The Club H.O.G. 25^th celebration started Thursday, August 28^th at Miller Park Stadium (home of the Milwaukee Brewers).  Free for H.O.G. members the day-long celebration was prior to the start of the 105^th Anniversary event.

We departed about 9:30am to get a jump on the day and drove the twenty minutes which came to an abrupt stop on the Interstate near the stadium exit.  Surprise, there's a huge traffic jam! 

Not knowing exactly what or where we were headed...the delay due to poor traffic control wasn't obvious until after we got parked in the stadium lot.  Once parked, we waited in a long line that took approx 35 minutes to get into the refreshments and concert area.  Within an hour it became obvious that it was going to be a "sardine packed" day and the heat/humidity was increasing.  The State Police lined I-94 and started controlling access to the exit having people go around the stadium and come in from an alternative direction.  I've never seen so many motorcycles let alone so many Harley's.  Incredible!

While we were in line we made some new friends and shared stories of the open road.   The camaraderie of standing in line meant we all got to chat with H.O.G. members from around the world.   Many seemed surprised we rode out from the Northwest rather than trailer.

As the day progressed all you could hear was the low drone of exhaust and see a constant stream of motorcycles snaking their way into Miller Park. Wow, the place was packed! I'd be remiss not saying there was excitement building. Space presented some challenges, but people were laughing, hugging, joking, and having an overall good time. We let the DB Bryant Band rock us for a while with their cool sounds.

Our group wanted to experience some more of the culture that Milwaukee had to offer, so we left for awhile to enjoy some authentic Harley dealer activity in one of the historic neighborhoods and we dropped in on Hal's (New Berlin).  We did a drive by of manufacturing plant on Capitol Drive (Wauwatosa) where the powertrain operations are located.

I was told that H.O.G. distributed 250,000 pins and ran out in under four hours.  Wow!

We headed back to the stadium as it was getting time for Kid Rock.  First off we had to sit through introductions of Jim Ziemer (CEO), H.O.G. executives, MDA spoke person (Luke Christie) and Willie G along with his family.  I'm not sure where they all were prior to the speech, but 3 of the 5 people from Harley-Davidson who spoke were nearly DRUNK...their words slurred and barely understandable.  Willie G went off on some motorcycle story about Harley HYPHEN Davidson...reminding everyone that he had the last name in the motor company's name....odd, very odd rant.  His son (Michael) did a nice job of interrupting the word slur rant of Willie G. and tried to make some sense of the family business and his passion for making the best motorcycles in the world.

Back to Kid Rock and man did he rock the crowd.  People lined the entrances excited to see this dude perform. The songs from his new CD (not on iTunes!) are dam good.  "All Summer Long" is terrific, but the live version of "Half Your Age" is one of my favorites.  The crowd was the biggest sea of people I've ever experienced at a concert standing at stage level.  The folks at H.O.G. thought ahead to have the jumbo-tron viewing screens under the beer garden tent and in the food vendor areas. It definitely allowed more people to enjoy the headline act.  Word is that Kid Rock is getting set to roll out his own beer and cigar brand.

All told, I thought it was one great day packed with a whole lot of fun and it was a really cool place to be. Great job H.O.G.!

Interested to know more about our "Ride Home"?  Read the road blogs for: Day 1 HERE, Day 2 HERE, Day 3 HERE, Day 4 HERE and Day 5 HERE.

Do you remember when the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Labor Day Telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis was on several TV stations during?

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an organization founded in 1950 which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public.

From Wikipedia

I remember watching the 21½-hour, star-studded variety show that entertained, informs and raises funds for the service and research programs of the Muscular Dystrophy Association for hours and hours. Watching all of the stars coming on the show and watching how much money they would raise for MDA. It amazing me every year how much money they raise from the American public. Last year's total was $63.8 million.

But in the past couple of years, there seems to be less TV stations airing the Telethon and fewer stars on the Telethon. Is there less interest from the public on the MDA and what it does? Do people wonder how long Jerry Lewis can continue to host the Telethon? Do people wonder where all the millions of dollars (public and corporate) go?

Regardless, this year's Telethon raised $65 million for Jerry's Kids, so there must be people out there watching it. And so will I. I'll be there again next year watching it.

Las Vegas (AP) — Jerry Lewis raised a record $65 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in his annual Labor Day telethon, a benefit that also made a pitch for those inconvenienced by Hurricane Gustav.

The 2008 haul for the 43rd annual fundraising blitz was $1.2 million more than last year's total.

