Rocky

Even though you probably can get a fairly reasonable first impression in a five minute interview, I doubt you'd get much of the genuine insight that only time can provide you on how well they handle/cope with stresses and challenges of everyday life.

Cindy, your self-awareness, noted when you said your ability to be objective is impaired, is a very good thing. However, as much as anyone here at GSC knows you, this is STILL way too limited of a medium for communication for you to get very much genuine insight here. I say -- very much -- because there will be some good insight... as noted in templelady's post (highlighted in my post). However, given the tremendous importance of your daughter's relationships with both you and her father, I would caution you to take very little (if any) direction from posts on a thread like this. We will NOT be able to clearly and/or legitimately assess either your daughter, you or her father. Nor will any of us here be certain how much of our experience will appropriately related to the situation you described and are seeking help with. You NEED the insight of trained professionals with background (education AND experience) in counseling and/or social work related disciplines in order to have the best chance of giving your daughter the best shot at emerging into adulthood with as healthly of an emotional/social makeup as possible. I offer this advice, and NOT anything that even pretends to assess any of the involved parties and relationships because I have been deeply affected by and through divorce related custody concern for my daughter (who is now 17, and too near 18 for comfort) and parental alienation. Any insights offered by anyone here without first hand observation/interaction with enough of your situation (and all the pertinent relationships) -- though no doubt well intentioned -- will have far too much potential for infusing a great deal of added confusion and possible emotional vulnerability for your daughter especially. Bottom line, I understand your concern for your daughter. I understand it with a heavy heart. That's why I urge you to get the best possible advice from the best available professionals you can find.

FYI, it's 5 minutes.

Michael's Tandy Leather Factory both links also include store locator options.

115 at my house. In the shade, it's more or less tolerable. In the sun, not even. Of course, 95 here when you have to stay in the sun and away from the shade becomes intolerable. On the plus side, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (on whose reservation I actually live) just harvested some corn the other day... should be in the supermarkets this week at great prices... and they don't have deer pilfering the goods. Too close to the big city, way too hot, and no place to hide (no forests/woods bordering the crop fields). So, you gonna have enough venison to feed all of us?

What about that sweet corn?

I don't know if it's a national chain, but here in the Phoenix area, I go to a craft store called Michael's. It IS a chain, I just don't know how big of a chain. And they have LOTS of stuff. And Tandy Leather Factory stores (in many states) have LOTS of leathercraft tools, kits and supplies. I've taken up leathercrafting in the last 15 or so months.

Wasn't he the guy that invented the HOOK shot in basketball?

And here I thought I was just starting to get some freckles... because of all the sunshine here in the Valley of the SUN! ;) There's a Cracker Barrel or two around here too... though I've never ventured inside one.

:) Ah, youth! I hope you are comforted by knowing you weren't alone in that youthful self-delusion! I still think of Mark Gagnon... he's the one who taught me to "play" the trombone. Or rather to SOUND LIKE I'm playing the trombone.

That's what I figured.

Great pics... I swam in Lake Ontario on numerous occasions in my childhood (lived in Rochester NY) and have been to the shores of Lakes Erie and Michigan... I'd love to check out Lakes Superior and Huron... Where are the pics with Abi in them?

Good luck with that. I'm thinking that a complete boycott (by you, or any one American consumer) may not be easily accomplished. If it's possible at all, it would come with huge cost, I would guess. If you find ways to do so that can be passed on to others, please let us know. I'm sure there's plenty of us who would like to join you.

It's been work to stay cool these days.... otherwise everything's peachy.

I just read that Dbacks' outfielder Eric Byrnes, who hails from the San Fran bay area, and barely missed having LaRussa pick him for the NL all star squad, will be there anyway. But NOT in the stadium. Byrnes and his pet bulldog will be reporting from McCovey Cove from a kayak. That should be pretty interesting. Might make the game worth watching.... :)

btw, last fall, I got stopped in the 'burb where I live, because my tail light was broken. The cop thought he had a right to harass me. He didn't. He refused to allow me to get out of my car to show him what the deal was. The fact was, he claimed that the light, which was supposed to shine in red, was missing the cover, it WOULD BE, when lit, white. He was wrong. White represents a car coming toward you, if you see it in front of you. So, it would confuse and possibly cause a collision. The only problem... the one that was supposed to shine red DID so. Only the parking (or back up light) shined white. He didn't give me a ticket. I challenged both the rookie that was practicing on me and his veteran police officer partner who told him to practice on me. I followed up by calling the mayor/city council/city manager offices to register my concern. Even though the Phoenix area is geographically quite large, Scottsdale isn't. I've been followed by these bozos since then but nobody dares stop me. Of course, if I were to commit a ticketable offense, I would expect to get stopped. But I'm nobody's practice... :) My point is... even though cops do things, they aren't always right in doing so... and they CAN be challenged and put in their places. But it helps to understand what they can and cannot rightfully/lawfully do.

