gksmith

Israel and the Middle Eastern countries live with terrorism every day. I hear about acts off terror in European countries often. We live in a very different world then 10 years ago. We did not have the problems then that the Middle East has dealt with for decades. It will mean diligence on each person’s part and the government and agencies. The rules for air travel were very strict after 9/11 and the government has gradually relaxed some of them. We as citizens have to continue our vigilance to help protect ourselves. The government has been reporting for a few weeks that it appears there is an upcoming threat and act of terror. Remain vigilant.

Link to NYT story NEW YORK TIMES ONLINE By JONATHAN D. GLATER Published: July 29, 2007 Should an undergraduate studying business pay more than one studying psychology? Should a journalism degree cost more than one in literature? More and more public universities, confronting rising costs and lagging state support, have decided that the answers may be yes and yes. The New York Times Starting this fall, juniors and seniors pursuing an undergraduate major in the business school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will pay $500 more each semester than classmates. The University of Nebraska last year began charging engineering students a $40 premium for each hour of class credit. And Arizona State University this fall will phase in for upperclassmen in the journalism school a $250 per semester charge above the basic $2,411 tuition for in-state students. Such moves are being driven by the high salaries commanded by professors in certain fields, the expense of specialized equipment and the difficulties of getting state legislatures to approve general tuition increases, university officials say. “It is something of a trend,” said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Even as they embrace such pricing, many officials acknowledge they are queasy about a practice that appears to value one discipline over another or that could result in lower-income students clustering in less expensive fields. “This is not the preferred way to do this,” said Patrick V. Farrell, provost at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “If we were able to raise resources uniformly across the campus, that would be a preferred move. But with our current situation, it doesn’t seem to us that that’s possible.” At the University of Kansas, which started charging different prices in the early 1990s, there are signs that the higher cost of majoring in certain subjects is affecting the choices of poorer students. “We are seeing at this point purely anecdotal evidence,” said Richard W. Lariviere, provost and executive vice chancellor at the university. “The price sensitivity of poor students is causing them to forgo majoring, for example, in business or engineering, and rather sticking with something like history.” Private universities do not face the same tuition constraints and for the most part are avoiding the practice, educators say, holding to the traditional idea that college students should be encouraged to get a well-rounded education. Richard Fass, vice president for planning at Pomona, a private liberal arts college in California, said educators there considered it fundamental for students to feel part of the larger college, not segmented by differential costs. “The entire curriculum is by design available to all students,” he said. Some public university officials say they worry that students who are charged more for their major will stick to the courses in their field to feel that they are getting their money’s worth. “I want students in the College of Engineering at Iowa State to take courses in the humanities and to take courses in the social sciences,” said Mark J. Kushner, the dean of that college. To address problems like climate change, Mr. Kushner said, graduates will need to understand much more than technology. “That’s sociology, that’s economics, that’s politics, that’s public policy.” Undergraduate juniors and seniors in the engineering school at Iowa State last year began paying about $500 more annually, he said, and the size of that additional payment is scheduled to rise by $500 a year for at least the next two years. Mr. Kushner said he thought society was no longer looking at higher education as a common good but rather as a way for individuals to increase their earning power. “There was a time, not that long ago, 10 to 15 years ago, that the vast majority of the cost of education at public universities was borne by the state, and that was why tuition was so low,” he said. “That was based on the premise that the education of an individual is a public good, that individuals go out and become schoolteachers and businessmen and doctors and lawyers, that makes society better. That’s no longer the perception.” Neither the State University of New York nor the Connecticut State University System use differential pricing, officials say. New Jersey, however, has done so for years, according to a spokesman, Greg Trevor. In the new school year, in-state undergraduates in the general program will pay tuition of $8,541, but engineering and pharmacy students will pay $9,484.80 and business students will pay $8,716. Various universities have adopted different versions of differential pricing to try to fight the unintended consequences it may create. Colleges that charge higher tuition for a major like business, engineering or journalism generally allow students outside the field to take some courses in the subject without paying more. “We do try to encourage crossing disciplines, to get a feel for the world,” said Randy Kangas, assistant vice president for planning and budgeting at the University of Illinois, where students studying business, chemistry and the life sciences pay higher tuition. Most universities with differential tuition use some of the money — 20 to 25 percent — for additional financial aid to offset some of the impact. Officials at universities that have recently implemented higher tuition for specific majors say students have supported the move. Students in the business school at the University of Wisconsin, for example, got behind the program because they believed that it would support things like a top-notch faculty. “It’s very important to all the students in the business school to sustain our reputation,” said Jesse C. Siegelman, 21, who expects to graduate in December 2008. Mr. Siegelman said representatives of 26 of 28 student groups that belong to the school’s Undergraduate Student Leadership Council, of which he was president last year, voted to support the tuition proposal. In engineering programs, the additional money often goes toward costly laboratory equipment, because students and the companies that will employ them expect graduates to be able to go to work immediately using state of the art tools, said Mr. Lariviere of the University of Kansas. “In many instances,” he said, “industry itself is demanding this.” And in business schools, professors’ salaries have risen, with some schools paying starting professors $130,000 or more, said G. Dan Parker III, associate executive vice president of Texas A&M, which he said was considering whether to charge higher tuition to undergraduate students studying business. “The salaries we pay for entering assistant professors on average is probably larger than the average salary for full professors at the university,” Mr. Parker said of business professors. “That’s how far the pendulum has swung at the business schools, and I sure wish they’d fix it.” While several university officials said students in majors that carried higher costs could bear the burden because they would be better paid after graduation, Mr. Lariviere said he was skeptical of that rationale. He pointed out that many people change jobs several times over a career and that a major is a poor predictor of lifetime income. “Where we have gone astray culturally,” he said, “is that we have focused almost exclusively on starting salary as an indicator of life earnings and also of the value of the particular major.”

