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Sunday, July 31, 2011

How To Get 10 Guys Into Straight Jackets

Although some of them knew the routine all too well and were used to it, most of the guys felt uneasy. A few were secretly aroused at the idea and a couple of them were hell bent on not going through with it.


All ten guys had been chosen to be placed into strait jackets.


The selection process was part of the new TSA – Transit Security Authority – program. Rising fuel costs and the growth of the federal debt meant there was decreasing amounts of money left over for airport security. Low tech options were introduced more and more throughout the recent years. Under the low-tech restraint program, airlines retained licensed medical practitioners to prescribe strait jackets to flight passengers that were deemed most likely to be responsible for flight disturbances. Full fledged doctors were expensive, so most of the medical practitioners were advanced medical students or interns on retainer with TSA. Whether anyone, much less college students and interns, could accurately identify plane hijackers or not was debatable. But, putting a few people in to strait jackets for the duration of a flight presented the illusion of aviation safety. If the people felt comfortable enough to purchase their tickets, the airlines were happy.


Daniel or Danny for short was actually a full fledged medical doctor. He agreed to work for Delta Airlines on the side for much less than he could have been making by putting in more hours at his own practice. He was not after more money. Danny liked the thrill of being able to personally select who would be placed in to restraints for a flight. And, he got off on the power of personally over-seeing each guy’s fall in to submission as the jackets went on one by one. As an industry, women were almost always excluded from the program. Danny himself only ordered men, mostly young, to be put in to strait jackets. Issues of political correctness and gender bias were matters that fell outside the realm of “public safety.” They were things one might consider if the nation were not at war with terror.


Of the sixty passengers to board Flight 309, Danny had ordered that ten men be placed in to regulation Posey strait jackets. From the initial TSA security check points, the chosen men were led in to a large back room. Their luggage and shoes were confiscated and they were allowed to sit on comfortable black leather airport chairs. The chairs were the kind with seat buckets that reclined down towards the rear so that one was forced to slouch. A few of the guys that had been wearing sandals sat barefoot. The others were in either black dress or white athletic socks. At the far end of the room, there were two tables filled with white canvas jackets, each with a multitude of heavy canvas straps dangling off all directions of the garments.


After all ten men were held in the room, Danny entered with a few TSA officers. He gave a small lecture on why the program was enacted and what it would all entail. In short, that each of them had been chosen to be placed in to strait jackets whether they liked it or not. If they did not submit to restraint, they would not be boarding the flight. Although technically by purchasing their ticket they had already forfeited their right to opt-out.


Danny explained that he would demonstrate the application of the strait jacket on one volunteer and that he would rely on the help of everyone in the room to get each other in to the rest of the strait jackets. Danny would personally check each strait jacket and then help the last-man-standing in to the final strait jacket.


Most of the guys seemed uneasy. Most of them did not ask any questions. Although, there was a group of three college buddies – Brock, Nathan, and JD – that kept making wise cracks about the strait jackets. Having had their Abercrombie leather sandals confiscated, all three were left barefoot and antsy. So when Danny asked for a volunteer to help him demonstrate how they were all to apply the strait jackets on one another, it was only natural that Brock and JD cracked a joke that Nathan should do it.


Seemingly nonchalant, Danny asked again for anyone to volunteer. Brock and JD backed off a little until Danny’s eyes turned to Nathan and asked if he wanted to do it. Nathan’s face turned bright red and he declined. This caused JD to wrap his arms around Nathan’s shoulders and egg him on to volunteer. Brock kicked his legs behind Nathan’s motioning him to stand up.


“Come on up,” instructed Danny.


Nathan was clearly not willing to be placed in to the strait jacket and held back.


The other seven guys in the room were still too nervous or too unwilling to join in the discussion. Soon Brock and JD had Nathan on his feet and guided him to the center of the room where Danny met them with a medium size Posey strait jacket.


Danny instructed Nathan to hold his arms out. He was still unwilling to go through with it so Brock stood directly behind Nathan and pushed his arms up towards the strait jacket. JD stood next to Danny studying the strait jacket and trying to figure out how it worked in advance. With Brock pushing Nathan’s arms in from the back, and Danny pushing the strait jacket on his arms from the front, the white canvas covered Nathan and turned the Abercrombie college guy in to a mental patient. Following Danny’s instruction, Brock helped Danny turn Nathan so his back was towards the crowd and one by one Danny demonstrated how the back straps were too be applied. Danny threaded the first two through the roller buckles and then synched them tightly. By the third one, Brock had caught on and attempted to buckle it himself. He was cautious and unsure at first but Danny reassured him and guided him. By the fourth buckle, Brock had the idea and quickly synched the strap extra tight. Nathan yelped and Brock commanded, “Easy stud.”


Brock next grabbed hold of the dangling crotch straps and made a smirk.


Danny professionally pointed out that it was not time for the crotch straps yet. JD gave out an uneasy squeal and Brock started trying to figure out the arms.


Danny showed Brock and the group how to push the arms through the front loops of the jacket as well as the loops underneath the arm pits. Brock attended to this task with glee and then expertly and tightly fastened the strap at the back.


Brock asked Nathan how he was feeling and Nathan struggled to breathe and responded with a, “I want out of this thing man!”


Brock just put his hand firmly on Nathan’s shoulder and smiled. He then told JD that he should attend to his friend’s crotch.


At this point some of the rest of the group let out some laughs and Danny started lecturing on how the crotch straps were to be applied.


He showed JD how to apply them and JD reluctantly obliged although JD only managed to apply the crotch straps somewhat lax. Brock got behind Nathan and corrected the straps by pulling them tight and synching up the slack. He knew he was trapping his friend’s member.


Nathan was fully restrained at this point and Danny finished lecturing on a few points about the strait jacket. Danny then had all the guys stand up and start trying to get each other in to the strait jackets.


Brock quickly grabbed another jacket and told JD that it was his turn. JD started to try to back out.


At the same time, an older guy named Matty approached a thin skater boy type in white athletic socks. The skater boy, named Johnathan was very quiet and shy. It was like a hawk capturing a chicken. Matty had the sleeves of a small sized thick heavy canvas strait jacket at Johnny’s arms in a matter of seconds. Johnny hesitated but Matty soothed the boy telling him that he was just looking out for him. He said he wanted to make sure he was done up correctly and comfortably so that someone didn’t end up hurting him or roughing him up. He said he’d place him over off in a corner after he’d been trussed up so that he would be safe. Matty didn’t give Johnny much time to respond. He had the jacket up over Johnny’s arms in no time and was quickly working on the back straps. Matty noticed that Johnny’s cock was getting hard, which in turn made his own cock hard. Matty rubbed his pants a little bit and hoped no one would notice.


But two people had noticed: Branden and Adam. Branden was an athletic man in his late twenties wearing knee high soccer socks with a double green stripe at the top and Adam was actually there with three other college buddies. Branden and Adam had both seen the way Matty took hold of Johnny and once they both saw Matty adjust his pants, they instantly looked at each other and knew they both had to intervene.


Yet instead of both walking right over to Matty, they both instead walked over to the table of strait jackets and pulled out a large, which they both agreed would be adequate for Matty’s muscular frame. By the time they had reached Matty, Johnny’s back straps had been trussed up and all that was remaining was his crotch and arm straps. As Matty reached between Johnny’s legs and gently massaged his hand over Johnny’s member, Branden asked “What’s up?”


Matty wasted no time and simply reached further for the crotch strap and pulled them tightly around to the back of Johnny. “Just helping this buddy out,” replied Matty hoping the two guys would share in his dominance over Johnny.


“Well how ‘bout we help you out,” Branden answered Matty.


Matty became unsure of himself and tried to talk Branden and Adam out of it. He started backing up but was met by one of the leather chairs.


“We all gotta have one of these on man,” Adam interjected.


Matty resigned to defeat after glancing solemnly at his little captured Johnny who had his arms still flapping freely in the sleeves. Matty kept his head down and allowed Adam and Branden to synch the large canvas strait jacket around his torso. The guys worked silently and quickly and after a few points of contention regarding how to thread a buckle or two, they soon had Matty all snug in his new white canvas prison.


They guided Matty down in to the leather chair without a word although Branden hypocritically took the moment to grab and adjust his own groin.


Adam and Branden then turned to Johnny and asked if he was alright. Johnny shook his head yes as Adam quickly guided Johnny’s arms in to the strait jacket’s loops and then in to the buckle at the back. Johnny started to protest but Branden simply said “Shhhhhh, you’ve got to be in this anyway.”


Adam then led Branden back to his group of two other friends named Casey and Jayden. Together they ganged up on Casey and had him swallowed up in a medium sized white canvas strait jacket. Casey was dazed and confused at how expertly Branden, Jayden, and Adam had caught him up.


Meanwhile Brock had dominated JD in to another medium sized strait jacket. Brock was cruel and unusual because he had jammed JD’s crotch strap up his ass so tightly that JD screamed in pain from his wedgie. No one attempted to help him though.


After securing JD, the antics of Branden, Adam, and Jayden caught Brock’s eye and caused Brock to go over to the group and start cracking jokes. Jayden and Branden started egging Casey on as he struggled with his strait jacket. They pointed out how his struggles made his crotch strap ride up his ass.


A guy named Adrian, who had been quiet up until now tried to join in with the group. Brock and Branden picked up on his uneasiness instantly. They asked Adrian what he was so scared about regarding the strait jackets. Adrian just said it was a stupid idea. He explained that this was his return flight from a business trip and that he had never been required to wear a strait jacket on the initial flight. Although Branden, Brock, and Jayden started calling Adrian chicken, Adam tried to reason with him and said he would offer to put him in a strait jacket and that he would let him out at any time if he felt uncomfortable.


