Jonathan's blog

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me in last weekends MS150. With my friend Eric from church, I rode from Grand Rapids to Holland and back (78 miles the first day and 72 the second). This was my 9th MS150 (1996-1998 and 2000 in TN and 2002-2006 in MI). As usual, I didn't do much training (a total of about 50 miles...not counting 10 miles every three days on the stationary bike). This was the first year I've done the Grand Rapids version (I usually do the Davisburg to Lansing ride in July). I think the Grand Rapids ride is a bit easier. It was also great weather...a little bit chilly in the mornings but overall quite comfortable. I think it was my best MS150 yet...a little bit sore afterwards but not too much. Eric and I seemed fairly well-matched as riders and rode together both days.

Good news for me...from an article of the same title in USA Today:

The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled a golfer may not be held liable for mistakenly hitting another golfer with an errant golf ball. In a unanimous decision, the court upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss Ryan Yoneda's lawsuit against Andrew Tom, whose wayward ball hit Yoneda in the eye at Mililani Golf Course in 1999. Chief Justice Ronald Moon wrote Yoneda assumed the risk of the injury when he played golf. It is "common knowledge that not every shot played by a golfer goes exactly where he intends it to go," the ruling said, adding there wouldn't be much "sport" in the "sport of golf," if golf balls went exactly where the player wanted. The April 28 ruling makes clear a golfer who intentionally hits a ball to inflict injury, or recklessly hits the ball knowing that injury is highly likely, would not be exempt from liability.

Here are some photos of Eli S. at 9 or 10 months.

From an article of the same title by Khozem Merchant of the Financial Times and printed in the LA Times:

Tahseen Bano's family was reluctant even to let her attend the free information technology classes designed to improve the career opportunities of women in Kanpur, India's leather-goods capital. So it is no surprise that her parents have now blocked progression to a job in the poor northern city. It seems technology may have met its match here: Social conservatism is denying women the chance to put their newly acquired computer literacy to use. Bano's frustration is shared by Datamation, a Delhi-based nonprofit group that runs the Kanpur project with funds from Microsoft Corp. "We try to empower women with skills to improve their chance of getting jobs. But conservatism is not a battle fought overnight. We are encountering the limitations of technology," said coordinator Ujjwala Subhedar... With funding of $100,000 from Microsoft, Datamation turned to Kanpur's best-known asset, the Indian Institute of Technology. What emerged was software for chikan embroidery incorporating a technique allowing users to retrieve designs from a database. The response from potential recruits among young, unemployed adults with little formal education was poor. Datamation's recruiters knocked on hundreds of doors in Kanpur's ancient alleyways but found that parents were loath to let their daughters out in public. Some relented and saw their daughters take to the technology with ease, and the effect on their self-esteem was profound. But what followed was a let-down. Bano's parents, among many others, banned unmarried daughters from taking on full-time design roles, which involved interacting with buyers, designers, shopkeepers and so on.

Two weeks ago (on May 31), Elliot graduated from Midland Montessori pre-school. Grandma and Grandpa B came up for the occasion. At some point a few days before his graduation, Elliot said, "I'm going to graduate, and then I get to go to college."