Crash diets aren't safe for humans so they definitely aren't safe for pets. It's not better to leave them that way; the best way is gradually increase exercise while gradually decreasing food intake. Continuing on with old habits of overfeeding because it's "less difficult than watching them die" is a false statement because by physically debilitating them "with love" in the form of food, you are still watching them die.

I have no sympathy for this owner.

sheesh...I try just walking around my parents' neighborhood and people are peeking out their window blinds thinking I'm some kind of burglar casing the neighborhood...

My cousin and I are doing a monthly cook-in! It's mostly a group effort to learn to cook different dishes, but I like it as much for the eating as for the cooking. It's still a rough go as the only regulars have been cousin and I with a couple one-timers but I have faith it'll grow into something bigger when we find the right people who aren't so obsessed with being stressed out by their jobs to enjoy one night of unjobliness.

Him's right... A forceful personality, seemingly disconnected thinking, but the ability to interact with people around him... sounds an awful lot like Asperger's.

I love it! Franchise this puppy and send a store to the east coast!

DOJ: there could be a number of reasons why they do so well... Fast foods like McDonald's are probably come out faster. Foods may be cheaper. The main reason I'm guessing is that despite the purpose of vacationing/tourist lifestyle is to explore new places, a vast majority of tourist are neophobic. They'd rather go eat something familiar rather than experiment.

From what I gleaned on the excerpt above, they aren't banning ethnic foods but rather importing foods. This isn't new - many places have strict regulations on import and export. As far as Lucca goes, the section's a historic district. Many such places have strict regulations not only on food. Williamsburg, VA will not allow buildings to be higher than three? four? stories tall. That one guy mentioned may be a food racist but other aspects of this article aren't all that shocking.

Did anyone read the official statement from Coach Grimes linked in the news article? He went through his coaching tactics in the game. Yes, he started with full court press but after the first three minutes of the game, he dropped down to a 2-3 zone. He has a roster of 8 girls so he could put in his "second strings" but even so, half his players on court will have been starters. He continually subbed players throughout the game but it's a strong team...they mentioned some games where players have been injured or fouled out and they finished the game with only 4 members and they still win.

His job was to coach, and he did his job. The girls were out there to play and they did theirs. As far as the lopsidedness... blame that more on who scheduled the season's competitions at the beginning of the year or who insists on having a severely slanted basketball division or who insists on keeping a Dallas Academy coach with a poor record of coaching. It does no good for Convenant to consistently win with no challenge and Dallas to consistently lose with no incentive to get better.

It's sad that nowadays playing to your potential gets you national scorn and scrutiny. The only thing this experience would teach the girls is that its better to be mediocre.

BenJCarter: The administration was said it was unsportsmanlike, didn't follow the Golden Rule and wanted Coach to issue an apology. When he didn't, he was fired and they issued an apology on behalf of the school (to include "Embarassed and ashamed for winning"). I have no idea if this is a done deal or not but one article mentioned that the school wanted to forfeit of the Dallas Academy game from season records.

david: I've volunteered for Special Olympics Basketball tournaments since high school and not once have I seen a player with ADD or dyslexia... I'm not saying those aren't unfortunate problems but your term is a bit too broad. It's like insinuating that pre-olympic athletes were competitively taunting someone with cystic fibrosis; the situtaion is not that extreme. And these Dallas girls weren't embarassed. They took it in stride which is admirable as a team that has loss nearly every game in the past four seasons.

A win by forfeit would have had to have been decided by the losing team - meaning the coach that was not fired. I've seen situations in which my schools' football teams were losing 60+ to nothing and I would have lost respect for the other team if they took pity on us. I haven't seen clips of the game but the only way I would have called this unsportsmanlike is if the Covenant girls were physically or verbally abusing the team from Dallas Academy. There is nothing unsportsmanlike about practicing hard enough to master the 3-pointer or for putting everything you've got out on the court.

I did read up some more on this interesting news bit. Dallas Academy defines their students as having "learning differences"...an article listed ADD and dyslexia. A pc term for sure that encompasses some learning handicaps but I doubt that would inspire these girls to want to be treated as invalids.