Adrian liked the idea of having someone “nice” put him in a strait jacket instead of being subject to god knows what antics. Un-expectantly, Branden and Brock actually backed off and silently watched Adam guide Adrian in to the strait jacket. Jayden attempted to start making jokes but without the support of Branden and Brock, he backed down. Once the back straps were done up Adrian started to comment about how claustrophobic and uncomfortable he felt. Adam tried to reassure Adrian and it seemed to be working. However, once Adam started pinning Adrian’s arms to his chest, Adrian started to panic and Adam agreed that he should let Adrian out at least temporarily. Adam started to unfasten the top back strap.


That was when Branden stepped in and placed Adam in a full nelson. He told him that he could see that Adrian was being a pussy and that now Adam was starting to be a pussy too. Jayden just started making jokes and laughing but Brock told Jayden to shut up and help him with Adrian. “Hold him down!” Brock ordered. Jayden pounced on Adrian and planted his body on his back holding him to the floor. Brock maneuvered around Jayden’s body and efficiently snagged Adrian’s back straps back in to place. Adam started struggling violently against Branden’s full nelson but Branden had more muscle mass and size over Adam. It was no use. Branden simply applied more pressure causing Adam’s body to buckle back in to Branden’s thick body.


As Adrian kept spazzing out, his arms were guided together and closed against his chest as Brock swiftly secured his arm straps to the back of his body. Jayden then quickly reached through Adrian’s legs and latched the crotch strap in to place.


Brock started open handedly face slapping Adrian who was fighting frantically against his bonds. The strait jacket held his body firmly against itself and soon he tuckered himself out.


Adam was still struggling with full force against Branden though. Brock saw his spirit and walked over to Adam and started face slapping him as well. Adam went ballistic.


At this point Danny intervened and said that Branden ought to let Adam go. Reluctantly, Branden and Brock checked themselves and allowed Adam to break free.


The minute Adam got free he swung a punch at Brock at which point Danny ordered the two TSA guards that had followed him in to the room to restrain Adam.


They were too late. Branden had already tackeled Adam to the ground and Jayden already had another strait jacket. Regardless, Danny wanted things to go more smoothly and thus presented a syringe and told Brock and Branden to hold Adam still.


Adam noticed the syringe and started shouting about his rights. Danny just explained that he had waved any option of opting out when he had completed the first leg of his flight.


Brock and Jayden didn’t care about the legalities of the situation and instead just started taunting Adam. They said things like, “It is time for your medicine little Adie” and “Just relax kid, this will hurt you more than it will us.”


“Can you get his pants down?” Danny asked the guys.


“Hell yeah doc we can,” they answered.


Danny was about to guide the syringe in to Adam’s thick meaty thigh but Branden noticed what he was about to do and quickly yanked down Adam’s Abercrombie boxers exposing his ample white butt.


Danny gently poked the syringe in to Adam’s ass and Adam’s roars began to soften.


Soon he was a lethargic pile of flaccid meat.


After a few more taunts from Branden and Brock, Jayden started guiding Adam in to the strait jacket. Adam had no resistance and actually started to drool at the mouth.


In his nonself-reliant state, Adam did manage to ask Branden and Brock for help standing as they lifted him up to get the jacket fully applied. Brock simply answered, “No problem little buddy.” Branden equally answered, “Mmmmmm that’s it.”


After fully synching Adam up in to the strait jacket, they gently placed him in to a leather seat and helped him to rest his head against the wall. Adam fought off full sleep as best he could. Now only Branden, Jayden, and Brock remained.


“Okay,” Jayden started, “Now that the riff raff is secured, what do you say we help each other in to these things?”


“Sure thing!” Brocked began! And before Jayden could fully comprehend what was going on, Branden had Jayden’s arms locked up in the sleeves of a small posey strait jacket that Brock had rushed over. Jayden was definitely not worthy of a small size but there was only a medium and a large left and Brock did not want to have to risk enduring the small size.


Brock helped maneuver Jayden’s arms around his torso so Branden could seal them up in back. As Branden finished synching up all the strait jacket’s slack, Brock commented to Branden: “You’re next!”


Upon hearing this, Branden reached his hand out and punched Brock in the balls. “The more smart-mouthed they are the harder they fall!” Branden mocked.


As Brock keeled over, Branden finished up Jayden’s crotch strap and then grabbed the medium strait jacket. Jayden tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his thick large muscular frame in its new home of the small sized bundle of tightly wrapped canvas.


Still in pain from the blow to his balls, Brock weakly moaned, “No Fair!”


Branden kicked Brock’s gut and back a few times and then bent over to start synching up the medium strait jacket. Brock fought it. But JD and Nathan, still pissed that Brock had seen the better of them, straddled over in their tight strait jackets and used their body weights to help keep Brock down on the ground. This gave Branden the extra advantage and soon he had Brock all neatly packaged in to his strait jacket.


Branden stood over the nine guys all currently struggling in their strait jackets.


Danny grabbed the last large strait jacket and walked over to Branden congratulating him on being the last man standing.


“Now take this like a man,” Danny suggested to Branden.


Still on the high from his alpha male dominance, Branden gracefully extended his arms out and allowed Danny to place the heavy canvas sleeves over his muscular frame. Branden even rolled his arms and shoulders upwards in an effort to help Danny get the garment over his body.


Danny threaded and synched up the buckles with a precision and force not before seen in the room. Danny’s professional skill as well as the heavy presence of the jacket caused a mood change in Branden. His pride began to melt away in to sullenness. Branden’s mind began to swim. Branden didn’t even notice the good doctor folding his arms up around his chest and securing them in back. Branden felt his knees begin to buckle and as he looked down he noticed that the doctor had already done up his crotch strap. It was not overly tight but its presence was definitely known.


Branden started to begin to struggle but began to get lost in a sea of submission the moment the canvas started to rub against itself.


Danny recognized the frame of mind that Branden was in all too well. Danny smiled, checked and rechecked the fit of each of the ten strait jackets, and then nodded to the guards to start loading up the passengers of Flight 309.

~ by heavybondage on July 24, 2011.

Posted in Story
Tags: bondage, crotch straps, posey, straight jacket


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How To Love - Lil Wayne

Song; How To Love ?
Artist; Lil Wayne

DISCLAIMER; I DO NOT OWN THIS VIDEO IN ANY WAY.

Lyrics;

[CHORUS]
You had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love, how to love
You had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love, how to love

For a second you were here, now you over there
It's hard not to stare, the way you moving your body
Like you never had a love, never had love

When you was just a youngin', your looks were so precious
But now your grown up, so fly it's like a blessing
But you can't have a man look at you for 5 seconds
Without you being insecure
You never credit yourself so when you got older
It's seems like you came back 10 times over
Now you're sitting here in this damn corner
Looking through all your thoughts & looking over your shoulder

[CHORUS]

You had a lot of dreams that transform to visions
The fact that you saw the world affected all your decisions
But it wasn't your fault, wasn't in your intentions
To be the one here talking to me, be the one listening
But I admire your poppin' bottles and dippin'
Just as much as you admire bartending & strippin'
Baby, so don't be mad, nobody else trippin'
You see a lot of crooks and the crooks still crook

[CHORUS]

See I just want you to know
That you deserve the best
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
& I want you to know
You're far from the usual
Far from the usual

[CHORUS 2x]


How to Ruin a Can of Perfectly Good Soup

While paying $11.32 cents for about three gallons of fuel at the Handy Pantry between “work” on the edge of the world and the airport where I’m setting up an aviation museum, I encounter a display of Corn?Nuts offering “two for one” with the coupon displayed there. This is not?my first encounter with Corn Nuts since 1967, but my first encounters had pretty much sated my yen for them until last week. So I bought two bags, and in the course of munching them at “work” for lunch the next two or three days, decided I’d be good for another 44 years before eatiang another.
-
BUTTTTTTTT. . . . . . I couldn’t just walk away from food, not like have done with the unopened loaf of bread that’s been sitting on my kitchen table since last April. I was not going to waste that precious Corn Nut commodity! True, they are a little more of a challenge to break down into something I could swallow than they were back in 1967.? Today I don’t have most of my 1967 teeth and the ones I purchased since were not made for Corn Nuts consumers. What to do?
-
I decided to keep the “barbecue flavored bag of Corn Nuts” or bag of barbecue-flavored Corn Nuts, if you prefer, at “work,” and take the “original flavor” bag home. I resolved to eventually finish those at “work” and to add those taken home Wednesday night (last night) to a can of my favorite?soup: Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo — EXCELLENT SOUP btw.
-
So after setting the pan o’ Gumbo on the stove at medium heat and adding what was left of the “C’Nuts” (If you are even slightly dyslexic, I DO NOT ADVISE using that contraction under any circumstance!)? into the pan and stirring. Then I returned to the basement where I’d been doing laundry awhile.?
-
Fifteen minutes later after putting the load that would dry and overnight down there into the dryer, I returned upstairs to the kitchen, literally following the aroma of what promised something akin to corn chowder.?? When I removed the top of the pan I was greeted with the sight of boiling, cauldron-like?Corn Nuts on top of the Gumbo. They covered the entire top of the surface (as Yogi Berra might say) like a layer of decapitated yellowish?baby mouse heads and looked just as appetizing.
-
Fifteen minutes later “dinner” had cooled on my?living room table to the point I could at least sip something from a soup spoon, and I did. It was a little salty, but not too bad. Five minutes later, I tried a spoon full and regretted my attempt to salvage the Corn Nuts because I had clearly “squandered the Gumbo” if you know what I mean.

