posted origionally @ http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/24/2003426758

Student dies during steamed bun eating contest at university
NT$2,000: School medical personnel immediately performed CPR on the student, but the cause of death has yet to be determined, doctors said

An eating contest at a local university ended in tragedy on Wednesday when a graduate student died after participating in a steamed bun eating competition.
Huang Te-hsiang (黃德祥), dean of the student affairs office of Dayeh University in Changhua, said yesterday that a 23-year-old student, surnamed Chen, from the Graduate Institute of Bioindustry Technology could not stop vomiting and fell unconscious after he began to feel uncomfortable during the school’s eating competition on Wednesday.
School medical personnel immediately performed CPR on the student and an ambulance was called which rushed him to a nearby hospital, but the student was pronounced dead after emergency staff at the hospital had preformed 90 minutes of resuscitation, Huang said.The cause of death remains unclear, but doctors said that the student may have choked to death.
The school promised to cooperate with prosecutors in their investigation into the case, Huang said.Instructor Chan Ching-lin (詹慶臨) of the university said that the school held an eating contest each year.
Chen and several other contestants were competing in an event to see who could finish two steamed buns stuffed with egg and cheese in the fastest time, Chan said.This year’s event featured 60 students split into 30 teams of two, with the winning team receiving NT$2,000 in prize money.

I did my first ever photo restoration. A member of the church has carried this picture in his wallet for over 50 years. What do you think?

Preface: I use Google Alerts. I set a a phrase and Google e-mails me when that phrase appears in a news story or blog. I have alerts for "youth ministry", "united methodist" and "lufkin, tx".

This morning my Google Alert included this alert:

LUFKIN,TX UFO shows up near HOUSTON,TXBy realufos(realufos) This is a great closeup of a ufo filmed in LUFKIN,Texas on a cell phone and the latest taken near HOUSTON,TX OCT 15, 2008:The Best Real UFO videos & news... - http://www.realufos.net/


I haven't quite figured out why I'm bothered by the fact that this happened in the town where I live. This being: people believing they captured images of a UFO, setting to a soundtrack of Adiemus and using crappy technology to showcase the "find".
But, it does.

I had a meal today that I didn't enjoy. Someone sitting at my table said, "Food here really is a four letter word". Yeah, it was that bad. Together Karen and I paid $21 for that meal. I makes me think what that $20 could have done.

Here's an article to read if you haven't heard of micro loans or have $20 to spare. I'm convinced if we valued ending poverty with the same dollars and energy we spend on ending our boredom we can end poverty together.

I know several folks that are single issue voters. Most have are articulate and well-informed opinions, others not-so-much. These individual issues include: capital punishment, abortion, guns, taxation, animal rights and medical research. If I could set policy and positions aside, I would decide my candidate based solely on the graphic design of the campaign.

Design makes a statement. Design shouldn't just support a message. Design should convey a message.

McCain's campaign has one theme with a few variations on the design. As much as I have heard the terms "maverick" and "agent of change", the design doesn't speak that to me.

Obama's campaign design convinces me that it's something different. The design isn't without problems, but I find it compelling. I'm still not sure what to think about the "O" graphic. I assume it is a rising sun over and American flag, as well as the "O for Obama". I think will argue that the sun is setting or possibly the red stripes are an empty highway. Honestly, maybe Barack is for one egg sunny side up with three pieces of bacon.

If you happen to like political images there is an independent Obama site. McCain doesn't have an counterpart site.

Here's a NY Times look at why the Bush bumper sticker was superior to the Kerry bumper sticker.

Or here's a well-written historical look at political memorabilia.

I was shown something this morning. I literally think it's one of the best things I've seen in years. Here it is:

The letter reads:

Dear First United Methodist Church, Lufkin,

About 10 years ago while visiting your church, I "borrowed" this book that someone left behind at the back of the church. My intention was to learn about Methodism and return very soon with the book. Now a decade later, with apologies, I am returning it.

I ask for your forgiveness,

A one time resident of Lufkin

See there is hope of getting books returned even though this is confirmation curriculum.

The letter was mailed from another state. The book returned was in fact confirmation curiculum. The student's name in the book was a member of the confirmation class in 1993.

As a staff member of a church, I know things get "borrowed" all of the time. I choose to believe that well meaning people, people with good intentions pick up items around the church. I could write 15 different posts about this. But, I wanted to say to "One time Lufkin resident":

Thanks for taking the time and effort to return the book. I hope it helped you answer some of the questions you might have had. I've decided to place the book in the back of the church again. Because of the name on the book I have a pretty good idea where it will place the book. My hope is someone else might pick it up and be encouraged by it. Thank you for the reminder that we, as a church, can have am impact on people even a decade after a visit. I'm encouraged that a forgotten book can be an encouragement to us all!

I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback you've give me on 365 Daves.

I'm seeing some pretty amazing things happen because of it. I'm working on a post to share some of the great unexpected byproducts. This post is to offer a shameless plug.

365daves.com

Forget having to remember extra dots and blogspots, this should make it easy to remember and even easier to share with those that would/should/could appreciate 365 Daves. To my tech savvy friends, this will not affect your feeds and readers. I am forwarding 365daves.com to the blog.

Thaks for your support and thanks for reading!

Great article.
But here was the payoff.
Buried deep.

One of BADD's lead writers, Cory Edwards (director of Hoodwinked and the forthcoming Fraggle Rock: The Movie) described the BADD "brand" as akin to MAD TV or Saturday Night Live.

Still missed?

Fraggle Rock: The Movie

Life is good.

Christian radio found to be on continuous loop for past 20 years

PONTIAC — Listeners of Christian talk radio were surprised and dismayed to learn that the same slate of programs has been playing on Christian radio stations since 1988, and that the entire façade of Christian radio has been run out of a basement complex in Michigan. "I always found the programs very comforting and familiar," says Kathy Reynolds, a regular listener in Columbia, Mo. "Now I know why." The 365-day-long loop, which has been running continuously since January 1, 1988, includes programs by ministers such as James Dobson and Chuck Colson who dispense parenting and marital advice, Bible answers and non-specific calls to political action. The loop followed the calendar’s rhythms, with programs about creating lasting family traditions at Thanksgiving, back-to-school prayer programs in August and cloyingly sweet programs about home, hearth and "the reason for the season" at Christmas. A layer of conservative concern over the direction of the country was included throughout the year. "Repeating the same shows saved us all money and time," says the program director, who now feels ashamed of his role. He came up with the scheme in the ’80s after noting that some shows were becoming repetitive. "We made it generic enough to last for years, but specific enough to speak to people’s lives over and over. On that score I think we did a pretty good job." Over time, radio stations around the country were quietly converted to simple warehouses for transmitters which broadcast the looped material. None of the ministers heard on Christian radio have actually taped a program for two decades. As some ministers died or left the ministry, the program directors introduced "new" ministers by changing the pitch of a previous minister’s voice. For example, after the death of Christian radio personality Martin Wyse, Wyse’s old shows were digitally manipulated to give him a Scottish brogue, resulting in the creation of Alistair Begg, who does not actually exist. The only other thing that changed over the years were the advertisements, the director says. Some listeners shrugged off the revelations. "The Bible doesn’t change and I’m still blessed by it," says one man. "Who cares if they say the same thing over and over? I probably needed to hear it again." Now that the ruse has been discovered, the loop will be discontinued as soon as Christian leaders begin taping new material and staffs are hired to revitalize long-abandoned radio stations around the country. "It may be rough at the outset," says one programmer. "Everyone’s really out of practice." •