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How many times have you decided on a dream, and put together a plan to reach your dream, but then you never actually reach it? There are always obstacles that seem to get in the way of finding the time to complete the goals that you set out for yourself. Many people have intentions of doing things, but they rarely seem to be able to complete their goals. There are too many challenges to overcome.
While people may come up with many excuses for not accomplishing their goals, there are only two emotions that govern all our actions: fear and pleasure. Everything we do is based off of these two emotions.
Think about it. Why do people get married? They are either in love with the person they are marrying and are getting pleasure from being with them, or they are afraid to be alone. Or they are afraid of not following a traditional family path. Why do some mothers want to stay home with their children? They want the pleasure of watching their children grow and learn. They are also afraid of who their children will grow up to be if someone else (Day Care) is raising them. They are afraid of missing out on their kid’s childhoods while they are still little. Why are some people unwilling, or seemingly unable, to quit their current job to find the time to pursue a business venture or passion? Even if they don’t enjoy their job, they enjoy the pleasure of the income and security of their current job. They are afraid that if they quit their current job, they won’t make enough money or that if they quit to start a business, their business may not be successful.
Whenever you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it happen. If it isn’t happening for you, then deep down inside you haven’t decided that you want it bad enough. The fears you are experiencing in regards to taking your business to the next level are stronger than the pleasure you think you will obtain from growing your business.
What are your fears? Some common ones are: fear of failure if your business idea isn’t a success, fear of ridicule, embarrassment, or shame, fear of taking time away from your kids and your family, fear of being too busy, fear of what people will say to you if you follow a nontraditional path, fear of being too successful. (Believe it or not, this last fear is very common.)
As humans, we will always be faced with fears. The key to overcoming them is to face them. A toddler who is learning how to walk may fall and get hurt. That child may be afraid to try again right away, but eventually he will. Everyone capable learns how to walk. The toddler sees the pleasure he will get by facing his fear of falling. He knows that if he wants to have freedom and independence, he needs to be able to move around like the adults around him. | <urn:uuid:685a2d11-7d16-47de-83f5-9b5d032a9937> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://workitmom.com/articles/detail/6207 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981337 | 594 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Jonathan Salem Baskin, Contributor
I dare to uncover the surprising truths that drive successful brands.
A bunch of tech wonks and nerds issued a report last week that provided a shockingly accurate conclusion about NASA’s Strategic Plan: it’s vague, generic, and there’s no national consensus for taxpayer support. Now it’s time for the agency to look beyond its comfy fishbowl of geeks and contractors to fix its problem.
No, it’s been time for many years, and the Committee on NASA’s Strategic Direction said as much. NASA was hatched from a handful of bureaucracies in the late 1950s to get Americans into space faster than the Soviets, and the first Moon landing in 1969 completed that mission brilliantly. Our eyes have glazed over since then, unless things have gone wrong with its shuttles, the ISS, and various unmanned probes nominally launched in the pursuit of science, but really investments in keeping itself in business.
It takes skill to turn the Ultimate Adventure into a bureaucratic afterthought.
Exploration didn’t used to be so boring. Monarchs and consortia of the rich or foolhardy have been putting up money for voyages of discovery since the beginning of time, though by “discovery” they meant “discover profits.” It’s how the New World was explored and exploited, and it enabled the Westward expansion of the United States. Sure, scientists tagged along on many of the gigs, but the governments were foremost interested in making money.
It’s how the exploration business works: governments pave the way (with knowledge gained through building roads, rail, and ships) and then the rest of us literally jump on the, er, bandwagon. This bringing together of national and individual lust for wealth has been the engine of exploration for all of history.
It’s how it has worked here since President Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark into the wilderness to find a waterway to ship goods. Eisenhower’s national highway system made possible everything from transporting fresh produce to the social mobility of suburban living. The Defense Department gave us what would become the Internet.
NASA has given us billions of dollars in expenditure on stuff we either don’t know or care about. Satellites help me text and watch VOD, but satellites were getting thrown into orbit before President Kennedy announced we were going to the Moon. Miniaturized electronics are a nice Apollo Program offshoot, but byproducts aren’t the same thing as named deliverables.
What needs to happen? NASA has to stop talking to itself. The folks on that committee have been drinking the Tang for too long. The agency is the Microsoft of exploration, and it’s time for it to start thinking like Apple and declare big, high/risk and high/reward goals like explorers did in the past, such as:
Did you know that last year NASA announced that it would land spacecraft on asteroids and figure out how to go to Mars (Curiosity is already trolling there for the best real estate)? I know, the news was kept practically secret, perhaps in part because nobody bothered to explain why it was so incomprehensibly cool and promising. NASA also unveiled a new heavy-lift rocket design to get people there, and named it…wait for it…SLS. Not Andromeda or New Hope or whatever.
No wonder virtual reality is more enticing to people these days. NASA gives its rockets acronym names like they’re line items in a budget (which they are). Or diseases.
Why are well-intentioned bureaucrats narrating these adventures in reality instead of folks who know how to sell stuff? We marketers know how to get people excited about shoes and smartphone apps. Do we really think that America’s Ultimate Adventure is inherently doomed to be ignored or misunderstood?
The real point isn’t that NASA needs a purpose, it’s that we need NASA. There are few industries and domains that the United States owns, but we own far more of space exploration than we do, say, entertainment. It’s a source of national competitive advantage for us, and no amount of private space tourism shenanigans can take its place. Finding money-making opportunities in outer space is something every American taxpayer could support if we understood why we’d all benefit.
We need NASA to become the engine for getting thousands of other companies, institutions, and individuals involved in space exploration and development. Making money should be the literal currency for achieving that purpose, which will spin-off all the science and social benefits that every other exploration initiative has yielded throughout history.
Everyone knows the problem. The solution is obvious. No more studies or committees.
It’s time to launch.
UPDATE 01.14.13: The latest news about China’s agressive space program efforts suggest that the national security rationale for our work hasn’t faded? Surprising that we hear so little about it. | <urn:uuid:e0c73707-aa8e-405e-b2fb-736757c39d97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2012/12/08/why-we-need-nasa-to-fix-its-problems-and-lead-america-to-money-making-opportunities-in-outer-space/?commentId=comment_blogAndPostId/blog/comment/2450-343-31 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951656 | 1,031 | 1.632813 | 2 |
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The increases include a new top tax rate of 42 percent, and aim to bolster Athens' repayments to international creditors.
Greece's parliament has approved new tax hikes to keep on track with its repayments to international creditors, despite violent protests and continued opposition to austerity measures.
The increases introduce a new top tax rate of 42 percent for citizens who earn over 42,000 euros, or $56,000, a year, BBC News reported, and expands the country's taxpayer base to include low-earning farmers, among other groups.
The bill also cuts the corporate tax rate to 32.8 percent from 40 percent, and will tax Greek stocks by 20 percent, according to the Greek Reporter.
Athens owes the European Union, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) some $45.5 billion in frozen loans so far, and is expecting another $19.9 billion in the coming months, the Associated Press reported.
The new tax increases aim to generate $1.33 billion in additional revenue a year, as negotiated with the so-called Troika of lenders, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"Every euro we collect from the extra fiscal revenues sought, is a euro saved from salaries, pensions and social benefits," said Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras speaking in Parliament earlier this week. "We are making the savings in a socially just fashion.”
Greek opposition forces argue that the new tax hikes will further burden the country's already-ravaged middle class.
"We are not in favor of taxes," Deputy Finance Minister Giorgos Mavraganis said, according to the AP. "But in the current situation we must lead the country out of its impasse. Once we achieve stability we will proceed to cut taxes and simplify the system."
More from GlobalPost: Greek austerity bill approved by parliament despite protests | <urn:uuid:939374a9-ac9a-4c31-b14a-25a1eadcea9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/130112/greece-passes-new-tax-hikes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941074 | 393 | 1.828125 | 2 |
ST. IGNACE (AP) — A public memorial in St. Ignace is planned later this month for Mackinac Bridge pioneer Lawrence Rubin, who died this week at the age of 97.
The Detroit Free Press reports Rubin was the first employee hired by the Mackinac Bridge Authority. He served as the authority’s first executive secretary and stayed on the job for three decades before retiring.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says Rubin “was synonymous with the Mackinac Bridge.” The governor says she’ll dedicate this year’s Labor Day run across the bridge to Rubin’s memory.
In addition to his work with the Mighty Mac, The Detroit News reports Rubin also was instrumental in getting legislation and funding for the construction of the International Bridge that links Sault St. Marie and Ontario. | <urn:uuid:61df9ebe-3eb8-4e2c-a639-11cf017fc405> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2010-05-13/pioneer_24151069 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962126 | 170 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Mekong Delta Blues
By now, much of the sturm und drang of the Swiftboat controversy has passed. Yet, one man seems intent on keeping it alive. His name is John Kerry and he's from Massachusetts. At a rally here in Ohio, Kerry denounced Bush for questioning his patriotism, and mocked Cheney for not serving in Vietnam (in contrast to, say, John Edwards?). Beyond sounding petty in light of the larger campaign issues, this tirade reveals some fundamental flaws in Kerry as a presidential candidate. These flaws range from the personal, to campaign strategy, to larger misunderstandings about America's cultural dynamic.
On the personal level, Kerry's insistence on being outraged over every attack by the Swiftboat Veterans For Truth shows unmistakably that for John Kerry, the most important thing in this campaign is John Kerry. Rather than being dignified and graceful about it, he's acting like a little kid, determined to respond in kind to every insult until the offender takes it back. The smart thing would have been to give a solemn and comprehensive renunciation of the accusations, and then moved to issues on which the Democrats have an advantage, like health care. Instead, Kerry screams like a child every time someone takes a shot at him, while other Democrats accuse Bush/Cheney of being AWOL draft-evaders. This latter approach reeks of hypocrisy: If you don't want your guy's Vietnam record to be a matter of public debate, then don't insist on making the other guy's Vietnam record an issue.
Nonetheless, Kerry just can't drop it. After all, if this election isn't about John Kerry, what is it about? He may be surprised in November when he realizes how many voters think that this election is about defeating Islamic terrorists and improving the American economy.
Beyond self-absorption and poor campaign strategy, Kerry's approach to the Vietnam issue calls into question his character. On too many issues, Kerry tries to have it both ways. He's the decorated Vietnam hero, and the anti-war protestor who defiantly hurled...well, somebody's medals over the White House fence. He is part of a band of brothers made up of fellow veterans, and he is the guy who denounced fellow veterans for innumerable war crimes. Although he doesn't get it, this last act is what really set-off the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Anyone who has served in the military, or even been in any kind of all-male environment, knows that you never, ever rat out your buddies. Yet, Kerry sold all Vietnam veterans down the river to advance his own career. This is another aspect of Kerry's character that has not gone unnoticed. From wives to fellow soldiers, everyone is a means to an end for John Kerry.
Finally, the larger aspect of the Swiftboat controversy that eludes both Kerry and the mainstream media is Vietnam's place in America's culture wars. Well into the 1980s, the Left congratulated itself ad nauseum on opposing the Vietnam conflict as an unjust war of American imperialism. However, this attitude never penetrated more than media elite deep. As time passed, more Americans came to believe that although the war was poorly conducted, its aim was noble. Defending a people against Communist tyranny could only be a sin in Hollywood or a university faculty lounge. Kerry, as a very wealthy Massachusetts liberal, has no exposure to average Americans. His attempt to play the hero both as a warrior and protester simply doesn't work for these folks. Real soldiers do not stab their comrades in the back before Congress, and real Americans do not run off to Paris to meet with the nation's enemies. Influencing the domestic politics of an enemy nation is very much part of warfare, and it was integral to North Vietnamese strategy (see former NVA Col. Bui Tin's "Following Ho Chi Minh"). Given this fact, Kerry effectively aided and abetted America's enemy. He's not a traitor in the strict sense, but his actions won't win any hearts and minds among average Americans.
On last, small thing, I'd like to mention. The fact that a presidential candidate served in the military is definitely a plus. However, it is not the president's job to command an infantry platoon, or a destroyer, or a fighter squadron. His job to manage the war at the highest strategic level, and so the necessary job skills are different. Of the two best wartime leaders produced by this nation, Lincoln and FDR, one had two weeks worth of militia service, and the other had no military experience. Kerry's partisans among the punditry should keep this in mind, especially as former supporters of Bill Clinton. | <urn:uuid:8295fc62-0583-45b0-a7bf-f4fa16e14af6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hatewhatihate.blogspot.com/2004/09/mekong-delta-blues.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969819 | 945 | 1.523438 | 2 |
A Florida father has channeled his protective parenting into a new mobile app that compiles feedback on teen drivers.
Mike McManigal created the 'How's My KID Driving?' app, along with a corresponding bumper sticker to solicit feedback from other drivers on the road performance of the novice motorists.
For an annual member fee, $15 the first year and $10 annually thereafter, parents register the license plate number of their child's car on the website, howismykiddriving.co, and then affix the eye-catching bumper art to the new driver's car.
With your iPhones or Androids you can punch in the tag number and send your feedback via text, to the parents monitoring the account.
McManigal, from Cooper City, Florida, said he came up with the idea from seeing the 'How's My Driving?' bumper stickers on semi-trailer trucks along the highway during a road trip.
Once [teen drivers] leave the driveway and turn the corner and they're out of sight, no one's policing them.'
The app, which officially launched in late July, has been recognized for its ingenuity.
Car accidents are the number one cause of death for U.S. teens, who are four times more likely than older drivers to crash, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. | <urn:uuid:3b1d8909-dca1-442d-912d-926bb0ca1505> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wixx.com/blogs/post/jkelly/2012/aug/13/do-you-think-new-app-will-stop-bad-teenage-driving/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953098 | 280 | 1.789063 | 2 |
For a decade I have managed the Arbor Day Celebration in a town that “used” to be a sleepy little farm town famous for its apples, tomatoes and dairy cows. Far enough from the big city, yet close enough to enjoy both places.
Times have changed and the only thing really growing in the town are the McMansions and Condos. The town that was voted #1 place to live by Money Magazine has is now home to wealthy people, celebrities and sports stars.
Times are a changing!
Most of us “long time” residents of a mere 15 or 20 years, remember the horses and cows walking in the roadways. The beautiful apple orchards bringing us festive flowers in the spring and shiny red apples to pick in the fall. The quiet nights and starry nights were spectacular. The water we drink comes from deep spring aquifers. The water is the best anywhere on the planet. Family members come for visits just to drink the clean crisp cold water from our well.
The growth of the town has brought pavement…plenty of it. Ball fields, tons of them …with huge pole lights that are on most nights till very late in the evening, and something unnatural surface called “turf”. It’s amazing how kids could play sports on mere grass for all those years. Shopping centers are popping up. Restaurants with all their “unique odors” and other uncomfortable hazards should you be unfortunate to have to live near one. Traffic has become a nightmare at certain times of the day. Crime has increased. What happened??
As the Lorax says…”I speak for the Trees”.
Enough. If only one time a year, can we take a break from the insanity that is called development. Can we stop for just a moment and celebrate trees. Those big woody creatures with all the leaves. Trees that keep us cool in the summer and bring us warmth in the winters. Trees that clean the rain water as it falls and helps the water go deep down to our ONLY source of drinking water, the aquifer.
Too many trees have been taken down for the sake of development. Those trees that brought us such great joy. The reason we came to live here in the first place. Do I sound like the Lorax?
As we prepare for Arbor Day this year, the children in the elementary schools have designed posters. “Plant Trees to Save Water, Flora and Fauna”.
Did I mention that our beloved town has some wooded areas still left. In these woods are beloved endangered species of birds, turtles, plants, and reptiles. They are not gone. YET.
Like the Lorax, I stand on the soap box and ask everyone in town to “celebrate trees”. We gift each resident who takes the time out of their busy day to come out to the event, a free tree sapling. After 10 years, many folks have told me just how tall their trees have grown. That makes me smile.
I encourage residents to “get dirty”….to enjoy the earth and the trees that we are so fortunate to have around us.
Each year a ceremonial tree is planted. We honor a person who has given back to the earth and promoted the environment.
They teach our children about the environment, they plant gardens, they volunteer at many state parks in the area. “Salt” of the earth type people. They are special.
They are very proud and happy to have a tree planted in their honor. These people are our many “Lorax” that live amongst us.
Call them “Tree Huggers”, call them “wackos” for not wanting to pave over paradise. My kind of people. I too speak for the Trees. I ask you to join us. Arbor Day is a Dirty Job and someone has to do it. I am happy it’s ME!
Happy Arbor Day…now go “get dirty” and plant a tree!
Delicious honey all its positive agricultural, historical, educational, nutritional, economic boom factoids…and not to mention how we gather the golden treasure. Honey is the new urban farmers crop, building NJ Garden State pride. A dirty job…and how! smoky, sticky, and stingy ..I wonder why Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs hasn’t contacted us yet. Some of the best bee keepers in the world are not scientists, locked behind the world’s university walls, but regular people…like you and me. Discover the world of Bee Keeping. The deep history and nutritional super food. Bees keep the world running, the economy humming, and people fed. Let us know your questions about the bees.
Retailers all over the area are receiving their winter holidays goodies. As the summer heat beats down on the beaches, merchandisers from clothing to crafts will be going over their lists…checking their boxes twice and trying to decide how to display all the glittering goods they have chosen to sell to their clientele.
You’ll notice leaves and colors are starting to turn to fall at all your favorite malls and big box stores. Back to school sales have officially started for all those kiddies that will be heading out to universities in the next few week. Phew…seemed like summer just started a few days ago?
If you are an avid crafter, NOW is the time to start your gifts. Those of you who choose to sell their wares may be a few months behind if you are just starting. With a good attitude and some good old fashion hard work you can catch up! Make sure you are booking your spaces for craft shows in your area, and your web sites are up to date. Work out the bugs for your online ordering process. When people are buying is the wrong time to find out you are having a problem.
Go to your sources to reconfirm jewelery styles and colors. Clothing styles and fabric choices for winter have changed too. Read, look an listen. Be ahead of the pack and you will be happier, wiser, and sold out! So as the summer sun is appearing at your favorite beach, be sure you are starting your own trends and making waves into with your style! Have a great July!
I have noticed lately that everyone is a designer…jewelery, crafts, and other sundry creative items… The experts in creative items are falling over each other for your dollars.
Many will be casting caution to the wind and trying out new business ventures this fall.
As a seasoned retailer….I caution that making your avocation your vocation..can sometimes cause a bit of heart break.
If business plans are all written and a good stash of living expenses have been put to the side. You are off to a good start.
The economy is a rocky one at best.. those souls who will be launching new ventures should be commended for their brave nature… Ignorance is sometimes bliss.
And it’s always good to have a rich relatives who can help you when the going gets tough. Rock on entreprenuers! I salute you!
tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?
This is the first post….of the rest of my life!
A savvy blog site that will feature the newest trends in the visual arts and crafting.
Lots of similar blogs…we will strive to be different. Topics will cover an array of paper crafts, scrapbooking, jewelery, illustrations, painting, and fashion.
How to start on such wonderful topics???
Your particiaption will be crucial to the success of this blog. We will talk the brands such as EK Success, Cricut, Martha Stewart, JoLee Jewels, Dimensions, the list goes on and on…..
This is also a site that would like to see your tips on the uses of everyday “throw-away” items that were transformed into your own personal coutore. The empty Tide bottle, the empty Folgers Coffee container, plastic bags, “good” cardboard boxes and recycled clothing and fabrics.
Thanks for reading my FIRST POST! I encourage you to take the long and fun ride as we explore all things visual. | <urn:uuid:725e806a-2bb3-462f-9a5c-382ae3d3ae3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://craftcouture.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953702 | 1,716 | 1.695313 | 2 |
“And what thoughts are you pondering, Estel?” asked his wife.
He turned his head to look at her and smiled. “And what makes you think that I had a single thought in my head?” he asked.
“The expression on your face.”
He felt his face grow more solemn. “I was thinking of all that has come to be in the twenty-five years since the war ended and Elendil’s realm was remade. So much is gone—and so many. Your father gone west with Gildor and your grandmother, dear Bilbo and Frodo the Beloved; Halbarad awaiting me—and impatiently, if I know him—in the Halls of Waiting along with so many of the Dúnedain of Eriador I knew and loved; Théoden dying still faithful upon the Pelennor, and Denethor not realizing until the end how he had been cozened by Sauron the Liar….”
He took a breath, looking at the child lying asleep in her lap. Across the room Melian was reading to Eldarion, reading from the book that long ago Bilbo had prepared as a gift to him, one of those seventeen tales of the Shire he’d loved as a child. The figures of Elendil’s men, gifted to himself so long ago, lay abandoned about their son’s feet, although the King himself was clutched warmly in Eldarion’s hand. These had been brought south by his Elven brothers when they came to spend the Turning of the Year with their sister’s mortal family in Minas Tirith. On the table near them lay a platter of honeycakes such as Meliangiloreth had made for him when he was a child, and Shire seedcakes made from Bilbo’s own recipe, which Pippin had shamelessly shared with so many within the White City. Eldarion’s practice sword stood against the wall, a sign he was too swiftly leaving his childhood behind him, as mortal children tend to do; and a nosegay of winter blossoms stood in a vase, a gift from the son of Húrin and his wife Lynessë to the King and Queen’s elder daughter, another sign of the fleeting nature of mortal childhood.
Life went on, with comings and goings, births and deaths, dawns and sunsets. And here he sat, looking about at the signs of the richness gifted him in his life in these latter years, and he had to smile. “At least we know that Adar is reunited with the other half of his soul, even as we rejoice in one another, my beloved, and that Frodo now dances again beneath the Sun; and one day we will be reunited with all we have ever loved.”
“Yea, at the Remaking, or so we must imagine,” she answered, although he could see the small uncertainty that hid in her glance.
“Ah, but you will see,” he murmured, drawing her to him and holding her close, settling her into the familiar comfort of his embrace. “Remember—time itself is but an illusion, and one day we will be beyond it, and glad for that!”
“Ah, but Ada did well to name you Hope,” she whispered into his ear as her fears eased away, secure in his arms.
And the peace of Mettarë filled them as they listened to Melian read, | <urn:uuid:b9b96849-e5f0-4b44-a585-c8dd7a62dfeb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tolkienfanfiction.com/Story_Read_Chapter.php?CHid=5076 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989258 | 755 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Most people here probably know that, as a wine region, the Loire valley is far from homogeneous. It can be more accurately described as four distinct regions. Moving from east to west there is the “Centre”, where for whites Sauvignon blanc is king and for reds Pinot Noir; then there is “Touraine”, where Chenin blanc predominates for whites and Cabernet franc for reds with some original grape varieties and combinations appearing in some of its eastern appellations like Cour-Cheverny. “Anjou-Saumur” uses similar grape varieties to Touraine but the whites in particular have their own style. Finally the “Pays Nantais” close to the Loire’s estuary is most famous for Muscadet produced from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. The distance from Nantes to Cosne-sur-Loire (near Sancerre) is about 440 km by road and further by the river because of its long loop north though Orléans with the climate become progressively more continental as one moves further from the Atlantic near Nantes. Here is a crude map of the Loire valley’s principle appellations http://www.terroirs-france.com/vin/loire_carte.htm
The two most similar of these regions are “Touraine” and “Anjou-Saumur” and to many Loire lovers they represent the heartland for Loire wines. In passing I mildly reprove Robin for saying of the Loire “where, of course, most of the wine is white". I hazard a guess that at least as much red is produced as white in Anjou-Saumur and Touraine, although it can be argued that more of the whites from Chenin are truly world class than the reds from Cabernet franc. Even in the “Pays Nantais”, reds are produced, e.g. Coteaux d’Ancenis, while in the “Centre” some producers are getting increasingly ambitious with Pinot Noir reds and some Pinot Noir based rosé is truly celestial.