I don’t give up easily (or easily give up, if you prefer) with food. I had some wine close by, and I figured I could eat darn near anything?if I?could wash it down with Burgundy.
-
Wrong again. The C’Nuts?were worse than Cheetos left in a open?bowl?on a summer day: no?flavor, hard to chew sans CRUNCH, and a waste of jaw muscle! I grabbed a small dish and began filtering the C’Nuts , depositing them onto the dish and savoring what remained. But the return on the effort was pathetic on balance. I ate less than half the pan. Fortunately, the open jar of Peter Pan crunchy from Monday and Tuesday dinners remained where it always is until I have to buy a new jar of “dinner,” there was plenty remaining therein and plenty of Carlo Rossi (Burgundy) to boot, more accurately, to drink.
-
So I finished the ordeal with peanut butter and Burgundy, a lamentable but acceptable meal under the sub-nominal circumstance. I am growing accustomed to the fact I can no longer receive the long-savored Public Broadcasting?Television station on my “‘V,” to coin an abbreviation, and frankly I’m as happy away from the bleeping thing as I am watching it. I submitted to three hours of extremely unimpressive sitcoms on ABC while trying to read the latest ?The New Yorker while half tanked on Rossi and went to bed early for Pete’s sake. I was hot and angry, and vice versa, the story of my life, I suppose.
-
I slept very well.
-
Live long . . . . . . . and proper.

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Saturday, July 30, 2011

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This video describes a new conversion feature that you should use if you are planning to edit your movies on either MAC or PC.

How To Love Cover

This is a recent video I made and spent alot of time into. I've been practicing over and over to singing this song. I love this song so much, and I hope you guys like it and enjoy.

Lyrics
Cut the music up
A little louder
Yeah

You had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love
How to love

You had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

For a second you were here
Why you over there?
Its hard not to stare, the way you moving your body
Like you never had a love
Never had a love

When you was just a young'un you're looks but so precious
But now your grown up
So fly its like a blessing but you can't have a man look at you for 5 seconds
Without you being insecure
You never credit yourself so when you got older
It's seems like you came back 10 times over
Now you're sitting here in this damn corner
Looking through all your thoughts and looking over your shoulder

See you had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love
How to love

See you had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

For a second you were here
Why you over there?
Its hard not to stare the way you moving your body
Like you never had a love
Had a love

You had a lot of dreams that transform to visions
The fact that you saw the world affected all your decisions
But it wasn't your fault
Wasn't in your intentions

You the one here talking to me
You don't wanna listen
But I admire your poppin bottles and dippin'
Just as much as you admire bartending and stripping
Baby, so don't be mad
Nobody else trippin
You see a lot of crooks and the crooks still crook

See You had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love
How to love

http://www.elyricsworld.com/how_to_love_lyrics_lil_wayne.html
See you had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

Oooh,
See I just want you to know
That you deserve the best
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
Yeah

And I want you to know, you're far from the usual
Far from the usual

You see you had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love
How to love

See you had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

See you had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn't never figure out
How to love
How to love

See you had a lot of moments that didn't last forever
Now you in the corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

Yeah


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Friday, July 29, 2011

How to Tell the Cash Back Rewards Level for a Specific Store

How to Tell the Cash Back Rewards Level for a Specific Store

Here's a tip for how you can determine a store's rewards level for cash back credit cards. It's not a very good tip IMO, but it's a tip. ;-)

But before we get to that, let's review the situation:

Some cards, like the card I currently have listed as the best cash back credit card, the Chase Freedom card (FYI, $200 cash back bonus still available here: Chase FreedomR Visa - $200 Bonus Cash Back), offer increased cash back percentages for charges in certain categories.
As I wrote in How to Determine a Store's Classification for Cash Back Credit Card Rewards, making a "test charge" and seeing how a specific store's charges are accounted for is (or at least I thought) the only way to determine what percentage cash back you'd get by charging there.
But this seems like a huge waste. With the Chase Freedom card this means you'd make charges then wait a month to see what they yield. Since their bonus levels are only three months long, you're effectively wasting 1/3 of the bonus time simply waiting to see if a particular store gets you the bonus levels. What a pain!

Not one to be satisfied with this situation, I logged on to my Chase account (my bank and credit card accounts are all tied together here) and sent their customer service people this email:



As you know, I have a Chase Freedom card. As you also know, the card rotates 5 percent cash back categories every quarter. I would like to be able to know whether or not a particular store/business qualifies for the 5 percent cash back PRIOR TO charging any money there. Is there a website or any other resource I can go to in order to see this in advance? Otherwise, I need to wait a month to see what sorts out as a 5 percent category. This effectively negates 1/3 of my bonus time each quarter and makes me less likely to use my Chase Freedom card.

Any help you can give me would be most appreciated. Thank you.


Here's their response:



I am writing in response to your email about the 5% cash back rewards for your Chase Freedom credit card.

The categories for this third quarter are Airlines, hotels and Gas.

When a merchant accepts VISA or MasterCard as a form of payment, the merchant must select a category that will identify the business type. This category is used when determining if the transaction is eligible for rewards. If a merchant is not a specialty store and provides a variety of products, the merchant may choose a general category descriptor rather than a specific category. For example, a store that sells clothes, gas, automotive parts, and groceries may choose the category "Superstores" rather than "Groceries" or "Gas."

When a transaction is authorized to your account, rewards are automatically determined based on the category that has been designated by the merchant.

Most card members call or speak to a store attendant to determine the merchant category (MCC) code. Once you find the MCC code and name of the merchant kindly contact us we will then be able to provide you with the information you have asked for.

I thank you for choosing Chase for your credit card needs.

If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.


My comments on this message:

I know what the categories are -- I didn't ask that.
I know that merchants select a code that describes their store type and that this code is used to determine cash back rewards.
I didn't know that it was called an MCC code -- good to know. For a list of all MCC codes, check out this summary from the IRS (the codes are at the end).
"Most card members call or speak to a store attendant to determine the merchant category (MCC) code." Really? Do most card members really do this? I doubt it.
I left out the sales pitch they included at the end of the email.

This response wasn't really satisfactory, so here's my reply:



Is there a place (like a website) where I can put in the MCC code and it can give me the answer immediately? It's pretty inconvenient to have to call each time...


So I was thinking I could go to a website, put in a retailers name and address, and the MCC code would spit out. Foolish me! Here's their response:



I understand that you wish to have access to MCC code on the rewards website.

I would like to inform you that currently, there is no place on the rewards website wherein you can put in the MCC code and it can give you the answer immediately you are looking for. However, I really appreciate you took your precious time to let us know this. Please be assured your precious feedback is always welcome as it helps us to identify opportunities for improvement.

Because your feedback suggests issues that need to be taken care as quickly as possible, hence your suggestion is escalated to Internet Group for review. As a result of comments such as yours, we gain more insight as to how well we are servicing our online customers.

Your views are extremely important to us and help us in making things better for our CardMembers. If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.

Thank you.


So, the Chase rewards website doesn't have the feature I'm looking for, but perhaps it's somewhere else on the web. I searched for some time but couldn't find anything like it. Any of you know a source for this sort of information?

BTW, at least Chase realizes that both my time and feedback are "precious" (anyone thinking of Lord of the Rings?) Perhaps my question will get this solution put on a list somewhere and Chase will come out with it in 20 years or so.

So there you have it: if you want to ask the store for their MCC code and then call/email Chase, Chase will tell you how it will fall in their rewards allocations (I assume other banks will do the same). It's not a great tip since it requires a good amount of work, but it is better than the test charge suggestion, right? At least it's faster...


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How easy will Google+ be to sell?

There’s no doubt that Google+ is awesome. There is no doubt in my mind that it is a strong contender for Facebook.
What I find highly curious about it, is just how easy will it be to sell to clients?
Despite the grasp Facebook has on the social space. many businesses are still to dip their toes into it’s chartered territory. Then not to forget that Twitter too is largely untapped as it seems to scare a large portion of business owners.
(I have no idea why there is a water theme, maybe I drank too much at lunch?)
However, back to business, these two Social Media giants are here, they are solid, not everyone uses them, but they are known, familiar and household names.
When presenting to a client, they are aware of Facebook and twitter, in fact they usually come running at full speed telling us they NEED to be on Facebook and Twitter. These guys have heard of Google, they know Google, but not in a Social Media capacity. So, I cannot wait to see which businesses will be taking the brave steps to go there first.

In the Social Media world it is easy to say that something is awesome and has great potential and I guess, for Google’s part, when you have a bunch of enthusiastic, cool, converse wearing people on board, it is going to be easy to sell. However, it is not the Social Media world that needs to be sold on it.
Someone said to me the other day, that Google+ is the buzz word in social media. While I agreed, I couldn’t help but think that they flagged up an interesting point. If you move in Social Media circles (hehe) it IS a buzz word. But not in the outside world.
It is a bit like Coke and Pepsi. Facebook being Coke and Google+ being Pepsi.
What? I hear you say, is she nuts? And yes while most of you who know me can verify this, stay with me for a few more minutes.
No matter how hard Pepsi has tried, (and boy has it tried), it will never be Coke. Coke was there first. It is brand recognition at it’s finest, the real thing. It’s Coke. and you cannot really mess with Coke. When you ask for a Coke in a restaurant and they say, “sorry we don’t have Coke, we have Pepsi”, although you say, “that’s ok”. It’s not the same is it?
So when clients came in and say “I need Social Media, give me Twitter and Facebook” How easy will it be to say, “sorry, we don’t have Twitter and Facebook, we have Google+?” Are our clients going to think they are shortchanged and demand Coke? (I mean Facebook!)
When most businesses are still using Facebook and Twitter as buzz words, how will they cope with the new kid on the block? Especially with Google’s past attempts at taking a chunk of the Social Networking Space.

Now, Google is clever. Fact. I do not doubt all this has been taken into account when creating its strategic approach to marketing Google+, but still. Facebook already has the name, the noteriety and the users. It was here first.

