One time I caught one and called them and they said they wouldn’t take it off because I was over the 30 day limit! I had them transfer me 5 times until I got someone high enough to refund my money. I’m sure this is some kind of fraud but I’m not sure who to report it to. If any of you do, please tell me.

The other place where I have had fraudulent charges show up is on my phone bill, AT&T won’t do anything about it but give you the number. I asked to have nu number blocked and they said they couldn’t. I am very close to dropping AT&T but we have 2 year contracts on 4 cell phones and I don’t want to be charged for that if I switch over.

Warn your friends. Help us stop this behavior!

And, there on television, she said it was ‘exciting.’ Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day…like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first.

The audience laughed so hard they cried. She is such an honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words!

Maya Angelou said this:

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
 
“I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

“I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life.’ 

“I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.

“I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

“I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.

“I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

“I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

During the 17th century, those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season. This holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children, separated when working class families had to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. On Mothering Sunday, the child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit with their parents. The holiday’s popularity faded in the 19th century, only to be reincarnated during World War II when U.S. servicemen reintroduced the sentimental (and commercial) aspects of the celebration American counterpart.
In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resident Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers, to support the moms who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Grace’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seybold, was an aviator who had been killed in combat over France in 1918.

In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to an extensive nation-wide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters. Today, any American woman who has lost a child in the line of duty can join the Gold Star Mothers.

The organization’s primary role then and now is to provide emotional support to bereaved mothers. Members also actively volunteer with the veteran community and act as patriotic supporters of the United States military.

In 1936, a Joint Congressional resolution established the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day, a holiday that has been observed ever since by Presidential proclamation.

Early in President George W. Bush’s tenure as president, he renewed that proclamation, declaring on September 28, 2001:

“Today, the nation’s Gold Star Mothers still stand as symbols of purpose, perseverance, and grace in the face of personal tragedy. Each year, the Nation remembers their sacrifice by honoring the Gold Star Mothers for their steadfast commitment to the legacy of their fallen children and their devotion to the United States of America.”

The name the Gold Star Mothers was derived from the custom of military families to hang a service flag in their front window. The flag featured a star for each member of the family serving in the military; living members were denoted in blue, while gold stars honored family members killed in the line of duty.

                                                                        Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms – You are Awesome!

Jesus Hugs

One way to formally control this is to implement a formal scope verification process where you require a change to be communicated to the stakeholders’ for formal acceptance of the completed project scope and associated deliverables. Verifying the project scope includes reviewing deliverables to ensure that each is completed satisfactorily. If the project is terminated early, the project scope verification process should establish and document the level and extent of completion.

Scope verification differs from quality control in that scope verification is primarily concerned with acceptance of the deliverables, while quality control is primarily concerned with meeting the quality requirements specified for the deliverables.

Quality control is generally performed before scope verification, but these two processes can be performed in parallel; and when a change occurs (that is accepted) all project team members need to re-examine their project documents and schedule. Any corrective changes go to the project manager and new plans and schedules are produced. Then a process of verifying the scope occurs. The following lists potential outputs from Scope verification:

·         Accepted Deliverables The Scope Verification process documents those completed deliverables that have been accepted. Those completed deliverables that have not been accepted are documented, along with the reasons for non-acceptance. Scope verification includes supporting documentation received from the customer or sponsor and acknowledging stakeholder acceptance of the project’s deliverables.

·         Requested Changes Requested changes may be generated from the Scope Verification process, and are processed for review and disposition through the Integrated Change Control process.

·         Recommended Corrective Actions

For a successful project, the Project Manager is in charge of scope control. Scope control is concerned with influencing the factors that create project scope changes and controlling the impact of those changes. Scope control assures all requested changes and recommended corrective actions are processed through the project Integrated Change Control process. Project scope control is also used to manage the actual changes when they occur and is integrated with the other control processes. Uncontrolled changes are often referred to as project scope creep. Change is inevitable, thereby mandating some type of change control process. The biggest thing to remember is to communicate to all team members and stake holders during this process. It is wise to institute a formal change control system.

A project scope change control system, documented in the project scope management plan, defines the procedures by which the project scope and product scope can be changed. The system includes the documentation, tracking systems, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes. The scope change control system is integrated with any overall project management information system to control project scope. When the project is managed under a contract, the change control system also complies with all relevant contractual provisions.

Project performance measurements are used to assess the magnitude of variation. Important aspects of project scope control include determining the cause of variance relative to the scope baseline and deciding whether corrective action is required. Earned value management is very helpful here.

Approved change requests affecting the project scope can require modifications to the WBS and WBS dictionary, the project scope statement, and the project scope management plan. These approved change requests can cause updates to components of the project management plan.