Lewis said he was prepared not to exceed the 2007 number because of the sluggish economy.

"Each year I tell myself, 'This has got to be it. There's no way we can do better.' Then, the following year, I'm astounded to see that generosity driven by love and compassion has a greater capacity than I thought possible," Lewis said. "I am awed and humbled by this response."

When everyone is watching the Hurricane Gustav coverage I am blogging live at the MDA telethon on WGN.  For those of you that don't know my fiance works for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).  It is an excellent non-profit organization that raises millions and millions of dollars a year across the US for kids and adults with forms of muscular dystrophy.  That money goes directly to helping local families with MD pay for medical services, provide wheel chairs, and much needed research.

I first met Emily at an MDA event when I was making a player appearence for the Chicago Fire a few years ago.  I knew I couldn't ask her out at the event because I figured she wouldn't find it appropriate at a work event to get asked out.  So using my "White Collar Smarts with a Blue Collar Heart" I got her business card and asked her about how I could get involved to volunteer.  My intentions were 25 % to volunteer and 75% to get her number so I could ask her out at a later date.

Since that date I have volunteered tons of hours at multiple events and I have enjoyed every minute of it!! Half of my hours are because I want to and the other half our because she makes me (LOL)!!!  You don't date the girl you date the organization!

A funny story from Chicago late last night  when we were taking calls live in the midnight hours.  Bill Waddell, a pledger from California, called right when my face was the one on TV taking the pledge.  He said "can I see you?".  His timing was perfect and I said, "I am waving at you now!!"  Him and his wife were cracking up and so excited!  He then pledged $300 and was pumped to do so. 

I waved over one of the hosts and she announced his name and pledge live on air.  He said thanks and then we hung up.  A few minutes later, my fiance who was sitting next to me at the time by chance got a phone call from Bill again.  He asked for me and she told him real quick she was my fiance and sitting next to me and at that moment we were on live again so he saw the both of us.  It was awesome the odds of that happening that we would get his phone call twice from California.  He proceeded to donate another $100!!  He was very appreciative and generous and I thank him for the cool experience and donation to MDA!! 

If you get the chance between Hurricane Gustave coverage give me a call at the MDA telethon on WGN and make a donation.  If you read this on a date after Labor day you can always go to www.mda.org to make a donation. 

To all my family, friends, campers and their parents in Louisiana and Mississippi I have been praying for you and I got my fingers crossed that everything will work out fine!  Be careful!!!

Keep livin the dream!! JM

Firstly, I advice you I will need to use some more *technical terms*, and, as a large explanation about them could be very cumbersome here, if you fell in some doubt you can go to the Glossary page and clear it or just google it for more details. OK?

The MDA Framework is, in essence, a set of concepts you need to understand MDA.

So, try to read and understand the figure below.

It is a simplified version of the MDA Framework, and it is very straightforward to see what it does.

First, a Computational Independent Model (CIM), that is a model of the bussiness rules of the system in focus and has no computer implementation details specification, is transformed into a Platform Independent Model (PIM), a high level model tied to computational concepts but not to a computer platform specific implementation. Second, the PIM is transformed into a Platform Specific Model (PSM), a model of a specific computer platform implementation. Third, the model with platform specific information (the PSM) is translated into code.

Performing this steps, in an ideal scenario, would be enough to have a runnig system.

So, things seems to be very straightforward in MDA, doesn't it? Not so simple as it seems in the last figure, but not so complicated, as you can see in the next. See below a more detailed version of the MDA Framework.

Have you completely understood it? If your answer is "For sure, I have!", feel comfortable to leave this post, but if it is something like "Not at all" or "A little bit", I will give you some explanation.

Let's read this figure from bottom to up, OK? You can see that the process [CIM->]PIM->PSM->Code is the same as we had presented in the previous figure (Simplified MDA Framework), except from the lack of the CIM representation here, for the sake of simplicity.

The input or output models for each transformation are writen in some language, e.g. UML for PIMs and Java for PSMs. In our figure, the PIM is writen in language 1 and the PSM is writen in language 2.

The transformation from PIM to PSM is performed by a transformation tool that uses a transformation definition. This definition is a set of transformation rules which maps elements in language 1 to elements in language 2. For instance, in a simple transformation from UML to Java, UML classes could be mapped to Java classes, UML attributes to Java attributes, and UML operations to Java methods.

Just as models, transformation definitions are also writen in some language, called transformation definition languages.