So my fascination is in seeing how it will pan out, there’s now doubt it will be a great thing to witness and be part of. We’re all finding our feet with it and enjoying it as a new toy, I personally want mine to stay clear and uncrowded, a social space I can breathe in and enjoy like the first days of Facebook. I think I’ll be more choosy about my circles (and maybe that is the selling point right there?)
Whatever happens, the migration to Google+ will be slow and part of me hopes they pull it off as you have to applaud them for never giving up.
Stay tuned!


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The Princess and the Frog: How Love Works As the Key to Transform Relationships

The Frog and the Princess


Do you remember the fairy tale about the frog and the princess?? A beautiful princess loses her favorite play thing, a dazzling golden globe, in a pond.? A frog ends up finding it and bringing it back to her.? Delighted and grateful, she promises the frog that it can come to her palace (never thinking it will take her up on the offer).? The frog shows up later, much to her dismay and disgust.? But feeling convicted of her need to be true to her word, she lets him enter, feeds him every day, and puts him to sleep every night in her bed.? And then one morning, feeling sorry for it, she plants a gentle kiss on its head.? Suddenly, the frog turns into a handsome prince …? and in true fairy tale fashion, they live happily ever after.


This simple story reveals the deep psychological connection between our attitudes toward people and their capacity for transformation.? As one author says, “Only what you have not given is lacking in any situation.”? A counter-intuitive concept, isn’t it.


As it turns out in the tale, the frog had once been a prince but had come under the evil spell of a wicked witch.? She had turned him into a frog to live in a pond forever or at least until someone kissed him again.? Sounds like the story of the Beauty and the Beast.? An act you would least think of doing or even want to do is the act that brings transformation.


Our Typical Approach:? the Blame Game


The author’s statement is unusual to how we typically think.? We often look at others (the people in our lives closest to us, especially) and think that the way they’re choosing to behave is creating the lack in our relationship.? “If she or he would just act this way or that way, we’d have a great relationship.”? Our focus is on wishing for something different from them.? So we’ll cajole, criticize, guilt, shame, or “encourage” a change in their behavior.? It’s the typical blame game.


But the quotation above states a counter-intuitive reality:? what is lacking in any situation is what WE are not giving to it.? That’s not to say that the other person doesn’t have responsibility for their behavior and actions in how they are contributing to either pain or joy, peace or conflict.? They do have responsibility.? But you and I cannot force their responsibility.? And our delusion is in thinking we can “help” them change their ways.? And as we often discover, unfortunately that only exacerbates the issues, certainly our own personal frustration and pain.


3 Principles for Healthy Relationships


Years ago I read Cecil Osborne’s book “The Art of Understanding Your Mate” in which he points out that there are 3 primary principles in developing healthy, fulfilling relationships:? 1.? I cannot change other people; 2.? I can only change myself; 3.? But other people tend to change in response to my change.


Sounds like the fairy tale.? As much as the princess shrank in disgust from housing the ugly frog, it was only when she softened her heart toward it and then ended up kissing it, that the frog was transformed back into what it had originally been created–a handsome prince.? There was no amount of arguing, cajoling, guilting, shaming, forcing, criticizing she could do to change that frog.? She had to change her attitude first.


So you and I have to ask ourselves the questions, “What is lacking in this relationship?? What am I not giving that I can give to it from a place of authentic heart and soul?”


Loving First Is the Highest Way


Marianne Williamson, in her book “The Return to Love,” states this reality:? “What this signifies is the miraculous power of love to create a context in which people naturally blossom into their highest potential.? Neither nagging, trying to get people to change, criticizing, or fixing can do that.? The Course says we think we’re going to understand people in order to figure out whether or not they’re worthy of our love, but that actually, until we love them, we can never understand them.? What is not loved is not understood.”


In the fairy tale, the princess doesn’t suddenly know the trick for transformation.? She isn’t aware a handsome prince is hiding inside the skin of an ugly, warty frog.? She doesn’t therefore simply grit her teeth and force herself to endure the gross act of kissing the ugly thing.? She comes to a place where her heart softens to a frog not a prince.? And she ends up kissing the frog in an act of gentle acceptance.? When her heart was in a place of “pure love” her act brought transformation.


Now let’s be honest:? I don’t think the princess ever really enjoyed having the cold, damp, warty frog sleeping in her bed or eating at the table right beside her in the royal dining room.? We don’t have to like the difficult characteristics of the people in our lives.? And in some cases, their dysfunctions might be so dangerous for us we have to separate from them for safety’s sake.? We can’t hold ourselves responsible for their irresponsible attitudes and behaviors.? Sometimes, no amount of personal change can change the other.


But the principle is true:? what is not loved is not understood; and accurately understanding the other is the foundation for compassion, empathy, and respect which all combine to reinforce a space of love which is the only environment in which genuine transformation can take place. Without that love and understanding, we hold ourselves separate from people and wait for them to earn our love or we resort to trying to force their change through whatever devious or not so subtle ways we can think up.


Accessing the Divine Miracle


So Marianne continues:? “But people deserve our love because of what God created them to be.? As long as we’re waiting for them to be anything better, we will constantly be disappointed.? But when we choose to join with them, through approval and unconditional love, the miracle kicks in for both parties.? This is the primary key, the ultimate miracle, in relationships.”? (p-129-130)


Our attitude toward people powerfully impacts their capacity for transformation.? The rub is that they have the ultimate choice (the whole freedom thing) for what they want to do with it.? And painfully, sometimes they choose not to respond in kind to our love.? But if transformation is going to happen, it will happen through our choice to love first.


But Frogs Are Disgusting!


The whole thought of kissing a frog is pretty disgusting.? I grew up in the rice paddies of Japan spearing frogs for entertainment, not kissing them (I’m ashamed to admit … I’m still not sure where that behavior came from … the tendency toward violence of little boys is scary).? We were told that if you even handled frogs you would get their worts.? The whole point is that we were instilled with the attitude that you simply stay away from or certainly don’t get close to, much less handle frogs.


No wonder this fairy tale points to such a counter-intuitive experience that we don’t have much proclivity toward.? We carry this “hold at arm’s distance” philosophy into our human relationships.? Relating to The Other (those who are different from us, who don’t act or believe like us) is extremely difficult.? So we tend to insist on the other “changing” first – we want them to change to become more like us in order for us to accept them and love them and embrace them.


We see this paradigm manifested in attitudes toward people of other religions and belief systems, sexual orientations, political parties, racial profiles, and yes, even in our closest relationships in marriage, romance, and friendships.? No wonder our world is in such a mess!


Following the Divine Way


I’m reminded of the divine example for how this works.? The disciple always considered closest to Jesus writes about it this way:


“10This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a way to show His divine love in the midst of our waywardness.? 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”? 1 John 4


The divine way is “kissing the frog” when it’s still a frog.? Notice the radical, countercultural dimension of this approach:? it’s when we love each other in this way that the fullest expression of God is experienced in both the giver and the receiver.? It is the only way that the full expression of divine love is grown in us which results in transformation.? God knows that.? So God acts first.? And the frog turns back into the prince.? That’s the divine miracle we receive and we pass on.


I know I can be such a frog at times!? I’m painfully aware of many of my warts–I am awakening to more and more.? Thank God my wife keeps kissing me!? My princehood is awakening.? The miracle continues … and it empowers a desire for me to do the same with others.?? Imagine a whole world where love keeps awakening everyone to their true royalty!? Now that’s a world I want to live in.


Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: 1 John 4, attitude, blame game, Cecil Osborne, change, criticism, divine love, frog, guilting, judging, love, Marianne Williamson, miracles, prince, princess, relationships, responsibility, Return to Love, shaming, The Art of Understanding Your Mate, the divine way, the Frog Prince, transformation, unconditional love, understanding


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HOW TO with Vicky Dreiling

SCOUNDRELS, RAKES, AND ROGUES BEWARE . . .
Lady Julianne Gatewick is in a pickle. It started when her brother’s best friend—for whom she’s long nursed a secret tendre—agreed to act as her guardian for the Season, only to seduce her with a risque waltz.
But when the music stopped and the expectant ton waited for the Earl of Hawkfield to claim her as his own, he made his disinterest clear. Rather than succumb to humiliation, Julianne does what any recently discarded, wickedly witty young miss would do. She secretly pens a lady’s guide to enticing unrepentant rakes . . . and it becomes the hottest scandal in London.
Every honorable rake knows that friends’ sisters are forbidden. But suddenly Julianne has a spark of mischief in her eyes that Hawk can’t resist. Try as he might to push her away, he spends his days listening for her laughter and his nights dreaming of her kisses. He’s always avoided innocents and their marriage-minded mothers, but has the man least likely to wed finally met his match?

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
Read the Excerpt
~ ~ ~
VICKY DREILING is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places.


Her first two novels HOW TO MARRY A DUKE and HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL debuted on Nielsen Bookscan’s Top 100 Romance List. And yes, she really did set off a security alarm in Windsor Castle.
~ ~ ~
A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT VICKY:

ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
VICKY: Daily. I wear noise cancellation headphones & listen to music while I write. When I’m in the story zone, nothing else exists. My daughter said a team of robbers could invade, and I probably wouldn’t notice. LOL!
ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
VICKY: The Cat in the Hat
ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?
VICKY: Je t’aime. (That’s French for I love you.)
ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
VICKY: Cinderella – I love when the girl least likely wins!
ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
VICKY: The Tasmanian Devil
ANGI: What turns you off like nothing else?
VICKY: I have zero tolerance for cruelty and bullying.
ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
VICKY: I have playlists on the Fun Stuff page on my website for all three of my books, including HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE, due out in spring 2012. Want to listen?
ANGI: Where do you read and how often?
VICKY: I read in bed most nights. Sigh – I do wish I had more time to read.
ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
VICKY: Fairy Tale
ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
VICKY: I wrote a short story in grade school about a bear.
ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
VICKY: Pretty Woman
ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
VICKY: Richard III
ANGI: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?
VICKY: Not when I’m reading, but definitely when I’m writing.
ANGI: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?
VICKY: If by “writing,” you mean constructing sentences, I don’t think about it. I just write. I do have an English degree, and I have spent considerable time studying story structure. But when I write a novel, I’m focused entirely on the characters and their journeys. At some point in writing my novels, I will usually hit a roadblock. This is when I analyze what I’ve established thus far. More important, I look at the characters’ development up to that point, which helps me envision the book going forward. Finally, I always keep the premise of the book in mind in every scene. Premise acts as a lighthouse for me when I go astray.
ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
VICKY: Thank you so much for all the messages and emails telling me how much you enjoy my books. As a new author, this means a great deal to me.


ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: I was taking a look at your website and found a playlist for HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE. Can you let us know when the next installment will be available? But I noticed that there’s some very modern music … DOLLHOUSE … Please tell us a little how this will fit in with Book #3. **grin**
VICKY’S GOTTA ANSWER: I listen to both modern and classical music while I write my books. The playlists often feature songs with lyrics that are pertinent to plot points. For example, the playlist for HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL features a song called Dark Waltz by Haley Westenra that I listened to while writing a scene featuring a waltz. Also, I choose theme songs for my books. Better Man by Pearl Jam is the theme song for HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL. I Believe in You/Je Crois en Toi by Il Divo and Celine Dion is the theme song for HOW TO MARRY A DUKE. As for Dollhouse and HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE, I can’t tell you yet, because that’s a spoiler. *grin* HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE is slated for publication in April 2012.


WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS? Yes, I’ll give away a copy of HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL along with Romance Trading Cards for both my books to one reader – US & Canada only.
Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an electronic Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS? What sort of hero do you like best and why? I’m fond of rakes and charmers, but there are other popular types as well.


READERS can find Vicky at her Website; Contact her: vicky@vickydreiling.com
Friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.


DON’T FORGET to LIKE GLIAS on FACEBOOK and FOLLOW us on TWITTER or just catch all our guests and their new releases. Drop by Thursday for author April Dawn & Friday for author Jennifer Haymore.
Til next week! ~ Angi


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Thursday, July 28, 2011

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How to play it: Greek bailout brings ETF opportunities - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's financial stocks, facing the kind of financial threat that hit U.S. stocks in 2008, soared this week as Europe's leading economies led a bailout of Greece that appears to be a workable solution.


There is no guarantee that happy days are here again for Europe but the worst-case scenario has been avoided for now. A recovery rally might be expected to continue. The biggest rebounds might come from the hardest hit, some analysts say.


Here are ETFs that might benefit:


BUY ITALY'S ETF


Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) present an opportunity for investors interested in gaining exposure to Europe without taking risks on individual stocks. For those looking to hold an ETF for a six-to-12 month range, a good play would be to buy an uptrending European ETF on a dip.


The iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund is the best bet, said ETF investor Gregory Spear, who sees it as the closest ETF to Greece, given that there is no Greek-specific ETF, with reasonable liquidity. The Italy shares ETF was up nearly 23 percent from the start of the year to its high in late April, before downtrending on European weakness over the past month.


"The situation in Europe is so severe that leaders have to act and we anticipate a positive outcome within the next few weeks," Spear said.


Spear, editor of Spear's ETF Analyst in Hartford, Connecticut, said he made 5.0 percent after buying the iShares Italy ETF last week and selling it on Thursday after news of the deal broke.


"When we bought it, it was one of the worst performers in the market," Spear said. "Because the drop had been so sharp, when knew that European leaders would have to make a move. The market dictated that they would have to do something to quell the trajectory."


ETF investor Dave Fry cautions that the Italy ETF could be a riskier move. "For retail investors who are interested in avoiding risk, they'd probably not want to get involved in Spain or Italy," Fry said. "They should probably gravitate toward IEV (the iShares S&P Europe 350 Index Fund) and EWG (the iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund)."


Fry said he sees the iShares Germany ETF, the most liquid of all European ETFs, as more stable and the S&P Europe 350 ETF as more broad-based.


BUY CURRENCY ETFs


For investors interested in taking advantage of the currency trade, Fry said the Rydex CurrencyShares Euro Trust ETF has potential if it breaks out of the $140 to $145 range, which it oscillated in from early June to early July.


Fry, founder and publisher of ETF Digest, said if the ETF breaks below $140, he would go short, and if it breaks above $145, he would go long. The ETF was last down 0.1 percent on Friday at $143.03.


The details of Europe's plan for Greece, which involves pumping an extra 109 billion euros ($157 billion) into the system, could actually further pressure the euro, presenting a possible downwards trend for the ETF.


"Clearly the Europeans have added a quantitative easing strategy of their own, by printing a lot more euros to bail out Greece and anybody else that comes along," Fry said.


The number of FXE shares being shorted rose by more than a third in June, after jumping almost 28 percent in May, according to data compiled by IndexUniverse. In fact, the number of FXE shares short is 178 percent of the number of outstanding long FXE shares, according to the July 15 IndexUniverse report.


EUROPEAN BOND ETFs


Other potential plays in the ETF arena include those tracking European bonds, such as the SPDR Barclays Capital International Treasury Bond ETF or the SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF.


"The case for most global ETFs in the euro zone in May and June was that money was actually flowing out of money market ETFs because there was a real fear that the single currency was about to collapse," said Jose Garcia-Zarate, a Morningstar ETF analyst based in London.


"With the markets actually seeing this agreement as a positive step, we would expect to see some correction on the flows and get some more money into money market ETFs over the next few weeks," he said.


The BWX ETF, while tracking a variety of international bonds, is focused mostly on developed countries and largely in Europe. More than half, 52.2 percent, of the ETF is weighted in Europe, with 10.7 percent in Italy. The ETF rose 2.0 percent from its close on Monday to its high on Friday.


"There's been a lot of interest in those," Fry said. "But BWX has been very weak, not knowing what the credit worthiness was. It underperformed its U.S. counterpart."


Fry said both ETFs could rise.


(Reporting by Ashley Lau)


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Song of the Week: 'How to Love,' Lil Wayne - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

Another departure for the shapeshifting Lil Wayne: "How to Love"

As popular music continues to fragment, it's nice to know that there is at least one artist on the Billboard charts with no time for genre distinctions. On the 2010 Drake single "Miss Me," Lil Wayne boasted that he had so many styles he was a group, and once again, he's putting that split personality to good use. "How to Love," a pre-release single from his album "Tha Carter IV" (due out on Aug. 29), is an acoustic-guitar-plus-synthesizer ballad that is closer to sensitive Bread than brutal Waka Flocka Flame. Weezy croons, and it's actually not half bad when he does.


For the uninitiated, it's worth noting that "Tha Carter IV" is by no means only the fourth album that Lil Wayne has put out. There have also been the terrific Cash Money sets he did before he was a national star, the collaborations with the Hot Boyz and Birdman, the guitar-driven "Rebirth" LP, the rush job he squeezed out before entering Rikers on a
gun charge, and about a dozen mixtapes. Throw in the countless guest appearances he's done, and you're looking at the most prolific major star in contemporary music. One of the most protean, too: during his run, he's adapted his voice to New Orleans bounce, Atlanta snap, gangsta rap, hard rock, pop-punk and wigged-out experimental stuff that defies classification. Making a soft-rock love theme must have felt like a cinch.


It's tempting to call "How to Love" the most effective rap slow-dance number since early L.L. Cool J. But really, it's no more a rap song than his crossover rock experiments on "Rebirth" were, or Kanye West's digital pop-soul on "808s and Heartbreak." "How to Love" has a hip-hop beat but, beyond that, it's the sort of six-string seduction anthem that's fit for a coffeehouse concert. Lil Wayne sings to a woman who has been burned by past relationships and doesn't feel comfortable around men who are interested in her. Even though Wayne sings sweetly, it's unclear whether the narrator is sympathetic to the target of the song. But he's closing in on her and challenging her to open herself up to his overtures.


We've had several hit songs this summer about going crazy at parties. We've had hits about how the country is superior to cities, and how chilling on a dirt road beats pushing your way through crowded streets. We've had a few about marijuana, a few about demon rum, and an endless procession of songs sung by narrators high on self-empowerment. But the summer has been awfully short on romantic ballads, especially those that address complicated adult relationships. Leave it to Lil Wayne - who is nobody's idea of a romantic hero, but a man who certainly knows how to write characters - to remind everybody of the pleasures and dangers of a well-crafted love song.


When Lil Wayne performed "How to Love" at the Summer Jam concert at New Meadowlands Stadium in June, half the crowd was puzzled: why was he suddenly singing over synthesizers, and through heavy echo, too? Six weeks later, the song is in the Top 10, proving once again that Weezy is a fine judge of the commercial potential of his stylistic experiments. When he takes the stage at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on Tuesday, "How to Love" ought to be a lighters-out, singalong moment.


There were fans who worried, aloud and in print, that the prison experience would change Lil Wayne. And of course it did, because everything changes him. He hasn't stood still in 15 years of making music. It hasn't always made immediate sense, and it's only rarely been pretty, but radio has been better for it.


Songs of the Day are posted Mon.-Thu. at 3 p.m. Song of the Week, which will focus on contemporary chart hits, will be posted on Friday. For past Songs of the Day, click here


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How Do You Spell R-e-l-i-e-f? - Barron's

The only real four-letter word on Wall Street is fear. When it's reduced, the market's tendency is to go higher, maybe fitfully, maybe in a straight line, but up.


Thursday's 109 billion-euro ($157 billion) aid package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to a bankrupt Greece kicks the can so far down the road that markets can stop worrying about a potentially widening debt crisis emanating from that small nation any time soon.


Global markets rallied last week, up about 2%. More gains seem likely for the next few months. Though September and October are typically tough months for stocks, they might not be so scary this year, assuming the U.S. government eventually reaches an agreement on its own debt- and deficit-reduction program, which we're assuming it will.