A formal configuration management system provides procedures for the status of the deliverables, and assures that requested changes to the project scope and product scope are thoroughly considered and documented before being processed through the Integrated Change Control process.

you don’t know what a county is.

when you hear gambling is illegal in some other states and are surprised.

you know the 12 Yats of Christmas by heart.

you know what Schwegman’s is.

when you know what “LAGNIAPPE” and “LAISSEZ LE BON TEMPS ROULER” mean.

when you go away for college, and when you tell people where you’re from they automatically know you can drink more than everyone at the school put together

u tried “cajun” food somewhere else and u thought it tasted like shit

You reinforce your attic to store Mardi Gras beads.

Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside.

When you give directions you use “lakeside and riverside” not north & south.

Your ancestors are buried above the ground.

You get on a green streetcar to go to the park and a red one to the French Quarter.

You take a bite of five-alarm chili and reach for the Tabasco.

You don’t learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national
holiday.

You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

Little old ladies push YOU out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

You leave a parade with footprints on your hands.

You believe that purple, green, and gold look good together.

Your last name isn’t pronounced the way it’s spelled.

you get aggrevated when 1. people think mardi gras takes place in the french quarter and 2. that people think that no matter what time of the year it is if they go to the french quarter they will get a boob shot!

when you get pissed at people who pronounce it nawlins, norlens, or new or leans.

You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.

No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food.

Your town is low on the education chart, high on the obesity chart and you don’t care because you’re No. 1 on the party chart.

Your house payment is less than your utility bill.

You don’t show your “pretties” during Mardi Gras.

You know that Tchoupitoulas is a street and not a disease.

Your grandparents are called “Maw-Maw” and “Paw-Paw.”

Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite Saint is a football player.

You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a “New Orleans-based” movie or TV show.

You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.

You’re walking in the French Quarter with a plastic cup of beer.

When it starts to rain, you cover your beer instead of your head.

You eat dinner out and spend the entire meal talking about all the other good places you’ve eaten.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Louisiana.

you know what is meant by ‘K&B purple

You know what it means for food to come ‘dressed’…

you ‘ax’ for things…

you see a van taxi with spinners

you know your from new orleans if you recognize at least one person in a parade

You save newspapers, not for recycling but for tablecloths at crawfishboils

when you travel abroad you always remember to pack 2 things: bottle of tabasco and a salt shaker of tony’s in your purse

Drive-thru daquiris — it’s not drinking and driving until you put the straw in.

You drive east to get to the West Bank.

You stand on the neutral ground at parades and have no idea what a ‘median’ is.

You get annoyed when you wear a Perlis shirt and people ask you if you work at Red Lobster.

You know how to pronounce Mignon Faget.

pulling a baby out of a cake is completely normal.

you know McKenzie is both a football player and a landmark

you made one bad turn and you end up on the twin span at least once.

you know what the twin span is.

you shop at Lakeside.

you listen to people represent their ward on Q93.

you know that the Riverwalk is for tourists.

sock hops were cool in middle school (and not the 70s) AND you think its stupid when people ask you if you actually took your socks off.

someone asks you for starbucks and you give them CCs or PJs

you have waited in the ridiculously long line for Camellia Grill during lunch at least once.

The only Bush you respect is a Black man.

You refuse to believe that there is such a thing as the “Utah Jazz”.

There is a color called “Bur-GUN-dee”.

The concept of a basement never crossed your mind.

You get your car’s suspension repaired at least twice a year.

You know at least two best places for sno-balls.

You’ve seen roaches bigger than rats.

You’ve seen rats bigger than cats.

the roof of your house was at sea level, and your stuff was at the “bottom of the sea”

WHEN YOU DONT REFER ”MARDI GRAS” AS THE CARNIVAL…WHO SAYS THAT???

If someone in a Lowe’s store offers you assistance and they don’t work there, you may live in Louisiana

If you’ve worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Louisiana

If you’ve had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Louisiana.

If “Vacation” means going to Dallas for the weekend,
you may live in Louisiana.

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Louisiana .

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Louisiana.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Louisiana.

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them , you may live in Louisiana.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph — you’re going 80 and everybody is passing you, you may live in Louisiana

You know that there is one “Original Lee’s Hamburgers” even though they all say they are the one.

If there’s a major hurricane headed straight for you and all you’re worried about is that they changed the time of the LSU game.
]]> http://dritter55.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/do-you-know-what-it-means-to-miss-new-orleans/feed/ 0 dritter55 http://dritter55.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/friends-vs-southern-friends/ http://dritter55.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/friends-vs-southern-friends/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:43:02 +0000 Donna Ritter http://dritter55.wordpress.com/?p=387 ]]> FRIENDS: Never ask for food.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Always bring the food.

FRIENDS: Will say ‘hello’.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.

FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Cry with you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together.

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that’s what the crowd is doing.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds’ back-ends that left you.

FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, ‘I’m home!’

FRIENDS: will visit you in jail

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: will spend the night in jail with you   

FRIENDS: will visit you in the hospital when you’re sick

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: will cut your grass and clean your house then come spend the night with you in the hospital and cook for you when you come home

FRIENDS: have you on speed dial

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: have your number memorized

FRIENDS: Are for a while.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Are for life.

FRIENDS: Might ignore this.

SOUTHERN FRIENDS: Will forward this to all their Southern Friends

Which one are you?

The WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS organizes and defines the total scope of the project. The WBS subdivides the project work into smaller, more manageable pieces of work, with each descending level of the WBS representing an increasingly detailed definition of the project work. The planned work contained within the lowest-level WBS components, which are called work packages, can be scheduled, cost estimated, monitored, and controlled.

On projects I’ve worked on, the project team would go into a conference room and use post it notes for each piece of work until we reached something that was a week or less. NOTE: It’s easiest to bring a roll of paper to put the post it notes on so you can roll the whole thing up to input it into soft format.

The WBS represents the work specified in the current approved project scope statement. Components comprising the WBS assist the stakeholders in viewing the deliverables of the project.

Work Breakdown Structure Templates

Although each project is unique, a WBS from a previous project can often be used as a template for a new project, since some projects will resemble another prior project to some extent. For example, most projects within a given organization will have the same or similar project life cycles and, therefore, have the same or similar deliverables required from each phase. Many application areas or performing organizations have standard WBS templates.

The Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures provides guidance for the generation, development, and application of work breakdown structures. This publication contains industry-specific examples of WBS templates that can be tailored to specific projects in a particular application area. A portion of a WBS example, with some branches of the WBS decomposed down through the work package level.

Decomposition

Decomposition is the subdivision of project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the work and deliverables are defined to the work package level. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS, and is the point at which the cost and schedule for the work can be reliably estimated. The level of detail for work packages will vary with the size and complexity of the project.

Decomposition may not be possible for a deliverable or subproject that will be accomplished far into the future. The project management team usually waits until the deliverable or subproject is clarified so the details of the WBS can be developed. This technique is sometimes referred to as rolling wave planning.

Different deliverables can have different levels of decomposition. To arrive at a manageable work effort (i.e., a work package), the work for some deliverables needs to be decomposed only to the next level, while others need more levels of decomposition. As the work is decomposed to lower levels of detail, the ability to plan, manage, and control the work is enhanced. However, excessive decomposition can lead to non-productive management effort, inefficient use of resources, and decreased efficiency in performing the work. The project team needs to seek a balance between too little and too much in the level of WBS planning detail.

5

Decomposition of the total project work generally involves the following activities:

·         Identifying the deliverables and related work

·         Structuring and organizing the WBS

·         Decomposing the upper WBS levels into lower level detailed components

·         Developing and assigning identification codes to the WBS components

·         Verifying that the degree of decomposition of the work is necessary and sufficient.

This analysis requires a degree of expert judgment to identify all the work including project management deliverables and those deliverables required by contract. Structuring and organizing the deliverables and associated project work into a WBS that can meet the control and management requirements of the project management team is an analytical technique that may be done with the use of a WBS template. The resulting structure can take a number of forms, such as:

·         Using the major deliverables and subprojects as the first level of decomposition.

·         Using subprojects where the subprojects may be developed by organizations outside the project team. For example, in some application areas, the project WBS can be defined and developed in multiple parts, such as a project summary WBS with multiple subprojects within the WBS that can be contracted out. The seller then develops the supporting contract work breakdown structure as part of the contracted work.

·         Using the phases of the project life cycle as the first level of decomposition, with the project deliverables inserted at the second level.

·         Using different approaches within each branch of the WBS, where test and evaluation is a phase, the air vehicle is a product, and training is a supporting service.

Decomposition of the upper level WBS components requires subdividing the work for each of the deliverables or subprojects into its fundamental components, where the WBS components represent verifiable products, services, or results. Each component should be clearly and completely defined and assigned to a specific performing organizational unit that accepts responsibility for the WBS component’s completion. The components are defined in terms of how the work of the project will actually be executed and controlled. For example, the status reporting component of project management could include weekly status reports, while a product to be manufactured might include several individual physical components plus the final assembly.

Verifying the correctness of the decomposition requires determining that the lower-level WBS components are those that are necessary and sufficient for completion of the corresponding higher-level deliverables.

Outputs of Creating a WBS:

·         Project Scope Statement (Updates): If approved change requests result from the Create WBS process, then the project scope statement is updated to include those approved changes.