For each model language (language 1 and language 2) and transformation language (transformation definition language) there is a metalanguage which descbribes them, generally called metamodel. Once, in a Java model, you have an if statement, in the metamodel of the Java language you have a description of such statement, and this happens for each element of the Java language.

As models are described by metamodels, metamodels are described by metametamodels, and metametamodels generally describes itself. The OMG standard metametamodel is the Meta Object Facility Language (MOF). Another metametamodel is Ecore, it is an Eclipse standard since this is the metametamodel for implementations in the Eclipse Modelling Framework (EMF), the framework for supporting MDA solutions in the Eclipse platform.

Since OMG has published the MOF2Text specification, we have included in the right side of the figure, the part concerning the transformation from models to concrete code.

This kind of transformation is also made by a transformation tool that uses a transformation definition writen in some transformation specification language that conforms to MOF. The main difference between model-to-model (M2M)  transformations and model-to-text (M2T) transformations is that the last ones does not declare an output metamodel, as the output is textual code.

Well, this is the MDA framework. I hope you understood it.

Labor Day is tomorrow which means that the Jerry Lewis Telethon is starting tonight. I am asking you personally to tune to your local "love network station" and donate or go to MDA's website and donate there! Every penny matters so do your share to help Jerry's Kids!

- Joel
(molo eight)

Threejays Carriages is proud to say we have donated our horse-drawn carriage services to the MDA Telethon and on-line auction. One of the services we donated is an hour-long horse-drawn carriage service in Highland Park Village for the 2008 holiday season. The other service we have donated is an hour-long wedding service in the DFW Metroplex for 2009. The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon will be broadcast locally on Monday, September 1st on our NBC station, Channel 5, starting at 5 am.  For more information on the telethon, visit http://www.nbc5i.com/community/17316536/detail.html or http://www.mda.org/telethon/.  The online auction is new this year, and is currently running through September 4th.   For more information on the auction auction or to bid on any of the items, including those donated by Threejays Carriages, go to www.gomdaauction.com.  Our items are listed under "Unique Experiences".  For more information on The Muscular Dystrophy Association, visit www.mda.org.  Threejays Carriages is honored to be a part of this wonderful fund raiser.

So luckily for us, we've got a long weekend because of the labor union in NYC!  It's a pretty longstanding holiday, here are a few of the major events that happen every Labor Day.

Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon

8/31-9/1

Raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association

http://www.mda.org/telethon/

2008 Chrysler Jeep Boomsday Festival- Knoxville, TN

8/31 - Fireworks start at 9:30pm

http://www.boomsday.org/

NASCAR Pepsi 500 Auto Club Speeday - Fontana, CA

8/31

http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/

Taste of Polonia 2008 - Chicago, Ill.

8/29-9/1

HUGE Polish festival in Chicago!

http://www.copernicusfdn.org/tasteofpolonia.html

Mackinac Bridge Walk

Starts at 7am on 9/1

Walking across the Mackinac Bridge! (Anyone know why this is such a big deal? If so let me know in the comments!)

http://www.mackinacbridge.org/annual-bridge-walk-7

Personally, I'll be heading to boomsday because they do an awesome job with the fireworks show (one of the largest in the US I believe?) My favorite part is where fireworks "rain" from one of the bridges over the Tennessee River!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

P.S. E cam trist filmul, si mai are vreo 2 citate de gen, dar sunt putin mai "negre " ca sa zic asa  , si normal ar fi sa cad si eu victima pesimismului si tristetii , dar (cred ca) nu s-a intamplat :) si in caz ca n-ati citit postul de mai jos :

"This great evil. Where does it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doin' this? Who's killin' us? Robbing us of life and light. Mockin' us with the sight of what we might've known. Does our ruin benefit the earth? Does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed to this night?"

Chiar nimeni nu mai vede nimic frumos intr-un lucru simplu ca un rasarit de soare , o adiere de vant , o ploaie de vara ( de care nu prea am avut parte :))  ), un apus de soare ... chiar nimeni nu mai zambeste cand vede copii mici pe strada cum se joaca , cand iti vizitezi bunicii pe carei vezi odata pe an, cand ajunge mama acasa si poate se gandeste la tine si i-ti aduce o ciocolata , o briosa , o tigara sau doua in cazul meu :D ... dar in fine ca sa ajung la concluzie : foarte mult pesimism si ignoranta in ziua de azi ...