All this is an introduction to my first Loire white of the month, a chenin derived dry wine from Vouvray in Touraine. In a recent post on a divine Vouvray demi-sec, I threw out the observation that, for me, Vouvray is at its best balanced with some residual sugar and this sec does not make me change my opinion.Vouvray sec 2000 – Domaine du Clos Naudin, Philippe Foreau
– Alc. 13%. The nose showed attractive aromas of wax, fine minerals and white fruit with the usual touch of quince. The palate was bone dry and medium bodied with crisp acidity and a lot of nervous tension in counterpoint to the aromas which continued from the nose and to some rounder and warmer undertones. Length was good and the finish was quite structured with saline notes. I found the wine a touch too crisp and tense to be an ideal pairing for sea bass and sadly I had none of the same region’s goat cheese to hand because I know from experience that would have been ideal; 16/20+. | <urn:uuid:0ecdafbd-b36a-41a0-b4fa-f2f478f38413> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?p=329493 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95179 | 703 | 1.539063 | 2 |
News: 3rd ESC soldiers tour water bottling facility
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) toured the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency water bottling facility at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, May 15.
The Sustainers visited the water bottling facility to get an assessment on the plant’s production and distribution.
The water bottling facility, which started production in March 2012, will soon become the main supplier of bottled water soon at KAF.
“All of the technology here is very, very modern,” said Larry Downes, the technical officer for the water bottling facility. “There’s a microbiological lab that’s able to conduct water testing on-site and the quality control is excellent.”
Downes explained to the soldiers that the facility is capable of producing 16,000 bottles when operating at 100 percent capability. But as they continue to train and work towards becoming the main bottled water supplier to KAF, the facility is currently running at 90 percent capability, producing 14,400 bottles per hour.
According to Downes, the facility’s capability can be expanded and production increased as it was built with the intent for future expansion.
To produce bottled water, the plant utilizes two wells which alternated between daily usage. Because the water is brought up from freshly dug wells, purification is minimal.
One of the more interesting exhibits during the tour involves the formation of the facility’s water bottles.
Starting with what looks similar to a test tube, the bottles are heated, then blasted with air to form the shape we know. This design of the bottles was deliberate as developers sought to produce something easy to hold, store and dispose of. This way, soldiers could easily hold and store them.
Those in attendance during the tour said that the facility was very advanced in its operation as they were amazed at the total bottling process.
“It was very interesting to see the water bottling process from start to finish," said Sgt. 1st Class Mison Pak, the 3rd ESC’s surgeon cell non-commissioned officer in charge. “This was a very informative tour and I feel that I have a better understanding of the process as a result.”
Date Posted:05.21.2012 11:43
Location:KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF
- Romanian special operations forces remember the sacrifice
- Task Force gets a taste of Afghan culture
- Slovakian SOF and a family tradition: In the footsteps of Jozef Gabcik
- Sustainer spouses participate in No Ordinary Spouse Day | <urn:uuid:c71be4b9-e6c4-483f-adb0-b9d1d04bd923> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dvidshub.net/news/88734/3rd-esc-soldiers-tour-water-bottling-facility | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963796 | 561 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Medieval Romance & the Fairy Tale
by Claire Delacroix (a July 4, 1998 Write Byte)
I heard so many good things about Claire Delacroix's (aka Claire Cross) most recent medieval trilogy for Harlequin (My Lady's Champion, Enchanted, and My Lady's Desire), that I asked her to send a copy of her upcoming release The Princess for us to review. When AAR Reviewer Alina Laurie gave a favorable rating to this story, I asked Claire if she would talk about medievals and fairy tales, and if she would include a book list of her own favorite medievals and/or fairy tales.
--Laurie Likes Books
Pennants and pageants, chivalry and bard's tales, there's something about the Middle Ages that captures the imagination. It seems a period perfect for romance, for quests and expressions of undying love, it seems a moment in time when all manner of possibilities are open.
Clearly, that's because of fairy tales.
Yes, fairy tales!
The first book I can remember reading - or more accurately, the first book I memorized by its pictures! - was a compilation of fairy tales. I loved it. It was lavishly illustrated - or at least it seemed so to me at the time. Each page was adorned with bold knights on stomping chargers, their pennants flying in the breeze overhead, or beautiful damsels in distress, their embroidered gowns pooled about their ankles, their hair in long braids. There were sorcerers and witches, and fire-breathing dragons, there were quests and pledges and duels to the death - each and every time for A Noble Cause. There were lofty summits and mysterious grottos and enchanted forests. Looking at it now, it's evident that the illustrators used the Middle Ages as their reference for costumes and settings - perhaps that is why the two are linked forever in my mind. I've never forgotten that book, or the many other similar volumes that I gobbled up in the years since.
In fact, the Middle Ages seems to be a perfect choice for these illustrations. Much of the literature that remains from the period is concerned with chivalry and love, with honor and duty, with fulfilling quests. Additionally, in the medieval period, there seems to linger the possibility of magic, the danger of things unseen, the prospect of daring adventure. It's not unthinkable that Rumpelstiltskin could demand his due, or that Rapunzel could unfurl her hair in lieu of a ladder, or that a frog could really be an enchanted prince.
Maybe it's the inherent sense of justice in fairy tales that appeals to us all. Here, the bad get their punishment, the good are amply rewarded. And beauty must be more than skin deep. The possession of spiritual qualities - like generosity or a willingness to help or a good heart - is always rewarded with earthly riches. Love lasts forever in fairy tales and withstands any number of tests. There are adventures to be had and obstacles to be conquered, prizes to be won and character to be proven. And in the end, the main characters always live happily ever after.
It's not surprising that we don't want to let these powerful stories go, even once we're deemed "too old" to be reading them! Medieval romance is a natural outgrowth from fairy tales - just as the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites are the natural extension of those illustrations. Fairy tales are the seed from which medieval romance is sprung, perhaps even the seed that gave birth to all of the romance genre. The themes and expectations of fairy tales have shaped romance as nothing else - and it could be argued that the most satisfying romances echo a familiar fairy tale in some way. Romance lets fairy tales "grow up" by giving more insight into relationships than is found in those children's tales. There's more development to the characters, they're made more dimensional and "real". Often the challenges they face are more complicated, the repercussions more dire, certainly they capture our hearts even more effectively than those fairy tale heroes.
But despite these differences, the core of a successful medieval romance still clings to the fairy tale themes that originally spoke to us (and encouraged many of us to learn to read the stories that matched those pictures.) A good romance will echo the theme of a fairy tale, but will still manage to surprise us along the way. The characters will eventually live happily ever after, but the best of medieval romance will really make them earn their prize!
An Eclectic List of Favorites from Claire. Not all are medieval romances, but most have medieval (or at least historical) flavor and/or the sense of wonder common to fairy tales:
- anything by Mary Stewart
- anything by Angela Carter (particularly her short stories)
- anything by Daphne duMaurier
- Archangel by Sharon Shinn
- Avalon by Anya Seton
- The Cornerstone by Zoe Oldenbourg
- Daughter of Prophecy by Anne Kelleher Bush
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (an LLB favorite as well)
- Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (an LLB favorite as well)
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
- Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- The Mummy by Anne Rice
- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
- The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies
- The Wolf & the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
- Spells of Enchantment edited by Jack Zipes (simply the best compilation of fairy tales to be found)
Simply the best compilation of fairy tales to be found:
- Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
- Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
- Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
- Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
Claire Delacroix aka Claire Cross, who never colors inside the lines! | <urn:uuid:d1aa7557-3144-4c70-8ded-a20aaeba1983> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://likesbooks.com/wb4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955827 | 1,245 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Vega Therapeutics, With Roots in Michigan and San Diego, Aims High in Fight Against Diabetes
(Page 2 of 2)
phases of synthesizing small molecule candidates against this target, so it can start screening the best ones for further tests.
Vega also has a second target in mind that’s believed to play a similar role in inflammation and insulin resistance. It’s GPR120, a protein receptor that binds with Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3′s, best known for being one of the good things that come from eating fish, are known to have anti-inflammatory effects. The UC San Diego group recently published work in Cell showing that when they stimulated GPR120 in mice, they saw a broad anti-inflammatory effect and improved insulin sensitivity.
A handful of academic labs are working in the field, but I didn’t get the sense that any Big Pharma companies are making a serious push in making drugs against these same targets. Cambridge, MA-based Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, is developing drugs based on the anti-inflammatory properties of Omega-3 fatty acids, but they are made to work differently than Vega’s, Parker says.
I wondered whether it’s wise to try to make a single drug against a single target when inflammation is a complex process governed by multiple biological pathways. No one on the Vega team dismissed the question—no one can really say for sure that concern is wrong until future experiments prove otherwise.
So far, Scarlett and Parker have been financing the company, along with one other angel investor, Scarlett says. Saltiel, while still on faculty at U-M, has been spending a lot of time helping the company get started, and he was even at the Oyster Point Boulevard office when I stopped by for the interview.
The plan is to raise venture capital this fall, to start pushing ahead with the long slog of drug development. Synthesizing drug candidates, screening the best ones, running them through animal tests are all on the agenda. It’s the fundamental stuff that takes a long time and a healthy appetite for risk that many biotech VCs just aren’t willing to stomach these days. Scarlett has been around long enough to see more than a couple cycles in biotech like this before, and he says he’s confident that it’s a good time in 2010 to be starting a discovery stage biotech.
“Craig and I both believe strongly there has never been a better time to start a discovery-based company,” Scarlett says. “Most people would look at us like we have antlers on when we say that. But I do think it’s a great time, because there have been relatively few discovery-based companies, certainly in diabetes, started in the last few years. And the science Alan and Jerry have come up with is quite amazing. If this has happened in 2000, there would be five new companies working on inflammation and diabetes and they’d all be funded to the tune of about $200 million or so by now.”
He adds: “All things go in cycles. By the time the rest of the industry gets revved up and interested in this kind of work, I’d hope that we’ll be there with some answers.” | <urn:uuid:66e4d17b-8ab0-4fdd-8c92-984ba30de9de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/10/04/vega-therapeutics-with-roots-in-michigan-and-san-diego-aims-high-in-fight-against-diabetes/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960296 | 683 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Cooper Third Graders Create Gingerbread Village
Cooper Elementary School third graders who are in Ann Wusterbarth's classroom created the gingerbread village that they entered in the 14th annual Waelderhaus Gingerbread Festival in Kohler. The students' entry, entitled A Mother Goose Christmas, consists of several completely edible nursery rhyme characters.. For example, Humpty Dumpty is shown sitting on a wall of rice cereal and edible rocks. The annual competition draws creations of all sizes and shapes made by local students. Entries must be made of edible materials.
Sheboygan Area School District Press Release
December 21, 2010 | <urn:uuid:79d7ba8f-1dd6-4dd2-97bb-11d29e4dec68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sheboygan.k12.wi.us/cooper/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1292966160&archive=1248069062&start_from=&ucat=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938326 | 130 | 1.828125 | 2 |
This video is an fascinating look into the most menacing malware in history. This 60 Minutes Video tells of the extremely complex espionage story of how Iran's uranium enrichment plant was targeted by malware that was able to disrupt the physical centrifuges involved with the uranium enrichment. It's also a cautionary tale of future attacks that could take place on anything from nuclear plants to water treatment plants.
Delivering Happiness Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) is the CEO of Zappos and the author of "Delivering Happiness". This bestseller is certainly of of the best business and inspirational books published in recent years. It's also a must read on creating a vibrant, successful corporate culture.
Khan Academy It's amazing what one person can do with perseverance and a willingness to contribute. Salman Khan started this tutoring website to help people to better understand Math. It has now grown to over 3,000 videos lessons which are short and very well done. It's no wonder that Bill Gates has publicly endorsed the site in addition to helping tutor his kids with these videos.
Gates is now involved in financially helping the site become a great educational tool. Is this the new future of education?
Ted.com Ted.com's popularity is based on the having great speakers talk about fascinating topics. Their moto is "Ideas worth Spreading" and this site will bring world class speakers talking about subject matter of all types.
Give the site a try. It's hard to imagine that you won't find something that will truly make you think!
Outliers---Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell is a master at looking at things from different perspectives. This bestseller is one of the best books at looking at why people succeed and dispelling certain myths. It will also introduce you to the 10,000 hour, one of the fundamental principles of success in any endeavor.
Wilderness Downtown This is one of the most unique websites and music videos you will see. The Wilderness Downtown is a website for a interactive music video by director Chris Milk. Arcade Fire's song, "We used to wait" plays after you type in your childhood address (any address will work but your childhood address adds more meaning to the song). This site gives you an idea of the flexibility of HTML5 and the power of canvas.
With today's technology and social media leading the way are you using the internet as a competitive advantage? Does your website enhance your business? Do you have a social media marketing campaign involving targeted email, mobile marketing, Google Adwords, Facebook ads, etc.? Have you looked at how to best use SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click) advertising to your best advantage? We ask a lot of questions in order to offer you the best solutions for your business. Techimprint is an Indianapolis based company in the business of helping small to medium size companies with internet solutions for business. Call us today at (317) 663-9999 or toll free at (855) 855-0155 for a free spirited consultation regarding your business or email us at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:347aa4b3-f357-4f4f-b8c5-d761b52b3149> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techimprint.com/novapage/mustsee.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948736 | 633 | 1.6875 | 2 |
December 15, 2012
The article about the situation in Congo reveals the alarming truth about Rwanda's exploitation of eastern Congo's natural resources and the unspeakable
sexual violence being committed against Congo's women. The Times was right to focus on the weak, corrupt and wholly ineffective Congolese government and on neighboring Rwanda and Uganda as the primary perpetrators in eastern Congo.
What is not mentioned is the contributing role that the United States has played in the region. We have poured billions of dollars into Rwanda since its 1994 genocide, have helped to make Rwanda the darling of the West and have led the chorus touting Rwanda as the poster child for the new, post-conflict Africa.
In essence, the United States has purged its guilt for standing idly by during the Rwandan genocide by enabling Rwandan-controlled militias to carry out another genocide in Congo — on our dime and under our watch.
The writer is co-founder and president of Jewish World Watch. | <urn:uuid:f1ffeb5d-92b6-4915-bac2-8f1742e247fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ktuu.com/topic/la-le-1215-saturday-congo-rwanda-20121215,0,3222867,print.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944183 | 195 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Divorce and Family Finances
Credit Card Tips During a Divorce
Divorcing Your Finances
Currently, I am going through a divorce. I would like to address my question to other divorced women. How can a woman live a low-income life after divorce? I was a stay-at-home mom and typing is my only skill.
Going through a divorce is hard financially and emotionally. Something that helped me a lot was a community college program called New Directions. Most colleges call the program Transitions. The class was offered tuition free. I just needed to go in and talk to the advisor. The class helped me see the skills I have and I'm sure that you have more than typing skills. The program helped me match my skills and interests to possible careers. I had to research several careers and talk to people in these careers. I learned how to get my resume together and prepare for job interviews. There was a lot of self-discovery and esteem building, which is essential to the newly divorced woman. I highly recommend it. Also, if you decide to go back to school (as I did), the class teaches you how to get financial aid. Financial aid can help you pay for college and your rent. So look for a Transitions class in your area. You'll be amazed at the interests and skills that you forgot you had.
T. in Portland, Oregon
Consider looking into college as a Displaced Homemaker. There are many scholarships and grants available for women who have to now enter the workforce with few marketable skills. Check with your local college, community or 4-year, on what classes they offer online if you are in a rural area or childcare is an issue. Education is accessible, and with advice from the financial aid office, it can be affordable, also.
Search the Web for scholarships. Contrary to popular beliefs, many are available long after the typical spring graduation of High School seniors. I know because I graduated 20 years ago and I am going to start classes in the fall and I'm finding a bunch of scholarships online.
It isn't easy, but it can be done. I am proof of that. First, swallow your pride and ask for help and apply for all the assistance you can.
With my parent's help, I moved home again for a month and a half (with two kids). I then found a house to rent. I signed up and qualified for HUD housing assistance, food stamps and utility assistance. I also had the benefit of a very small military retirement check and child support. We managed just fine for several months until I finally found a job. We have a better life now than we had before, which I didn't think was possible. It can be done, but the path isn't easy. It does take time to start over.
I was also a divorced mom with minimal skills. I went to a temporary agency, took their tests, and signed up for their training programs (which are free). They teach you the skills you need to obtain better employment, while you are working for them. The variety of jobs you'll be assigned to will also help you to diversify your skill base. These temporary agencies offer benefits and some offer daily paychecks. Call around to the various temporary agencies in your area and see what each of them offers. The experience I gained at these agencies eventually allowed me to run my own company.
If you have children living with you, the first thing you need to do is make application at your HUD office. They will help you pay a portion of your rent. Also apply at your local Office of Family Support for food stamps to help feed your household. Check with your Medicaid office to see if you are eligible for medical cards for your children. There is a Life Line credit with your phone company that gives a deduction each month on your bill. Call your local Community Action Agency and see if they have a LIHEAP program. This helps with utilities.
If you are not eligible for help from these programs, then look into some of your local social service programs. You can usually sign up for commodities at your local Community Action Agency. There's free and reduced lunches for eligible children at school, and during the summer, there are usually different schools in the area who offer free breakfast and lunch during the weekdays. If you are on regular medications that are not covered by any insurance plan, then you may be eligible to get your medications through the pharmaceutical companies with your doctor's help. Check in your area for low-income medical and dental clinics. Some have their own in-house pharmacy. There is a VisionUSA program that helps with eye exams for people who are employed with no insurance. By all means, don't hesitate to ask for help. You never know unless you ask!
First of all, I'll bet that typing is not your only skill. As a stay-at-home mother, you've no doubt developed many other skills, including cooking, cleaning, child-care, and driving. All of these are potential money-makers. Much more depends on your organizational and entrepreneurial skills. Can you develop a small business typing papers for students or small businesses? Can you offer childcare or other services? Can you work these services into a resume for a more conventional job? Read the job skill book What Color Is Your Parachute? for more ideas on how to sell yourself and the skills you've developed as a mother and wife. As a former job skills counselor and divorced single mother, I can assure you that how you see yourself and what you are willing to do to learn is as important as what skills you now possess.
I was in your situation too. I did find a perfect job for me and the income isn't too terrible! I now run a daycare in my home. There is always a need, and it allows me to still be a stay-at-home mom. I can write off items when I do improvements to the home and I can even write off toys and games! I did this for a while in my apartment, so it can be done where ever you may live.
Typing is not your only skill. You've managed a household. You can cook, clean, iron, etc. You have a skill level that can help you if your attitude is right. It's hard to remain a stay-at-home mom, but it can be done. If you have a computer, you can type medical transcripts, do medical billing, etc. at home. If you have a phone, you can become a travel agent and work at home. You can provide childcare for neighbors. You need to assess your potential, your true skill level, and move forward.
If your children are old enough for you to work outside the home, you can work as a secretary for a school district, a library aide, a kitchen worker, etc. Jobs through a school district are relatively easy to obtain and have flexible daytime hours and medical benefits with summers off. You may end up finding a new career.
Here are my suggestions:
Make sure "child support" is worded properly in the divorce decree. In my state, "support for the children" does not mean the same thing as "child support," and therefore, it was not enforceable. You get only one chance. You can't change a divorce decree once the judge signs it. Make sure you have a good divorce attorney, not just a good attorney.
You state you were a stay-at-home mom and have typing skills. You might want to think about getting a job as a clerical worker at a state university or community college. The benefits are generally wonderful, even though the pay might not be the greatest. Additionally, there is usually reduced fee childcare and discounts on tuition. You might want to consider upgrading your job skills by taking classes part-time.
If you are looking for a job, make sure you don't just look at the dollar per hour figure. Sometimes, it is better to take a lower-paying job that has good health, dental and other benefits than a higher paying job that does not offer those things.
Think about what is really important. Of course, a person needs money to survive, but make sure you separate your "wants" from your "needs."
You might have to re-think your thinking. Instead of paying someone to fix something around the house or on the car, you might have to do it yourself. There are wonderful resources online, at the library, and at the community college.
I'd suggest not having bills on automatic debit so that you have more control. Many, if not most, custodial parents do not receive child support in full or on a timely basis and the enforcement agencies are backed up. While it's always good to timely pay bills, it's not good at all to have overdraft charges because the support check was five weeks late. It takes time to get things off automatic debit.
Avoid pay day advance stores! While it might seem like a quick fix, in my experience, it is nothing but a sinking black hole to get out of. Avoid it at all costs!
Re-think your cooking and eating habits. People survived the Depression. We can too. A bowl of potato soup is very hearty and usually the ingredients are on hand. Make your own bread.
I worked 75-hour weeks to pay for the children's prescriptions for two years. While I could buy the prescriptions, there was a price to pay. Make sure you are working two jobs for the right reasons.
Although I am not a divorced woman, I do have a suggestion for you to put your typing skill to work. I have a Master's degree but have never learned how to "properly" type. I think this is common with my generation (I am 30). As a college bound high school student, I was encouraged to take extra science courses not typing. You would be surprised at how many students would be willing to pay someone to type and/or proofread their papers. If you don't already have a computer, I would suggest getting an inexpensive one.
I have been separated for four years now. When my husband first left, I was working part time at a convenience store and in college part time. Also, we had five children at home. I didn't get any support from him for over two years, and even now it is sporadic. By the grace of God, I have been able to stay in our family home and make ends meet.
One of the first things I did was find a roommate with whom to share expenses. It was a plus that she was a single mom too and we could trade childcare.
I now have only two children at home and I homeschool. I find various ways to make ends meet and still be there for my kids. One way is I help the elderly or disabled stay in their homes by cleaning their houses, running errands, or making minor repairs.
There is an organization I have recently become aware of that helps link single moms with other single moms across the US. Their website is www.co-abode.com. I also have an online support group for single parents who homeschool, and you can find out more about it on our site www.angelfire.com/mo2/singlehomeschoolers.
I am a divorced mother of three. I've been divorced for eight years now. When I knew my marriage was over, I too was a stay-at-home mom. My only skill was typing as well. I took up housecleaning, which is very lucrative and flexible. I took a free computer course and got a job at a college, purchased a townhouse, and worked six days a week. I worked full time five days per week, and then on Saturdays, I'd clean one or two houses.
On payday, I had enough money to take my kids to McDonalds for dinner. We thought it was a real treat. On the weekend once a month, we'd go to the drive-in, which is much cheaper than the movies. We'd make microwave popcorn and buy candy at Walgreens. We have great memories!
My children are grown, and I'm on my fourth house. Just keep plugging along. You'll amaze yourself at what you can accomplish alone. In my case, I accomplished more goals and dreams as a single person than I ever thought possible. Women are amazing creatures. You can become another success story. Whatever you want in life, go get!
Susan in Phoenix
As part of your settlement, can you negotiate some money for job training? Typing is a good start, but if you get training in computer skills, you will be much more marketable.
I was divorced twenty years ago. I had two small children and had just relocated to a new town. I had no job, having also been a stay-at-home mom. I had some tough years, but now I have a good job and own my own house. My sons (now grown) have both been college-educated. You can do it, too! Stay positive, and always be grateful for everything you have. Your attitude will make or break you.
Get The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn and keep reading the The Dollar Stretcher. Make a commitment to cut expenses every way you can. Most people can live much more simply than they do, and the bonus is that it's often a happier lifestyle. Decide to enjoy your cost-cutting strategies and don't allow yourself to feel deprived. Your children will eventually pick up on your attitude. My ex-husband is rich, but guess who my kids admire?
Child-Support Enforcement Hotline (877) 696-6775
For single parents due child support, contact the US Department of Health and Human Services to receive a free handbook complete with excellent advice and local numbers to contact for help.
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"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation. | <urn:uuid:685f5701-77a8-4bdb-8168-5789dfb8202b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stretcher.com/stories/04/04jun14a.cfm?AlsoThisWk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979589 | 2,995 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Consumer confidence in October rose to its highest level in four years, boosted by improvements in the job market.
The closely watched index, which measures how Americans feel about the economy, edged higher to a reading of 72.2 from a downwardly revised 68.4 in September, according to The Conference Board, a business research firm.
It marks the highest level since February 2008, when the country was at the early stages of a long and deep recession.
The reading came in slightly higher than what economists were expecting, according to a Briefing.com consensus.
A key factor behind Americans' optimism, was the improving employment picture. The number of workers reporting that jobs were "plentiful" increased more than 2 percent. People who are expecting more jobs in the coming months increased to 19.2 percent from 18.1 percent.
This confidence in the job market comes on the heels of a positive report on Thursday, which showed that private sector hiring jumped in October.