Much respect to the Covenant team for playing like a team who's worked hard at practices and understands the concept of "finish strong".
Much respect to the Dallas team for taking their loss with dignity and understanding that it's merely a game. And many kudos for strengthening the D as the game progressed rather than becoming dejected and defeated. (scored 35 the first quarter and in the fourth, Covenant only managed 12 points).
Much respect to the Covenant coach for taking a previously 2-19 team, understanding how to make his girls the strong team that they are and for sticking to his morals when put under scrutiny.
Shame on the rest of those involved in this sad tale. A game is a game. It's not whether you win or lose... it's how you comport yourself before, during and after the game. By choosing to forfeit now, they are saying that the hardwork put in by both teams is irrelevant and only thing important is to make sure every game here on ends in a tie.

gahhh...I had to stop reading that website because the grammar problems were driving me crazy! This was the only one I really liked:

I don't think "Whoa" is a standard response to "I love you," but it was the only one I could come up with at the time.

haha ouch

Bathroom Reader had a blurb of six word stories by famous authors.... inspired by the Hemingway short. Can't remember them off the top of my head, but there were a couple good ones.

Did the girls at least get to choose their frog husband? If it were me, I'd require he should at least look fine with a top hat and cane or rep his own cereal.

Yay for firsties! I completely agree with this recluse condition...some regale facebook for increasing connectivity but the friendships don't seem as real to me when the most minimum of effort is taken. I had friends who were no more than 2 miles away from me but they would rather say happy birthday on my wall than to take the time to call or better yet see me in person on my birthday! There's a form of satisfaction from reading a quick hello on your wall but those memories don't feel nearly as pleasant as actually meeting up with a friend or two for lunch.

I have more liberal tendencies but wait for the walk sign at pedestrian crosswalks. It's not so much a political leaning but more of a I-don't-want-to-get-fined leaning. One of my old bosses told me the police had once fined him $75 for not crossing at a crosswalk. Harsh.

I would've thought parents with daughters are more conservative than parents of sons. Perhaps I just live in oppositeville...

Sending the same message to multiple people counts as individual texts, so depending on her network speed and the size of her send list, she could easily text a couple hundred in a matter of minutes. I didn't click the link but if this is the same article I read on CNN last week, the father said he has unlimited texting so money's not the concern. Rather, the lack of social life outside of texting would be a big concern if that were my kid.

And what is up with the news stations putting so much coverage on this? Are they that hard up for newstertainment? A few weeks ago, the top news of the day was what Jennifer Aniston said regarding her former marriage to Brad Pitt and I was like... 'really?' Genocide, war, cancer, poverty, economic recession, scientific breakthroughs....but CNN's top story was about a 4 year old divorce and now this texting hoo-hah... sad...

I used to work in Milwaukee, which is cold (though not as cold as some of these other places) and schools and offices didn't closed even when I'd be walking through knee high ice and snow to get to work. My former coworkers still had work this past week. Now in Virginia... it was drizzling at 35F not too long ago (yes, 35 on the positive side) and most of the schools and plenty offices closed and everyone's tossing salt every which way because of the POSSIBILITY of sleet. Turned out, water stays liquid when the temperature doesn't go below freezing. Who'da thunk?

Perhaps the banana test should be the defining factor on closings...

Ali S.: I would go with a mixed breed, rescue dog (go with one that sponsors foster programs because they put more of an emphasis socializing rescues with humans and other dogs. Oftentimes, shelters have limited time and funds so dogs stay in cages like solitary confinement). Mixed breeds are harder to predict personality-wise, but there's a better likelihood that the genetic weaknesses of purebreds are strengthened, bad behaviors predictable of certain breeds are tempered and generally, they are cheaper (to purchase...smaller dogs are cheaper to maintain but that's mainly because of food consumption differences). I've fostered many rescue dogs and found I've had an easier time with the mutts than the purebreeds, and larger than smaller dogs. My favorite foster dog was a pit bull-lab mix and if I could've afforded to keep him, I definitely would have. Type of dog for you depends on level of activity in your lifestyle. If these walks are hardcore hikes, larger breeds will have better endurance for those long walks. If it's just a short jaunt around a city block, you may opt for something smaller who can be content with smaller living space.