

100. Have a water fight. Get all your pals together, and designate teams. Then grab your water guns, water balloons, buckets, hoses and whatever else you’ve got…and ATTACK

source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_6_9/ai_102658366/

source: http://www.angelfire.com/md2/moodyfamily/100things.html

Correct timing to take water, will maximize its effectiveness to Human body.

Two (02) glass of water – After waking up –  Helps activate internal organs

One (01) glasses of water  - 30 minutes before meal – Help digestion

One (01) glass of water – Before taking a bath – Helps lower blood pressure

One (01) glass of water – Before sleep  - To avoid stroke or heart attack

I notice how much thought, time and effort I give to my work, my relationships, my finances and, most important, my spiritual growth. The more I let divine light shine through my thoughts and interactions, the greater value I bring to all I do. As I gain spiritual understanding, my relationships at work and at home are enhanced.

When I am true to divine inspiration, I am more confident and others have more confidence in me. Divine ideas lead me to my good. I progress in all areas of my life as I remain open to inspiration.

Continually guided forward, I move with the flow of Spirit and live with enthusiasm. The best is yet to be, and I contribute to its unfoldment.

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. Joshua 14:14 (KJV) It’s never too late to overcome any problem in your life. God has tremendous blessings for all those that follow Him. That includes the young, the old, and the in-between. Some people grow old and set in their ways, but not all. There are some that can out run a young man. There are some that are more innovative than you think. I met a 93 year old man once when I was 17, starting out in the ministry. He was fitter than I was. He looked better than I did. He was more physically fit than I was. The man had chiseled features. To top it off he was anointed. He walked across South America preaching the gospel. I asked him how did you do it. He said, “I spend time with God seriously every day.” He was moving on with God. That is the way Joshua and Caleb were. In the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua is the new leader. He and Caleb are now very old and it’s time to go into the promised land. I can imagine Caleb is walking along with Joshua, and seeing a huge mountain, and saying, “That’s the one I’m taking,” even in his old age. Joshua turns to him and says, that’s a huge mountain. Can you take this mountain? And Caleb says, “I am well able to overcome it.” I don’t care how old you are or how big your mountain is. If you enter into the rest of God, you will find victory. The mountain may look forbidding but you can say what Caleb said: “I’m well able to overcome the mountain. I’m well able to get over the top of the mountain. I’m well able to speak to the mountain and tell it to move in Jesus’ name.” The ones with the evil report died without ever seeing the promised land. Joshua and Caleb entered into the promised land. They had the rest of God. I don’t care how big your mountain is. God is bigger. They used to say in the church that I came from, “He’s so high, you can’t go over Him. He’s so low you can’t go under Him. He’s so wide you can’t go around Him.” That’s the God you serve. But He’s looking for you to do what’s required to enter into His rest just as Jesus did.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 4:8-16

Published: July 29, 2009

States that do not ban texting by drivers could forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in federal highway funds under legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate.

Under the measure, states would have two years to outlaw the sending of text and e-mail messages by drivers or lose 25 percent of their highway money each year until the money was depleted.

“Studies show this is far more dangerous than talking on a phone while driving or driving while drunk, which is astounding,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, one of four Democratic senators to introduce the proposal.

Mr. Schumer said the authors were responding to recent studies that have begun to quantify the risks of texting while driving. One study released this week from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers face a 23 times greater risk of crash or near crash when texting than when not doing so.

Research from the University of Utah, which used a driving simulator to study the ability of motorists to multitask, found an eightfold greater risk of crashing when texting. By comparison, Utah researchers showed that drivers using a cellphone to talk face a four times greater risk of crashing, about equal to someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol level, generally the legal limit for intoxication.

Currently, texting while driving is banned in 14 states, including Alaska, California and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia. The legislature in New York recently passed such a measure and sent it to the governor for a signature.

Regulation of the roadways generally happens at the state level. But the federal government has exerted pressure on the states based on the threat of withholding federal highway funds, as Congress did in 1984 to pressure states to raise the minimum drinking age to 21 years.

Mr. Schumer said that the legislation was essentially based on the drinking age law.