Now to get back on topic...... So the red building in the middle of the area is Cool Beans? Is that staying?

If for nothing else, some team has to have space for a great return man like Quinn. GO JOHNNY GO!!!!!

I got the email about the pictures on the site. They look really good. Can't wait to tour.

I am waiting till August 1 to get mine...if any left. SMU game plus the Navy game.

I can't this year. No cash. When I do go I usually try to keep the tab below $50 including tickets, parking, and food. I was hoping to see a few games this year too. I wanted to see one of the games against Chicago Cubs. Us Ranger fans are glutons for punishment. Hard to see them always near the bottom of the division. Search for the Mark Teixeira comments just before he came off the DL a few weeks ago. Truth hurts.

Ganggrne has a "number of days till..." banner. I have not seen a "countdown clock" banner yet.

Everyone has an opinon.

I know Norte Dame has this "national following" (Like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs in baseball, Patriots and Cowboys in football, Bulls for a time in basketball) but a game at a neutral site about as opposite of South Bend as you can get and stay in the US...strange.

Truth hurts. The kid is a punk. She didn't like having someone of authority calling him a punk. Sorry lady...YOUR KID IS A PUNK. I do not see any threats in the letter. I hope a reasonable group of people in the jury find the same.

Both of those were added a long time ago (January 2007) Note that it is an OPINION. There are times when I don't agree with Dale but a lot of times I do. You love him or hate him. No middle ground. I guess that is what I like about him.

WOW! Proves no one is above the law because they are a high school/college/pro "superstar."

Fortunately there was no injury to rider or dog. Both of those happened on the same day. I do not know if VS showed the dog. I just happened to see it on YouTube. The wife and I were watching the tour coverage. We saw that together. She screams and hides her head. I laugh. Shows where our minds are.

Uuuummmmm....ok. Borat And please keep your dog on a leash. Dog?

Michael Vick...what a class act....NOT!

Parking was a mess even when I was there in the early 80's. I spent most of my time in Whooten Hall (PSCI & HIST). Fouts is the hind end of space from Whooten. Fortunately I took a lot of early classes and was able to get decent parking. If you are not a student you can blow off the ticket. If you are a student, they kind of have you by the balls. They can withold your deploma till the ticket is paid or other crap. Good luck finding a solution.

Fork is the best in North Texas (if not Texas). I have been there a few times but have never been able to catch anything. Probably wrong day or something.

Now THAT is revenge.

I play darts in the Dallas Darts Association ADO League and I FINALLY qualified for Regionals. I played my butt off and won enough games to qualify. If you go to the DDA website, click on ADO Adult Standings and Men's Group 2 you will see I finished fifth in that group. Oddly enough, the two guys that finished ahead of me in the standings, I beat them earlier in the season. That was a tough group. Terry Toth (6th) is also a really good player but he strained his back about a month ago and it really messed up his game. Hell yea my dart shirt is a UNT polo shirt! Saturday, July 28 10AM Black and Gold Sports Bar 10132 Crowley Rd. Crowley, TX 76134 817/293-6520

I can get cell phone coverage at the stadium (or at least I did last year I got calls from the wife during the game). Get a good WiFi card and service and I would think you could. As far as the NCAA not wanting bloggers covering the game, I think I saw an article on that in SI last week or two. Didn't read it at the time thought.

I need a bottle coozie like that. I have the bottle jersey...but I bought that off eBay.

NO "probably" about it. Until his retirement he WAS THE MOST TESTED athlete. What is sad is even now there are still people trying to tarnish his reputation and still trying to tear him down. There was another book released (in French language only...again) claiming Armstrong's doping. The Floyd Landis "trial" was as much trying to find Landis guilty as it was to get people to testify against Armstrong. Must...resist...rant...on...cleaning...up...cycling. Must...resist...before...being...giged...for...being...off...topic.... Too late!

I have no problem with that. The same way they took the asterisk off Maris for hitting 62 HR though he had 5 more games to get the record. You can't put a bunch of asterisks in the record book. Still doesn't mean I have to like that Bonds lies to everyone and think he has everyone fooled. He went from a slap leadoff hitter as a rookie to a hulking homerun hitter in about a season. You don't get that way without "help." That arguement McGwire put forth "Steroids doesn't help you hit the ball" is just crap. Steroids just help you hit the ball farther. And of all the players at the center of the steroid era, the LAST person who needed steroids was Mark McGwire. Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Raphiel Palmero were all skinny leadoff hitters who bulked up in one offseason to become homerun hitters. McGwire was ALREADY a homerun hitter (remember The Bash Brothers from Oakland in McGwire and Canseco's rookie year?). MLB ownership/management/commissionership were about 15 years behind on the steroids problem. NFL had already banned steroid use and made it part of the collective barganing agreement. MLB still has not put a salary cap in place to even the playing field for all teams.

This story just keeps getting worse: Sources: Williams heads to Marquette New Orleans coach Buzz Williams, coming off a 14-17 season in his first year as the Privateers head man, resigned on Friday afternoon, according to numerous sources close to the situation. Williams has left to become an assistant coach for Tom Crean at Marquette. Williams, 34, was unavailable for comment. Sources indicated, however, that Williams was frustrated because of financial limitations and other obstacles at the program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Williams informed his team of the decision on Friday afternoon. New Orleans was slated to open up its arena this spring, but sources told FOXSports.com it won't likely happen until May 2008. The Privateers also don't have locker rooms, and only have five sports currently active. Williams brought in an impressive recruiting class this season, and also fielded interest from Kentucky head coach Billy Gillespie to be an assistant there before deciding on Marquette. The timing of the move was rare as it happened on the first day of the July recruiting period.