These positive indicators land just a day before the closely-watched government's official monthly job report, which gives an expansive picture of national employment. It has taken on increased importance this month because it will give American voters one last snapshot into the health of the job market before the presidential election on Nov. 6.
Economists are expecting the unemployment rate to edge slightly higher, up 0.1 percent to 7.9 percent.
Economists keep a close watch on consumer confidence, because it often dictates how they spend. Consumer spending drives about 70 percent of the U.S. economy and it is particularly important during this time of the year, when retailers are gearing up for the holiday season.
"Consumers were modestly more upbeat about their financial situation and the short-term economic outlook, and appear to be in better spirits approaching the holiday season," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. | <urn:uuid:3cca6efc-85f6-476e-a03a-17fcf20a9bb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcvb.com/news/money/Consumer-confidence-at-4-year-high/-/9848680/17225142/-/6ybd67/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96748 | 385 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Tenure protects job security when free expression may be challenged in academia. An unspoken code of courtesy between campus rivals also prevails; professors with opposing views argue over lunch or spar over coffee. They may discreetly avoid each other or have heated debates. Public insults, however, are rare and are frowned upon as irrelevant to scholarly discourse.
Business competitors, courtroom rivals, political opponents, and the like also seek respectful exchange, publicly giving each other sufficient polite space. However deep antipathies may go, professionals learn to be courteously cool and detached.
Columbia University president Lee Bollinger failed miserably recently in all these areas. His stunningly rude and base remarks to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denigrate the academic freedom that Bollinger pretends to represent. Stinging, emotional insults aimed at a guest — who was invited by Bollinger — teach students nothing of intellectual or social value. Worse, Bollinger inflicts damage beyond Columbia, potentially dragging American academics through the mud of broad disdain.
There was risk in Columbia’s inviting the Iranian leader to speak, as there was in Ahmadinejad’s acceptance. But Ahmadinejad agreed to attend, to speak for a predetermined length of time, and to accept uncensored questions from the audience — actions that George W. Bush would doubtless avoid, were he invited to Tehran University.
Bollinger’s use of his podium to prejudge his guest’s remarks and to engage in name-calling — to appease alumni, donors and others — only shows Columbia’s students and the world how immature, how inept, and how insecure we can be.
The First Amendment protects Bollinger’s right to be a boor, just as it protects Ahmadinejad’s hyperbolic categorical belief that there are no gays in Iran. Real learning experiences come from listening to free discourse, digesting it, and re-examining it in discussions on and off campus.
There is already too much global disrespect for the United States. Caught in the hypocrisy of our deeds in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, versus our chastisement of other countries’ human-rights’ records, America is enslaved by a hopeless war it created, wasting a currency devalued throughout the first world.
Bollinger’s post 9/11 assault on an invited guest, insulted for what he might say even before he might say it, embarrassed all of us.
If, as speculated, threats from enraged alumni, trustees and/or donors fueled Bollinger’s bad judgment, then what happened at Columbia happens too often on US campuses.
Controversy unsettles contributors or trustees, and economic demands push ethics and philosophical commitments aside. A phone call is made, a threat implied, and sacrifices may be made, so the fund drive can reach its goal. In such cases, the educational experience is not the one that Bollinger envisioned in inviting Ahmadinejad, but that described by Shakespeare:
Who steals my purse steals trash . . .
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
: This Just In
, Politics, George W. Bush, World Politics, More | <urn:uuid:40521b15-8b81-4f50-8928-021709b7f9bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/48658-bollingers-rebuke-to-ahmadinejad-blows-up-in-his/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930301 | 673 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Writing for London’s Spectator in 1936, the novelist Graham Greene used Alfred Hitchcock’s latest thriller, Sabotage, to levy this criticism at the director:
His films consist of a series of small “amusing” melodramatic situations: the murderer’s button dropped on the baccarat board; the strangled organist’s hands prolonging the notes in the empty church; the fugitives hiding in the bell-tower when the bell begins to swing. Very perfunctorily he builds up to these tricky situations (paying no attention on the way to inconsistencies, loose ends, psychological absurdities) and then drops them: they mean nothing: they lead to nothing.
Greene meant it as a slight, but I’m not so sure Hitchcock would have taken it as one. The more Hitchcock films you see (and you’ve got your pick for the rest of the month), the more you want to respond to Greene, “Yeah, and?”
Hitchcock made a career of crafting films concerned more with the chase itself than with the impetus for the chase or the consequences of getting caught, getting away, or saving the day. At the end of North by Northwest, as Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint find themselves safe from pursuit—yet still dangling perilously from Mount Rushmore—Hitchcock simply cuts to the couple safe and sound in a train for a quick and tidy resolution. The director seems to say “there is no danger but the chase.” Come on: we all know no one’s falling to their death unless they’re pushed.
Sabotage is an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novel The Secret Agent—not to be confused with another Hitchcock film, Secret Agent, released a year earlier. On the other hand, if you do find it confusing, you can hedge your bets by seeing both on Saturday night in a double feature. Of the two, I prefer Secret Agent—er, the Hitchcock film, not the Conrad novel—almost entirely due to the marvelous supporting performance from Peter Lorre, who steals every scene he’s in. Set during World War I, Lorre aids fellow spies John Gielgud and Madeleine Carroll, who are posing as a husband and wife in Switzerland and are tasked with killing a man whose identity they do not know. When Hitchcock planned the making of the film, he told Francois Truffaut, “I asked myself, ‘What do they have in Switzerland? They have milk chocolate, the Alps, village dances, and lakes… [so] we used lakes for drownings, the Alps to have characters fall into crevasses, and a chocolate factory for the chase.’”
Sounds like the recipe for a great thriller. So to Graham Greene I must ask again: “Yeah, and?” | <urn:uuid:75f5d4c9-bfc4-4925-935f-955da2fecc1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lacma.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/an-artfully-constructed-chase-and-happily-little-else/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=18b5244a97 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937211 | 598 | 1.53125 | 2 |
No two tennis players have exactly the same game, but most of the opponents you're likely to face can be placed into one of several major categories. Learning to adapt your strategy to a wide variety of opponents is one of the keys to becoming a tough competitor. If you succeed at becoming this adaptable, you'll enter an elite minority--those players who can be any one of the major player types as the situation demands.
The Dinker, a.k.a. Pusher, a.k.a. Human Backboard: The dinker almost never hits hard, but gets everything back. "Dinker" is a somewhat misleading name, because one would normally think of a dink shot as something short and soft. The best among this breed can keep most shots deep, lob effectively, and aim fairly well. Dinkers drive a lot of opponents crazy, because they win by getting you to make all of the mistakes. (It's a lot more frustrating to make a mistake than to have an opponent hit a brilliant shot that no one could have gotten.)
- Attack at the net. Even the quickest players, who can run down almost anything you hit from your baseline, won't be able to run down an aggressive volley or overhead. Tennis is largely a matter of time, and by being at net, you cut in half both the time between your opponent's hit and yours and the time he has to react to your shot.
- Get him to cough up a short ball. This might not be easy, but experiment. One tactic very likely to work is making the ball bounce above his shoulders on the backhand side. Most players can't hit deep off these shots effectively.
- Be patient. He can't hurt you with his shots, so wait for the right ball before going for a winner or attempting an approach shot.
- Pull him to net with a drop shot or good, low short ball. If he's not much good at hitting an aggressive response, you'll have an easy opportunity to pass him.
The Moon-Baller: Once a major contingent on the pro tours, especially on the women's side, the moon-baller is like a more skilled and specialized human backboard. She won't hit hard, but she will hit high, deep, and with strong topspin. If you're not used to this kind of shot, it can be tough to handle, and she can keep hitting it all day long.
- Attack at net, but be ready to hit a lot of overheads and to chase a lot of balls back toward your baseline. You'll need to come in on a better approach shot than you would against an ordinary dinker.
- Try some sneak volleys. Start trading moonballs back and forth; then, when you've hit a nice deep, high one, sneak in toward the net and take the next ball in the air. It's hard for your opponent to see what you're doing while watching a deep, high ball, so she might not see you until you're about to pound the smash or swinging topspin volley.
- Learn to hit on the rise. Moonballs are toughest if you let them bounce way above your comfort zone. By hitting them on the rise, you'll take them at a more comfortable height, your ball will come back at your opponent earlier, and the ball will bounce off your strings harder, giving your shot more power with less effort. The timing required to do this is tough, though.
- Pull her to net. She won't be able to hit a moon ball off your drop shot or low, short ball, so she'll probably feed you an approach shot you can handle with ease. | <urn:uuid:f8203b58-abdd-4337-a67e-b976528e5b36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tennis.about.com/od/strategysinglesdoubles/a/beatfourtypes.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969772 | 755 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Join me every week for Win-It Wednesday. I’ll be posting 24-hour giveaways at 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET to give you plenty of chances to win!
Being able to see clearly and easily is key to a child's success in school. If you can't see what's going on, how can you possibly learn? As many as one in four kids won't be able to see properly as they head back to school. Annual eye exams can help undetected vision problems to be caught early so that children are getting the most out of school.
To highlight how important eye and vision health is I've teamed up with VSP Vision Care, the nation’s largest not-for-profit vision benefits and services company to offer you this amazing iPad giveaway. The iPad can help as several applications are built to boost visual acuity and overall eye health, making them perfect for doing eye exercises and keeping your eyes in shape.
Visit VSP's website, SeeMuchMore.com to find out what you can do for your vision, find out interesting eye facts, watch videos with Bill Nye the Science Guy, play video games and more!
One lucky Deal Seeking Mom reader will win a $500 Gift Card to the Apple Store to use towards an Apple iPad!
To enter, visit SeeMuchMore.com and tell me one thing you learned from the site about vision care.
Every reader has four methods available to enter this contest. Choose one each of any combination of method one, two or three for up to a total of 3 entries!!!
If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please CLICK HERE to visit the original blog post to enter. Email entries will not be counted.
Methods of entry:
1. Leave a comment. What is one thing you learned at SeeMuchMore.com?
Enter to win an Apple iPad from @DealSeekingMom in the @VSPVisionCare See Much More Giveaway: http://bit.ly/aZGpok #DSMeyes
(1) $500 Gift Card to the Apple Store, as described above
This giveaway ends at 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 9/15 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I’ll use Comment Contest to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email and listed on my Giveaway Winners page. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!
While you’re in a contest entering mood, don’t forget to check out the Giveaway Gathering for a variety of contests being hosted on Deal Seeking Mom readers’ blogs! | <urn:uuid:3cdd5239-33b6-42ca-a205-3c3685dacfd1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dealseekingmom.com/win-it-wednesday-vsp-vision-care-see-much-more-ipad-giveaway/comment-page-28/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936648 | 563 | 1.617188 | 2 |
On the Job: 3D Printing Gives Footwear Company Leg Up on Competition10 Feb, 2006 Cadalyst
Timberland nets higher sales using Z Corp. technology to replace 2D drawings with 3D prototypes
The Timberland Company has transcended its humble workboot origins to become one of the hottest lifestyle brands on the planet. Whether for work, recreation or dressing up, every Timberland product is a compelling blend of form and function tailored to the needs of every customer. That's why it's important for engineers and marketers in the $1.5 billion New Hampshire-based company to collaborate closely in the development of every product, from initial concept to prototype to sample and, ultimately, volume production.
Challenge: Getting Affordable Prototypes Quickly
A Timberland shoe must look good, feel good and perform well. While the upper is mostly fashion design, the intense engineering comes in where the foot meets the insole and where the outsole meets the street. Engineers continuously refine concepts for arch support, tread patterns, materials, heel stabilizers, orthotic devices and "lasts" (foot models) in CAD software.
As recently as 2002, Timberland hired professional model makers to turn 2D CAD drawings into 3D prototypes in wood or foam. These prototypes typically took a week or more to create and cost $1,200 each. The lead time hamstrung the company's ability to refine its models to its satisfaction in a timely manner. As a result, the company regularly lengthened its design cycle or just lived without desired refinements.
"Time and money aside, the problem with the old approach is that a 2D CAD drawing left too much to the imagination," says Toby Ringdahl, computer-aided design manager in the company's footwear product development and engineering group. "When the prototype was finally ready, it wasn't exactly what people imagined. But a week is a long time to wait for a new iteration."
Timberland realized it needed more prototypes sooner. The company assigned Ringdahl's team to spend six months evaluating rapid prototyping options.
Solution: 3D Printing In-House
After weighing alternatives, Timberland chose Z Corp.'s ZPrinter 310 System. The low cost of printing materials and the speed of the machine were deciding factors as Timberland evaluated the ZPrinter 310 over competing models, according to the company.
In 2005, Timberland took the next step by investing in Z Corp.'s Spectrum Z510 System, which offers 24-bit color and 600dpi resolution. Z Corp. has the only technology that can print parts in full color, it reports, which communicates design information far more effectively than monochrome. Color can be used not only to produce a lifelike object, but for stress analysis, product labeling or to highlight key parts or revisions.
The Spectrum Z510 3D printer from Z Corp.
Results: Better Prototypes Faster, Cheaper
The Spectrum Z510 accepts CAD files from Timberland's SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software and produces physical models affordably and quickly. The performance has made a substantial impact on Timberland's efficiency and spending.
The prototype that used to cost Timberland $1,200 now costs $35. A prototype that once required a week to make now takes 90 minutes, enabling engineering and marketing employees to collaborate more often and more closely. And printing rapid color prototypes onsite has enabled Timberland to compress its typical design cycle from three weeks to two.
Timberland prototypes produced with a 3D printer cost around $35 each and are ready in around 90 minutes.
The Spectrum's large build area delivers additional time savings, Timberland reports. Because it is larger than the ZPrinter 310, engineers can print full-size prototypes flat on the build area instead of on an incline, saving three hours of printing time on such jobs.
Spectrum's speed and efficiency has directly resulted in continuous product quality improvement. In the weeks Timberland recoups by no longer waiting for prototypes, it can pump out dozens of iterations of a shoe design if needed. As a result, more designers, engineers and marketing personnel can see more products in a shorter amount of time, helping the company refine its footwear for fit, function and style. "We can now quickly do innumerable iterations and variations," Ringdahl says, "and the designers and marketing managers can really be sure the product is what Timberland is expecting and what people on the street are demanding."
The investment in Spectrum also eliminates major ancillary costs late in development, like time-consuming trips around the world to examine important shoe molds in overseas plants. Because Timberland can now reach consensus for designs on 3D physical models, there's no longer any need for a careful examination of the production shoe mold.
Finally, color is a key benefit. It better conveys design intent, and the Spectrum's high resolution enables details such as lugs on the sole, speed hooks on the upper and tiny print on the sole to show up perfectly. "The closer the prototype is to real life, the less you leave to the imagination," says Ringdahl. "Unfortunate surprises are eliminated."
The Z Corp. Spectrum Z510 produces multicolored, highly detailed prototypes such as this Timberland sole.
Results: Higher Sales
While 3D printing seems at first glance like an engineering tool, it's making a direct impact on company revenues in two ways, Timberland reports: One, close collaboration among designers, engineers and marketers brings to market a product that is exactly what the market demands. That means more sales. Two, Timberland sales people occasionally bring prototypes to sales calls with major retail chains, giving them a big advantage over competitors who come with only sketches. In these instances, sales people can land large sales earlier.
"Products that would have been dropped because of ho hum 2D drawings are being successfully adopted because customers can hold multicolor, real-life prototypes in their hands," Ringdahl says.
Timberland expects to reap additional benefits from 3D printing in the future. Engineers will use shape analysis software and the Spectrum Z510 System to print prototypes that call out pressure points and interference in the insole.
"In our industry, the pressure is always intense to quickly and affordably turn the marketer's vision and the consumer's taste into reality that performs well, feels good and looks great," says Ringdahl. "Z Corp. printers have done exactly that for us, compressing our design cycles, lowering our costs and helping us produce better products for our customers."
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! | <urn:uuid:bb3b6487-0b0d-4c63-af71-1e09f94628d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cadalyst.com/hardware/wide-format-printers-plotters/news/on-job-3d-printing-gives-footwear-company-leg-up-competi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933849 | 1,442 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Voters do not like taxes. So, National Public Radio in New Hampshire helped Maggie Hassan, the Democrat candidate for Governor, by doing a little editing work to take the word "tax" out of one of her answers at a recent candidates debate. The radio folks claimed it was a "mistake," but eliminating the word sure does tend to soften the blow of her policy ideas.
The September 19 debate featured Republican candidate Ovide Lamontagne and Democrat candidate Maggie Hassan both vying to take the seat being vacated by sitting Governor John Lynch. The edited remark concerns Hassan's answer to a question about a state program called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), another left-wing cap and trade-style boondoggle.
In the actual debate, Lamontagne and Hassan were asked if they would keep the RGGI program. Unsurprisingly, the Republican said no, he'd put an end to it. Just as unsurprisingly, Hassan, the Democrat, said she'd keep it. (My bold for emphasis)
I was proud to be a sponsor of that tax, eh, the energy efficiency program because it has saved businesses millions and millions of dollars and created over 400 jobs.
Now this is exactly how Hassan answers in the video of the debate that Hew Hampshire NPR posted.
NH NPR, however, decided to replay the audio of the debate several more times after the September 19 event. In so doing, the taxpayer-supported radio folks did some selective editing to the program in order to get it down to more air-able timing.
One of those edits materially altered the section I quoted above. In later broadcasts of the audio, Hassan is now heard to say,
I was proud to be a sponsor of the energy efficiency program because it has saved businesses millions and millions of dollars and created over 400 jobs.
Notice that the part where Hassan said, "that, eh tax" is suddenly missing from the original answer?
Now, this is important because Mrs. Hassan's original answer was a telling slip up. She admitted that it was a tax but thought better of it and decided to quickly backtrack to call it a mere "program."
Taking out the "the tax" part of her reply eliminates this telling admission. This edit also tends to give the Democrat cover.
Now, NH NPR told the New Hampshire Journal that this was all just an unfortunate mistake. Just an edit gone accidentally wrong.
“The edit was an unfortunate mistake,” said Keith Shields of NHPR in a response to NH Journal’s inquiry. “We were fitting these debate cuts into a tight amount of time for our look back show and providing ‘excerpts’ of the debates. Nothing editorial was intended to be taken out, the sound was being edited… taking out ‘uhms’ ‘ahs’, stutters and stumbles. The ‘tax’ comment was mistaken as part of a stumble. We should have been more sensitive to the implication of the edit.”
“The Exchange has always been serious about balance and being non-biased in what we broadcast,” Shields added.
At least one Hew Hampshire commentator is not very satisfied with the NPR spokesman's plaintive excuse making.
Mike Johnson says that the edit eliminated Hassan's "inadvertently telling the truth." He is also critical of the tax-funded radio folks generally.
What I cannot accept is a supposedly public service entity that draws on my hard-earned tax dollars to engage in partisan politics. Let Big Bird and Jim Lehrer and NHPR and PBS compete in the open market for their funds. More power to them.
Johnson also notes that the RGGI program has been a colossal failure, anyway.
RGGI is not living up to the promises of the eco-zealots -- big surprise there. New Hampshire paid the seventh-highest electric rate in the country in 2008, fifth in 2009, and fourth in 2010. And there's no place to go but up, as another rate hike is coming.
So, whether it was just an unfortunate mistake as NPR claims, or just another example of a taxpayer funded entity paying fealty to the Democrats once again, the fact is the edit really does act as an aide to Democrat Hassan's campaign. | <urn:uuid:29344aa7-09ec-4795-9996-630a13530185> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/10/15/Softening-The-Blow-NPR-Edits-Word-Tax-Out-of-Democrat-Debate-Performance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969763 | 879 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Facebook sees increase of couples during holidays
Published: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 12:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 12:23 p.m.
The days between Christmas and Valentine's Day show more relationship statuses changing from “single” to coupled on Facebook, according to a study done on the social-media site.
That means love is at full bloom now as more of the site's roughly 1 billion monthly active users are going from non-coupled statuses like “single” or “divorced” to “in a relationship” or “engaged.”
These results come as a shock for some, including local resident Tara Valence because the trend was once that relationships would increase in the days leading to the holiday season, then drop off after to avoid the candy-heart filled expectations of Valentine's Day.
“I thought it would be the opposite,” she said. “A lot of people keep their mate through the holidays to bring someone to family gatherings and parties then dump them after the New Year to not have the burden of mushy Valentine's Day attachments.”
But the Rev. Josh Rodrigue, the priest at Cathedral of St. Frances de Sales in Houma, wasn't surprised by the statistics.
“Oh yes absolutely,” he said. “We usually get a lot of phone calls for weddings. Priests dread Christmas and Valentine's Day because we think ‘Oh goodness. We're about to get a ton of phone calls for wedding preparation.' ”
The Facebook study used data from 2010 and 2011. Data Scientists Jackson Gorham and Andrew T. Fiore looked at how different times of the year impact the beginning and ending of relationships. They started by counting the number of new couples and compared that figure against the number of breakups. The resulting numbers provided the net percentage change. For example, 4 percent more people entered relationships in December than left them, a gain for romance.
The data showed far more people pairing up around Valentine's Day and Christmas than those who “joined the ranks of the newly single.”
On Feb. 14, there were about 49 percent more new relationships than breakups; 22 percent the next day.
Christmas Eve showed about 28 percent more new couples. There were 34 percent more hookups on Dec. 25.
“Admittedly, these numbers aren't exact,” the data scientists said in the study's final report. “Some people might not change their relationship status to ‘single' after a breakup. Instead, they might opt to hide it from their Facebook profile entirely. But considering the relative levels of coupling and splitting up across days, months and seasons still helps us understand the temporal patterns of relationship change.”
Barbara Gaidry, 57, of Gramercy, and her new fiance, Kerry, are one of the many couples bitten by the season's love bug. Though their engagement coincides with the trend identified in the results of the study, Gaidry said their love story is unique because it didn't happen on a holiday.
“I got engaged on Jan. 11, 2013,” she said. “I'm so glad he waited until after the Christmas holidays and did it before Valentine's Day. Now I have my own engagement anniversary date.”
Nancy Diedrich, marriage and family therapist for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, said she doesn't think everyone purposefully enters relationships during the holidays just to have someone for a seasonal fling.
“People want to feel they have someone in their lives on a day like Valentine's Day and Christmas,” she said, adding that it's human nature to not want to be alone. “Both of those days are when people feel the need to have a relationship. But I don't think that many people consciously do that. Around those days they're just trying real hard. They're maybe making more connections, maybe going out more.”
No matter when people decide to enter into coupledom, there are ways to make sure your relationship is more than just a fling.
Diedrich offered these tips to building a relationship that withstands the test of time:
- Have very clear communication. Be as open and honest as possible with each other.
- Accept and respect each other's differences
- Try to earn and maintain trust above all else and understand that when you enter a marriage your role changes. You can be in a relationship as a single, and your obligations are very different.
On a lighter note, the study comes with the disclaimer that some changes to relationship statuses are meant in good fun. According to the site, the fifth biggest day for an increase in relationships is April 1, or April Fool's Day. That date saw 20 percent more new flings than breakups.
But unsurprisingly, the study says, many of these appear to be short-lived. April 2 was the year's most extreme day in the other direction, with 11 percent more splits than relationship initiations.
Staff Writer Kris Johnson
can be reached at 857-2207 or [email protected]. Follow her on
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:801ba02f-4ddb-4b4e-bd87-21d1bee3cbba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20130127/ARTICLES/130129776/1319/frontpage?Title=Facebook-sees-increase-of-couples-during-holidays | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964828 | 1,116 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Investment in $33.5 million aquarium for Cairns
PLANS for a $33.5 million aquarium in the heart of Cairns have taken a giant leap forward after the project's developers bought a 4000sq m block of land just a stone's throw from the city's popular Esplanade tourist strip.
Trinity Beach business partners Daniel Leipnik and Andrew Preston bought the land from the owners of the Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, bounded by Abbott, Florence and Lake streets, for $2 million.
"Buying this land shows our commitment to the Cairns aquarium," Mr Leipnik, who is the chief executive officer of Cairns Aquarium and Reef Research Centre Pty Ltd, said.
"We are very excited. The passion for this is our driving force. It is our primary love."