Toata lumea traieste zilnic cu viteza unui ferrari la un grand prix , nu mai are timp sa se gandeasca la lucruri "marunte" si "nesemnificative" cum sunt cele de mai sus pe care majoritatea le ignora zilnic...Eee , unde sunt "melcii" , unde sunt cei care se mai opresc sa aprecieze un lucru , care e "taken for granted" de toata lumea, cat de simplu ar fi el :ca este un zambet de copil, ca este mirosul unei flori,ca este o tigara savurata dupa vreo 4 ore de asteptare :)) sau pur si simplu ca te-ai trezit in dimineata asta.

As mai continua dar e aproape 4 dimineata si sunt cam spart de somn , deci o sa inchei cu citatul meu favorit ,care nu este unul tocmai optimist, dar  merge . Este din filmul "The Thin Red Line" ,facut in '98, regizat de am uitat cine ( o sa ma uit pe imdb)  si cum gasesc fragmentul din film cu acest citat pe youtube sau cn stie pe unde, o sal postez ...

"This great evil. Where does it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doin' this? Who's killin' us? Robbing us of life and light. Mockin' us with the sight of what we might've known. Does our ruin benefit the earth? Does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed to this night?"

Governo

O Plano Safra Mais Alimentos 2008/09 e as experiências brasileiras na formulação de políticas públicas serão apresentadas nestas quinta-feira (21) e sexta-feira (22) ao Conselho Agropecuário Centro-americano (CAC), integrado por ministros da Agricultura de Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicarágua e Panamá. No encontro, que será realizado na Cidade do Panamá, no Panamá, o Brasil será representado pelo secretário da Agricultura Familiar do Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário (SAF/MDA). Adoniram Sanches Peraci falará no painel “Políticas Públicas Brasileiras Voltadas para a Segurança Alimentar”.

Leia mais...

The military Aviation Calendar 2009 published by TEAMultimedia is available exclusively at The PatriArt Gallery.

On August 20, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski signed in Warsaw the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Poland Concerning the Deployment of Ground-Based Ballistic Missile Defense Interceptors in the Territory of the Republic of Poland. This legally-binding agreement calls for the establishment and operation of a U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) interceptor facility in Poland.

This BMD interceptor site would provide a defensive capability to protect Europe and the United States against longer-range ballistic missiles launched from the Middle East, and will be linked to other U.S. missile defense facilities in Europe and the United States.

Upon ratification by the Polish Parliament and entry into force, the ballistic missile defense agreement will allow the United States to construct, maintain, and operate a facility encompassing ten ground-based BMD interceptors. The United States and Poland will negotiate a separate agreement to address the status of U.S. military forces to be deployed to the territory of Poland.

U.S. and Polish military forces will cooperate in providing physical security for the missile defense interceptor facility. The United States will provide the Polish Government with situational awareness into operations and training at the interceptor facility, which includes receiving real-time information of ballistic missiles tracked by the missile defense radar to be located in the Czech Republic, intercept information, and the status of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe.

(Compiled from a US State Department release)

PS: azi am fost comparata cu o prietena, mai trecuta prin viata decat mine(si temporal si experimental). Eu eram cea matura.

Subject:  Brucellosis Outbreak in Michigan and Indiana

Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 1:15 AM>

 
August 7, 2008

 
 Dear Michigan Veterinarians:

An investigation by the Michigan Department of Agriculture' s (MDA)  Animal  Industry Division identified three Brucella canis (CB) positive  "designer"  dog breeding facilities in Missaukee, Osceola, and Wexford counties  that  provided small cross-bred lap dogs to pet shops and individuals

 throughout  the state. Authorities also found two Van Buren County purebred dogs  imported from a kennel in Indiana to be positive for CB. Indiana  animal health officials are following up in that state.

 We expect you may be contacted by clients about canine brucellosis and  may  also have clients that breed dogs or own breeding kennels. Here is  information to bring you up-to-date on Brucella canis in Michigan:

 
 1.. MDA will be educating small dog owners, individuals who may have  come  into contact with infected breeding dogs, pet shops, animal  shelters,  and  pet food retail outlets about the risks of canine brucellosis.

2.. MDA recommends small breed "designer" dogs from kennels in  Missaukee,  Osceola, and Wexford counties be tested for B. canis.

 c.. Brucellosis, (including canine brucellosis) is reportable to MDA.

  d.. MDA will quarantine an infected kennel. Euthanasia of breeding  animals  is recommended. A testing program can be used, but it is expected  the  kennel  would need to remain under quarantine for several months. Testing  is at  the  owner's expense.

e.. Infected pet animals are handled on an individual basis.

