From The Foundation Center... Ashoka's Changemakers Announces Ending Global Slavery Competition Deadline: June 11, 2008 Humanity United ( http://www.humanityunited. org/ ), an independent grantmaking organization committed to building a world where modern-day slavery and mass atrocities are no longer possible, and Ashoka's Changemakers ( http://changemakers.net/ ) have launched "Ending Global...

I figure it's time for a data blow, where a lot of the local RE trends are chartified, tablefied, and finally, crucified. But first... I noticed over at BendBB & Jesse Felder's My Back Pages that Notices Of Default have exploded in Deschutes County. We started the year with "just" 91 in January, and already in the first 4 days of May there were 43! Even Jesse posted an actual NOD he saw...

Happy Mother's Day!

When I lived in Nebraska, I would spend Mother's Day planting flowers in honor of my mother. Since moving to Bend, planting flowers don't happen until after Memorial Day and the last few years, I've been at a loss. Mostly we do something for my MIL (lunch around 2 p.m.) or go for a walk (which Charlie and I are heading out to do). Even though I'm 33 days away from having this kid, my...

While the "town hall meeting" was great, I will leave the political commentary to those who are better suited to writing about those topics. It's definitely not me - when I asked my kids if they knew anything about Barack Obama they thought he was a singer or a basketball player. Oops! My favorite quote? Actually, from the child in front of me who during the National Anthem asked, "Is this...

The Science of Scotch Get the low down on that religiously revered drink Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit Cities with long-established public transit systems and areas with a strong driving culture are both reporting increases in ridership of buses and trains. Federal regulators close Arkansas bank ANB Financial BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Federal regulators says they've closed...

I think there's something up with the eagle nest. I have not seen the two eagles together in days. The one I do see keeps squawking and never goes far from the nest. I do see other eagles flying around in the background once in a while, but that's the only others I've seen besides Mom. I think she's hungry and missing Dad. I wish there was a discussion forum or someone from the forest service who...

My husband's band is playing at Silver Moon Brewing on Saturday May 24th! I'm pretty sure the last time they played at Silver Moon in September was the evening I got knocked up. I plan on being there -- what about...

The June Session has been announced over at Geistbear Brewing Blog: Beer Festivals. As Summer approaches we are in full swing of beer festival season, so it seemed the perfect topic for the June Session. Do you have a favorite beer festival you like to attend or a particular memory of inspirational moment at a festival? Or perhaps talk about what you would like to see out of festivals or...

This weekend marks the end of Riverfest, and today is the Deschutes River Clean-Up—I'm writing this right under the wire as the event starts at 9am (view the events here): Deschutes River Clean-Up Come and join the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council to keep our river and its riparian area clean! Do your part during the Deschutes River Clean-Up and feel great about contributing to the health...

EVENT DATE: Tuesday, May 20 Blacksmith Presents ZanZibar Cellars Inaugural Wine Dinner Winemaker Ziad Keirouz Unveils First Release Chardonnay (Bend, OR) Blacksmith Restaurant + Bar + Lounge presents ZanZibar Cellars’ first-ever wine dinner, at which winemaker Ziad Keirouz will also unveil his winery’s first-ever chardonnay release. Wine Spectator magazine recently named Keirouz among...

My friend Simone is having a big garage sale this weekend: There's a Bowflex (you've seen 300 and of course always wanted to own one since), a 12' Lund fishing boat, Men's and Women's Golf Bag and Clubs, Bicyles and Bike Rack, assorted Camping Gear, a large Mosquito Tent, Snowboard Gear & a rolling travel bag for your boards, a Badminton Set, and more! Plus ... Household stuff, Christmas...

...all my little boy ever wanted to be was a soldier. Lots of little boys are like that; I was when I was a kid, until my father - a WWII combat veteran - explained the reality to me in my early teens. I never discouraged my second-born because, even though I came of age during the Vietnam era and was more than happy to graduate from high school just months after the end of the draft, I've always...

WSJ.com - Real-Estate Drop Has a Green Lining Developers are dropping plans to build on some choice pieces of land and instead are selling it for such uses as public parks and nature preserves. The Great Global Dirt Shortage . . . Seriously. Scientists are approaching the global food crisis literally from the ground up. Foreclosure bargains in housing market Even in affluent communities,...

Getting started online all starts with a name... Well typically you want to have an idea of what your web site is going to be about in general, but having an idea for a catchy domain name is a good place to start. I will admit that I'm a bit of a domain name hoarder. I get these ideas for killer new websites all the time and I run out and start checking on domain names for my next big idea. In...

EVENT DATE: Sunday, May 18, 2008 Jackalope Grill’s Spring Dinner with King Estate Winery Winemaker Lindsay Kampff Discusses Her Approach to Producing Award-Winning Oregon Vintages (BEND, OR) The Jackalope Grill presents a special winemakers dinner featuring King Estate winemaker Lindsay Kampff on Sunday, May 18. Chef Timothy Garling's five-course menu is paired with selections from this...

Ahh. Spring is here...finally. It's turning warm, although the sprinklers create an icy landscape in the early hours. Things are just beginning to green up, and the daffodils are blooming in the garden. It's been a long time coming this year. We have a few new residents here at Rock Springs Guest Ranch. Besides Chris, I mean. Our numbers have grown in fur, feathers, and fins. First, we had a stray...