For one thing, corporate America is in excellent shape, perhaps the best since the early 1960s, says David Kovacs, chief investment officer of quantitative strategies for Turner Investment Partners. Balance sheets are robust, cash levels are at all-time highs and earnings are growing.


"The only thing that can take this market down is fear of a credit freeze," he says. That has been lessened substantially. While the bailout isn't a permanent solution, it's a step in the right direction, and it's constructive enough that there won't be a shock to the banking system, assuming it is implemented successfully.


"If there was real fear, spreads between corporate and government bond yields would be wide," says Kovacs.


But they aren't. The yield spread between single-A-rated 10-year corporate bonds and government comparables rose to about 1.55 percentage points on the European sovereign-debt crisis, just 20 basis points above the low for 2010-2011. (A basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point.) Fear, he notes, is defined by the 500 basis-point spread in 2008. Investors aren't as concerned as the headlines would have it.


Kovacs thinks a 5%-to-8% relief rally is in the offing. The most hated stocks, like financials, he says, could surprise the most in the short term.


With an OK economy and Greece cordoned off for now, JPMorgan Chase (ticker: JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) look cheap here. Energy and luxury consumer stocks, like Tiffany (TIF) and Coach (COH), could also get a lift from the diminishing angst.


In the U.S. worries about a double-dip recession are also receding on recently better economic numbers, says Milton Ezrati, market strategist at Lord Abbett. The increase in the June Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index and this week's earnings reports confirm that growth is still there. "The economy isn't as weak as feared," Ezrati says.


Of course, fears have a habit of returning. Further down the road, corporate taxes seem too low in a world where the government needs to plug that huge U.S. deficit gap and reduce debt. Eventually, a sustained stock rise will need those stubbornly high unemployment numbers to come down.


AS FOR EUROPE, Barron's has written that, without a Eurobond solution, a haircut to Greek bond principals would be needed to make Greece's debt load sustainable. The new plan simply loans Greece even more money at a low rate.


With the EU taking on more responsibility for Greece's debt, Greece won't have to go to capital markets for funding for some time. But this is a liquidity solution, not a solvency improvement. As time passes, private investors will hold fewer and fewer Greek bonds, and it might be the EU and IMF loans that take the eventual haircut.


The scheme converts all of Greece's bond obligations for the next several years into 15- to 30-year loans from the European Financial Stability Facility, with a 10-year grace period. It lowers the interest rate Greece will pay to about 3.5%, below Greece's average debt cost of 4.6%, and it gives the EFSF power to enter the secondary market and buy bonds to stabilize roiled conditions. The EFSF will implement similar terms for Portugal and Ireland.


The EU has effectively relieved Greece from having to go to bond markets for funding until 2016 or 2017, says Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frenquency Economics: "It was a least-bad outcome to a problem with no good solutions."


The new cash allows the country more time to get its fiscal house in order, though that remains a caveat long term. Greece remains unlikely to meet its tough austerity and privatization targets, but Europe now has so much skin in the game that it won't be able to let the country go down the tubes. One fear gone, for now.?


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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

How to Make Sense of What Happened In Oslo - Fox News


A devastating bombing in Oslo, followed by an armed assault outside the city sparked another explosion--one of speculation over who was behind the attack. Such conjecture is axiomatic after such incidents—but until there is evidence to back it up—it is all just guessing. The instant analyses and “lessons learned” now spewing forth may not hold water once the facts are in.


No one—terrorism expert or man-in-the-street—will be surprised if the attacks are linked to Islamist terrorists. There are plenty reasons to believe Norway might be a target. An Al Qaeda cell was unmasked there last year. And just a few days ago, Norway indicted a radical Iraqi cleric Mullah Krekar, (founder of Ansar al-Islam) for making death threats against Norwegian officials.


But speculation adds little value to the hard work of fighting terrorists. Nor is it usually necessary in the wake of these kinds of attacks. Usually the perpetrators leave a lot of evidence. Even bombings leave a trail that can be traced. In the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Office Building, police quickly found the VIN plate of the vehicle that carried the bomb to its target.


So let’s not let speculation get too far out ahead of the investigation. After all, there’s a lot of hard work that needs doing.?


Terrorists like to sow chaos and confusion with more chaos and confusion. Responders need to be worried about follow-on bombs or attacks that target them. Groups that perpetrate violence often plan a string of attacks. Officials need to be anticipating the next shoe that might fall. Finally, finding perpetrators is always easiest when the trail is fresh—so ensuring that evidence is properly protected, analyzed, and acted on is a priority.


There are many essential tasks to be done in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Speculation is not one of them.


James Jay Carafano is director of The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies.


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How to Get Channing Tatum to Smack You in the Face, and More Comic-Con Highlights - E! Online (blog)

Channing Tatum's a pretty brawny guy, in case you hadn't noticed.


And he's also a gentleman, which means being asked to hit a woman—multiple times—in Steven Soderbergh's new ensemble thriller Haywire, gave him pause.


"In the beginning of the movie I have to hit her with a ketchup bottle," Tatum said today durin the Relativity panel at Comic-Con, referring to MMA fighter Gina Carano, who's making her feaure-film debut. "I couldn't do it."


But, of course, he had to do it. So what did his desirable and deadly costar do to break the ice?


MORE: The Amazing Spider-Man Villain Revealed!


"Then she called me the female P-word, and then I had to do it for my manity," he recalled, "so I hit her. Then she hit me back twice as hard, and I didn't want to do it anymore!'


Probably the same went for all the guys—such as Michael Fassbender, who's almost the victim of strangulation-by-thigh—who had to grapple with Carano during the grueling shoot, especially considering she was extra pumped for the fight scenes.


"I think I woke up everyday with a fresh perspective," she said of making the film and going through "Acting 101" with Soderbergh. "It was a crazy adrenaline rush. Every single day I didn't know what to expect...I really liked the physical stuff."


But the experience also "ruined movies for a couple of months for me because I noticed everything...It's definitely a skill and I don't think everyone's capable of doing it—like fighting. I don't know, it was beautiful."


"Each fight was special in all the right ways," Carano said."The Fassbender scene"—which was screened for the panel audience—"was just reckless and I just loved getting banged into all of that stuff. That was a blast."


That was also the moment when a dozen fanboys needed oxygen.


As for one of Tatum's upcoming projects, a GI Joe sequel costarring Dwayne Johnson, the close-shaven star said he was sworn to secrecy.


"I'm not allowed to talk about the story," he said. "Dwayne said he would pop my head off if I said anything. But I love the Rock. He's a gargantuan man and a great actor and I can't wait to act with him."


So, what other Hall H happenings tickled our fancy today?


‧?John Cusack was serenaded with an iPad during the part of Relativity's panel devoted to The Raven, a Seven-meets-From Hell mystery about a serial killer mimicking death scenes from Edgar Allan Poe stories. Cusack plays Poe, the "godfather of goth," as he called him today. Luke Evans (who's also in The Hobbit and TKTK) plays the young, ambitious detective-inspector who at first suspects and then teams with the doomed Poe to solve the crimes. "He was at home in the gutter or at the very heights of lofty society, but then he'd go down to the shipyard and tie? one on for four days," Cusack said of his character. The movie, shot in Serbia, looks gloomy, violent and awesome.


Up next for the film's principals, Cusack is doing The Paper Boy with Lee Daniels, Alice Eve just wrapped Men in Black III, director James McTeigue is "just trying to finish The Raven" before moving on to Message From the King, and Evans is in the upcoming Immortals, playing a psychopathic killer in No One Lives and is in, "oh yeah, The Hobbit. How can I forget about The Hobbit? Uh-oh, sorry, Peter."


Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, received a rock star response when he appeared for Screen Gems' Attack the Block segment. The disheveled yet dashing Brit, along with writer-director Joe Cornish and one of the film's stars, John Boyega, made a major splash with their funny, gory and totally smart indie about an alien invasion in South London?. Nick Frost plays the stoner friend of a bunch of streetwise kids whose fortress-like "weed room" makes for a promising hiding place when the nasty critters attack.


Colin Farrell was called to the stage and then amiably back-pedaled off when the moderator of the Fright Night 3D panel realized he meant to bring out writer Marti Noxon first. He was an amiable gentleman throughout, even signing his namecard for a young lady in the audience--and unintentionally flashing a little crack to director Craig Gillespie behind him. We didn't see the rear view, but we did get to see a bunch of the film. The script appears to be your garden-variety teen horror stuff, but the 3D really kicks in when Colin's vampire, Jerry, engages Anton Yelchin's Charlie, his mom (played by Toni Collette) and girlfriend (Imogen Poots) in a car chase that escalates when Jerry's hand bursts through the car's floor. "Oh s--t, it's a f--ked-up vampire hand!" Charlie yells. That's right up there with, "Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen," as far as we're concerned.


MORE: What's better than Twilight? Maybe Underworld...


‧ Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are insane. Not in a lock-em-up kind of way, but in an even-Nicolas-Cage-says-so kind of way.


"You saw on the other segment," the Oscar winner said, "Mark is on roller blades holding onto incredibly fast motorcycles and literally risking his life to get a shot, I think, to entertain you. And I think it's infectious. We all feel it and we get up for the occasion and we get into the adrenaline mindset, or frame of fmind. I'm not going to say 'in the zone'... They're extremists and I feel that I'm an extremist. And the good news is, we get along. We push each other and came up with ideas together and we became friends. It was a perfect marriage."


Or as Idris Elba put it, "With these guys you have no safety. These guys will throw you under the bus." Literally, in this case.


‧ The cast of 30 Minutes or Less, which made for one of the funniest panels of the day, must have caught staffers during their break or something, because Michael Pena and Aziz Ansari spent the whole time with Johnny Whitworth and Idris Elba namecards in front of them, leftovers from Ghost Rider panel. The issue was quickly remedied for the stunning Total Recall cast. Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride—who sent his well-wishes via video—couldn't make it, but Pena, Ansari, Nick Swardson and director Ruben Fleischer (of Zombieland fame) made for a fun group.


