Seth and Ray’s Blog

I happened upon this story on CNN.

(CNN)– Continental Flight 61, whose pilot died midflight Thursday while flying from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark, New Jersey, has landed safely, the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines said.

The Boeing 777 landed at Newark International Airport at 11:49 a.m. ET Thursday, the airline said, after the 61-year-old Newark-based pilot died “apparently of natural causes.”

No further details were given.

Asked whether the plane’s 247 passengers had been told of the situation, a Continental spokesman said only that the plane had arrived safely.

Passengers told CNN they were not told of the situation, only that an announcement for a doctor was made during the flight.

The airline said the crew on the flight included a relief pilot who took the place of the deceased man.

The pilot had 21 years of service with Continental, the airline said.

So the first question in my mind was “what are natural causes?” To me, there’s nothing natural about a pilot dying while flying a plane. The term “natural causes” is simply too ambiguous for my taste. When I think of someone dying of natural causes, I think of an old person not waking up one morning. Not a pilot dying in the middle of a flight. I Googled “natural causes.” Wikipedia says that it is a loose term used when the cause of death isn’t given by the deceased’s medical condition or history. Basically, if the person’s death wasn’t caused directly by an outside force, and there was no pre-existing medical condition that commonly results in death, the causes of that death must be “natural.” Excuse me if I’m uncomfortable with this definition. If a doctor can’t determine what killed me, then I need to still be alive.

The same Wikipedia article states that the most common “natural cause” of death is heart disease which can be attributed to 30% of deaths. One person in the U.S. dies from heart disease about every 30 seconds. My next thought: what is heart disease and how do you get it. Better yet, how do we stop it. AIDS and cancer get a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but if 30% of people are dying because of heart disease, I think we need to focus a bit more on a treatment for that, than say swine flu which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has killed 44 people in the U.S. as of June 12, 2009. The first U.S. case was reported April 15, 2009. During that same time, over 105,000 Americans died of heart disease.

It turns out heart disease it preventable. Follow the CDC’s Guidelines:

• Prevent and Control High Blood Cholesterol
• Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure
• Prevent and Control Diabetes
• No tobacco
• Moderate alcohol use
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Regular physical activity
• Diet and nutrition

No more death from natural causes!!!!!!

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Ray: lol

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Ray: And this time they involve rap super-star Emenim on this not-so-funny-at-all joke:

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Ray: Responsibility. It’s a word that most people have become familiar with since their days as a child. Back then, I mostly associated the word with having a pet because my mother told me that my pet was my responsibility. After a few days, I quickly came to interpret the word to mean that it was my obligation to clean up after all of my dogs mistakes.

Fast forward a few decades and the word has a completely different meaning to me now. As an adult, you become responsible for an infinite number of thing. Your finances, health, education, families, safety, and so on. And while this may seem like a very simple concept to understand, I have noticed that I often take my responsibilities for granted, which in itself is irresponsible.

Pharrell Williams is one of my favorite artists and in one of his songs titles “Best Friend”, he has the following line: “Jesus will arrange it, but Jesus won’t change it. Hold yourself responsible; on yourself you blame it.” Those few lines really caught my attention for a number of reasons.

God gives us everything we need to live until it’s time for us to die. In between that short amount of time, we have responsibilities. God has given each of us the gifts and faculty to accomplish whatever we need to accomplish individually. But it’s up to us to follow through. That’s a huge responsibility. When we do follow through, we move closer and closer to a fulfilling life and a higher sense of purpose. When we don’t follow through and take actions contrary to our responsibilities, we become hendered by the results of bad decisions, indecision, or a mere lack of faith.

View responsibility as the tie that binds our actions with God’s purpose for our lives. Responsibilites aren’t meant to be circumstances of negativity. That’s not to say that fulfilling some responsibilities won’t be painless or hard to do, but they’ll eventually move us in the direction that gives us a rightous life. These aren’t simple concepts to grasp but neither is the concept of life. However, you can rest assured that you will have no regrets if you live up to your responsibilities. It will only bring you increase.