Excie, I understand your concern. But WE here at GSC probably do not know what the law is where you are. My point is that as unfair and unreasonable as it feels, and it always does in a situation like that, in general, cops are allowed to lie. But to know what your rights and your son's rights are, you should ask someone with knowledge of your state/local laws (but not the cops themselves, because they will probably lie to you... and I'm NOT being sarcastic in saying that).

there's nothing in federal law, necessarily, covering the conduct of police officers lying to trick perps and potential witnesses/informants into divulging what information they might have. The ONLY federal law that would have anything to do with this would be related to Civil Rights. However, state laws vary. What's true in NY or NJ might be different in ME or CA. In practice, cops are notorious liars... the end justifies the means, ya know! If I were you Excie, I'd check with lawyer or the local bar association where you live to find out what you can or can't expect from cops in a situation like this.

Actually, the NEWS related to this issue today is the connection between chronic stress and weight gain for people eating high fat/high carb (junk) foods. I believe, intuitively, that this link exists. I believe that was my problem. I did not have proper eating habits AND I was subject to serious levels of chronic stress. THIS new understanding is NOT a panacea. Nor is anyone who is seriously investigating weight management issues (personally or professionally, possibly excluding marketing hucksters) necessarily viewing it as a panacea. This new information gives hope to millions of people (or will do so when they realize what this means to them) who have tried diets and after years of failure to get a handle on it. Again, over the last 2.5 years, I've lost more than 85 pounds. The "secret" for me has been better understanding of nutrition options, ways to drastically reduce the level of chronic stress in my life AND an aggressive, regular exercise regimen. Indeed, it's really NO secret. But for the millions who have not been able to figure it out, it certainly seems like someone has been keeping it secret. AND -- there is good reason that at this time that drugs approved by the FDA for use in a weight loss program are limited (one for sure, maybe two... but not this thing). And the fat blocking drug, orlistat, which has been available by Rx, but now in smaller doses over-the-counter, WORKS for people who need a boost when reaching a plateau in a long-term program consisting of better eating habits and exercise.

I agree... but let's not forget the Biography channel.

88 percent. B+ 23 of 26 correct. Could be because I enjoy (and regularly watch) the Science Channel, DiscoveryHDTheatre, NationalGeographic Channel, and the Equator Channel (which is a part of the VOOM network which now belongs to Dish Network).

Not to be a curmudgeon here, but quality of life is directly related to politics. I went to see a movie this afternoon. I now understand why Dot asked the question (at the start of this thread). It occurs to me that quality of life in any given country, region or community is a measure of the politics, and its effectiveness in representing the will of the people of that particular geographic entity. If I didn't have such an aversion to cold weather, I'd be very interested in checking out Canada and it's culture, environment and such. But then again, I'm in a select group of Americans. Not only do I have medical coverage, I have the coverage in a NOT-FOR-PROFIT government administered single payer system. That's something all Americans should DEMAND... and which Canadians, Brits, Frenchmen/women and those in Cuba (among others in the world) already have.

Hey Dot, You certainly are entitled to your feelings... and it's understandable to consider change of venue when other things in your life are also changing... I wish you quick, relatively peaceful resolution to all of the uncertainties and variables you're facing these days. Canada sounds like a great place to live... but I'm not sure I'd be at all comfortable with so much more cold weather (than I get here in central AZ). I don't know the population profile for Canada, but it seems like they have more open (far less densely populated) space than in most of the US.

Hey niKa, Long time no see... glad to hear you've been having a good time with your family in the great outdoors! So, that leg must be doing quite well, from the sound of your enthusiasm... which is great news. Oh and I hope we hear from Tom Strange soon, I understand it's been even wetter in Texas than in OK.

And then there's the Dbacks. No team in the NL has more wins than the Dbacks. Yet, sometimes this team, with a decent pitching staff, a couple of seasoned veterans and a whole bunch of youngsters (rookies or not much more experience than that), plays some really awful baseball. Several times, the Dbacks have committed several errors in a game, giving the opponent what ends up being a fairly easy win... including the two games I (we) have attended. Frustrating....