Expressions of interest for the design and development will close on March 15, and the Cairns Aquarium opening date is set for late 2016. Mr Leipnik said specialists behind aquariums in Melbourne, Sydney, Mooloolaba, Korea, Dubai and Singapore were being targeted for the design and development.
He said, apart from the aquarium designers, almost everything else involved in the building, including construction, supplies, marine life, website designs and signs, would be sourced from the Far North.
An estimated 250 people would be employed on the project, including 150 construction workers, nearly 80 full-time operational staff and up to 25 volunteers.
The businessmen have committed $15 million to the aquarium with the balance from private investors and local, state and federal government funding with applications before the three levels of government.
Independent research suggests between 355,000 and 360,000 visitors a year but the proponents are aiming for up to 500,000.
Mr Preston said the designers were being urged to provide something "innovative and unique" for Cairns.
"It will be a very spectacular, natural and iconic building with a wow factor," he said.
The ground floor will contain two "gigantic" tanks containing a million litres-plus of water. One would be a mini Great Barrier Reef and the other a freshwater lagoon.
There will be five main themes of dangers of the deep (sharks, irukandji, box jellyfish, stonefish, pufferfish and sea snakes), river monsters (sawfish, giant barramundi, freshwater stingrays, lungfish and crocodiles), reptiles and amphibians, mountain streams and rivers and life in the mangroves.
The mature mango trees and a eucalyptus tree on the site would be retained and be part of a Daintree-style boardwalk and mangrove lagoon feature.
The businessmen have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre and are negotiating one with James Cook University.
They said they had previously negotiated with Ports North for waterfront land, as well as considering Cairns Regional Council property, but decided to buy their own.
Danny Betros of CBRE Cairns, who negotiated the deal, said the land was surplus to the needs of the hotel and the sale was another sign of confidence in the city's economy.
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Out to make a splash: Trinity Beach business partners Andrew Preston and Daniel Leipnik have bought a 4000sq m block in the Cairns CBD for an aquarium. Picture: BRENDAN FRANCIS | <urn:uuid:49bfe7ab-0684-4211-ab85-310500f8f64b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2013/01/09/238279_local-news.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950257 | 777 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot” survey of more than 1,500 professional chefs has revealed that local and hyper-local sourcing, healthy children’s meals, sustainable seafood and gluten-free cuisine will be among the hottest menu trends in 2011.
“The top trends identified by these culinary professionals for 2011 are reflecting larger societal trends, underscoring that American diners are becoming more and more interested in what’s on their plate. Sustainability and nutrition are becoming key themes in our nation’s nearly one million restaurants.” Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research and Knowledge Group for the NRA, said in a survey release.
The list ties in somewhat with the top trends for 2011 recently released by Technomic. One cross-referenced theme is the use of farm-branded ingredients. According to Technomic, farm-branded ingredients and the rise in popularity of farmers as celebrities will be big in the coming year.
Several trends outlined for 2011 have led the way for the past two years.
|The top 10 menu trends|
Story continues below...
For example, in 2009 and 2010, the NRA identified children’s nutrition and menu items, healthful options and locally sourced produce as top trends.
“Locally sourced food and a focus on sustainability is not just popular among certain segments of consumers anymore; it has become more mainstream. Diners are requesting to know where their food comes from, and are concerned with how their choices affect the world around us,” said Michael Ty, American Culinary Federation national president.
In tune with increased consumer awareness and interest in food sourcing and farm-to-fork practices, the leading culinary theme revealed by the survey is sustainability, which occupies four of the top five trends. The top two items – both with 86 percent of chefs identifying them as a hot trend – are locally sourced meats and seafood and locally grown produce.
Nutrition – children’s nutrition in particular – is another umbrella trend identified by the survey. Nutritionally balanced children’s dishes is ranked as the fourth hottest trend on menus next year, while kid’s nutrition as a culinary theme comes in at number six. Gluten-free and food allergy-conscious items are number eight in the trends survey, with nearly eight in 10 chefs agreeing it’s a hot trend. Nutrition and health as a general culinary theme is number 15. (Read also, Preparing gluten-free dishes.)
Rounding out the top 20 hot menu trends in the beverage category are artisan liquors, locally-produced wine and beer and culinary cocktails, all of which were also highlighted by Technomic.
On the drink menu, micro-distilled spirits is the top item, with nearly three-quarters of the chefs ranking it as a hot trend. Other alcohol items high on the list include locally produced beer and wine, culinary cocktails, food-beer pairings and beer dinners. Additionally, the rise of culinary cocktails is being aided by the popularity of television shows such as "Mad Men."
According to Technomic, the cocktail trend could be beneficial for fast casual restaurants looking to differentiate themselves in 2011.
Also, giving a repeat performance is specialty iced tea and organic coffee in nonalcoholic beverages, trends that have gained ground in the past two years.
Other categories highlighted within the survey include street food-inspired items and black-forbidden rice and quinoa in sides/starches.
In her blog, Suzy Badaracco said the trend toward food and beverage flights and black foods (black garlic, black mushrooms, black truffles, etc), stem from the Deep North travel-industry's popularity. The Deep North is considered colder, sometimes arctic, climates such as Norway, Finland and Siberia. This travel trend is indicative of consumers' renewed search for adventure as they emerge from the economic recession, she said.
Mobile food trucks and pop-up restaurants will continue to proliferate across the restaurant industry. Their popularity has even led to the development of food-truck districts and rodeos. The food truck was named hottest operational trend in 2011. Meanwhile, 18 percent of the chefs surveyed said restaurants with gardens will be the top trend, and 17 percent said social media marketing.
* Flickr photo by sea turtle | <urn:uuid:494a9b98-ee1a-496e-bf3c-533b76f37845> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fastcasual.com/article/178052/Chef-s-survey-reveals-2011-menu-trends | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944311 | 887 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Weather in Rome
The weather in Rome during summer is uncomfortably hot,
temperatures often exceeding 95°F (35°C) at midday, and Romans tend
to close up their businesses during August to take holidays in
cooler spots. Mid-winter is mild, with the average temperature in
December hovering around 55°F (13°C). The best time to travel to
Rome is in springtime, when skies are blue and the weather warm.
Rain showers are possible any time of year. | <urn:uuid:0a3f6335-a3ef-4e16-8f0e-c5fdde8b166b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.justluxe.com/travel/417__rome-travel-guide-climate-info.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952269 | 109 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The Handbook of the International Law of Military Operations
The Handbook of the International Law of Military Operations. Terry D. Gill and Dieter Fleck (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2010. 688pp. Index. £95. ISBN 978-0-19-954589-6.
The present volume constitutes the third instalment in a series of handbooks (co-)edited by Dieter Fleck and published by Oxford University Press. The first of these works, The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law, addresses the law applicable to international and non-international armed conflicts, while the second, The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces, deals with the legal issues raised by the deployment of armed forces abroad with the consent of the territorial sovereign. The latest Handbook adopts a perspective that is somewhere in-between those taken by its companion volumes, focusing on the rules of international law applicable to military operations conducted either in times of peace or in the context armed hostilities. The rules of international law governing such military operations derive from a multitude of sources including both general international law as well as specific legal regimes, including the law governing the use of force, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The main purpose of the Handbook is to provide a comprehensive overview of these different rules and to bring them together in a single text for the first time. As such, some overlaps between the present Handbook and the other two volumes are to be expected.
Like its predecessors, the Handbook is written in the style of a commentary: its 32 chapters first set out the basic rules in bold (what the editors call the ‘black letter rules’) and then provide detailed commentaries on those rules. This style reflects the dual purpose of the Handbook, firstly, as a training tool and comprehensive guide intended for practitioners actually involved in the conduct of international military operations and, secondly, as a reference work for scholars and students working in this area from a safer distance. This format and dual purpose imposes certain constraints. In particular, when confronted with controversies relating to the applicable law, the editors have decided, as a matter of editorial policy, to favour clarity and usability over extended doctrinal discussions. There can be no doubt that the readability and ease of use of the Handbook owes much to this decision. However, since operational law is at its most fascinating, certainly from an academic but most likely also from a professional point of view, precisely at the point where legal certainty gives way to ambiguity and unpredictability, this policy might leave neither the scholar nor the practitioner completely satisfied in their search for enlightenment on particular legal difficulties. The more liberal use of footnotes to offer further guidance to the reader may have offered a partial remedy, if not a perfect solution, to this problem.
Despite its aim to offer a comprehensive overview of the subject, it is not easy to gain a coherent sense of the international law of military operations by reading the Handbook. The fault for this lies primarily with the subject matter rather than with the authors and editors: the international law applicable to military operations is thoroughly fragmented, deriving as it does from a multitude of separate legal sources and regimes. However, this fragmented nature of the applicable law does raise an underlying question, namely whether it is in fact appropriate for the Handbook to describe ‘the international law of military operations’ as a distinct branch of international law. To substantiate this claim, the Handbook could have attempted to situate this new or emerging branch of international law within the context of the international legal order, explain what its core principles and processes are, provide a systematic account of its different areas of application and investigate the relationship between the different legal regimes feeding it in general terms rather than focus primarily on the relationship between international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Handbook provides some partial answers to these questions, but with its emphasis on serving the professional needs of military lawyers and other practitioners, it does not attempt to advance a general theory of international operational law. From its pages, the international law of military operations thus appears more like a distinct field of international legal practice, the world of international law as seen through the eyes of military legal advisors, rather than as a distinct branch of international law.
That said, it would be wrong to chide the Handbook for not being a monograph. In fact, whether or not international operational law is a distinct branch of international law, it is certainly a topic that merits detailed study and the Handbook does an admirable job of providing authoritative guidance on some of the most pressing problems of international military operations. As such, the Handbook deserves to be widely read and consulted as an indispensable reference work by both scholars and practitioners working in this field.
Published in International Affairs. | <urn:uuid:0522b5f9-42f3-4aa8-930a-7d258bff88e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aurelsari.co.uk/library/terry-d-gill-and-dieter-fleck/the-handbook-of-the-international-law-of-military-operations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937493 | 953 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Director defends 'Zero Dark Thirty' torture scenes
This undated publicity photo released by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. shows Director/Producer, Kathryn Bigelow, on the set of Columbia Pictures' thriller, "Zero Dark Thirty." (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Jonathan Olley)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Kathryn Bigelow defends torture scenes in her Oscar-nominated film "Zero Dark Thirty," saying torture was an undeniable part of the hunt for Osama bin Laden after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The film opens by declaring it's based on firsthand accounts of actual events.
But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and other lawmakers criticized the film as misleading for suggesting torture led to the location of bin Laden. Lawmakers asked Sony Pictures to attach a disclaimer that the film is fictional.
"Experts disagree sharply on the facts and particulars of the intelligence hunt, and doubtlessly that debate will continue," Bigelow wrote in the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.
The comments were Bigelow's most explicit reaction to the controversy so far.
"As for what I personally believe, which has been the subject of inquiries, accusations and speculation, I think Osama bin Laden was found due to ingenious detective work," she continued. "Torture was, however, as we all know, employed in the early years of the hunt. That doesn't mean it was the key to finding bin Laden. It means it is a part of the story we couldn't ignore."
"War, obviously, isn't pretty, and we were not interested in portraying this military action as free of moral consequences," she added.
Bigelow wrote that torture was part of the story and the backlash may be misdirected.
"I do wonder if some of the sentiments alternately expressed about the film might be more appropriately directed at those who instituted and ordered these U.S. policies, as opposed to a motion picture that brings the story to the screen," she wrote.
Last week, Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal responded forcefully to a "Zero Dark Thirty" anti-Oscar campaign waged by Ed Asner and other Hollywood actors, saying "to punish an artist's right of expression is abhorrent."
Bigelow and "Zero Dark Thirty" screenwriter Mark Boal had said previously that they "depicted a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods that were used in the name of finding bin Laden.
"The film shows that no single method was necessarily responsible for solving the manhunt, nor can any single scene taken in isolation fairly capture the totality of efforts the film dramatizes," they said.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
<div style="font-weight:bolder;font-size:22px;">ENTERTAINMENT <a href ="/Global/category.asp?C=154659" style="font-size:12px;padding-left:80px;">more entertainment »</a></div>EntertainmentMore>>
Friday, May 24 2013 7:20 PM EDT2013-05-24 23:20:00 GMT
Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved
Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.
Police say actress Amanda Bynes has been arrested in midtown Manhattan after she heaved a marijuana bong out of a window.
Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her...
It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a wall in a house he was...
It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small...
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is co-hosting NBC's "Today" on Friday morning as part of a campaign to proclaim that the state's shore is ready for business seven months after being devastated by Superstorm...
New Jersey used a record-breaking gesture Friday to celebrate its recovery from a record-setting storm, proclaiming to the nation that the Jersey shore is back in business following Superstorm Sandy. | <urn:uuid:f4ce203d-3ada-4ca7-bd8b-0c414b7d574a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbs8.com/story/20602320/director-defends-zero-dark-thirty-torture-scenes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961096 | 986 | 1.734375 | 2 |
(NB: Although the published Trial
Report records this witnesses name as "Spencer" a manuscript version
of the report in Doctors Williams Library, London, records it as "Spendlar"
. There is no Richard Spencer living in Lowestoft in the 17th century,
however the Parish Records do reveal one man named Richard Spendlar).
Very little is known regarding this
He was obviously not a Lowestoft-born man
and the first record of him appears in the parish registers in 1631 with the
baptism of a daughter, Anne, born to him and his wife Charity. There is
no further mention of Richard and Charity in the parish registers until 1647
when the baptism of a second child, Henry, is recorded.
However, the manor court books reveal
that in 1644 he was appointed to be one of Lowestoft's four Constables, in
1653 he was one of the Town's Churchwardens and in
1665 he served as an Overseer of the Poor.
His wife died in September 1668.
The whereabouts of his house in Lowestoft
is not known for certain but it was probably located at the South End of town
only a short distances from the Tenement of Amy Denny and the house of Ann and | <urn:uuid:15b13985-ca59-45d3-ac30-ce087ba1de17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lowestoftwitches.com/spicer.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982222 | 272 | 1.601563 | 2 |
OE Part Number: SA-32943-24|
Manufacturer's Part Number: SA-32943-24
Newly reformulated for use with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel
Stanadyne Performance Formula is the only additive used and endorsed by Volkswagen for use in the TDI, and the only fuel additive recommended by VW for use in the '09 Clean Diesel.
Diesel fuel quality is declining throughout the world, and the trend is expected to continue. In fact, a recent survey suggests that 70% of diesel fuel sold at service stations does not meet the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard for diesel fuel lubricity.
Low sulfur or "dry" fuel has become an expensive problem for diesel owners. This issue can be addressed by using a quality fuel additive such as Stanadyne's Performance Formula, which helps protect against excessive wear and corrosion while increasing both power and fuel economy. Performance Formula also helps prevent diesel fuel gelling in cold weather.
While low lubricity has become a major problem with today's diesel fuels, moisture is still the greatest enemy of any diesel system. Be wary of certain additives which claim to "remove water". In fact, they dissolvethe water, which eventually will pass through the filter and attack the injection components. Stanadyne additives demulsify the water, pulling it out of solution so your filter/ water separator can more effectively remove it.
Due to its flammable nature, Stanadyne additive can only be shipped by UPS ground service and cannot be exported. | <urn:uuid:70e63e6f-ad97-4166-8201-90144977c89c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=394 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943841 | 313 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Ehud Barak and Rahm Emanuel in Chicago Ill-assorted figures this week cited 2013 as the year in which the United States was expected to go to war on Iran.
Among them was Iran’s atomic commission director Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, and players in the US-Iranian war game staged at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, whose heads are close to US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
This apparent US-Iranian concord was unusual but not fortuitous, say DEBKAfile analysts.
On the part of Washington, it had a distinct purpose, which was to demonstrate to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that an Israeli attack before the US presidential election would be superfluous.
The message was played out in the Saban institute’s war game: The player representing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Americans are tired of the fight and they are led by a weak man with no stomach for the struggle.
The script then proves him wrong: On July 6, 2013, Iranian agents coming in from Venezuela blow up a hotel on the Caribbean island of Aruba killing 137 people, many of them American holidaymakers including nuclear physicists. It was clearly a revenge attack for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.
The next chapter of this scenario had President Obama, portrayed as reelected in November, ordering Iranian Revolutionary Guards headquarters in eastern Iran to be bombed, 40 Iranian security installations shut down by cyber warfare and Tehran warned that US intelligence had the names of Iranian agents in 38 countries and their lives were at risk.
This article was posted: Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 4:29 am | <urn:uuid:a828fd71-2ea2-4569-8083-de642112d722> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/iran-attack-still-set-for-2013/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971386 | 364 | 1.617188 | 2 |
I teach HS Ceramics and have 2 wheels (granted I see them every day). I keep track and have 2 students work on the wheel for each project that we do. The rest of the class is working on the given project. Since you only see your kids twice a week, perhaps you could use the wheel as a reward - develop some type of point system for kids who are always on task, have a good attitude, etc. If you are going to try to get more wheels, send home tax credit forms for parents and purchase wheels that way. Good luck!! | <urn:uuid:6465e93b-aebc-4d15-80f2-a89b3718697d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Sep08/0205.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984721 | 117 | 1.5 | 2 |
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants to move most of the 8,000 Jewish settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip to a nearby area of sand dunes called Nitzanim, but a senior health ministry official has warned that preparations are woefully inadequate. Dr. Michael Dor, who heads the Health Ministry’s division coordinating the withdrawal, told the “Jerusalem Post” that that there is insufficient infrastructure for sanitation. He said that could lead to disease, and he urged the settlers not to move to Nitzanim. It's a blow to Sharon who says the pullout will begin in two months no matter what. Critics say the government is not ready. | <urn:uuid:7ae1f8a9-2fe2-4c92-bf5a-707e9ca07f6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/3394/Default.aspx?archive=article_title | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96358 | 133 | 1.554688 | 2 |
We have a bunch of Windows 8 based tablets available from manufacturers like Dell,Samsung,HP,Acer and Microsoft with their Surface Tablets.But all the Windows 8 tablets are 10″ and above.
Over the past few months we have been hearing about smaller form factors making their way to the Windows 8 tablet market and as per some recent changes in the Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet Resolution requirements which are now set to a minimum of 1024×768 resolution for the devices(down from 1366×768 which was the previous minimum requirement),we might very well see some smaller Windows 8 tablets,like a 7 or 8″ Windows 8 tablet in near future.This change in the resolution would allow the Windows 8 manufacturers to introduce smaller and low cost Windows 8 tablets with a display size of 7″ and 8″,just like those Nexus7′s and the iPad mini’s.
Along with that announcement Microsoft also reduced the Maximum Tablet size to 17″ ,Above that size, touch systems without batteries and attached accessible keyboards don’t need to meet all of the tablet requirements.
Though this change in minimum resolution would disable the Span feature which allows the users to run two Windows Store apps simultaneously side by side so this is a drawback of the change in resolution,so if the manufacturers go on making the 7 or 8 inchers in the future they would have to clarify users on this absence of the feature.
Checkout the Complete Windows Certification Newsletter Here
Fujitsu has recently announced their new tablet powered by Windows 8 operating system,the Arrows Tab Q582/F.
The Arrows Tab Q582/F has a 10.1″ display,powered by an Intel Atom Z2760 processor,to go with a 2GB of RAM.The tablet sports a 64GB SSD,but one of the most exciting features of this tablet is that it is water resistant and at around 584 grams and 9.9mm thickness,Fujitsu claims that this is the slimmest Water and Dust Resistant Windows 8 tablet.
How water resistant is it?,well just have a look at the excerpts from their press release,
With the terminal cap and slot cap tightly closed, IPX5 and IPX8 water resistance features protect the tablet from water damage. IPX5 designation indicates that the tablet can normally function after being sprayed with water from a nozzle with a diameter of 6.3 mm at a rate of 12.5 liters per minute from a distance of approximately 3 meters for a period of at least 3 minutes. The IPX8 designation indicates that the tablet will function normally after being immersed in room-temperature tap water to a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. When the terminal cap and slot caps are tightly closed IP5X dust resistance features protect the tablet from dust damage. IP5X indicates that the tablet can be left in an environment with dust particles with a diameter of 75 µm or less for 8 hours and still function and remain safe to use.
Amongst other features the device has an extended battery life of 10.3 hours during video playback,the device also support receiving speeds of upto 75Mbps and transmitting speeds of upto 25 Mbps courtesy the ultra high speed Xi communication network.
The Arrows tablet will go on sale next month with a price tag of around 125,800 Yens which translates to around $1365.
Checkout the Press Release For more details.
Microsoft launched the Windows 8 platform eyeing the Tablet market which is currently lead by apple iPad and though its still early days to talk about the impact of Windows 8 tablets in the worldwide market share,but according to some new reports from Forrester Windows 8 tablet future looks bright.
According to their latest reports,over 32% of their surveyed workers favoured Windows 8 as their next Tablet operating system choice as compared to 26% who chose iPad as their next tablet,with around 12% choosing the third alternative Android tablets as their choice.
Only thing which could question the legitimacy of this report is the number of workers polled for this survey.In this survey Forrester polled around 9766 workers,so to project these numbers to a larger scale like a country or even bigger population is always a factor to be taken into consideration.So with these less numbers we can’t predict that around 200million people would go on to buy the Windows 8 tablet.
If this is really a trend in the Workers then we would see it reflect upon the upcoming Surface Pro devices which are slated for launch in a couple of days time.
We have seen many a tablets ranging from the likes of Acer W510 to the Asus tablet to the Microsoft Surface RT.microsoft touted about the build quality of the Surface RT testing it with a stage drop at launch as well as the all Skating thingy former Microsoftie Steven Sinofsky did.
But this time around there seems to be a solid competitor in the making from Panasonic,who recently announced a Windows 8 tablet under their Toughbook range.The FZ-G1 Windows 8 toughbook tablet is 4 foot drop resistant,dust trsistamt and water resistant!
Apart from all these amazing features the device also sport good hardware specifications like Intel Core i5 processor and upto 8 GB of RAM support,with storage options of 128GB and 256GB SSD,to go with a Stylus for the capacitive touch screen.
Though this would be a pricy affair when it releases later this year in March with a starting price of $2900.
There has been rumors in the blogosphere that Nokia would be launching it’s Windows RT tablet as soon as in February next year. This rumors comes from DigiTimes, who got this information from the supply chain.
Nokia plans to launch 10 inch Windows RT tablet which would be running on Qualcomm’s S4 processor. Earlier it was confirmed by Nokia’s design head that they had a tablet in works. According to Digitimes the tablet was delayed because Microsoft planned to launched Surface and Nokia focused on Windows Phone.
Nokia may launch this tablet in between February 25-28 during the Mobile world conference in Barcelona, Spain
We have already seen a lot of Windows 8 tablets from various manufacturers like Dell,HP,Asus,Acer,Samsung and of course Microsoft’s very own Surface Tablets,all of them with similar features like their competitors and so far we haven’t seen any Exceptional feature from those tablets.
But Fujitsu Thinks otherwise,as reported earlier by Engadget,Fujitsu at a Recent Trade show in Asia showcased their upcoming version of Windows 8 Arrows Tablet,this tablet is on the similar grounds of their last years Android 3.0 offering which was shown off at CEATEC last year and like its older rother this one is also a waterproof tablet as confirmed by the booth worker.
The device features a pair of front and rear facing camera,a Micro USB port,a Micro SD card slot,no other specification or pricing details were revealed about the tablet.The device is However slated for late October or November timeframe,as we already know that Windows 8 will be released for public on 26th October so we can expect the device to be released within a few days of the official Windows 8 release.
Intel today showcased their new Clover Trail Processors for Windows 8 based devices at an event in San Francisco.They showcased many of their upcoming devices from various manufacturers like Dell,HP,Acer,Lenovo for Windows 8 launch.
One of the devices featured in the event was the ZTE V98 tablet based on Intel’s neW chipset Z2760.The device sports a 10.1″ display with a resolution of 1366×768,2GB of RAM,32GB of storage space,a pair of cameras,2 megapixel of front and 8 megapixel of rear camera with 1080P video recording,with UMTS,LTE and WiFi connectivity options.
The device weighs in at 700 gms with a thickness of 8.9mm making it a slick device.no pricing details of the device have been specified,that might be due to the fact that it will be available by the first quarter of 2013.