The Governors Highway Safety Association, a group that represents state highway safety agencies in every state, opposes texting while driving but does not support the proposed legislation.

“We oppose sanctioning states since there is not yet a proven effective method for enforcing a texting or cellphone ban,” an association spokesman, Jonathan Adkins, said.

Safety advocates said that such concerns about enforcement were raised about seat belt laws but argued that the value of such laws — even if they could not be enforced all the time — created awareness about the issue and set societal guidelines for the behavior.

The other sponsors of the Senate measure include Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Kay R. Hagan of North Carolina.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/technology/30distracted.html

1.  Put up a manger scene, but save putting baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning.  (If you want, you can also have the wise men far away at first, but get closer and closer as Christmas approaches.)  On Christmas morning, light a candle, and sing Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2.  Gather the family around the nativity scene and read the Christmas story from the Bible.  Luke, chapter 2.  As the story is read, members of the family can add figures to the scene.

3.  Have a birthday cake for dessert for your Christmas dinner. Sing Happy Birthday, Jesus.

4.  Make a huge birthday card for Jesus as a decoration.

5.  Have each member of the family write what they are thankful for on slips of paper, and put them on the Christmas tree, or in a special jar or stocking.  Read them aloud on Christmas Day.

6. Sing Christmas carols like Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and think about the words you are singing!  You can find some some good ones here:
Christmas Songs

7.  Give food or clothing to the poor, or toys to a needy child. Visit a nursing home- bring cookies, and sing songs.  “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40)

8. Make a gift for Jesus.  Wrap an empty box, and put a slit in the top.  Whenever anyone does anything nice for someone else, they can write it on a slip of paper, and put it into the box for Jesus.  These can be shared on Christmas Day.

source: http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ReasonfortheSeason.htm

Before the ball drops in Times Square, the Big Apple turns on its holiday charm with the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

The world’s largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy’s Umbria region. Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire, the ‘tree’ is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo’s nighttime neon display is projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague’s Old Town Square, and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava Mountains in the southern Czech Republic.

Venice’s Murano Island renowned throughout the world for its quality glasswork is home to the tallest glass tree in the world. Sculpted by master glass blower Simone Cenedese, the artistic Christmas tree is a modern reflection of the holiday season.

Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox calendar on Jan. 7. For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with festivities in anticipation of Father Frost’s arrival on his magical troika with the Snow Maiden. He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall) can be found in the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, Portugal. Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

‘Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree’: Even in its humblest attire, aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany’s Karwendel mountains, a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris, even the Christmas trees are chic. With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and high fashion, it’s no surprise this show-stopping department store draws more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

In addition to the Vatican’s heavenly evergreen, St. Peter’s Square in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol is dressed for a party. Madrid’s two-week celebration makes millionaires along with merrymakers. On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world’s biggest lottery.

A token of gratitude for Britain ’s aid during World War II, the Christmas tree in London ’s Trafalgar Square has been the annual gift of the people of Norway since 1947.

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer Frankfurt’s city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

article source: www.caseycombden.com/blog

The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas Day, Dec. 25th, the birth of Jesus, and the Epiphany, Jan. 6th, the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi (Wise Men) and the revelation of Christ as the light of the world.
The Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may sound silly and contrived to many of us. But it actually had its origins in religious symbolism – and with a serious purpose.
It dates from a time of religious persecution. The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” was written as a kind of secret catechism that could sing in public without fear of arrest – a learning or memory aid to Christians in fact.
The song can be taken at two levels of interpretation – the surface meaning, or the hidden meaning known only to the Christians involved. Each element is a code word for a religious truth.
1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus.
2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.
3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.
4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.
5. The five gold rings recall the Hebrew Torah (Law), or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.
6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.
7. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight Beatitudes.
9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.
10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.
11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful Apostles.
12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles Creed.

If you think Jesus being symbolized as a partridge in a pear tree sounds blasphemous, remember:
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so.” (Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:34)
The “true love” in the song refers to God Himself.
The “me” receiving the gifts is every Christian.
So that “silly” song we sing at Christmas time has more meaning than we thought.

My Bible Promise to You…

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline”
(II Timothy 1:7, NLT)