Headless Chook Runs Headlong Into Heated Hassle

Fight or Flight

The fight or flight instinct is still a powerful force in the modern homo sapien and chooks alike. It is part of the most basic animal instinct, the survival instinct. But having studied and contemplated this subject for some time now, I am still none the wiser how this affects the performance of the committed squash player.

This was highlighted recently in a match I witnessed between two aged squash warriors. The question presently sitting in the forefront of my mind is this.

Do these instincts mean, that when placed in a life or death situation, do we use our wits and cunning to fight and/or escape our peril, or do we use all the physical capabilities at our disposal to survive - literally survival of the fittest?

These two sportsmen are both gentle souls, polite, generous, in short, gentlemen. Why then would they be battling each other in a fight to the proverbial death on a Squash court?

The Animal Within

In my experience, civility and manners provide a relatively thin veneer on the surface of "civilisation". The average chook would only take a few scratches to expose the animal within. This can be seen every day in news brodcasts, and in every day life in wars, careers, politics and dare I say it, religion.

Squash is one of those things which scratches the surface and allows us to peek into ourselves to see the animal within.

I saw two competitors, each wanting to survive, throwing themselves headlong into a physical confrontation, each man, on the wrong side of fifty, still very fit, running for all they were worth. It did not matter to anyone but the two players, who won this contest. It was their very own struggle for survival.

But did it have to be like that? Did they have to run so hard they did not have time to think? Operating purely on adrenaline, were they oblivious to all but the most rudimentary of tactics?

It seems so. If they were chooks, they would have been headless!!

Brain or Brawn

From the gallery, it seemed a drop shot here, a change of pace there, would have made a great difference to this rampant running, this mad movement. Was it that they were both in such a fearful and desparate state, that there only thought was of survival?

My meditation has made me realise that it takes great courage to use your brains, to stay calm and use cunning in place of clout. It also takes practice. A great deal of practice. To achieve this, these thoughts should be in the forefront of your mind whenever playing practice games, doing drills or practicing patterns.

The thought process required to be able to make brave decisions about tactics when under great pressure only come to very few naturally. For the rest of us, it is a skill honed over time. It may well be, that instinct is honed by the repeated exposure to the "edge".

So while our instincts play an important part in this game, it does not mean we should not try to develop our primal urges with the use of our highly deveoped brain, as we do in other aspects of life.

The beauty of this beautiful game is that civilised people can play the game using some of our most primal instincts. The game ends, we shake hands. No one has been hurt and we are both the better for it. That is as beautiful as a chook and the importance of the original question is lost.

Can I Get Paid to Rodeo at School?

Three years ago I would have never even dreamed of doing something like this. A lot of things have changed since then however. Graduating high school instigates a great deal of change. The biggest change can be one of probably two things; staying in school or pursuing higher education. Today college is very important, and for us rodeo competitors, college is a very possible choice after high school. For me it was an easy choice. I'm still banking on making my living in the arena. A problem soon arose when I discussed this with my parents.

"You know Teddy, you won't be able to rodeo all your life right?" My Mom stated. "Dang, that's what I was hoping to do" I Replied.

Well in the past two years I got hurt a few times and I still don't want to get a real job so I'm a college kid now. And you know what? School really isn't that bad. What many students and parents may not realize is just how easy is it to get scholarships to go to college. The best part is just how many there are out there and how many different entities award them. Scholarships can come directly from high schools and colleges, government foundations, private donors, rodeo associations and businesses. Another place they come from that I found out about just this year is rodeo committees. Not as much in Canada so far, but I am looking. The Alberta High School Rodeo Association has to be one of the best associations in North America for high school students to learn, rodeo and set themselves up for a successful future in college and in the rodeo arena.

Since I would like this article to be of use to its readers I would like to talk about all the scholarships I know of that are out there for graduating high school students. The money is out there for the most part it is whether or not a person takes the time to apply. The biggest cost in applying for scholarships is the stamp for the envelope. Sure you might now win some scholarships but you can't get any of their free money if you don't try. Here are a few all of you high school students should apply for:

Montana Silversmiths Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship: Deadline: August 1st. This scholarship is open to graduated high school students and current college students with a minimum a GPA of 2.0 or higher. For those of us north of the 49th you have got to have about a 70% average. For more information, and to apply go to: montanasilversmiths.com. Or call 888-677-9487 for an application form.

The Bill Kehler Memorial Scholarship: Deadline: August 28th. Open to students who have completed grade 12 or are currently in college. Up to four scholarships of $2500 are awarded each year. The scholarships are given to students studying in agriculture and broadcasting, along with those who are great ambassadors to the legacy of Mr. Bill Kehler. Professional rodeo contestants can also apply for a scholarship to support their post secondary studies.