And Fleischer let us in on his next project: He'll direct Gangster Squad, with Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen and Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin as the LAPD detectives looking to take him down.


‧ Total Recall may have kicked all their asses in terms of sheer presence on the stage, much of it coming from Bryan Cranston, who's doing villain honors. Joining him were Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, John Cho, and director Len Wiseman. Cranston cracked everyone up when asked how all of his recent mega-success has affected him, and he replied, "My butler still puts my pants on one leg at a time. In fact, I was talking about it with my limo driver..." And, when asked about his character in the film, Farrell describe him this way: "I play Douglas Quaid, an Austrian ex-pat who rises to prominence in the world of body-building, then continues into a very successful career in film, only to find that to be the perfect foundation for a budding career in politics."


Or, "a man who's basically lost himself somewhere along the road of life and doesn't even know it and basically is living in a dream, somebody who's suspicious that many of those around him are not who they seem to be—as many of us are in our lives—and gets a rude awakening about 15 minutes into the film." We saw it. And, except for the fact that all the cops looked like Imperial Stormtroopers, the effects are neat.


GALLERY: 15 Biggest Movies of Comic-Con


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IT Outsourcing: How Offshoring Can Kill Innovation - PCWorld

IT service providers are touting the benefits of outsourcing increasingly higher-value and more complex IT work to lower-cost locales. And IT customers still hyper-focused on cost cutting in today's economic doldrums are more than willing to consider the pitch. But Harvard Business School professors David Pisano and Willy Shih argue that "moving up the value chain" with offshoring can irreversibly damage a company's -- and a country's -- competitiveness and ability to innovate.


The two researchers made headlines with their 2009 article, "Restoring American Competitiveness," asserting that the America's relentless outsourcing of manufacturing operations had not only hurt the United States' trade balance and job prospects for its citizens, but also hindered its ability to innovate. CIO.com talked to Pisano and Shih about how their research applies to IT offshoring and what CIOs can do to retain their competitive advantage while cutting costs offshore.


CIO.com: You assert that as U.S. companies were steadily outsourcing development and manufacturing work abroad and cutting spending on basic research, American competitiveness and innovation eroded. What's the most conclusive evidence of that?


Willy Shih, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School: The troubling thing that our research turned up is that offshoring can lead to damage to what we call the industrial commons -- a set of capabilities embodied in your supplier network, your workforce, the educational infrastructure associated with a technology area. For example, in the 1960s Kodak gave up making sophisticated film cameras, and the U.S. consumer electronics companies offshored their product manufacturing and development. So the industrial commons for consumer electronic and optoelectronic devices in the U.S. withered away. So when the digital camera revolution came along -- even though Kodak invented the first digital camera in the 1970s -- there was no longer any capability base in the U.S. to develop or manufacture such products.


Gary Pisano, Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor Of Business Administration, Harvard Business School: Just look at what has happened in the mobile communications industry today. A lot of PC companies first gave up manufacturing, and then design. They became reliant on third party suppliers. Now we see what Apple has done with the iPad, and it seems to me there are an awful lot of PC manufacturers scrambling to find an "off- the-shelf" design to compete in the tablet computing space. The problem is, from my perspective, there is nothing unique about any of those designs. They have not competed well against the iPad.


 CIO.com: Proponents of offshore outsourcing say it not only cuts costs, but also can enable companies to focus on their core value. But you found that many companies developed a taste for offshore labor arbitrage and outsourced more high-value tasks. Why didn't they funnel offshore savings into innovation?


Shih: If outsourcing improves your numbers over the short term, sometimes it is difficult to take those savings and reinvest them. That was one of the drivers behind improving the numbers in the first place -- bringing more to the bottom line. This is driven by the pursuit of profit, which is a good thing. I'm not being critical of that. But it highlights the importance of being thoughtful about outsourcing capabilities or damaging the commons.


Pisano: This is partly about having too short of a time perspective, but there is also something deeper. It's rooted in how many management teams have come to view their source of advantage. For many, it seems, the name of the game is arbitrage. The key is to be a good "trader." You find good opportunities to buy stuff less than you can do it your self, and you capture the value on your brand. They do not see having unique capabilities as the true source of competitive advantage.


CIO.com: Many CIOs have also embraced offshoring and are moving more complex and higher-value tasks abroad. What can they take away from your research?


Shih: It is a cautionary tale about the importance of understanding the long-term capability strategy in your company and understanding where the needs for capabilities in your company and your industry are going. The tricky thing is capabilities that seem unimportant today could turn out to be very important in the future because of the differing rates of improvement.


Pisano: Be aware. At the margin, it always seems to make sense to outsource the next highest source of value-added activity. But, over time, those capabilities erode, and you are at the mercy of those few suppliers with capabilities.


CIO.com: Innovation is inextricably tied to IT in many industries today. Will the increasing offshoring of internal technology operations further erode American competitiveness?


Shih: A lot of IT outsourcing has resulted in the development of strong software capabilities in other parts of the world. It has accelerated the diffusion of this capability. The strong software commons in India and, increasingly, China bodes well for products for which software is an important component.


Pisano: Yes, no question about it. But, I don't want CIOs to come away with the message that we are against outsourcing -- or that they should never outsource. That's not what we are saying at all. There is a lot of great IT capability in many different corners of the world, and it would be crazy for a CIO not to be thinking about how to take advantage of those. At the same time, they need to think about what they really need to have geographically close. It is clear that for IT professionals, the world is becoming a much more competitive place. If you are in that field, you are going to have to be continually improving your skill sets. And, if you are company in that space, you have to be innovating. You can't compete on cost.


CIO.com: What advice would you offer CIOs and IT decision makers on striking the right balance between insourcing, outsourcing, and offshoring?


Shih: One global head of IT of a large airline company once told me, "You can't outsource your thinking." I think that captures one of the essences of what we're saying. It's important to understand where your capabilities come from, and how you sustain them.


CIO.com: The focus in many companies -- in terms of IT investment -- continues to be cost savings. Can you give CIOs a financially based argument that they can take to their executive teams and boards against offshoring higher value capabilities?


Pisano: Sometimes there is no case against outsourcing. There are strong skills at very good costs available from lots of places. But, where they have to be careful is when they are outsourcing capabilities that become critical to the future. Can you justify that in some spreadsheet financial analysis? Probably. But standard tools of financial analysis are very limited when it comes to evaluating these kind of capability-creating decisions. You need management with judgment.


Shih: This is a classic short term versus long-term investment question. Long-term investments in capability maintenance and development are no different than other long-term investments in productive capacity. The harder thing to evaluate is the investment in the health of the commons. This is a classic "tragedy of the commons" problem; firms don't see the short-term benefits of such investments. That's one of the challenges. Our financial tools don't have a good way of capturing this.


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Monday, July 25, 2011

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Hawaii's most dangerous spots (and how to survive them) - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Every year, millions of visitors to Hawaii — not to mention the islands' residents — safely enjoy its gorgeous beaches, challenging trails, breathtaking waterfalls and other distinctive natural features that turn many first-time tourists into repeat vacationers.

Yet every year the spectacular setting also proves fatal to a relative few, and injurious to far more.

In the days following the recent drownings of two Bay Area visitors to Hawaii — one hit by a wave at a Maui blowhole, the other falling from oceanside cliffs on the Big Island — I asked readers to share their insights on "trouble spots": places where nature's allure and power, combined with bad decisions, have been particularly hazardous.

(I also combed news and government wesites for incident reports and statistics.)

Fortunately, using common sense can almost always prevent serious mishaps. But it doesn't hurt to know before you go where potential problems may lie, and what other resources — besides your noggin — can help you avoid harm.

Beaches

Life's a beach and then you die? Not if you're paying attention...to posted warnings, current ocean conditions, the knowledge (or absence) of lifeguards and local beachgoers, and your own physical limitations. Most beaches are perfectly fine for sightseeing from the sand, and many have waters that can be entered safely on calm days, applying all the above-mentioned cautions. Sadly, every island has a sirenlike shoreline where risks are all too often unheeded.

Trouble spots: On Kauai, picturesque Lumaha'i Beach, nicknamed "Luma-die" by some, and Hanakapi'ai Beach, relatively remote but still popular as the first pit stop on the rugged Kalalau Trail, are subject to frighteningly strong rogue waves and rip currents.

The slippery rock ledges of Lumaha'i (whose widest sandy stretch is featured in "South Pacific") and the large sea cave at Hanakapi'ai also present tempting hazards; moreover, their North Side location makes them prone to big waves November through April, when the holidays and spring break bring more unwary travelers unused to the powerful Pacific.

The same applies to the west side's unprotected Polihale Beach. Staying well above the water line is recommended.

On Oahu, the "anyone can surf" attitude often gets people in over their heads, literally, on North Shore beaches during periods of big surf, while the year-round crushing shorebreak at Sandy Beach near the island's southeastern tip has sent many a would-be bodysurfer home with sprains, neck compressions and/or broken bones.

(President Obama, as others who grew up on the island, may know what he's doing at Sandy's, as locals call it, but that doesn't mean you will.) The ambulance standing by in the parking lot is one clue.

Conditions for similarly perilous shorebreak — mid-sized waves landing on hard-packed sand in shallow water — can also be found on Maui's Makena and D.T. Fleming beach parks and the Big Island's Hapuna and Magic Sands beach parks, which are often better for sunbathing.

A Valley Isle reader shared this typical anecdote from Makena, also known as Big Beach: "While visiting my orthopedic doctor recently, there were two gentlemen in the waiting room who, unknown to each other, had just broken their shoulder blades trying to swim at Big Beach. Two tourists, same beach, same day, same doctor's office. Makena is known as 'breakneck beach' to the locals and the surf here breaks right on the shore...it's gorgeous and alluring, but don't let the water fool you, this is a dangerous beach for swimming."