It’s been a buzzing week as far as the Windows 8 devices are concerned.We saw Samsung’s two prototype Windows 8 devices with dual screen and the other one with super high resolution display at the IFA event in Berlin.
Acer who is also one of the prime hardware partner for Windows 8,showcased their upcoming Windows 8 based devices.First up there’s the notebook-tablet hybrid offering the Acer Iconia W510.Sporting a 10.1 inch display with an option of an add on keyboard via a dock,which can in turn boost the battery life of upto 18hours,to go with a micro-HDMI port and a microSD card slot.
The second device is the Acer Iconia W700,sporting a big 11.6″display,3 USB ports, a micro-HDMI port,front and a rear camera to go with,it also feature a cradle which can be used to view the screen in a number of different positions.
Then there are the Notebooks(touch screen based) with their Aspire (V5 Series) laptops.There will be two variants,one with a 14 inch display and the other one featuring a 15.6 inch display,powered by Intel based processors and the graphics will be boosted with Nvidia chips.
They also revealed a bunch of Ultrabooks featuring a Touch Screen along with a AIO 27″ PC with 1080P resolution the 7600 U which has a 64 touch point support.Since we are still more than a month away from the official public release of Windows 8,the pricing details haven’t yet been announced from most of the manufacturers,but we can expect a word on that in coming days.
Source:[Acer Press Release] via[Neowin]
As we inch closer to the public release of Windows 8 slated for October 26th launch,we are getting more and more rumors about the upcoming Windows 8 based tablets every now and then.
The recent one involves a Windows 8 tablet coming from Nokia.Though for a long time it’s been in the rumors.According to recent reports coming from WPDang,Nokia may be working on a windows 8 based tablet as per the supposedly leaked internal slides.The image consists of a Windows Phone device and a Widows 8 based tablet claimed to be running on a x86 based processor,since the picture sports a desktop mode(though WinRT version of Windows also feature a desktop mode).
Another report coming from WPCentral suggests that,Nokia which will be announcing their Windows Phone 8 devices next week on 5th Sept,So it would be an ideal time for their Windows 8 based tablet announcement.Though there is nothing official about the Nokia Windows 8 tablet,we will have to play the waiting game till next week.
So far we have known two of the Windows RT based tablets coming this year,One from Asus with their Asus tablet 600 and the other one from the Software Giant itself with the release of Surface Win RT based tablet launching with the public release of Windows 8.
Apart from that there weren’t any official word on any other manufacturers playing the Windows RT Card.But there were rumors about some of the leading hardware partners of Microsoft are prepping their version of ARM tablets for Windows 8.
Now,in a recent post at their Building Windows 8 Blog Microsoft has confirmed that Samsung,Dell and Lenovo are all set to bring their version of Windows RT based tablets soon.Though the article didn’t go into detailed specifications or the pricing details of these ARM based devices but these are targeted for a lower price range,while the traditional Intel and AMD based tablets will target the higher price range with the likes of Surface Pro Tablet which will be launched at a later timeline.
Microsoft has already said that the pricing of Windows 8/Windows RT based Tablets will be competitive with the existing tablets in the market and with the high end tablets competing with the Ultrabooks with the help of add on Keyboards. | <urn:uuid:0c3ed897-ffa0-4675-83e9-7e4cac63bbf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://windows8beta.com/tag/windows-8-tablet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946737 | 2,498 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The events in Measure for Measure prove we have not come far enough when a man’s word still counts for more than a woman’s and when an elected official can play by a different set of rules than the rest of us.
By Erica Wright
On a particularly pleasant evening last month, I sat with friends watching Measure for Measure at Shakespeare in the Park. It’s one of my favorites, so I was dejected when the intermission conversation turned to the play’s lack of poetry. It’s true that it only has one memorable monologue, but it’s a doozy. The protagonist, Isabella, goes to the interim ruler of Vienna, Angelo, to plead for her brother who would be executed for impregnating his fiancée. If there’s a time for persuasion, this is it. Luckily, the woman is a master of rhetoric, as her brother explains before we meet her: “She hath prosperous art / When she will play with reason and discourse, / And well she can persuade.” A lot of good it does her, though, because Angelo listens only enough to know that he desires her and offers to spare her brother’s life if she has sex with him.
I’ve seen this play performed twice, and both times the post-play conversation has been about what modern audiences must think of Isabella’s resistance. Why doesn’t she just sleep with Angelo and get it over with? But I don’t find her motivation that difficult to locate. She believes that both she and her brother will go to hell if she submits. Also, if successful, Angelo will be guilty of rape, which the Public Theater did an excellent job of emphasizing by having him attack Isabella in their second scene together. In my mind, the most pressing modern parallel, of many, is the deviance of bigwig politicos.
“O, it is excellent / To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant!”
Angelo explains to Isabella that she has no recourse, that if she tells anyone what happened, they won’t believe her over a high-ranking official:
Who will believe thee Isabel?
My unsoil’d name, the austereness of my life,
My vouch against you, and my place i’ the state,
Will your accusation overweigh,
That you shall stifle in our own report
And smell of calumny.
These lines received an audible response from the audience—nervous laughter and quiet gasps. After all, the performance was a mere four days after the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges of sexual assault. They might not receive the same response at tonight’s performance as the audience, and anyone who’s been keeping up with the scandal, tries to process the increasingly real possibility that the maid engaged in consensual rather than forced sex. Nonetheless, the hypocrisy of Angelo might still hit a little too close for home in our world of political denials.
Fellow Guernica blogger Jake Whitney made a compelling case last month for why the media should stop reporting on the sex lives of politicians, his main point being that their private lives are irrelevant. Moreover, the salacious reporting distracts from important issues. True enough. But if Larry Craig is soliciting gay sex while opposing gay rights and Eliot Spitzer is buying sex while opposing prostitution, their sex lives are relevant. And let’s not feel too sorry for Anthony Weiner who admits that the college girl on the receiving end of his most infamous sext—a photograph of a concealed erection—did not encourage his behavior. That is, he sent this photograph to someone who did not want it, which is harassment anyway you look at it. The other consensual messages might not matter, but this one does. It shows a disregard for women as much as any sidewalk catcall. Even sadder, the young woman thought she was engaging in political discourse, not flirtation. That is, whatever tone she wanted to establish in their interactions was ignored.
The same week that I went to Shakespeare in the Park, I reread Rebecca Solnit’s 2008 essay for TomDispatch, “Men Explain Things to Me,” in which she recounts instances where men belittle women in social situations. The most memorable anecdote involves a physicist telling a funny story about a naked woman running down the street, saying that her husband attempted to kill her. Solnit asks the obvious question, how did the storyteller know the husband wasn’t trying to kill his wife? “He explained, patiently, that they were respectable middle-class people. Therefore, her-husband-trying-to-kill-her was simply not a credible explanation for her fleeing the house yelling that her husband was trying to kill her. That she was crazy, on the other hand…” It boils down to “he said, she said,” in which the “he” automatically assumes more credit.
To say that Shakespeare remains relevant in modern society is its own cliché, but one that I am willing to risk in defense of a beloved play. We have not come far enough when a man’s word still counts for more than a woman’s and when an elected official can play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. If only Isabella were here to call these men down from their perches: “O, it is excellent / To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant!”
Copyright 2011 Erica Wright
Erica Wright is the poetry editor at Guernica. | <urn:uuid:f9af95aa-f19a-4d35-8fba-5eb1f00b8441> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guernicamag.com/daily/erica_wright_sex_lies_and_iamb/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965595 | 1,196 | 1.78125 | 2 |
visual arts department
The Department of Visual Arts is dedicated to producing artists of unique and creative thought and outstanding Christian faith. The program enables students to develop an understanding and appreciation for the history and the modern impact of art, to acquire a broad experience in the creative use of methods and materials, and to obtain confidence in their ability to integrate their faith, knowledge and creativity under professors who have the knowledge and experience to put students on a path to success.
Visual arts majors may pursue degrees in
Minor concentrations are also available in graphic design and fine arts. In addition, the Digital Media Arts department offers degrees in Animation, Film Production and Film Studies.
The program is diversified through visiting artists, on-campus gallery exhibits and field trips that expose students to cultural resources throughout the Midwest, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Toledo. The Art Department also sponsors international art-study trips during the January Term on a biannual basis. | <urn:uuid:26576e8f-2ec9-4ba0-b239-595f8b57cda0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huntington.edu/art/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946891 | 188 | 1.625 | 2 |
Groovy Robinson has a dream and a plan to go with it. She’s a foodie and she loves to cook. She helps out at a local restaurant and hopes to go to culinary (cooking) school someday with an inheritance left to her by her great-grandma.
Much to Groovy’s surprise, her own father is arrested right in front of her. His crime? Taking her inheritance and gambling it away. How did he get caught? Groovy’s exasperated mother turned him in herself. Groovy is hurt, mad and confused. And then there’s Groovy’s friend Frankie. He’s got his own parent problems. He lives with his stepbrother because his mother ran off and only sends him an occasional postcard.
Aren’t the grown-ups supposed to act right? Groovy and Frankie are left with each other to try to figure out how to love these grown-ups – these parents – that are far from perfect. A really powerful story of two real families with real problems and two friends that help each other learn to forgive. Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice
Todayis the Indianapolis 500 Kids Day. It’s from Noon – 4pm on Monument Circle Downtown. It’s Free! Batman and Robin will perform throughout the day. You can also do race crafts, pick up prizes and princess sashes, get your face painted, watch clowns, meet local team mascots and more.
The kids at school think Emma-Jean is weird. Emma Jean thinks the kids at school are weird. The other kids are overly emotional and unpredictable and a lot of the time, what they do just doesn’t make sense to Emma-Jean! Sometimes, the kids are mean to each other on purpose. Sometimes, the kids don’t tell the truth about what they think or what they feel. For a practical mind like Emma-Jean, Middle Schoolers are just plain crazy.
At school Emma-Jean studies the kids from afar. She doesn’t really have any friends herself, until the day she comes across a classmate crying in the bathroom and decides to take action against the craziness. Emma-Jean doesn’t really understand the events that have lead up to the tears, but fixing the problem seems easy enough. Beware when things seem easy! Rather than keeping herself detached from the kids at school, Emma-Jean’s actions instead put her right smack in the middle of their emotional mess. The kids have a lot to learn about friendship, including Emma-Jean. Author: Lauren Tarshis
Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf is a different sort of book. It’s a scrapbook full of stuff that 7th grader Ginny Davis collects all year: diary entries, post-it notes, instant messages, e-mails, report cards, candy wrappers, sales receipts and more. The scrapbook pages are a collage of all of this. As you turn the pages you read and look at all of this stuff…and it’s the stuff that tells Ginny’s story. There are things to read, like diary entries and e-mails, but the rest of the things on the pages are more like clues to look at and the clues really do help you understand who Ginny is and what is going on with her. In a lot of ways Ginny is typical. She wants her school picture to look good and she wants friends, clothes and maybe even a boyfriend. She also has problems just like everybody. She’s having trouble getting used to a new step-dad and her older brother is making bad choices that cause problems for the whole family. All of this happy, sad, funny stuff in Ginny’s life you figure out by looking at the pages in this scrapbook. After reading this book, try making a scrapbook page or a collage of yourself. There is more than one way to make a self-portrait – as you can tell by reading Ginny’s story. Author: Jennifer L. Holm
We first met Adam Canfield in Adam Canfield of the Slash, and Adam’s still got a lot going on. He’s a good student, he plays sports and he is co-editor of his school’s newspaper, The Slash, with his friend Jennifer. In Adam Canfield Watch Your Back!, Adam becomes one of the stories he usually writes about. Happy about an unexpected snow day, Adam heads out to shovel snow to make some extra spending money. On his way home, he is mugged by some high school kids and his money is stolen. At school the next day, Adam, Jennifer, and their favorite reporter Phoebe decide to do a story exposing bullies and this time, people are naming names. And if that isn’t enough controversy, they also tackle the unfairness in the school’s science fair and a plan to bulldoze a poor African-American section in their town to build mansions for the rich. These kids are no fluff reporters. They take on serious topics and really try to be journalists who dig out the truth in every situation while trying to be fair to all the parties involved. And they’re funny. Two thumbs up. Author: Michael Winerip
Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories about Growing up Scieszka. That’s right, Scieszka – Jon Scieszka, the guy who wrote The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and the Time Warp Trio books. Jon is also the very first National Ambassador for Young People’s LIterature. It’s hard to believe he started out a knucklehead!
This is Jon’s story growing up with the other knuckleheads: Jim, Tom, Gregg, Brian and Jeff – his FIVE brothers. And their story is pretty funny. The boys fight, break furniture (and each other’s bones), blame each other, fight over the seat in the car by the window, and pretty much have a great time growing up. There are so many of them, Dad Scieszka doesn’t call them by name, he just refers to all of them as “knucklehead” or “you knuckleheads!” Author: Jon Scieszka | <urn:uuid:67d8aa7c-5a07-439e-98f3-7d7c92697c8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imcpl.org/kids/blog/?cat=24&paged=24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965481 | 1,321 | 1.625 | 2 |
On Thursday, February 16 2012, Apple released the first beta of OS X 10.8 named Mountain Lion to Developers. I will refrain from discussing anything about the upcoming release for fear of violating Apple’s NDA, but I did come across one problem that interfered with my workflow which I solved and the disclosure that solution will not violate the NDA.
I use git to connect to my employer’s subversion server. I was using a package called git-svn which includes connectors between the two systems. Upon upgrading to the Mountain Lion beta, my git svn commands stopped working. The solution follows.
First, install the latest version of Xcode (version 4.4) for Mountain Lion. An interesting note is that in Mountain Lion, Apple decided to move it from its former home in /Developer/Xcode to /Applications/Xcode. This was the root source of many of the issues as many of the utilities were searching in the wrong place for the appropriate binaries.
Install Xcode Command Line Tools
Another change they’ve made is that the command line tools are no longer installed by default. Previously, they were included with Xcode with no additional installation necessary. To install the command line tools, launch Xcode, open the Preferences, and switch to the Downloads tab:
One of the entries there is Command Line Tools. Mine already says Installed as I’ve already installed it, but if you haven’t, it’ll appear as an Install button as the iOS 4.0 and 3.0 Device Debugging Support entries do in my screenshot above.
Link the svn Libraries
After this, you may be tempted to run a git svn command and see what happens. I received the following output:
1 2 3 4 5
The problem here is that the git svn command requires Perl libraries that aren’t linked in Mountain Lion. So, we’ll have to manually link them. Run the following in your terminal to link the library:
Now when you run git svn rebase you will likely be presented with a different error. This is good because it indicates progress! But obviously poor because it’s not working.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
So now it appears it can find the Subversion core, but cannot find some other libraries it requires. Issue the following command to remedy this:
By doing this, we’ve now linked all of the Subversion Perl directories necessary for this command to run correctly.
Update - March 19 I installed Mountain Lion DP2 over the weekend which broke this again. However, my exact instructions still applied and fixed the issue. I simply needed to install the latest version of Xcode 4.4 (available from developer.apple.com) and then run the commands listed above.
- Note, I am using the version of git from Homebrew. Your outcome may differ slightly if you are using a different version or not using Homebrew. | <urn:uuid:4bfb50dc-209b-4bc2-9ebf-6f47bddedc41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://victorquinn.com/blog/2012/02/19/fix-git-svn-in-mountain-lion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942838 | 614 | 1.820313 | 2 |
APRIL 7, 1956
NEW YORK—Everyone must have been shocked, as I was, to read of the acid attack on labor columnist Victor Riesel. The police must find the cowardly creature who did this thing, for it is not an attack on an individual alone, but it endangers the right of all people to express their opinion in print. And if we reach the point where people must be afraid to do this, we will be in a very bad way, indeed.
I also read with anxiety about the new disturbance in the Gaza area, a flare-up which seems to have been of considerable magnitude. The United Nations' plea finally succeeded in bringing about an armistice and, naturally, each side accuses the other of having started the trouble.
I do not wonder that Dr. Dag Hammarskjold starts on his mission with a plea to everyone to remember that he is only taking a first step on a very long road to peace. But it is a first step, and for that most of us will be grateful.
Personally, I do not see how it is possible to stop these incidents until a neutral patrol is placed along the entire border. I understand the fear of all the countries involved, for they do not want foreign soldiers on their soil. But, in that case, they should have devised a way to prevent incidents long ago.
As it is now, I see no end to these repeated incidents, which cause loss of life on both sides, except the placing of a neutral patrol to preserve existing boundaries and insisting that there shall be no aggression from either side.
I have a communication from the American Meat Institute, which evidently was concerned about the question, which I discussed previously, of humane treatment of animals in slaughtering practices.
The institute informs me that there is a new instrument used to replace the way animals, in the past, were stunned before they were killed, and that the development came about in cooperation with the American Humane Association.
It says that the American Humane Association and the American Meat Institute "are fully aware of the desirability of developing the most improved method of handling livestock and will continue efforts energetically to find answers to all problems arising in connection therewith."
It is good to find the commercial interests working with the humane interests on this question.
There is an interesting thing being done by the St. Louis, Mo., Council on World Affairs to stimulate the interest of high school youths in international questions. It is called "The High School Tour."
Under the plan, high school seniors interested in our federal government and in the U.N. are offered a six-day trip to Washington, D.C., and to New York City for $99.75, which includes all expenses. More than 400 students will take the trip between April 30 and May 5. Almost one-third of these come from Kansas and Nebraska. The remainder are from the St. Louis area.
Two days will be spent in Washington, where the State Department will give the students a briefing on the United States participation in the U.N., and the mornings of May 3 and 4 will be spent at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. The groups will be accompanied by parents and teachers, who will act as chaperones.
The idea grew out of the model U.N. General Assembly which is being conducted in high schools in that area. The St. Louis chapter of the American Association for the U.N. has cooperated in this project with the St. Louis Council on World Affairs. | <urn:uuid:bd07c25b-6036-4840-83dc-8dc7229473f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1956&_f=md003452 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966043 | 723 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Strong line of storms leaves thousands of East Texans without power
Tyler has weathered the worst of the storm and should be in the clear from tornado warnings by 1 a.m., according to a local meteorologist.
John Adams, chief meteorologist with KYTX CBS 19, said the line of thunderstorms quickly moved through Tyler, dropping about a quarter of an inch of rain and marble-sized hail in some areas. He said the thunderstorms are moving between 55 and 70 mph and are headed east.
“By 10 p.m., it should be in Louisiana and the threat of severe weather will be over for East Texas,” Adams said.
However, a tornado watch has been issued for the area until 1 a.m.
The strong storms have brought down power lines and caused outages.
Charles Hill, Oncor Spokesman, said as of 7:45 p.m. Tuesday about 2,100 homes were without power in East Texas. He said about 900 were out in Palestine, 600 in Tyler, 400 in Athens and 200 in Jacksonville. | <urn:uuid:64e59150-98b3-4a2c-b423-ee2c9b75d8ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tylerpaper.com/article/20130129/NEWS01/130129746/0/NEWS | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971644 | 220 | 1.539063 | 2 |
While I agree with the above on the beef heart needing to be a rare treat, I do think that with the wide variety of other frozen foods, if you simply added a vitamin mix such as Vita-Chem your fish would be fine and get whole nutrition. Also, adding a live food such was flightless fruit flies would also help towards whole nutrition. I am a strong believe of feeding whole, natural foods over processed ones, and as long as you are able to make sure they have all the needed vitamins you should be fine. Though I should also add that Vita-Chem can be hard to find and frequently needs to be ordered online.
Additionally, OldFishLady has a good home-made pellet recipe. I don't remember it atm, but I am sure someone else could post it.
If you do decide to buy pellets, NLS small fish formula seems to be the highest in protein and easiest to digest. It also is great that it is so small in case you end up with a particularly small or young betta.
One more very important thing: with the frozen foods, do not thaw and refreeze any portion of the food. This causes it to lose any nutrition it has. Once it has been thawed it can be kept in the refrigerator for about a day, then discard any uneaten portion. | <urn:uuid:66fbda00-357e-4b26-a5d9-f1d2c124d2f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=125510 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970579 | 274 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A girl sits on a Newtown bus leaving the new Sandy Hook Elementary School after the first day of classes in Monroe, Conn., on Jan. 3. / Jessica Hill, AP
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Newtown's schools superintendent is urging an indefinite police presence at the district's schools to allay fears among parents and children about gun violence.
The News Times reports that a continuing police presence is necessary, with Newtown's department supplemented by officers from other departments, Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said.
"I've told the police we need them," she said.
Children have not ventured outside school for recess because of anxiety, she said.
Robinson said a continuing police presence would help children believe it is "safe for them to go outside to play."
The Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six educators were fatally shot by a gunman on Dec. 14, remains closed. Students and staff are using a school in neighboring Monroe.
Parent Amy Roman has asked the Police Commission and Board of Education to continue to provide two police officers at each of the district's six schools.
"We feel this has gone from a want to a need," Roman said.
Police Commission Chairman Paul Mangiafico advised Roman to make her opinions known to other town officials.
"Whatever this town ends up looking like in six months or two years from now will be the result of a lot of thought," he said.
School officials say they've received nearly 300 e-mails, many voicing concern about long-term security and a police presence.
Before the shootings, the district's top financial priorities were all-day kindergarten, technology upgrades, preparing for high school accreditation and curriculum changes.
District officials now say they are working up financial projections for what added security would cost.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read the original story: Newtown schools chief urges continued police guard | <urn:uuid:81873995-f5b7-499c-ac12-5fcd27f768c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coshoctontribune.com/usatoday/article/1823009 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968365 | 403 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Since the founding of the College in 1937, Siena has been committed to preparing men and women to make a difference in the world through the noble profession of teaching. Siena's Teacher Preparation Program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and is registered with New York State's Department of Education.
Inspired by the life and work of Francis of Assisi, the Education Program at Siena College prepares teachers committed to the continuing effort to create a good and just society. Our prospective teachers demonstrate high levels of academic achievement, openness to all persons, and the capacity to use a variety of skills needed to instruct students effectively. With guidance and instruction from collegiate and school-based faculty, they prepare for this work by demonstrating excellence in their liberal arts and science core, their major, and their professional courses and experiences. Graduates of Siena's teacher education are willing and able leaders in the endeavor to provide quality instructional environments for students from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and abilities.
The Department offers programs leading to New York State Initial Teacher Certification in Adolescence Education (grades 7-12) in the following areas: Biology, Chemistry, English Language Arts, French, Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies, and Spanish. The Department also offers a program leading to New York State Initial Teacher Certification in Business and Marketing (all grades).
As part of their course work, students will complete a minimum of one hundred and ten hours of field experience prior to their student teaching experience. For students in the certification sequence, these experiences are in varied secondary school settings. The experiences follow the guidelines outlined in the Field Experience Program Handbook provided to every participating student, classroom teacher, and principal. Students are responsible for their own transportation.
Students who successfully complete EDUC 360 (Adolescence and Schooling) and EDUC 385 (Teaching and Learning in the Middle School), and who have completed an approved program for an initial certificate in adolescence education grades 7-12, are eligible for an extension of their teaching certificate into grades 5-6. This extension is not offered for students in programs leading to New York State initial teacher certification in Business and Marketing (all grades).
In addition, the department offers elective courses that will allow students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and understanding of the field of education. For the non-certification student whose career goals are education-related, the department provides the opportunity to develop a sequence of courses that will serve as a foundation for graduate work in fields such as elementary education, school psychology, guidance and counseling, school social work, reading, or special education.
The Teacher Preparation program at Siena College is accredited by the | <urn:uuid:f6d3dc0f-56cd-4fd6-bc11-995141755e00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://siena.edu/pages/7083.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955269 | 547 | 1.578125 | 2 |
First and foremost, think about framing your post in a way that will make people feel that they need to share it.
... that say something about themselves: "I am a person who knows about typography," I am a person who appreciates beautiful things."
... that are highly visual: "100 beautiful examples of tilt-shift photography;" "20 logos with hidden messages."
... that have a call to action: "Add your own image in the comments!"
Experiment with what works, and duplicate your successes. Try loads of different things and figure out which kinds of posts readers respond to the most.