The Alexander Rutherford High School Achievement Scholarship: Deadline: May 1st if you will be going to school in September and December 1st if you start college in January. If your Grade 10, 11 and 12 averages are above 75% in the four core subjects along with one option class this scholarship can be worth a lot of money to you. If your average was above 80% it can be even more. And the best part is that if you apply and your grades are right then you get the money. Your high school counselor should have the information for this scholarship but if not look them up.

The Alberta High School Rodeo Association Scholarships: Deadline April 1st. Now you must be a member of the AHSRA to apply for these scholarships. So those of you who want to go to college and aren't members yet, should join. This association is the absolute best place to start your rodeo career. No were else will you find better help, stock and a positive atmosphere to be the best you can be. You can start now in Jr. High School Rodeo in the sixth grade and almost have your whole first year of college paid for before you even get there.

The last type of scholarship I want to talk about in this article are the ones awarded by colleges and universities in Canada and the United States. Some of the Schools in Canada that are part of the Canadian Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (CIRA) are: Olds College, Lakeland College in Vermillion, AB, Red Deer College, NAIT, SAIT, The University of Lethbridge, U of A and U of C. The CIRA is growing and is a great place to further your education and rodeo at the same time. College rodeo in the United States is done in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). The member schools are spread out all over the Western United States it is divided into eleven regions geographically. There are many scholarships given out to students from all over North America by NIRA member schools. If you are a student who wants to go to college here in the United States look up College Rodeo. There you can find all the contact information for every school's coach. You don't have to be the best in Canada to get a scholarship to go to school somewhere down here. All it takes is the desire.

Good luck and remember: "As long as there is a sunset there will be a West" Dr Lynn Phillips

All the Information You Didn't Need to Know About the Solid Gold Dancers

The Eighties were an interesting time. The clothes alone were unexplainable. Music was changing, and so were movies. As with any trend of an era, things tend to make comebacks. Those of us who grew up in the Eighties were almost certain that certain things from our time period would be spared a revival.

We were so very wrong. Leggings were one thing that made it back. Unbelievably, the Fashion Powers That Be saw it fit to bring back a fashion style that looks good on nobody, and that only 5% of the population can wear without looking like some sort of odd-colored sausage. Shoulder pads, bangly jewelry, rubber jewelry, obnoxiously bright colors - they've all made it to the shelves and kids are buying it up like crazy. What's next? Enormous bangs?

With all the Eighties madness, one thing has returned to The World of Cool that makes a little bit more sense. Dancing. We're not talking about ballroom dancing, ballet dancing or booty dancing. We're talking about jazz-hands, fossie-fossie, break-dancing, shake-what-your-momma-gave-you dancing. The kind of dancing you see on So You Think You Can Dance and the dance people on America's Got Talent. It is highly reminiscent of the dancing craze of the Eighties - with Fame, Flashdance, Footloose, and other influential movies. And TV shows! Arguably, one of the most influential shows with dancing was Solid Gold.

The Solid Gold Dancers were the epitome of everything the Eighties loved about freestyle interpretive dance. They were flashy. They were sexy. They had amazingly big hair. Boys fantasized about them. Girls wanted to be them. Vice versa, as well. Between the years of 1980 and 1988, we learned what songs were cool while we watched the Solid Gold dancers gyrate and move to those songs. Whether they were easy to dance to or not. Ever tried to dance to the theme song of Miami Vice? It isn't easy. Regardless, these dancers were selling gold hand over fist - merchandising gold and a fortune in dancing lessons.

Who were these amazing, influential, horribly dressed dancers? Where did these treasures end up? Was there life after Solid Gold Saturday Night?

Yes, to a point, for Tony, one of the original two males in the dance troupe. He appeared on Solid Gold until 1984, and enjoyed a successful career after that. He appeared in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Thriller" videos, as well as Janet Jackson's "Nasty" video, to name a few. He played the character of Al in the film adaptation of A Chorus Line. Unfortunately, he died in 1995. As a side note, Michael Jackson ended up employing a lot of Solid Gold Dancers in various projects. Captain EO, especially, was pretty heavy with Solid Gold Dancers.

Alex and Helene were also in A Chorus Line, and Helene choreographed the video for "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was), wherein Deborah was a dancer. Another venue for the later Solid Gol Dancers was the movie Breakin'. Cooley appeared in the first one, and Lucinda played the role of "Special K" in both Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. There are also some other notable dancers.

Other film gems include Paul, who was "Waponi God Woo" in Joe Versus the Volcano. Mark, who was also in the "Thriller" video is an amateur country music singer. Gigi (who was on the show in later years) is Gigi Hunter - knitwear designer to the stars. Eileen was a successful Madonna impersonator in the "Legends In Concert" series.

Other Solid Gold Dancers became more famous by association. Chelsea, who also had a prolific TV and film career, has a son with Quantum Leap dude, Scott Bakula. Janeen married Michael Damain of The Young and the Restless and "Rock On" fame and became a movie producer.