Read it and keep: The Hawaii Beach Safety website, a multi-agency project, is a handy guide to beaches with lifeguards: 29 on Oahu, 10 each on Kauai (not including Ke'e Beach, which added lifeguards a few years ago) and the Big Island, and nine on Maui.

Just as important, the site lists "recommended" and closed beaches, citing current conditions that are updated every 10 minutes based on National Weather Service forecasts, and includes detailed analysis of each beach's natural features and hazards. The Kaua'i Explorer website also provides valuable safety advice for Garden Island beaches, including tourist faves without lifeguards (Lumaha'i, 'Anini, "Secret" Beach, Kalapaki and Polihale among them.)

In addition, Hawaii novices should review the basic ocean safety tips on the Honolulu municipal site: "Always swim at a guarded beach; consult lifeguards about ocean conditions before you go into the water; heed all warning signs — they are there for a reason; never swim alone; never go out farther than you can swim; know your limits — if in doubt, don't go out."

The site also provides a guide to the warning signs, both permanent and temporary, found on all the islands, with photos showing the relevant hazardous conditions. First-time snorkelers would also benefit from the safety tips of www.snorkeling.info (yes, the buddy system works.)

Not online? Read the surf advisories in the local papers (you remember newspapers, right?), turn on the TV or radio news reports, or chat up the concierge or other island resident. On Kauai, the county's Ocean Safety Bureau has updated its official beach guide, distributed for free at the airport, fire department and a number of hotels and resorts. The brochure includes a map of lifeguarded beaches, an explanation of seasonal conditions and rip currents, and other safety tips.

Blowholes, baths and toilet bowls

While the Nakalele Point blowhole on Maui has come under recent scrutiny, the geographical phenomenon of surf spraying geyserlike through a hole in the lava rocks is not particularly common in Hawaii.

Perhaps that's what make them so enticing to daredevil antics, such as diving into the large one at ?South Point on the Big Island. And at Spouting Horn on Kauai and Halona Cove on Oahu, fences have been installed to block access to the blowholes (which can be viewed from lookouts) and the dangerously surging waters and slippery rocks that create them. That doesn't stop imprudent types from bypassing these barriers, but it does make them less of a trouble spot for some.

More problematic are the related phenomena of "queen's baths": large tidepools carved into rocks, refreshed — and occasionally overwhelmed — by the adjacent ocean, and "toilet bowls," similar openings in the rocks where the water forcefully rises and falls (as if being flushed.) Not far from Nakalele Point, the Olivine Pools have been the scene of several drownings — including a Bay Area couple in 2006 and a California man in 2004 — and numerous injuries when large waves swept over the lava shelf.

Signs warning of danger there and at the Queen's Bath in Princeville, Kauai, where the intrepid have drowned or been hurt by rough waters and sharp rocks, do not dissuade the constant stream of visitors, many of whom are intrigued by guidebook descriptions with idyllic photos. Some even confuse Queen's Bath with an even less protected inlet at the bottom of the cliffside trail used to reach the tidepool; the often fearless young locals playing there unintentionally inspire greenhorns foolishly to imitate them (as a number of alarming YouTube videos and Flickr photos attest.)

Many locals grew up playing in the now-closed Toilet Bowl at Oahu's Hanauma Bay, where the high numbers of visitors have led to a proportionately high injury rate.

You can also find online videos of cliff-divers jumping into an even more roiling aquatic commode at South Point on the Big Island. Simply put, it's just foolish for visitors to follow their lead, even if it looks like fun.

Know before you go: Witnesses, rescue personnel and residents who see the aftermath have been devastated by the unnecessary loss of life at Queen's Bath and the Nakalele blowhole — and one can only imagine the pain of those left behind. Is yet another video/photo op really worth it?

At the very least, enormous respect must be given to the forces that brought these places into being. Stay well back from blowholes and "toilet bowls." Remember baths" — "troughs" might be a less enticing word — will be subject to the same seasonal and storm high surf (or worse) than those of nearby beaches, and conditions can change quickly. (In my more than 15 Kauai visits, usually December-May, I've never found the Princeville or Polihale Queen's Baths safe to visit.)

Even on the calmest summer days — when solitude seekers will have yet another reason to avoid the area — sightseers should use extreme caution. Walk carefully on the slippery rocks far from the water's edge, check the wave pattern before getting in, face the ocean at all times and remember, as the warning signs advise, you do indeed enter at your own risk.

Waterfalls and pools

Kauai has two of the most easily viewed, captivating cascades: Wailua Falls and 'Opaeka'a Falls, offering safe lookouts off well-paved roads.

The steep cliffs that form them would seem to be forbidding enough, but — as with the recent tragedy at Yosemite's Vernal Falls — barrier-eluding sightseers have been carried over the falls and/or drowned swimming in their pools, while hikers have plunged to their deaths trying to reach the pools via unmaintained and unmarked trails.

Warning signs and fencing have increased following the 2006 deaths of a California woman and her cousin, who assumed a warning sign on a left-hand trail to keep out did not apply to a path on the right. (Their families recently won a lawsuit against the state, in part due to the earlier, nonfatal fall of a Bay Area teen at the same spot, which led a state worker to recommend safety improvements that had not been implemented when the women fell.)

Deaths and lawsuits have also led to more stringent warnings and barriers at Maui's 'Ohe'o Gulch, formerly touted as the "Seven Sacred Pools," near Hana in Haleakala National Park.

It is still permissible to swim in the seven-plus mini-waterfall pools, but gauges and weather forecasts help rangers determine when the risk of flash flooding — which can sweep bathers out of the pools and into the rough ocean below — is too great to keep the pools open. Sadly, an 8-year-old Maui girl was killed May 31 by a rockfall at the base of nearby Waimoku Falls, along the Pipiwai Trail.

Oahu residents still mourn the closure of Sacred Falls State Park in 1999, after eight people on the trail to the 80-foot falls were killed and another 50 hurt by a massive rockfall.

(Their families also won a lawsuit, arguing the warning signs at the trail's start were inadequate.)

In case you've hiked to one of the few waterfalls without a warning sign, remember that all cascades can carry rocks. There's also the possibility of contracting leptospirosis by bathing in waterfall pools, particularly after heavy rainfalls that may have swept dead animals into the stream.

The high rate of injuries and sporadic fatalities of those swimming at Kipu Falls on Kauai, where a rope swing tempts visitors to take the plunge, has also led some to call for its closure.

As someone who visited there years ago as part of a paid, guided tour that included another rope swing and waterfall swimming hole, it's hard for me to believe the Kipu pool is especially hazardous. But then again, I balked at entering via the rope swing — and I don't work in the local ER, as one closure advocate does.

Read it and keep: As the outdoor safety page on the Hawaii State Parks website states: "Steep valley walls, sea cliffs, and waterfalls are subject to rock slides and falls. Use extra caution in these areas." To prevent contracting leptospirosis or other diseases, it advises, "Avoid entering streams and ponds when you have open cuts or abrasions on your skin. Do not drink the water without first boiling or using purification tablets."

It's also helpful to recognize these warning signs of a flash flood: "Increase in the speed of the stream flow, rapid rise in stream level, a distant rumbling upstream and the smell of fresh earth. Be prepared to move immediately to higher ground and never attempt to cross the stream when the water level is above your knees."

Hiking and climbing

Hiking in Hawaii can be an exhilarating experience, but as the state parks site states: "Hawai'i's mountains are porous, crumbly weathering basalt. They are not suitable for roping or climbing."

The fantastic weathering along Kauai's Napali Coast has created just enough space for the 11-mile Kalalau Trail, which requires permits — and strength and wits — to go beyond the 2-mile point at Hanakapi'ai Beach. Those first two miles are frequently attempted by poorly shod, out-of-shape visitors, who don't realize how narrow, steep, rocky and potentially slippery the trail becomes after leaving Ke'e Beach

. (I know the locals running it barefoot with surfboards make it seem easy, but then so do mountain goats; if you're not local or a mountain goat, it's best to be careful, as I found out the hard-on-the-'okole way. Oh, and bring water.)

On Oahu, local and visiting hikers have gotten injured, lost or stranded after falling or going off various trails in, among other places, the lush Manoa and Kahana valleys and the steep cliffs of Olomana. On the Big Island, death and serious injuries have resulted from leaving marked trails or venturing into closed areas inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and the active volcanic sites in the Puna district. (You shouldn't need to fall into a steam vent or fall through a fragile layer of newly formed rock into lava to know that's a bad thing.)

Know before you go: The state parks website also includes these important reminders: "Plan your hike by knowing the terrain to be covered, the length of the trail, weather conditions, time of day, and hazards along the trail. Allow ample time to return before nightfall by figuring 1.5 miles per hour. Carry proper equipment, including a first aid kit and plenty of water. Wear proper shoes and clothing. Stay on the designated trail and be extra cautious when crossing streams and walking on wet, slippery trails or on loose, crumbly soil or rock. Hike in a group and keep track of those in your party."

It all seems so obvious, doesn't it? But when you're bedazzled by the exotic, overconfident in your abilities or underprepared for wilderness, your vacation can end sooner than you think. As a Californian, I appreciate the advice of Denis Scott, who relocated to Oahu some years back: "Hawaii is an amazing place to visit...but it is a different place. It is its own place—culture, land, ocean, etc. Come to learn and experience. And by learn, sometimes that means watch or enjoy, not do or hop in."

Jeanne Cooper is the former Chronicle Travel Editor and author of SFGate's Hawaii Insider (www.sfgate.com/blogs/hawaiiinsider), a daily blog about Hawaii travel and island culture.


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