Finally, whatever you choose to post, remember that your presentation could be the difference between a viral sensation and a dud. Don't overwrite, but take care to make your title snappy and engaging, and spend time with your writeup to ensure that it matches the tone and style of BuzzFeed.
We present new trends and discoveries with a wry sense of humor and an ironic detachment that allows us to cover a wide variety of subjects without getting bogged down in them.
More simply: Use humor to maintain professional distance from your subject matter.
Less simply: Apart from exceptional cases, don't talk about how a piece of content makes you feel. Instead, talk about what's going on, what the context is, and why it's important. Give your audiences cues about how they can expect to feel, but don't attempt to dictate their emotional response for them by interjecting your own experience of the buzz. And whatever you do, be funny about it.
Your post should have a short, primarily descriptive title (unless you have, like, a hilarious pun that you need to share with the world). Think more about the kind of keywords people would use in Google to find your post than standard newspaper-style headlines.
Example: New Old Spice Ad Campaign
Every first letter of every word in the title to your buzz should be uppercase. In the case of hyphenated words, both words in the compound word should have uppercase first letters. Exceptions: Proper nouns like iPad, iPod, eBay.
The first sentence should be pretty descriptive, informative, nugget-like: "Here's a video of a dude falling off a bike!" This sentence should be bold.
The rest of the post, ideally just one or two short sentences, is for a bit of spin or a joke -- something to give your buzz a little bit of personality. Don't bold this part.
Example: HIMYM Goes Meta
Adding tags to your post increases its SEO value. Be sure to add tags that will help people find your post -- again, think about what people are going to be searching when looking for your post.
The BuzzFeed superposter is a streamlined way for you to post different kinds of buzz in one easy interface, whether it's a video, a link, an image, or a combination of those things. Here are some of the most common post types.
This is for a one-off image. You probably don't need to do a ton of explanation.
Use the image-overlay tool to allow users to remix an image. Is an image of a celebrity doing something crazy going viral? Give people a chance to participate in the process by placing a cutout of the image in different situations.
You can make your buzz way more shareable by turning it into a collection. Not everything needs to be a list, but chances are that if people are struck by one disastrous Facebook update or amusing stock photo, they're going to be even more excited to see a list of the very best of the genre.
The BuzzFeed posting interface will turn links to YouTube, Vimeo, and LiveLeak videos into an embedded video, using this option. You can also often post "Embed" code that will be recognized by the interface.
By all means put links in your post to augment your post, but do not make your post only a link, since that's just boring, among other things.
Try not to use it! You are writing for an audience that is not necessarily as Internet-literate as you are. Avoid words/abbreviations like "pwned" and "FTW", as well as insidery references to memes. If you find yourself reporting on a story that relies on insider knowledge, try and find a way to give context for the backstory in your description, at the very least by providing a link to a topics page.
Example of good practice: Boxxy
Example of bad practice: Tech support...LIKE A BOSS
Just use titlecase for these - (i.e., ensure that the first letters of each word in the title are uppercase) and put them in quotes, not itals.
'90s. Not: 90's, 90s, nineties, nighties, or any other combination!
Always try to credit your sources. At the very least, you should credit the site where you found the buzz, but you can also credit the original source material as well. The superposter has a built-in option for you to do both of these things.
Anything that is PG-13 or up should be marked as NSFW and not TAME. This includes the use of swear words in the title or any post that is sexual, disturbingly gross, or extremely violent. Err on the side of caution. If you think the user needs warning, also add [NSFW] in square brackets at the end of your title.
Example: Do Not Watch This Video [NSFW]
Check to make sure that all these things are true before posting your own buzz, or promoting a user's buzz, to the front page:
OK, great! Post that shit!
When fixing up a post from a BuzzFeed community member to promote to the front page, remember that most of the same standards apply. You don't need to exercise too heavy a hand in editing the writeup if the structure of it is OK, but make sure it's the right length, the right tone, and error-free. If you need to, just leave the main point intact and add an editor's note. Here's a basic checklist that you should follow every time you promote a user's post to the front page.
Fuzz is short for "fake buzz". It means posts that look like buzz but that aren't really. It's lists that are lazy and ill-thought out, or too short, or meaningless. Something that says "the best of" that seems random and not actually the best of anything. Or an image that has a one- dimensional joke that isn't really funny. Learn to see fuzz for what it is by asking yourself whether you would consider sharing the post with your friends. If you're not sure whether something is fuzz or not, ask another editor for their opinion before promoting or posting it. | <urn:uuid:35f5a592-c329-4a6b-94e5-41b7425d32c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buzzfeed.com/help/styleguide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949335 | 1,424 | 1.789063 | 2 |
1. What do you use to edit photos and how do you edit them?
Adobe Lightroom then Adobe Photoshop--yes, in that order. I use Lightroom to adjust the exposure and color balance and then head to Photoshop for more specific layer effects. I use Lightroom only if I think I need it though.
2. Why do you edit your photos?
I like having a certain feel for the materials I post on my blog :)
3. Who designed your blog?
I did. I based it on a Blogger template which I heavily edited according to how I wanted it to look.
4. Did you take any classes/workshops to learn editing?
Not particularly, but my course did require a certain extent of knowledge about those programs. I basically forced myself to learn about them in high school because I liked editing and designing.
5. Tips for those who want to learn Photoshop?
Hmmm... I think classes can only take you so far. You really have to want to learn to know how it works. Play around with the program; get a feel of what each button does (yes, be like DeeDee from Dexter's Lab haha!) :) Everyone has to start somewhere naman talaga, so don't worry about it!
Anonymous question (blog post): "Hi Megan! I hope you don't mind but I was just wondering.. is there a certain name for that circle images? And.. How do you make it? From scratch or is their a certain feature of photoshop that has a default circular thing already? :D Thanks! I love your blog!"
Oh no! I hope you left your email address or Twitter so I could share with you how :( But anyway, in case you still get to read this, I use Photoshop! There's a tool there called the "marquee tool" (the icon is a dotted rectangle usually). You just right click on it and choose the round/circle marquee tool :) And then to create a perfect circle, hold Shift while you select the area you wanna include inside the image. Once selected, right click within the area and choose Layer via Cut/Copy. Copy this image on a new file and save it as PNG :)
I hope this will be very helpful since I don't really get to explain it in detail whenever I'm asked in person :) If you have more, feel free to use the message box on the sidebar. Don't forget to include your name! Leaving your email address is optional and you may do so if you want me to reply through there.
I'll be back tomorrow with another post! | <urn:uuid:4972840a-3496-4571-8058-613fbe3c9bef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spellmegann.blogspot.com/2013/01/q-design-and-editing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944869 | 535 | 1.742188 | 2 |
As an XML developer I spend most of my time working with XML and technologies related to XML. I began reading “Learning XML” with the mindset of finding new and interesting topics. Erik Ray provided some great reading on such topics as Schema, RELAX NG, and Schematron.
I found the first few chapters (1-4) to be a great review, covering basics and key concepts of XML. Mr. Ray does a fantastic job at explaining and providing examples that illustrate basic and complex syntax of XML. He also lets the reader know if there are additional items to discuss later in future chapters. This allowed me to skip forward and review those sections.
Even though I have many years of experience with XML, I never found “Learning XML” dull or boring in the least regard. “Learning XML” continued to provide information that allowed me to read on with interest.
The author also takes the reader into other XML technologies like XPath, XSLT, and XSL-FO. There are many books out there that deal with each of these technologies individually, yet the author provides a strong introduction and foundation to these technologies.
Some of my favorite sections deal with DOM, SAX, pull parsing, DTDs, and Unicode of XML documents.
Even though this book provides tons of satisfying examples, I was really looking forward to at least one chapter on advanced topics or theory. However to my dismay there was not one. Overall, Erik Ray does a great job in presenting, explaining and demonstrating XML and XML technologies to his readers. I encourage anyone that is looking for a great book on XML to check out “Learning XML”.
Learning XML, Second Edition
Author: Erik T. Ray
Published: September 2003
Rating: * * * | <urn:uuid:a6297fb1-ebe0-40c0-a9f3-0ec60787820f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uphpu.org/2004/10/23/learning-xml-oreilly/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939455 | 367 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Here's a group to inspire anyone who wants to see the “slim person “ who already lives inside and, in so doing, attract what they really want, a great self-image and the self-confidence to match.
Genetics gave us our skeletons but our lifestyle choices add the padding. Where that padding goes, and whether it is muscle or fat, is a choice we make every day.
NEW RESEARCH BACKS THIS UP: Physical Activity Can Reduce the Genetic Predisposition to Obesity by 40 Percent (Science Daily 31 August 2010) FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Knowing what the Slim Person Inside looks like, we are more likely to do what it takes to become what we want.
How to find the Slim Person Inside
Lean Body Mass (LBM) and Body Fat % are the two keys you need to set the Slim Person Inside free. Keeping LBM constant and reducing Body Fat % is the simplest route to a great shape. Losing excess fat, not muscle, is the only way to achieve the great shape and self-confidence you want.
What is your Lean Body Mass?
LBM is your Present weight - Body Fat
If you weight 70kg with 35% Body Fat your LBM is: 45.5kg
(70kg - (70kg x 35%) ->>> 70kg - 24.5kg (fat) = 45.5kg LBM)
Now, how much does your Slim Person Inside Weigh?
If you want a Body Fat of 20% then the Slim Person Inside weighs: 57kg
(LBM 45.5kg is 80% of Target Weight ->>> 45.5kg / 80% = 57kg)
Hope that makes sense!
(Save yourself the hassle, I just discovered a great set of free calculators at WeightLoss Wars)
I don't have any desire to be a body builder but looking at the pictures on the Body for Life website inspired me to know what was possible. I was inspired by Bill Phillips' book but did not do the program nor do I sell their products. It took me over 24 months to reach a weight I liked not 12 weeks! But the BFL champions became my heroes and sheroes and their results inspired me big time. They still inspire me .... to be an inspiration to others. Check it out
How's this for a change of shape?
And what about this?
Still think your genes determine your shape!
If they can do it, so can you! Believe it!
"If you think like a slim person you will eventually start to live like a slim person."
Knowing why you have a weight problem empowers you to solve the problem.As I see it there are two, and only two main camps, into which weight problems fall, either lifestyle or…Continue
Started by ShaunL. Last reply by DragonBloodLotus Jul 2, 2011.
Here's an extract from an interesting blog about levels of personal power for motivation.I found this very encouraging because I have always contended that of the three keys to weightloss success,…Continue
Started by ShaunL Sep 19, 2010.
The very low cost of energy-dense foods may be linked to rising obesity rates.It’s a question of money! The reason healthier diets are beyond the reach of many people is that such diets cost more. On…Continue
Started by ShaunL Sep 4, 2010.
For years I have contended that genetics gives us our skeletons but our personal lifestyle choices add the padding. Where that padding goes, and whether it is muscle or fat, is a choice we make every…Continue
Started by ShaunL Sep 4, 2010. | <urn:uuid:323dbf5d-cb71-4b51-83b7-e1e27a84e3d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerfulintentions.org/group/slim_person_inside | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942133 | 762 | 1.617188 | 2 |
What makes a classic car a classic car? Are the qualifications simply that of age or is there more to it? If the cutoff point is, say, 1969, then does that make the '73 Civic modern? Must classic cars be antiquated through and through. Are carburetors, manual windows and lap belts prerogatives and, if that's the case, will EFI conversions, split-entry turbochargers and four-wheel disc brake conversions ban such contraptions from the halls of the classics forever. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's around to hear it, does it still make a noise?
The definition of a classic car is open to interpretation. But not to the Japanese Classic Car Show Association, or JCCS for short. Their rules are hard and fast albeit simple: eligible cars must be Japanese in origin and pre-1985 produced. The lack of rules leaves much open to interpretation, helping make JCCS' annual classic car show the success that it is.
Factory Roots-supercharged MR2s aren't exactly common and just don't seem to get the credit they deserve.
JCCS is coming of age, with its Long Beach, California-based, October 2007 event tallying up more than 300 cars on display and several thousand spectators trickling in and out throughout the day. And with support from OEMs like Mazda, Nissan and Toyota, it's arguably become the biggest, small car show around. Privateers drove and trailered in just about anything from mint 510s, new-looking Starions, showroom-worthy Zs and '73 240s fitted with VQ35DEs, while OEMs like Mazda cracked open the museum cases and brought out such greats as the '67 Cosmo, which, for those that don't know, was the first twin-rotor production car ever. Festivities in celebration of Toyota's and Mazda's milestone anniversaries-50 years for Toyota in the U.S. and 40 years of rotaries-were also held. We even saw Jay Leno roaming around.
Not all JCCS cars are show queens, which is arguably what makes the event as enjoyable as it is. Daily drivers-both former and current-and track cars also occupy their own sizable pieces of the show. There was even room left over for the obligatory, beat-down rust buckets, which just goes to show you how serious JCCS is about their rules, or perhaps lack of them.
Turbocharged 20B rotaries...
Turbocharged 20B rotaries tend to draw sizable crowds when fired up. | <urn:uuid:673058d8-48e2-46fd-9287-a3dd968bc4c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.turbomagazine.com/events/0802_turp_japanese_classic_car_show/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961339 | 535 | 1.523438 | 2 |
HISTORY OF PASCO COUNTY
First Methodist Church (2009)
This history was provided by the church.
For the past 97 years, Methodist Christians have worshiped and served Zephyrhills.
In 1912, Reverend N. J. Hawley, by the authority of the District of the Conference, began meeting and ministering to about 30 persons. This group organized the present church.
After meeting in various locations, the first sanctuary was built with assistance from the Livingston Fund in Jacksonville, and was dedicated by Bishop Luther B. Wilson on January 10, 1915. At that time the bell that we hear each Sunday morning was purchased and installed in the belfry of the first sanctuary.
Stephens Memorial Hall was begun in 1922 and completed in 1924.
Growth inspired the current beautiful sanctuary which was opened June 13, 1963. The bell was then transferred to the new belfry. Roger Sibley, Sr. was the construction superintendent of the 1963 sanctuary and all subsequent buildings. Our inspired and inspiring stained glass windows were designed and crafted by Karl J. Mueller, with facial painting by Leonid Neczwid, who had studios and lived in Zephyrhills.
Throughout the years, additions and improvements have been added. Fellowship Hall, renamed Floyd W. Copper Hall, was built in 1973; Henry L. Kinnard Chapel and Christian Education Building in 1978-79; the church office, Roger L. Sibley, Sr. Building, in 1985.
Ministry through outreach by music, missions, UMW, UMM, Prayer Groups, Bible Study, Sunday School, children, and youth programs continue today to enrich and promote the growth of our church in the community.
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (2012)
This article was provided by Rev. Paul Holland.
One Hundred Years! Thatís how long ago it was when the first prospective members met to worship in 1912. With 24 members, First Christian Church was organized in 1913. For two years, these believers met in the Garfield Memorial Hall located on 8th Street.
The first church building was built at the corner of 6th Avenue & 9th Street. It was dedicated on November 21, 1915. As the congregation grew the church needed more space. A fellowship area was added in 1940, and later a youth center and library. In 1951, further expansion created Sunday School rooms and a baptistery.
Rev. Millard Mount was installed as pastor in September 1958. He served for 19 years and was named Minister Emeritus by the Church.
In the mid 1960s, a five and a one half acre site on 8th Street and North Ave was purchased. It became the site where the current church is located. This building, the former sanctuary (now the current Fellowship Hall) was dedicated on February 1, 1970. The building design was unusual since it was not built like a traditional church, but was constructed in the shape of a cross.
In 1979, Rev. H. LaVern Preston came to First Christian Church. By 1983, the congregation was out-growing the church building, so a larger sanctuary was built south of the existing building, closer to North Avenue. A dedication ceremony for the new sanctuary was led by Rev. Preston on January 18, 1987. A steeple was added to the sanctuary in 2000. Before the steeple was put in place, sometimes people thought the church was a government building because of its close proximity to the Post Office and Police Department.
Rev. Preston retired in 1992 and Rev. Terrell (Terry) Harper was installed as minister. In 1998, there was a joyous celebration of the mortgage burning for the sanctuary. Terry served for 8 years. He then left to serve another congregation. During that time, his wife, Mary Beth pursued her dream and also became a pastor.
Dr. Lewis George served as Interim for almost 2 years. After he retired, Lewis returned to First Christian Church where he donated his time and talents. He made crosses out of wood, then strung them on yarn to make necklaces. He gave these necklaces away. Before his death in September 2011, Lewis had made over 7,000 crosses, which can be found on all seven continents, even Antarctica.
In December 2001, First Christian Church welcomed Pastor Denise Plante. Under her guidance, services were enhanced by utilizing new worship technology. During her tenure, the interior and exterior of the sanctuary received a face-lift.
In 2009, remodeling of the Fellowship Hall began. The dedication service for the refurbished Millard Mount Fellowship Hall was April 18, 2010. Dr. Charles Hamilton (Interim minister) presided over the service.
Over the past 100 years, there have been so many dedicated people: Pastors, Trustees, Elders, Deacons, Board Members, Sunday School Teachers, Instrumentalists, Choir Directors, Choir Members, Vacation Bible School Volunteers, Church Secretaries, Technology Workers (great cooks for our fellowship dinners) Christians too numerous to mention by name. These disciples have devoted their time, talents and wealth to First Christian Church. No words are adequate to describe their endeavors. Ultimately, the wisest course would be to give God the glory, praise and thanks for every person because without God, there would be no church.
In January 2011, Rev. Paul Holland, our current minister, moved to Zephyrhills from Michigan to serve and lead (with Godís help) as we journey into the future, beginning the next century for First Christian Church.
An article, “Zephyrhills Church Celebrates 100 Years,” at tampabay.com is here.
St. Joseph Church
This article was provided by the church.
The first Mass of St. Joseph Mission was celebrated at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Brazie in 1912. This residence was a farmhouse near the site of the first church. Fr. Jerome Wisniewski, O.S.B., a priest from St. Leo Abbey, started the mission, celebrating mass for a mere handful of Catholics in Zephyrhills.
Mr. Henry Adams, a generous Catholic Union soldier, donated two lots for church construction on April 15, 1912. The lots were located on the top of a hill just north of the city limits on 10th Street. Mr. Albert Naber provided lumber for the parishioners, who completed the church by 1914.
Accommodating 75 people, the frame church had a small bell tower above the front entrance.
The Church was dedicated on April 27, 1919, by Abbot Charles Mohr, O.S.B., the first Abbot of St. Leo. Mass was scheduled only once per month. The first confirmation was administered by Bishop Patrick Barry, DD, of St. Augustine, on January 21, 1923, in the days when Florida had only one diocese.
In March of 1942, Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Thomas donated two lots on 5th Avenue. A donation of four adjacent lots by the city of Zephyrhills followed on May 1, 1942. Mrs. Thomas gave four additional lots on January 9, 1945, while Miss Flora Yager donated one lot. Those eleven lots comprised the property on which the church was built in 1942, by Fr. John Schlicht, O.S.B.
Later, two wings were added. At this time the congregation consisted of 27 families with 32 women and 48 men. Since that initial church, the property has grown to 2½ blocks with 8 buildings. Families numbered 2148, with over 6,000 registered parishioners.
On February 22, 1959, tragedy struck when a fire destroyed the entire church, leaving only the sacristy. The sacristy was converted into a chapel seating forty people and used for daily Mass for three years. Sunday Masses were celebrated in the Home Movie Theatre and later, the Municipal Auditorium for two years.
Fr. Cassian Foley, O.S.B., became the first resident priest in Zephyrhills in October of 1960, when he rented a two-story frame house doubling as both a rectory and religious education facility. Before this, the Benedictine Priests commuted from St. Leo Abbey. Architect George Stickly of St. Augustine designed the new church with an estimated cost of $90,000.
Msgr. John McNulty, Vicar General and pastor of St. Patrick parish in Largo, dedicated the church on November 25, 1961. Abbot Marion Bowman, O.S.B., and Fr. Keith Symons, M.C., were also present. Fr. Michael O'Reilly, ordained at St. Patrick's Missionary Society of Ireland, expanded the church and erected the parish center with a very successful building fund campaign. Fr. O'Reilly worked as pastor from 1971 until his death April 12, 1980.
First Baptist Church
A 1969 directory published by the church, which includes a church history, is included in this set of photos. It was provided by Clereen Brunty. The history article will be transcribed and added to this page soon. | <urn:uuid:a5ed9abd-31c3-478c-8aa7-b0e5f72c2b8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fivay.org/zephyrhills_churches.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98063 | 1,886 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Date of Award:
Master of Science (MS)
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Robert W. Hill
Evapotranspiration (ET) of center pivot irrigated alfalfa was studied in the windy, arid, Curlew Valley, Northern Box Elder County, Utah, during the summers of 2009 and 2010. ET was estimated using eddy covariance (EC) and surface renewal (SR) techniques. ET estimates from the EC and SR analyses were compared with estimates using ASCE Standardized Reference ET Equation, with both dual and mean crop coefficients.
EC energy balance closure was 0.80, on average, in 2009 and 0.76 in 2010. The SR weighting parameter (α) was calculated through linear regression of EC and SR sensible heat flux estimates. Alpha was found to be 0.70 if EC energy balance closure was forced and 0.55 if closure was not forced. ET from SR analysis with α = 0.70 (ETSRα=0.70) was 409 mm in 2009 and 331 mm in 2010. ET from EC analysis with forced closure (ETECforced) was 390 mm in 2009 and 326 mm in 2010. In contrast, ETSRα=0.55 was 408 and 333 mm in 2009 and 2010, respectively, while ETECunforced was 315 and 251 mm in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Combined ETECforced and ETSRforced were compared with estimated crop ET from the ASCE Std. Eq. with both dual and mean crop coefficients (ETcDual and ETcm, respectively). ETcDual was 689 mm in 2009, as compared to ETcm and ETEC-SRforced, which were 677 and 617 mm, respectively. In 2010 ETcDual was 674 mm, with ETcm and ETEC-SRforced being 629 and 576 mm, respectively. The Kcm approach more closely approximated the estimated wet soil evaporation determined from the ETEC-SRforced for the measurement conditions and stated assumptions.
ETEC-SR estimates were compared with irrigation application information to approximate field scale water balances. Effective precipitation plus net irrigation application (less wind drift and evaporation) were nearly equal to ETEC-SRforced for 2nd and 3rd crops of alfalfa in 2009 and 2010. No deep percolation was calculated using ETEC-SRforced; however, soil moisture measurements were not sufficient to verify that this was true. The water balances suggested that the fields were being underirrigated which may have caused salt accumulation in the soil, as evidenced by the low reported yields.
Barker, J. Burdette, "Estimation of Field Alfalfa Evapotranspiration in a Windy, Arid Environment" (2011). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 919.
Copyright for this work is retained by the student. | <urn:uuid:6eb5e0ab-e9de-46aa-be85-85d704561290> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/919/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963846 | 597 | 1.507813 | 2 |
CALGARY — A Canmore teenager whose life revolved around kayaking is presumed dead after going over a waterfall on the Cheakamus River in B.C. and not resurfacing.
Identified as Peter Thompson, 19, he was a master on the river, acting as the head coach for the Bow Valley Kayak Club, teaching the sport to kids with disabilities, and paddling all over the world.
Rob McIntyre, president of the club, said Thompson was with a group of friends Friday at a six-metre waterfall in B.C. he had done many times before.
He went over and never resurfaced. Two friends reported him missing.
RCMP called in search-and-rescue and dive teams, but after two days, the search has been called off.
“We called out Search and Rescue and have not located him or his kayak yet, but we did locate the paddle,” said Sgt. Rob Knapton of the Whistler RCMP.
The RCMP dive team was in the area to evaluate the scene on Saturday. Knapton said the biggest issue with the recovery effort is safety for the rescue workers because of the hydraulic pressure of the waterfall on the Cheakamus River.
“We are looking at our options,” he said.
McIntyre said Thompson always preached safety to his students, but tragedies happen.
“You can prepare, you can do everything right and bad things happen,” he said. “It’s an inherit risk with the sport, especially at the elite level that Peter paddles.”
Born and raised in Canmore, Thompson’s life focused on the mountains: kayaking during the summer and skiing during the winter.
He had paddled elite level rivers in Africa, the United States and all over Canada, winning numerous awards and sponsored by a number of kayaking companies.