3 defaults hit my neighborhood over the past week. I took this picture of one of the NOD's this morning on a walk and all the while I heard this song in my head: Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a...

Jake's DinerJake's Diner recently went through a make over in the main dining room. While the dining room has a new look and feel, the food has not changed....thank goodness! I was able to cash in some savings bonds that my Grandparents gave me when I was a kid so I could fill up the gas tank for yet another trip to the East side of Bend. This time I was actually in search of the Aloha Cafe but...

As I think ahead to our conversation for our Sunday Night Gathering and the conversation that will inevitably unfold so many things come to mind. Questions… why on earth do we do what we do when it comes to church? How is it that Christians place so much significance on this same way of gathering in worship centers and sanctuaries… when it seems to be so vastly different than what...

OK, I either have incredible luck when I watch the eagle nest, because I catch quite a few things happening, or I watch too much. Anyway... So Mom is on the nest (I have no idea if it's Mom or Dad, but I'm calling it Mom) and she's squawking a lot. I have not seen a Dad sighting since he was on the branch all day yesterday and then disappeared. So Mom's on the nest since this morning, and she's...

American housing Map of Misery SOUNDING more like a cartographer than a central banker, Ben Bernanke this week showed off the Federal Reserve's latest gizmo for tracking America's property bust: maps that colour-code price declines, foreclosures and other gauges ... US Seen As Villain In Food Crisis: Ethanol Is Starving Poor Jason Large, of Reuters, reports from Mexico City that the World Bank...

This really only applies, I suppose, if you're local to (Central) Oregon. But my friend Simone is having a big garage sale this weekend, and they're getting rid of some homebrewing equipment, and as a favor I'm running the list here if anyone's interested: Primary Fermenter (5 gallon carboy) Stainless Steel Soda Tank (5g) Aluminum Keg (5g) Bottling Kit Black Metal Wart Cooker...

This is pure press release, and may or may not have been something I'd ordinarily run, but the picture made me laugh. In a creepy kind of way. Plus, it's just unusual enough that I figured, why not. Join BMC's Eris Craven, MS, RD, LD on a shopping tour On this shopping tour, get hands-on experience by separating fact from fiction when it comes to getting nutritious foods! This tour will take you...

...it's beginning to look like the MSM has its next horse race shaping up nicely. Even though we aren't anywhere near to being free and clear of what is beginning to look clearly as the last dying throes of Hillary Clinton's derailed elevation to the Highest Office In The Land (and NO, I am neither an Obama or Clinton supporter, so back off, Buck), we are clearly seeing the shaping of what will be...

"Great tits cope well with warming." Thanks Fark.

From the Associated Press: Warner Music Group, whose artists include R.E.M., Madonna and Green Day, said Thursday that higher costs and a shift to digital music resulted in a wider second-quarter loss and it suspended dividends. Shares tumbled more than 20 percent, or $1.87, to $7.18 in morning trading. For the period ended March 31, the New York-based recording company reported a loss of $37...

Some Hood River residents are getting fed up on how the Oregon legislature is treating rural communities, sothey're seriously wanting to create a 51st state (More from KVAL in Eugene). While their division for east versus west is the Cascade mountains, Bend and Deschutes County (which are both east of the Cascades) are apparently not included in the running for the new state's capital or even...

(sorry about the picture, there's no photo editing program on this computer where I am). For you avid (or is it rabid) Eagle Nest Watchers, I know the site's been down. Here's a different way in. Something is going on, however. Mom's not on the nest (I've never seen her gone for this long) and Dad's been on the branch upper right all day. Never seen that, either....

A $500 Million Week for Grand Theft Auto SAN FRANCISCO — Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest iteration of the hit video game franchise, racked up first-week sales of $500 million, Take-Two Interactive, the game's publisher, plans to announce on Wednesday. The report exceeded the sales expectations of analysts. Bill Gates says Microsoft going 'independent' way Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates...

In addition to the May art I blogged earlier at Thump Coffee, here are this month's events: CUPPING: Sunday, May 25 1:30pm-2:30pm Can you taste the difference between a washed process and dry process coffee? Join our public coffee cuppings and taste coffees side-by-side. Discover personal preferences, likes and dislikes, and begin to taste and describe your personal and subjective sensory...

Deep Cover Brown Ale. Left Hand Brewing. I hate to say it, but right off the bat Left Hand commits the cardinal website sin: an all-Flash site. Even worse, the front "page" of the site is an age verification check—and regular readers know how I just love those. I hate to go off on a tangent here, but having an all-Flash site is about the worst kind of web presence a brewery could have; there...

School is about it these days. Still have a job, and that tends to get in the way of academics, which seems to be the priority these days. Still running, but the race schedule is a bit up in the air right now. Some good experiments going on in electro-chemistry. If you've noticed the photos in the flickr side bar, we built a Cu-Zn daniels cell, that measured 1.05 volts. So it worked, but it really...

And why should I make the pilgrimage to North La Pine for it? you ask. Because, of course, you'll be able to get some really cool stuff for very little money. Oh, yeah? Like what? Well ... how about stuff for some serious outdoor and athletic fun? There's a Bowflex (you've seen 300 and of course always wanted to own one since), a 12' Lund fishing boat, Men's and Women's Golf...