Perhaps the most famous of the Solid Gold Dancers, Darcel Wynne retired to raise her family, but has recently written a book called Darcel Sexy's Back and She's Still...Solid Gold that came out in 2008. She was the top dog on Solid Gold and actually acted as MC for a time.

So there you go - all the things you didn't know you wanted to know about the Solid Gold Dancers. There are still many websites dedicated to the dancers and the show itself, and you can find lots of clips on You Tube, if you look hard enough. And you should - it's a fascinating piece of Eighties history.

Farm Management Software - Providing the Competitive Edge in Beef Farming

Changes in consumer behaviour and demand toward meat products, along with dramatic shifts in the productivity and the marketplace pressures placed on the beef farming industry has necessitated a more innovative and cost effective approach to the industry. Competition from the pork industry has created an increasingly competitive marketplace whereby producers of beef have to continually evaluate and improve their operations. Furthermore, external pressures, such as increasing land value and rents, increasing feed costs, along with hydration and environmental issues are exerting ever mounting pressure on beef farmers to become more efficient in their operations.

Productivity with the beef dairying sector has been increasing for the past several decades, with a trend towards increased weight of beef carcasses creating substantial profit gains. Enhancing levels of beef production has also been a major influential factor, with both being able to be achieved through advanced farm management and innovation, including genetics and feeding programs, improved farming principles and practices and the implementation of software technology. The use of advanced farm management software enables the measurement and evaluation of inputs and farming practices, while measuring their effectiveness in terms of productivity, accountability and bottom line profit results.

Having accurate information available in a format that is easy to read and understand is essential for basing business decisions upon and evaluating the performance of the beef farm in response to specific inputs and investments. Long gone are the days where farmers can make business decisions based on recommendations or rule of thumb. The adoption of a more sophisticated and economically viable decision making process has become readily available, with leading software providers who specialise in the agricultural and farming industries, developing sophisticated and simple to use farm management software. As well as having industry accepted principles of accounting, farm management software captures the complexity of the dairy and beef industry, evaluating multiple biological and economic factors affecting the performance of the business.

Optimising management systems, while having access to timely and accurate data relating to the performance of the business is essential for sound decision making; based on facts, not feelings. With the pressures that beef farmers are facing in relation to their competitiveness in the industry, precision farm and business systems are often the difference between success and failure. With leading farm management software, you are empowered to plan, implement and control your business to see it thrive in the decades to come.

The Top 3 Places to Purchase an International SIM Card

I am not going to use this article to convince you to buy an International SIM Card. I am already assuming that you know the benefits of purchasing one- the fact that you will save a fortune, the fact that people can easily keep in touch with you and the fact that you will be contactable on the same number no matter where you are in the world.

I assume you already know this. I assume you are looking for information on where you can purchase an International SIM card. You have 3 options:

From a telecommunications store- This option is good if you live near a telecommunications store. You can go in and try out the SIM card and test it yourself to see how it works. The problem is that not everyone lives near a sore that sells these International SIM cards so this may not be an option for you. Over the telephone- Some International SIM card dealers give you the opportunity to buy your card over the telephone. This has its advantages as you can ask the dealer any questions you may have. The main concern with this way of getting hold of your SIM is that you are subject to the dealer's bias. They are not giving you an unbiased opinion and will promote their product at the expense of others products in the market. Over the internet- In my opinion, the best way to purchase your International SIM card is over the internet. You can easily do Google searches to see what others say about the SIM, and you can compare different SIM cards against each other quite easily and conveniently. This is the best way to work out which card is for you.

Do yourself a favour, and buy your International SIM over the internet today.

What's the Meaning of Dual Zone Function For a Car DVD?

After-market car DVD player is the first essential equipment for us to update a car audio system. It helps people kill time in the travel and amaze them with great entertainment. With the development of more and more cutting edge technologies applied for Car DVD, there is DVD with built-in GPS which has Dual Zone function as well. There are 2 different meanings for Dual Zone function in different type of units. But the same point is it can handle double tasks at the same time!

For pure Car DVD player, Dual zone refers that driver can enjoy Radio with car speakers in front, while passengers can watch DVD movies through rear AV output of unit. So in this case, you can install 2 headrest monitors in the back seats. For safety reason, driver can listen to the music without disturbing of video from the rear, he can mostly concentrate on driving. While other passengers can still enjoy the movies in the back. All of them can have full entertainment and the travel will no longer boring, and it would be much more safe of separating radio and video in different parts of the car.

For Car DVD with built-in GPS, the dual zone function have other meanings. For one thing, it can do the same function that pure DVD does. For another, which is much more important for driver, is you can listen to the music while using GPS navigation at the same time. If you are playing music and hit the "Navi" button, it will switch to GPS while still playing your music. While driving to wherever the destination is, the music will cut out for a second while your GPS instruction plays (ie. "Turn left in 100 feet"), then it will go back to your music.

So now you know how amazing and how important the Dual Zone Function for your Car DVD player. So it's better that you should take this factor into account before buying, it will bring you tons of benefits and fun.