·         Work Breakdown Structure: The key document generated by the Create WBS process is the actual WBS. Each WBS component, including work package and control accounts within a WBS, is generally assigned a unique identifier from a code of accounts. These identifiers provide a structure for hierarchical summation of costs, schedule, and resource information.

The WBS should not be confused with other kinds of breakdown structures used to present project information. Other structures used in some application areas or other Knowledge Areas include:

·         Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS). Provides a hierarchically organized depiction of the project organization arranged so that the work packages can be related to the performing organizational units.

·         Bill of Materials (BOM). Presents a hierarchical tabulation of the physical assemblies, subassemblies, and components needed to fabricate a manufactured product.

·         Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS). A hierarchically organized depiction of the identified project risks arranged by risk category.

·         Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS). A hierarchically organized depiction of the resources by type to be used on the project.

The WBS Dictionary

The document generated by the Create WBS process that supports the WBS is called the WBS dictionary and is a companion document to the WBS. The detailed content of the components contained in a WBS, including work packages and control accounts, can be described in the WBS dictionary. For each WBS component, the WBS dictionary includes a code of account identifier, a statement of work, responsible organization, and a list of schedule milestones. Other information for a WBS component can include contract information, quality requirements, and technical references to facilitate performance of the work. Other information for a control account would be a charge number. Other information for a work package can include a list of associated schedule activities, resources required, and an estimate of cost. Each WBS component is cross-referenced, as appropriate, to other WBS components in the WBS dictionary.

The Scope Baseline

The approved detailed project scope statement and it’s associated

WBS and WBS dictionary are the scope baseline for the project. The next step is to estimate all of the work packages and create your baseline schedule.

At the dinner I hosted the kids came out one by one with a message on one side of a poster board saying something like they felt lost and alone and flipped it over and said then they found Jesus. One girl said she was contemplating suicide and the other side said she found like in Jesus. Needles to say, it was quite a tear jerker!

Here is a story written by one of the Young Life girls:

“Ever since I was young, I always thought of myself as a good person whew knew God. I grew up going to Church with my family every Sunday. Every so often, I would attend summer camps where I got “all fired up” for God, but then I would come home, back to normal life, and God would feel very distant. I always tried to know God on a personal level, but I always seemed to be lost and alone.

I always seemed consumed or worried about other things that I mistakenly thought were more important than God. I would question God’s reasoning and didn’t understand things until I started reading the Bible. The more I read, the more I wanted to know about God.

This past summer was a REAL life changer. I was attending Summer Campaigners (Young Life’s weekly Bible Study) with my friends and my brother, when I really wanted to hear about Jesus. I listened many times before, but I finally could hear the truth about God. Also, a new connection between me and my brother started to form; we never had connected on a meaningful level before. But it wasn’t until the summer when I attended Young Life camp any Frontier Ranch (the best week of my life!) when I realized that I wanted a personal relationship with my Creator. In theory, I knew a lot about believing in Jesus, but I didn’t know what it meant for me to have a personal relationship with Him until that week. God opened my heart that week; He brought a miracle to me and helped me to realize what I needed to become to be an active, faithful Christian. One night, I spent some time alone under the stars. I talked to God that night, and I believe that He spoke to my heart too. I realized that I would permanently commit my life to him.

That time under the starts allowed me to connect with Him and help me understand that God is really there! God gave me a purpose for my life – to know Him. I don’t know what that will look like specifically, day-to-day, but I know He has a plan for me out there and will help guide me to it. The passion of wanting to grow in my faith is now what drives me. God has carried me through many hard times including the big struggle of trying to know Him when He was that untouchable God in the heavens. But now I know that He loves me personally, and I’m walking hand in hand in my journey of faith with my Savior.”

Be still and know that I am God – Psalms 46:10

Kenny Chesney

“Don’t Blink”

I turned on the evening news
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what’s the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said “All I can say is.”

Don’t blink
Just like that you’re six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you’re twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your “better half”
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don’t blink

I was glued to my TV when it looked like he looked at me and said
“Best start putting first things first.”
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can’t flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it’s worth

Don’t Blink
Just like that you’re six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you’re twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your “better half”
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don’t blink

So I’ve been tryin’ ta slow it down
I’ve been tryin’ ta take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we’re livin’ in

Don’t blink
Just like that you’re six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you’re twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your “better half”
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you’re praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So Don’t blink

Naw, don’t blink
Life Goes Faster Than You Think

Alan Jackson

“Remember When”

Remember when I was young and so were you
and time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when

Remember when we vowed the vows
and walked the walk
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when

Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other’s hearts
Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet
was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we’d never give it up
Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookn’ back it’s just a steppin’ stone
To where we are,
Where we’ve been
Said we’d do it all again
Remember when
Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won’t be sad, we’ll be glad
For all the life we’ve had
And we’ll remember when