This summer, he took on the role of head coach for the Bow Valley Kayak Club, often spending more than 60 hours a week spreading his love of the sport to local kids.
As well, he helped develop the adaptive kayaking program run through the club. Kids with disabilities would be outfitted with specially designed kayaks for the river.
“We have a tonne of young kids come through who just idolize him,” McIntyre said. “This is going to shock them.
“He just inspired so many young kids and his work with the adaptive kids was amazing.”
One of the highlights for Thompson was the 30-metre (100-foot) drop at the Ram Falls near Nordegg that he talked about in his blog.
“Once I got to a certain point I knew there was no turning back and I recall saying to myself ‘there is no turning back now better enjoy it,’ ” he wrote in an Aug. 17 post. “The free fall was awesome, the impact was super soft. I had a good line and came out at the bottom smiling. The boys both had good lines and we were all stoked to have fired up a drop like that.”
Tanya Foubert is an editor for the Whistler Question | <urn:uuid:2aa251ee-b695-404a-94c3-05dfc89b9968> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Search+called+after+Canmore+kayaker+disappears+after+going/7321923/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982055 | 670 | 1.59375 | 2 |
There’s nothing like humiliating games and crushingly embarrassing photos to bring friends together, so why not celebrate and cement friendship at your next gathering or birthday party and play some Minute to Win It-style games at home? Getting silly is important, anyway. Numerous studies have been done on the topic of benefits of laughter and smiling—here’s “10 Reasons Why Laughing is Good for You” to get you started if you’re not quite convinced (or need to convince some others).
Minute to Win It is an NBC game show that has contestants compete in various challenges for only a minute at a time. NBC’s website has tons of game instructions and helpful instructional videos available if necessary, but here are some of the top picks that will have you and your friends in stitches at your party:
Junk In the Trunk
This one will get everyone moving and laughing hysterically. You will need a belt, an empty tissue box and 8 ping pong balls. Attach the tissue box to the belt (glue or tape, depending on how much you love the belt) so that the tissue box will rest at the small of the back. With the tissue box filled with ping pong balls, once the timer begins, the players have one minute to shake all the balls out and can only have their feet touching the floor, so no rolling around or doing handstands—that’s cheating! You also can’t touch the tissue box.
Start practicing your breathing exercises, because you’ll only have one minute to blow a bubble through a hula hoop that is fifteen feet away from the starting line. According to the official instructions, the only way to win is to blow an un-popped bubble that was created from behind the foul line through the hoop.
Paper Dragon is a terrific game for the kids at the party, even the little ones. It’s simple – using only your hands and arms, you recreate part of the celebration of the Chinese New Year by unraveling two spools of paper streamers in under a minute. These kids make it look super easy:
Hint: Don’t show any adults how easy it is for these kids until after you have the perfect picture of their fumbling attempts for the scrap book.
Get revenge on your Type A orderly friends with this organizing game. If you are the orderly Type A friend, consider this a way to challenge yourself. You now have one minute to “separate a pile of 50 multicolored chocolate covered candies into 5 separate containers in a set color order.” It may sound easy, but will you be so cool and confident when the pressure is on? Get hyped up by watching the official game “blueprint” before you set out those candy jars and get organized, and fast!
These are just a few of the wildly hilarious, challenge, and downright fun games you can try to get you started on planning your Minute to Win It party. While you’re planning, consider really setting the scene for your “contestants” (AKA, “friends”) with a personalized banner welcoming them to the game show. Don’t forget to keep score – where everyone can see it! And have lots, and lots, and lots of fun.
Durable paper is a great way to hand create a fun and funky Minute to Win it score sheet for the whole party. | <urn:uuid:81ace9ca-d8ff-493b-bb3e-d9e566be073c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://party-ideas.shindigz.com/category/family-reunion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942847 | 714 | 1.695313 | 2 |
(NEW YORK) -- Amal Hanano is one of the most recognized names in the Syrian digital underground. She was an early online voice in the uprising, tracking each battle and connecting across the world on Skype.
Hanano, the alias for a Syrian woman who found an unexpected career as a writer, is one of many activists, rebel fighters -- as well as regime hackers -- who have caught up with a new digital reality: Skype is a new battleground. Over the 19-month conflict, the Internet has become the operations center for Syria's opposition, as forces fighting the regime use it to plan and document battles, then share information with the public.
"When the uprising began, Skype is what people were familiar with, so Skype is what they used. Today, it is a communications backbone," said John Scott-Railton, a doctoral student at UCLA and expert on internet freedom.
Hanano estimates there are several hundred private rooms on Skype where access is by invitation only and the conversation unfolds in real time as battles happen. Many of the rooms are organized by city -- Aleppo, Rastan, Homs and Hama. By crossing from one to the other, rebel forces can coordinate in ways they have never been able to before.
"Skype is how people in one part of Syria figure out what's happening in another," says Hanano. "It may not be secure, but it's the only way, and it's where a lot of information first gets out."
Like many Syrian activists online, Hanano adopted an alias to protect herself from a Syrian regime with a history of arresting and abusing bloggers.
"From the first days of the revolution I knew I had to take a stand," she said.
Hanano now lives in the U.S., but still writes under her alias, preserving what has become one of the most recognized names in the online revolution.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio | <urn:uuid:48c3021a-d37c-45b5-a804-988b14afd443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abcnewsradioonline.com/world-news/skype-becomes-operations-center-for-syrian-rebels.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970198 | 389 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The Lotus Type 99T bore huge changes both inside and out from its predecessor the Type 98T. The first and most noticeable change was that of the livery. Gone was the world famous black and gold JPS colour scheme, now replaced by the bright yellow and blue of new sponsors Camel. Changes under the skin were even more significant. Moving away from the Renault powerplants that had been employed since the Type 93T oh 1983, the 99T harnessed a new twin-Turbo Honda unit capable of pushing out more than 800bhp.
Perhaps the most significant change however was the reintroduction of the revolutionary 'Active' suspension system. Active suspension had been in development for a few years at Lotus and had even been tried out on previous Formula One cars. With the introduction of the system on the 99T Lotus yet again changed the way Formula One cars were designed! Active suspension was eventually outlawed as it gave massive performance and handling advantages.
Driven by Ayrton Senna and Satoru Nakajima during the 1987 season, the 99T proved to be one of Lotus' more successful modern day Formula One cars. Wins in Monaco and Lotus' last ever victory in Formula One at Detroit meant that Ayrton Senna and Team Lotus finished third in the World Drivers Championship standings and the Constructors' Championship respectively.
This 99T is seen here in the paddocks of the 2002 Goodwood Festival of Speed where 50 years of Lotus engineering was celebrated.
one of my fave f1 cars, the styling of the 99t looks aggressive and the yellow paint certainly makes it stand out. great to see videos of nakajima in this car using the gate shift and clutch midway through eau-rouge! | <urn:uuid:7117d545-e681-4abd-b410-cc47e9080f2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/1460/Lotus-99T-Honda.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960907 | 352 | 1.757813 | 2 |
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The country needed a second transition otherwise it would remain stagnant like many other African countries after independence, ANC leader Jacob Zuma said on Sunday.
“We need a second transition, we cannot stay here,” he told hundreds of party delegates at the Free State elective conference.
Many African countries had not moved forward after independence, he said.
“If we do not discuss the second transition, I do not know how we would handle the problems we have now.”
Zuma also lashed out at his critics, saying it was time for the ANC to “fight back with the truth” and to reclaim the public space.
It seemed the country had returned to the days when the ANC and its members were described as “killers”, “terrorists” and “wrong people”, Zuma told about 750 delegates in Parys.
“We are back to that. We must correct that. We’ve got to fight back with the truth. We’ve kept quiet for 18 years.”
Many of the country’s pro-grammes flowed from a negotiated settlement that might be redundant.
The ANC leader said the second transition must address the legacies of apartheid.
The ANC had to make a difference to its people’s lives. The party did not have to be loved to do what it thought was right, Zuma said.
“The time has come to do what we think is right to make the majority happy. The second transition is the right thing.”
Zuma asked those who were against it what their alternative was.
The second transition is the subject of a key discussion document for the ANC’s national policy conference this week.
The paper, “The Second Transition: Building a national democratic society and the balance of forces in 2012”, suggests the ANC must now enter a second era of democracy.
In the past 18 years the ANC has gone through a first transition into democracy, where it focused on political emancipation, the document says.
Now the party needs to introduce a “second transition” that focuses on the social and economic transformation of SA over the next 30 to 50 years.
In an apparent reaction to doubts expressed by senior ANC national executive committee members, Zuma said it was impossible for any NEC member not to know of the “second transition”.
He said the NEC had discussed the document three times.
The ANC must also look at where it wanted to go.
“Mangaung must help to get a renewed ANC.”
Zuma said a 10-year programme to renew the ANC was required and needed to be approved.
“If we fail to deal with discipline, we fail the ANC.”
Zuma, who devoted part of his speech to discipline, said no one should be allowed to erode unity in the ANC.
Referring to recent events in the ruling party, Zuma said the Mangaung conference would take firm decisions on discipline.
He said those who were bending the constitution of the ANC to serve their own selfish aims must be dealt with.
Non-conforming ANC politicians would find it “cold out there”, outside the ANC.
Zuma was in a happy mood at the Free State elective conference, where it was apparent he enjoyed huge support.
He ended his speech saying, with a big smile, “I am happy, very happy to close the conference”, before he led party members in singing two songs.
Zuma and provincial ANC chairman Ace Magashule, who was re-elected unopposed on Saturday, had been blessed by a priest before the start of the speeches. | <urn:uuid:8b9b4324-08e9-471c-938f-47cc408a245e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/zuma-beats-2nd-transition-drum-1.1326766 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979979 | 786 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Intelís Leixlip plant chosen to produce its next-gen 14nm chips
Eamonn Sinnott, Intel Ireland's general manager
Intel president Paul Ottelini has confirmed that Intel Irelandís Leixlip plant is one of three global sites that has been chosen to produce its future 14 nanometer (nm) chips.
Ottelini revealed the company's chip plans at Intel's annual investor meeting in Santa Clara in California two weeks ago.
The other two sites that have been chosen to produce the 14nm chips are Intel's Oregon and Arizona plants.
The future of chipzilla
In California Ottelini also gave investors a glimpse of Intel's roadmap for innovating from its 22nm process to its current development of 14nm process and its aim to create 10nm, 7nm and 5nm chips beyond 2015.
Hexus.net got its hands on a slide from the California meeting, as shown here.
Intel and innovation in Ireland
It was back in early 2011 that Intel revealed its plans to begin a substantial new US$500m construction project at is Leixlip campus in Co Kildare, where it already employs around 4,000 people. The new build, a redevelopment of the former Fab 14 operation at Leixlip, is to develop the next-generation facilities to handle future products.
At the time Intel said that the project would create 200 high-level technology jobs, as well as 850 construction jobs.
“We are building facilities to handle the manufacture of products that haven’t even been invented yet,” said Intel Ireland's general manager Eamonn Sinnott last year. He described the construction site as one of the largest in Ireland.
"It is easily the largest construction site in the entire country, if not the only one. That US$500m investment sets us up for the next 20 years and puts us in pole position on what’s going to be happening in computing," said Sinnott.
Intel's Leixlip Fab 24 facility currently processes 300mm wafers on both 90nm and 65nm process technologies. | <urn:uuid:4c7a1685-69e6-48a6-b736-05e495c93638> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/27387-intel-in-leixlip-to-produce/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949282 | 430 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The first woman to moderate a presidential debate reflects on the experience and how little has changed since 1992.
Simpson moderating the Oprah-style presidential debate. (C-SPAN)
Way back in 1992 I became the first woman and first minority to moderate a presidential debate. This past summer I was constantly asked, "Why hasn't another woman moderated a presidential debate?"
Why people thought I had the answer, I don't know. It should have been directed to the Commission on Presidential Debates. Supported by the Republican and Democratic Parties, the Commission has been responsible for producing the debates since 1987. Together with campaign officials for the candidates, Commission members decide the dates, locations, formats and moderators for the one debate for vice president and the three for president.
Allow me to point out here that of the 17 members most are male and white. Only two women serve on the Commission. Perhaps a problem?
When three teenage girls from Montclair, New Jersey, learned in their civics class that no woman had moderated a presidential debate in 20 years, they took up the cause. They thought it was wrong that female voices were not being heard in questions posed to those who would be president. The girls mounted an online petition campaign, gathering at least 150,000 signatures, urging the Commission to name a female moderator for one of the presidential debates this October.
Whether that effort had any effect is questionable, but the Commission did announce in August that CNN's Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley would moderate one of the presidential debates and ABC's Martha Raddatz would moderate the vice presidential debate. Many women rejoiced. I did not.
Crowley and Raddatz are journalist friends of mine and each has sterling credentials for the roles they will assume. But the Commission has marginalized them -- not by leaving them out of the process this time, but by the assignments they've been given.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has marginalized Crowley and Raddatz -- not by leaving them out of the process this time, but by the assignments they've been given.
Moderating the vice presidential contest has almost become the women's slot. PBS' Gwen Ifill, a black female journalist, moderated vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008. Now Raddatz will have the honor. But the vice presidential debates are a nicety. Let the people hear the candidates have a go at each other. What they have to say may be at times entertaining, but their policy positions don't amount to a "hill o' beans." Apparently, women can handle this secondary event, which has virtually no impact on how people will vote for president.
Twenty years ago when the Commission tapped me to moderate the first town hall debate, I was told the members wanted it to be an "Oprah-style" show. (Is that why they chose a black woman?) President George H.W. Bush, Governor Bill Clinton, and independent businessman Ross Perot were to answer questions from an audience of undecided voters from the Richmond, Virginia, area.
Basically, my role was to hold the microphone for each of the citizen questioners. I could ask a follow-up to clarify their questions and point out discrepancies in the candidates' answers. I could also call time when the men went on too long. But I could not ask my own questions. I was simply the figure you see at so many forums -- a character I've come to think of as "the lady with the microphone" -- albeit one who was an anchor for a major television network.
Candy Crowley will also moderate the town hall format debate, and she will operate under the same restrictions I had. However, the two male moderators of the other debates will ask their own questions of the candidates, face-to-face, eye-to-eye. Jim Lehrer, formerly of PBS, will be moderating his 12th debate and he gets to ask about domestic policy during the kick-off debate on October 3. CBS' Bob Schieffer will tackle foreign policy later in the month.
In an election cycle when women's issues have shared center stage with the economy, it seems ludicrous to me that a woman will not be asking questions about health, reproduction and contraception issues. This is not to say the men are not capable of posing those kinds of questions, but they would lack the impact and import that a woman's voice could bring to the moderating table. A woman moderator would understand how these issues directly affect women, and can probe the candidates' positions more effectively.
Certainly, the politically astute Crowley will do what she can to make her debate successful and enlightening to the television viewers across the nation and the world. But I'm afraid, because of the Commission rules, she will be another marginalized woman -- another "lady with the microphone."
This article available online at: | <urn:uuid:146330da-488e-4bbc-8d30-17912d1063c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/print/2012/09/on-being-the-lady-with-the-microphone/262160/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974085 | 989 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Today’s Thoughts: Is there freedom in Biblical role of a wife and mother?
Why do so many women fight against submitting to God for sake of our children? I really believe it is related to fear. We hear the stories of God’s faithfulness after some tragedy. But, we do not wish to live through the tragedy to get to the “God be the glory” testimony. It is as if we do not love and trust in the God who we teach our children to love and trust. Sometimes it has been difficult to discern if my motherly convictions were founded in fear instead of faith. I had a huge lesson to learn about His love ruling in my life.
It started with my friend asking me if my 4th grade son could attend camp with her son in the summer. I immediately told her no; I was not sending Robby to camp. Although I ended the conversation quickly, I could not dismiss the idea.
When my husband came home, I said, “Kim asked if Robby could go to camp with Nate. NO! Right?” Slowly and calmly, my husband replied, “Robby does not need to go to camp for Robby. But it would be good for Robby to go to camp for you.” I immediately thought, “Oh no, I have to pray about this now.” Waiting for an opportune quiet moment to shut the bedroom door and allow myself time to mediate, I climbed on the bed and prayed, “Lord, it does not seem necessary to send Robby to camp but I also do not want to make decisions based out of fear. Please help me.” I waited and listened. Opening the Bible, my eyes fixed on Ezra 7:10, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” I prayed this passage frequently, asking the Lord to fulfill these words with me. “Lord, why does Ezra 7:10 seem like it is in bold print right now? What’s up with my life verse in Ezra?”
The name Ezra means help. I too want to help others know the Lord better. In the stillness of my heart, I knew that I desired to be an Ezra in other people’s lives, but I did not want anyone to be an Ezra in my son’s life. To have all the spiritual responsibility placed upon myself for my children is a burden I suddenly realized I did not want to carry alone. The Lord wanted a change of heart for me to allow others to participate in my children’s spiritual wellbeing. “Oh no, Robby’s going to camp.” It was a huge step of obedience and I admit that fear still stirred within me. However, it seemed that the word of God spoke louder than my own mind. Robby packed his bags and we headed to Indian Hills Youth Camp in Jamul.
My first mission was to find Robby’s counselor because I had a few things I needed to say. I was directed to the young man standing under the tent, alone. Perfect! I needed to explain to him that Robby had never been to camp. After several minutes of rambling, I realized that we had not been introduced. I paused, looked him in the eyes and said, “I am sorry. My name is Tonilee Adamson. What is your name?” Without hesitating, he said “My name is Ezra.” The heavens parted and the angels were smiling as I turned to my husband and said, “We need to leave NOW.” No more instructions, no more worries, no more words. We kissed Robby and headed home.
I had just one thought all week: “Did his mother name him Ezra?” When I picked up Robby, I asked him to take me to his counselor to ask him, “Is Ezra your real name?” This 20-something young man said to me, “No, it is my camp name. My life verse is Ezra 7:10. I asked the Lord to allow me to be an Ezra in the kids’ lives as I minister this summer.” I stared at him as tears began to well up and said, “Me TOO!” We exchanged a few more words and I left thanking and praising God for His amazing ability to hear, act and use His words to expand my mind and soften my heart to receive so much amazing blessing.
There are many non-Christian women who are great mothers. Women do not need the filling of the Holy Spirit to follow the desires to love, teach and train their children. However, to teach and train a child in the ways that they should go for their children’s best interest long term does require a submitted life to the Lord. We do not stand before God someday for the choices our children have made. Instead we stand before God alone for the choices we have made. When a woman seeks the counsel of the Lord and obeys, others are blessed. The problem comes when we interpret our own thoughts to be the Lord’s will. By asking, seeking and knocking through the daily circumstances and choices of life, we will find freedom in following the Lord’s ways. Seasons of life change but the Lord is faithful. I have come to realize that when I desire to hear the Lord’s voice louder than I want Him to hear mine then I have peace to change and do things His way over my own. God has brought the best “helper” to each of us. We do find freedom when seeking His help above all others.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
Daily Disciples Ministries, Inc. | <urn:uuid:3588a0d4-99e2-4c06-afee-d6d229c69559> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oneplace.com/devotionals/daily-disciples-devotional/daily-disciples-june-30-11672991.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979336 | 1,272 | 1.632813 | 2 |
"BioWatch Technology Couldn't Detect Lethal Germs, Tests Found"
"Scientists say the U.S. biological defense system relied on kits that were far less able to help detect lethal germs than officials thought."
"WASHINGTON -- For two years, the nationwide BioWatch system, intended to protect Americans against a biological attack, operated with defective components that left it unable to detect lethal germs, according to scientists with direct knowledge of the matter.
The federal official who oversaw installation of the components was quietly shifted to a position with no responsibility for BioWatch, and the entire episode was kept out of public view.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees BioWatch, opened an internal investigation, whose status remains confidential."Source: LA Times, 10/23/2012 | <urn:uuid:9dadfbf8-d75c-403f-84fe-835b3350e9a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sej.org/headlines/biowatch-technology-couldnt-detect-lethal-germs-tests-found | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949772 | 162 | 1.835938 | 2 |
But, in the end, that's just taking existing content and processing it to a certain standard. It's not actually creating or originating copy.
Then there's the case of Pasadena Now, a website devoted to the events of Pasadena, California. Their reporters cover the city council the modern way - each week they watch the webcast then follow up by making calls and do telephone interviews and write the story and file it with the editor.
All from India, as this story reports. It notes that:
When he had the brainstorm to use journalists in India, he was able to hire two for a total of $20,800. Not only is that within his budget, he says it is "apparently" a pretty good salary in Mumbai and Bangalore, where the two reporters live.
While outraged at the idea of covering stories from halfway around the world, journalists say this is far from an isolated trend.
Shhhhhhhhh. . . don't tell Transcontinental. | <urn:uuid:a96eaa1a-cf43-4e8b-8576-4252464de2c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://offalnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/outsourcing-media-take-ii.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961442 | 198 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Carolyn Maloney Uses N-Word in Quote, Is Sanctioned; Bloomberg Compares Senators to Nazis, Is Unrepentant
In other hate speech news, Mayor Bloomberg said there was no point in negotiating any further with the state senators who did not pass the legislation he wanted, because "if you remember Neville Chamberlain, no matter how many times you said yes, that's the starting point for the next round." When told by a reporter that the senators were upset because they felt, quite logically, that the Mayor had compared them to Nazis, Bloomberg said, "I certainly did. What part of that did they not understand? This is ridiculous."
We sometimes get the feeling that our politicians understand every use for language except communication, and view Orwell's 1984 as a How-To book. | <urn:uuid:e15c57e7-c74c-4986-975a-e7d4a637d9de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2009/07/carolyn_maloney_2.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975222 | 162 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Newcastle Museum was first opened in 1884 to house the Literary and Philosophical Society’s artefacts and grew in popularity. But by the beginning of the 21st century the Victorian museum was drawing fewer visitors, and the fabric of the beautiful Grade II* listed building was falling apart. The glass roof leaked badly, the aged heating system was inadequate and access was awkward.
In 2007, a £26m restoration, refurbishment and extension project began which would bring together various collections under the newly re-branded attraction.
Much of the refurbishment was a studied conservation. The sandstone façade was repaired to preserve the aged feel, windows were reconditioned and timber doors repaired. The internal stone stairwells and interior walls were restored using traditional lime-based plaster, paint and horsehair, the original flooring was lifted, restored and replaced, lighting was updated and a new roof installed.
We opened up small, separate galleries to create three larger galleries. There’s now a seamless transition from the original building to the new three-storey extension at the back. As well as a library, café and archive and meeting rooms, the new building features a 5,167sq ft exhibition room. The room has floor-to-ceiling windows which can be shuttered for exhibitions or left open when used as a hire venue.
New M & E services, including lift installation, air conditioning, IT room provision and interactive whiteboards and data projection facilities, bring the venue completely up to date. In 2009 HM The Queen opened the Great North Museum to an eager public. 10,000 visitors arrived on the first day and more than 852,000 over the course of the year; a tenfold increase in visitors from before the refurbishment. Most importantly, that tenfold increase in visitor numbers also delivered a 98% visitor satisfaction rating.
Since 2009 it has won the British Interactive Media Award, the Renaissance Museum Award in the Journal Culture Awards, the Northern Marketing Awards and the Journal NE Culture Award for best museum in the region. It received an interior design commendation in the World Architecture Fair Awards in Barcelona in 2009, and was long-listed for the Art Fund Prize in 2010 and shortlisted for the Guardian Family Friendly Awards. In May 2011 the Great North Museum was also shortlisted for the European Museum of the Year.
“HAVING WORKED ACROSS A NUMBER OF AREAS WITHIN THE HOSPITAL CAMPUS, WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE OF THE NEED TO MANAGE THE I&R PROCESS WITH CARE, ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND A REAL UNDERSTANDING OF PATIENT NEEDS.” | <urn:uuid:b4c4138b-4cd3-4c9e-adc8-47e5d3bdef67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iandruk.com/2011/08/the-north-museum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956841 | 547 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Families looking for a vacation destination that can offer a lot to do in a small area, fun activities that don’t cost a lot, a safe place for kids to explore, and a place that has a proven track record in creating lifetime memories – in short, who want to do an “exploravacation” this year – can find it in Eureka Springs, a historic Victorian village in the Arkansas Ozarks that is surrounded by lakes and rivers for their family’s “exploravacation” this year.