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Ray: I don’t know if it’s because it’s really late in the evening (or early in the morning), but this quote was pretty funny to me. Former President George W. Bush is back on the speech circuit answering questions about his time as number 43 and what he’s been up to since then. Here’s a response to one of those questions:

“The neighborhood we live in is nice. You know, Laura bought this house sight unseen. At least she saw. I didn’t. It was like a faith-based initiative.”

A faith-based initiative. Ha! Well it’s funny to me. Bush will take the stage Friday night with former President Clinton in Toronto, Ontario, for what’s being termed a “conversation.”

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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—unless you’re the President of the United States.

I just got the scoop on Pres. Obama’s overnight in Sin City.

Where did he stay? What did he eat? What celebs was he hanging with? Read on for all the details!

Obama checked into Caesars Palace at about 5 p.m. yesterday. He is said to have ordered a steak from the hotel’s Neros restaurant. Then it was off to a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s re-election campaign and the Nevada Democratic Party.

I’m told Obama met backstage with comedian Rita Rudner and Bette Midler, who had performed during the gala. The Divine Miss M presented the president with two ukuleles for the First Daughters, Sasha and Malia.

He spent the night in a 22,000-square-foot suite, which features four bedrooms, six bathrooms, at least two formal living rooms, a dining room and butler’s quarters. Oh, and there’s a private pool

out on the patio!

Obama hit the Qua Baths and Spa 8:30 a.m. this morning for a 45-minute run on a treadmill, according to a source.

“The spa was closed down just for him,” the source said.

How long does it take to secure a place like Caesars for the Commander-In-Chief? About a week. I’m told Secret Service first arrived last Tuesday.

After Vegas, it was off to Hollywood. The president headlines a fundraiser tonight for the Democratic Party at the Beverly Hilton hotel

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Reported by: Tenikka Smith: MEMPHIS,TN— Bottom line, college costs. Statistics show in the past few decades, tuition at private colleges has doubled, while costs at public colleges have nearly tripled! While some students are fortunate to earn scholarships, many rely on student loans.

Financial experts say the average student graduates with about $20,000 in loan debt. But President Barack Obama wants to change who students borrow money from.

The President wants to get rid of Federal Family Education Loans, or FFEL. These types of loans are typically offered by private banks and lenders. In a White House statement released Friday, April 24, 2009, President Obama said, “ It’s that under the FFEL program, taxpayers are paying banks a premium to act as middlemen — a premium that costs the American people billions of dollars each year.  Well, that’s a premium we cannot afford — not when we could be reinvesting that same money in our students, in our economy, and in our country.”

Instead the President wants to get rid of the middlemen and help people pay for college through the government’s Direct Loan Program. A move estimated to save $94 billion dollars over the next ten years. The money will in turn be used to expand and increase Pell Grants for students who need them most. University of Memphis student Adam Johnson says, “I think that’s something that would help me because I got three brothers and three sisters at the crib. So it’s kind of hard with me and my parents trying to pay back these loans as it is now.”

In terms of Pell Grants, President Obama says “We are adding $500 to the grants for this academic year, and raising the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550 next year, easing the financial burden on students and families.”

There is some relief out there for people who owe on student loans.

Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which started last summer, a borrower’s debt will be forgiven if he or she works in public service full-time for 10 years. Fields include public safety, military service, social work, education, or non-profit. To qualify, borrowers must make 120 payments during the decade to the Direct Loan Program.

Borrowers can also look forward to the new Income-Based Repayment Program, or IBR, which kicks off in July 2009. Under “IBR” borrowers who qualify will have a monthly payment cap based on their income and family size. Monthly payments will be capped at 15 percent of monthly discretionary income. After 25 years of consistent payments, any remaining debt is forgiven.

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