 
 Euthanasia is  recommended, especially in breeding situations, but spay/neuter and  appropriate antibiotic therapy may sometimes be an option.

 1.. Spaying and neutering minimizes the public health threat.

 1.. Dog breeders and kennel owners should be reminded about  bio-security.  Isolation of new animals, good sanitation and routine brucellosis  testing  are key elements to a good bio-security program.

 1.. Dogs imported from other states are required to have a health  certificate.

1.. If you have pet shop clients, you can help by advising them  about  bio-security and monitoring their source of puppies. We are advising  pet  shops to require proof of negative brucellosis testing from kennels  that  supply their puppies.

a.. MDA is forming a canine brucellosis working group to further  evaluate  this emerging disease situation in Michigan and to develop a  comprehensive  disease control strategy. If you are interested in having input on  this  issue, or receiving updates about this issue, please email your  contact

> information to Dr. Angie Butler at butleran@michigan. gov .

 1.. Disease testing for MDA is being performed at Michigan State  University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH).

1.. Questions or concerns about human health may be directed to a  health  care provider or the Michigan Department of Community Health at  517-335-8165

 Human cases of brucellosis are reportable to Michigan Local Health  Departments.

 1.. Information on human health, clinical diagnosis, laboratory  testing  and sample collection may be obtained from the information sheet  provided in  this link: http://www.cfsph. iastate.edu/ Factsheets/pdfs/ brucellosis _canis.pdf

 Sincerely,

Steven Halstead, DVM

 State Veterinarian

Earlier this week SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) was chartered to send James "Scotty" Doohan (of Star Trek fame) and 207 other peoples ashes into space, but the rocket disintegrated shortly after launch shooting its payload into the Pacific ocean.  SpaceX founder and CEO, Elon Musk, was quoted saying, "Neither stage exploded,"..."They just got a little bit cooked".  That's sensitive considering the families of the departed paid between $995 to $5,300 for the space sendoff which was arranged by Houston-based Space Services Inc. and I'm sure that's what they had in mind - NOT!

You might be asking at this point what's the motorcycle connection?  Well Scotty received an honorary engineer degree from Harley-Davidson's home town university Milwaukee School of Engineering.

But, back to SpaceX who was founded in June 2002 by Elon Musk the co-founder of PayPal.  He created SpaceX to help make "humanity a space faring civilization".  The company is HQ in Hawthorne, CA with engine and structural testing done in McGregor, TX.  However, the space launch facilities are based in the Marshall Islands, specifically the Kwajalein Atoll on Omelek Island. 

In certain military circles it's know as the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Site.  The Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and a premiere asset within the Department of Defense Major Range and Test Facility Base. The unquestioned value is based upon its strategic geographical location, unique instrumentation, and unsurpassed capability to support ballistic missile testing and space operations.  Unknown to most people is they have successfully completed multiple flight tests of the ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) program which has intercepted intercontinental ballistic missile targets.  Some refer to this as "Star Wars" research.

I happen to know a bit about "Kwaj" having lived, worked on the island and flown in/out of Bucholz Army Airfield.  It was routine to observe ballistic missile targets launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base with interceptors being launched down range from Kwaj.  All of the intercept testing is done at an altitude 140 miles above earth, so we only observed launch exhaust "streaks" over the Pacific Ocean in the Western Test Range.

You can read more on the military environmental impact of using Omelek Island as the launch facility HERE (pdf).

Scotty may you make it to space and RIP.

Falcon 1 launch courtesy SpaceX

Here's a little something I took away from the event...

...A new avatar!  Russ Liberty made visitors "Look Like a Lego!" He had a long line even after the Build-Off was over.

é só virtude de caráter e habilidade em auxiliar pessoas e grupos no processo da evolução psico-emocional-espiritual de volta ao amor universal - a força mais poderosa que conhecemos.

Eis um texto maravilhoso sobre o uso de psicodélicos em terapia: experience_with_the_interpersonal_psychedelics_english

E aqui, em Português (tradução livre feita por este Tantan) :o))

Mais textos deste tipo, de vários autores, podem ser encontrados onde achei o deste post: aqui!

If you would like to participate then you had better, as my dad used to say, "Shake a Leg!"  Registration ends on Wednesday July 30, 2008!

Click here to read about how the Lego Build-Off got started.

Uma boa novidade é que tanto as vagas quanto as provas são para várias capitais brasileiras. Não é preciso se deslocar até Brasília para fazê-las.

Edital no site da ESAF.

Fontes: Concursos 2008 e Edital Concurso