“The term ‘exploravacation’ was one we coined after interviewing vacationing parents and kids, separately,” explained local hotelier Jack Moyer. “We discovered that parents feel comfortable allowing their kids to go off alone in exploring our historic downtown district assuming they are traveling in pairs and that their cell phones are on. The kids described being wowed at the Eureka’s crazy staircases, unique history, interesting buildings and designs and the feel that you were on this fun scavenger hunt with a new discovery at every turn. I enjoyed the kids’ analogy that being downtown was like hanging at the mall just a lot more interesting.”
To give kids -and their parents- a head start in exploring downtown Eureka Springs, a Downtown-n-Underground Tour has been developed that traces the town’s history from its beginnings through the Civil War era, the days of Wild West outlaws, right on up to today. Additionally, the downtown Eureka Springs Historical Museum offers numerous maps of hidden walkways and trails of this “city that time forgot”. The community is so historically distinctive, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Eureka Springs as one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.
“The kids also told us that a summer vacation without water is like a day without sunshine,” Moyer noted, “and Eureka Springs doesn’t disappoint in that area either.”
Just minutes from downtown are Table Rock and Beaver lakes, recreational swimming and boating are easily accessible as is world-famous trout fishing in the White River and bountiful bass fishing and floating on the Kings River.
Surrounding 85-acre city-owned Lake Leatherwood are 40 miles of trails for hiking and biking, perfect for family outings. For those skilled adventurers, area caves and more rugged trails can be found in almost every direction. Many of these excursions can be found on arkansas-outdoor-adventures.com.
Affordable commercial attractions abound, too. The list includes such “must sees” as Turpentine Creek, a wildlife refuge with the largest collection of lions and tigers and bears in the region; The Great Passion Play remains America’s number one attended outdoor drama; and the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railway, a real steam-driven train. Nearby Pea Ridge National Military Park is the perfect entrée into the sesquicentennial commemoration of America’s Civil War. A complete list of attractions, calendar of events, and many activities available for kids and families can be found at reserveeureka.com.
“One of the most intriguing aspects of our community is its reputation for our ghosts,” added Moyer. “Perhaps the most famous for ghosts, thanks to nationally televised episodes on such programs as ‘Ghost Hunters’, is the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa. This four-story limestone structure is a successful mountaintop spa resort yet boasts of having ‘guests who checked out but never left’.” The hotel offers nightly ghost tours and has a special paranormal website, americasmosthauntedhotel.com.
Moyer explained, “No community is like Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and no family vacation provides such positives without spending the majority of your day and your vacation budget while waiting in line in the sun for a two-minute roller coaster ride. We hear it time and again, our guests remember their visit here as the time that their family actually did something together that produced lifetime memories, memories that can be shared by generations to come. And they did it within the family budget.”
Family vacation packages abound for Eureka Springs. Many can be found at reserveeureka.com. Most of the packages include lodging and attraction tickets while many include some meals. Throughout the season both attractions and places to say will post “hot deals” on facebook.com/officialeurekasprings.
“In a time when family ties long to be tightened and vacation budgets are short on cash, moms have told us that an ‘exploravacation’ to Eureka Springs proves to be a pretty good investment,” Moyer concluded, “an investment that reaps major dividends in lifetime memories.”
1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa
Eureka Springs has been attracting family vacationers for more than a century. In fact, the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.
One of the best places to experience Eureka Springs, and have that connection to its heritage and history, is the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, a member of Historic Hotels of America. The 1886Crescent Hotel is a palatial structure that echoes the recuperative splendor of the surrounding Ozark Mountain region.
The hotel features 15 on-site acres of gardens and nature trails. Located in the historic district with more than 100 restored Victorian shops, restaurants and galleries, the hotel seamlessly retains its 19th-century character, from the Victorian-style Crystal Dining Room to the elegantly furnished guest rooms, without sacrificing a single full-service amenity. The Ozark Mountains premier spa, The New Moon, boasts spa, salon and wellness treatments while the hotel host numerous meetings and wedding events. The New Moon Spa, the recently rebuilt conservatory the addition of luxury suites in the previously vacant stone annex reinforce the modern identity of this century-old hotel.
By the way, frequent paranormal sightings rank the hotel as one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S.
(1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, 75 Prospect Avenue, Eureka Springs, AR 72632, 479-253-9766, www.crescenthotel.com, Historic Hotels of America toll-free reservations number, 800-678-8946).
For more travel features, visit: | <urn:uuid:fe0a5522-1df6-45e0-a679-bf3fb03d4768> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com/tag/1886-crescent-hotel-spa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939597 | 1,361 | 1.757813 | 2 |
A Millennium Overture, Op. 112
When my long-time friend David Amos commissioned a brief, spirited orchestral piece for his community orchestra in the San Diego area, in anticipation of the millennium, I pointed out that schedule considerations would make it difficult for me to conceive and finish a suitable new work in time. However, since writing my Cello Sonata No. 2, in 1990, I had always meant to orchestrate its rather exuberant finale as a stand-alone concert piece. I asked David if this was acceptable and he agreed.
I have not altered a single note in the original but have tried to fill it out with plenty of orchestra color—tambourine rhythms, blazing lines for four unison horns, and so forth. The conductor's beat is simple and “straight-ahead” but two's, three's and five's are often contrasted. At one point there is something of a “break-up” section, with proclamations by one orchestral component or another separated by pauses. As usual with my music, harmonies are relatively consonant but I hope, in the manner of composers such as Nielsen or Hindemith, that there is some definite “grit” in what is generally a joyous work.
A Sephardic Rhapsody, Op. 95
The Jewish population may be roughly divided into two ethnic components, the Ashkenazic people, found before the 1940s largely in eastern Europe, thriving now in Israel and the Americas, for whom Yiddish is the secular language; and the Sephardic people, expelled from Spain 500 years ago, and found throughout the middle east, and who speak many secular languages including Turkish, Arabic and Ladino (Renaissance Judeo-Spanish). At one time I came to know many old Sephardic songs and was motivated to compose some new ones myself, but could not find any texts which had not yet been put to music many times. The energy to compose a set thereby split into two channels. One solution was a cycle of songs based on Renaissance Spanish poetry, which I called Besos sin Cuento, (Albany TROY553). Somewhat later, for the same Maestro David Amos, I was composer-in-residence for a three-year period with his orchestra, and I wrote A Sephardic Rhapsody as one of three works under that arrangement.
The rhapsodies of Liszt, Enesco and others generally do not use actual folk songs, but manage to convey their ethnic flavor anyway, with careful usage of modes and rhythm. They also seem most naturally to fall into a two-part structure: one might say introduction and allegro, or song and dance. I have used this scheme, with the interpolation of a medium-speed fugato.
As for what makes the music “Sephardic”, I would be hard-pressed to defend the specificity of it. It is clearly folk-like, and suggestive of one middle-Eastern people or another, but so many cross-influences and close encounters exist between races and nations that some might claim it could just as well be titled for any of them. At any rate, I can describe some of the tools I used to give some characteristic flavor. Modes in most of the world give us a selection of pitches that is assumed to apply in one and all octaves. So if C's are natural in the bass, the mode would have them natural in the tenor and soprano ranges as well. However, some middle-eastern modes stretch for an octave and a half, so that the top and bottom thirds include the same letter names, yet they may be inflected differently, to remarkably expressive effect. I have used the scale
B-C#-D-E-F-G#-A-B-C-D-Eb for some of the main melodies of the piece. The actual “main” or root is the E, the fourth of the 11 notes. The two inflections of C are different, and the most intense conflict occurs when the apparent tonic, E, is flattened in some of the tunes as they reach upper range.
Within the area of instrumentation, I have tried to obtain some regional color with the percussion, although that in itself also happens in the Millennium Overture with no particular ethno-geographic purpose. However, I have added a soprano saxophone to the standard orchestra, emulating the color of certain ethnic reed instruments, such as the Armenian dadouk.
In terms of rhythm, there are many fairly elastic moments in the first part. The contrapuntally complicated middle part is rhythmically the squarest, while I have attempted in the concluding vivace something of an epiphany of 7/8 meter, which holds forth without interruption for some six minutes.
Concerto for 2 Trumpets, Strings and Timpani, Op. 107
For some semesters in the mid 1990s, my academic responsibilities were divided between two institutions within the City University of New York. At both there were senior colleagues to whom to report and each was not only a good friend, but also a trumpeter, and a composer in his own right. I wrote the concerto and presented it to each of them on completion as an utter surprise. Soon after, I conducted the premiere with them, Ted McIrvine and Bruce McKinney, as soloists. Bruce and I remain colleagues at Kingsborough College, but Ted died of bone cancer at the premature age of 45 in August 2000, and it is to his memory that this recording is dedicated.
As my music goes, the concerto is relatively severe, perhaps because of the nature of the trumpet, or because the instrumentation suggested a certain neo-Baroque tightness, or because both friends, as composers, were rather less modal and more atonal than I. Of course, this only goes so far, and the harmonies and structure do not resemble those of the true serial composers. The second movement does, however, use a ground or passacaglia bass, the first phrase of which is a 12-note unit. It also borrows a page from Elliott Carter in presenting a gradual metric modulation, by incrementally slowing down to half its original speed.
The Tragedy of Queen Jane, Op. 78
In 1981 during dinner with a bridge partner, the discussion turned to theater. A full-time lawyer and part-time producer, he told me of the play The Chronicle of Nine, by one Florence
Stevenson, concerning the life of Lady Jane Grey and her nine-day rule of England. Wine having been poured liberally that evening, I blurted out “that would make a nice opera”, and I actually followed this instinct despite no hope at that point for a production. Indeed, 20 years have elapsed, Ms. Stevenson has passed on, and there still has been no performance.
Of course, the tradition of a suite or symphony taken from an opera is venerable. It was easy to compile such a piece, although it does somewhat alter the dramatic sequence. The first movement is the Act I prelude, and contrasts eerie string harmonies with angry, perhaps frightening, brass interpolations. The second movement appears in the opera as wedding music in Act I, and is something of a mini-suite in itself. The third movement is a la battaglia and corresponds to the prelude to Act III. If the ending (as in Strauss's Don Juan) seems unexpectedly subdued, the skirmish described ends very badly for Queen Jane's forces. The finale is actually the Act II prelude of the opera, where it serves as the preceding king's funeral music. In this setting, however, it may be thought of as a dirge for Jane or for the symbol of the English crown in general.
Notes © 2002 by Arnold Rosner
Arnold Rosner is a prolific American composer whose music has been performed in the United States, Europe and Israel. His works exceed 100 in number and steer clear, generally, of both the post-serial avant-garde movement of the 1960's and the minimalist movement which followed it. His treatment of harmony and counterpoint, along with the occasional recourse to an ethnic, Middle Eastern flavor, places his music in the esthetic milieu of Paul Hindemith, Ernest Bloch and Alan Hovhaness.
Rosner is currently on the faculty of Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, where he teaches both standard and ethnic music. Having composed since the age of nine, he received advanced degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo while studying with Leo Smit, Allen Sapp, Henri Pousseur and Lejaren Hiller, from all of whom, in his own words, “I learned practically nothing.”
Nicholas Palmer is widely regarded as one of the most talented young conductors on the scene today. Maestro Palmer was the recipient of the 1990 Helen M. Thompson Award from the American Symphony Orchestra League as the nation's most outstanding young music director.
Nicholas Palmer is Music Director and Conductor of the Owensboro Symphony, Altoona Symphony, Nashville Ballet and the Evening Under the Stars Music Festival (MA).
A native of Hingham, Massachusetts, Palmer graduated cum laude from Harvard University and has received his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Iowa, respectively. He has also studied at the Juilliard School, Pierre Monteux Domaine School, Aspen Music School, the Festival at Sandpoint, and the Accademia Chigiana in Italy, where he was a student of Franco Ferrara and Carlo Maria Giulini.
Executive Producer / CD mastering:John Proffitt
Technical consultant & digital editor: David Villani, Data Music Services
Recording Engineers: David Villani (Millennium Overture, A Sephardic Rhapsody), Mishler Theater, Altoona, Pennsylvania; Joel Osborne (Concerto for Two Trumpets, Strings &Timpani, The Tragedy of Queen Jane), RiverPark Center, Owensboro, Kentucky
Cover photo: Elliott Litsky
Cover design: Paul Miyamoto | <urn:uuid:3abe5b34-2f26-4b09-a391-4441a7cf8d6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dramonline.org/albums/orchestral-music-of-arnold-rosner-vol-1/notes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964779 | 2,133 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Released: November 23, 2004
Pre-Election Polls Largely Accurate
Lessons From Campaign '04
Facing an array of new and difficult challenges, the pre-election surveys performed fairly well in predicting the outcome of this month’s election. Once again, the final surveys by most national polling organizations fell within the margin of error, in spite of widespread concerns over rising refusal rates, “missing” cell-phone-only voters and supposedly flawed likely voter screens. In the wake of such a demanding election, there are a number of lessons to be drawn from the performance of the polls in Campaign ’04:
Follow the Data. The campaign showed the dangers of making a priori judgments about voter opinion. This concern arose, most notably, with the practice of weighting polling data to meet predetermined parameters of party identification. Until recently, this approach has been mostly used by partisan pollsters but it also has been adopted by some media polling organizations.
As we noted in an earlier commentary, weighting results on the basis of party in the same manner that pollsters weight data to meet demographic parameters is misguided for a number of reasons (see “Party Affiliation: What It Is and What It Isn’t,” Sept. 23, 2004). It represents a fundamental misreading of party identification, which is an attitude that changes over time and not a demographic characteristic.
The election exit poll underscored the problems inherent in weighting by party. According to the exit poll, the electorate had equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats (37% each). That represents a change from the past three presidential elections, when Democrats held a slight edge in party identification. Consequently, pre-election surveys that adjusted the partisan composition of likely voters to the exit poll results from 2000 would have misrepresented the partisan make-up of the actual electorate.
Follow the Data (Part II). Among the staples of conventional wisdom in this campaign was that, in an incumbent election, voters who are undecided in the late stages of the race break overwhelmingly against the incumbent. Historically, this so-called ‘incumbent rule’ has proven to be predictive.
But this year’s exit poll showed that Kerry had only a modest advantage among the late deciders. Among those who decided in the final three days before the election, Kerry led by 53%-44%. That was a far cry from what many analysts and pundits had predicted. Pew’s analysis of undecided voters for its final pre-election estimate which was based on statistical modeling and follow-up questioning of the undecideds predicted they would break about evenly with a small advantage for Kerry.
This proved more reliable than history in gauging their intentions. There is no doubt, however, that predicting the vote among the undecideds and estimating the final outcome are among the most formidable challenges confronting pollsters.
Cross-Pressured Voters Are Hard to Read. The national polls were fairly stable during the summer, with most showing the race about even or Kerry with a slight to modest lead. But in the wake of the GOP’s successful convention in late August, voter opinion was less stable and much harder to track. Similarly, the polls fluctuated after the three presidential debates; most polls showed Bush with a lead, though they differed over its size.
Much of the movement in the polls came among cross-pressured swing voters. These voters, who still comprised about 14% of the electorate in Pew’s final pre-election survey, were not happy with the president yet still could not comfortably support Kerry. And they wreaked havoc with the polls, as Pew Research Center Director Andrew Kohut observed in the New York Times (Oct. 21, 2004):
“The round of national surveys taken after the third presidential debate indicates that the polls are not going to give us a clear picture of who will win the election until the final days of the campaign, if then. This is not because polling no longer works it’s because voter opinion is highly unstable.”
This turned out to be the case. Pew and Gallup had similar pre-election results before making their final estimates Pew showed Bush with a three-point lead among likely voters (48%-45%), while Gallup had Bush up by two points (49%-47%). The CBS News/New York Times survey also showed Bush with a slight 49%-47% advantage.
Although the three polls ended up in pretty much the same place, they all got there differently. The Pew survey showed Bush gaining some ground since mid-October, while Gallup showed Kerry gaining over the same period. The CBS News/New York Times survey showed voter opinion as more stable. Consequently, one could draw very different conclusions about the direction of the race by looking at these polls over the last few weeks of the campaign.
State Polls: Helpful But… The number of horse race polls has been rising for the past several elections, and this year brought an increasing number of polls in the battleground states. Facing a difficult political terrain by definition, all of these states were closely divided the state surveys had varying degrees of success.
In Michigan, for instance, most of the final week polls showed Kerry with a slight advantage. Of the six polls conducted between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, the website RealClear Politics found that, on average, they showed Kerry with a 3.5% lead; Kerry won Michigan 51%-48%.
By contrast, the polls did not fare nearly as well in Florida, which Bush won by a fairly comfortable margin (52%-47%). Four polls conducted in the campaign’s final weeks had Bush ahead anywhere from a point to as many as eight points; three others showed Kerry leading, with Fox News showing Kerry with a five-point advantage. The main shortcoming of the state polls is that typically they have small samples. But even some that had sizable samples missed the mark in Florida. The highly diverse make-up of the Florida electorate may present special challenges to polling.
Cell Phones: Not a Major Problem Yet. Throughout the campaign, pollsters were frequently asked about the potential bias created by the fact that cell phones are not reached in telephone surveys. A growing number of people, especially young people, are believed to be relying solely on cell phones for phone service.
The exit polls indicated that approximately 7% of all voters are cell phone-only; this group skews heavily toward younger voters, with about half of them (48%) falling under age 30. But although cell-only voters were somewhat more Democratic than the electorate as a whole, the difference was relatively small. Cell-only voters went for Kerry by a margin of 54% to 45%, compared with Bush’s 51%-48% advantage among all voters. This difference, and the relatively small size of the cell-only group, was not large enough to create an error in pre-election poll estimates.
Moreover, young voters with and without cell phones were virtually identical politically, suggesting that young people reachable by conventional land-line service remain representative of their cell-only counterparts. About one-in-five (19%) voters under 30 years of age indicated they relied solely on cell phone service. These voters favored Kerry by 58%-41%, close to the advantage he had among the rest of this age cohort (56%-43%). | <urn:uuid:c096a673-3849-4354-aad6-ef0baa2c6881> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.people-press.org/2004/11/23/pre-election-polls-largely-accurate/?src=rss_2004-election | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96993 | 1,497 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Saving the popular Hope college scholarship is one of the major challenges before peach state leaders this week. A couple of the proposed plans have already been announced, including one that would cut aid to students.
Reaction to the early plans to save the scholarship has not been positive. The Hope Scholarship is very popular with both students and university leaders around the state, and any proposed cuts are going to face tough opposition.
The Hope Scholarship is facing an estimated $141 million deficit by 2007. Gov. Sonny Perdue supports cuts in funding for books and fees to help save the scholarship.
"Currently, for a full time student, they receive $150 from the Hope Book Fund, that would be cut. The mandatory fees which are currently $325 per semester for full time students would not be covered by Hope," says Douglas Tanner, VSU Financial Aid Director.
That means 40 percent of Valdosta State University students would have an additional $475 out of pocket burden each semester.
“I think its ridiculous. It’s kind of like a false hope. They build you up 'We're going to help out' and then they pull the rug out from under you. They're taking help away from people that need it the most," says Kathi Storey, who relies on Hope Scholarship.
Other plans currently floating around the state capitol include a plan by Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, which calls for caps on tuition for the next three years. Other ideas on the table include tougher grade requirements.
"Most of the students that I know have right at a 'B' average, like myself. Then you up the grade requirements? That means you have to try even harder and in college it’s so hard to get your average up."
The state is facing the Hope funding problem because the lottery, which funds the scholarship, is not expected to grow as fast as the number of students who will become eligible for hope.
Financial aid directors say in the long run, limiting the number of Hope eligible students is the only way to save the program. | <urn:uuid:6f0c31d8-d20a-4fdc-94d6-936ede3e18c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/613967.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974637 | 421 | 1.75 | 2 |
Monday, April 22, 2013
An orientation will take place May 21.
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is looking for volunteer "foster parents" to help prepare animals to adjust to their forever home. Tracy Petty, a longtime volunteer with the Fairfax Animal Shelter, recently decided to foster a dog with temporary medical needs. “We have one dog in our family and we know that he loves being around other dogs. My husband and I are not ready to add another permanent family member and fostering is a perfect solution for us. We know we are helping an animal that is truly in need and has a bright future ahead.” The Fairfax County Animal Shelter accepts any companion animal that comes through its doors, regardless of age, health or temperament, according to a statement released by the shelter. Some of these …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Residents age 55 and over will receive free spay and neuter services for every adopted pet.
As part of their new “Pets for Seniors” program, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter is launching a new incentive for senior citizens who adopt pets on Wednesdays. Starting now until August 2013, Fairfax County residents age 55 and over will receive free spay and neuter services for every adopted pet and free adoption on senior pets (over seven years old). The adoption incentives are part of the shelter's new initiatives geared towards older adults including: promoting new volunteer and foster opportunities, post-adoption follow-up services, shelter tours, outreach efforts, and pet support services for seniors. "Fairfax County seniors have so much to offer in the way of business, communication and animal care skills and experience," …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter will launch the Pets for Seniors program this month.
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter currently has about 100 volunteers and is looking to expand its roster by targeting the county's senior population, according to a recent news release. The shelter will launch its new Pets for Seniors program later this month. “Fairfax County seniors have so much to offer in the way of business, communication and animal care skills and experience. They are a wealth of information and support for shelter staff and animals," said Kristen Auerbach, community outreach program manager. Volunteers at the shelter usually walk dogs, greet shelter visitors, help with community outreach and animal socialization and the fostering programs. The staff at the county shelter also offers group tours for seniors and …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
A cat named Isabella is waiting for you at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.
(Editor's note: Great news — Tobie, the brown tabby cat featured last week!) Meet Isabella. She is a 9 to 10 year-old beautiful dark brown tabby with a patch of white. She is spayed, up-to-date on feline distemper and rabies shots, feline leukemia/feline AIDS negative and has already been microchipped. She originally came from a rescue in Washington State and moved all the way to Virginia with her owner. She was with the same person for the last seven years, but was given to the shelter when another cat in the household began to fight with her. Isabella is very petite and quite a “ little lady.” She would do best with calm cats who will leave her alone or love her instead of bossing her around. She seems shy at first, but if you let her…
Monday, February 4, 2013
Brown tabby cat named Tobie is waiting for you at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.
(Editor's note: Great news — Josh, the Sealpoint Siamese featured last week, was adopted!) Looking to add a pet to your family? Tobie, a 14-year-old brown tabby, is a neutered male and declawed on all four feet. He spent 13 years in the same house with his sister, never had a litter box accident and was great with kids. Unfortunately the family had a new baby that ended up being severely allergic to the cats. They brought both cats in right after Christmas and Tobie’s sister has already been adopted out. Tobie is very laid back, a little shy at first but really wants to be loved. His owners said he was a great lap cat and absolutely loves to be petted — the best buddy to watch TV with that anyone could ask for. He is fine with other cats…
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Looking for a pet to adopt? Josh is an older Siamese cat looking for a home. You can visit him at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.
Josh, a beautiful Seal Point Siamese cat, is waiting for a new owner at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. He is a 12-year-old neutered cat with front declawed paws and the sweetest personality ever. He was adopted two years ago and was very happy with his family until he developed a urinary tract infection and started having accidents in the house. His owners initially took him to the vet, but after a week of treatment he was still having problems and they did not take him back for further treatment. He spent a month and a half in their bathroom; then they decided to return him to the shelter. Shelter staff took him to a shelter vet immediately and found he was suffering from an infection. After several weeks of treatment, he is now …
Monday, December 10, 2012
Meet the new director of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and learn about volunteer opportunities.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jessie Biele
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter will host an open house on Dec. 22. Visitors can meet new director Tawny Hammond, learn about volunteer opportunities at the shelter and tour the newly construction adoption wing. The event will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 22. The Shelter is located at 4500 West Ox Rd., Fairfax. Regular adoption hours are Tuesday – Friday, 12 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact the shelter at (703) 830-1100 or visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/animalservices/.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
And the $17 million expanded shelter is set to open in December...
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter has a new chief, and will soon have a new home. Tawny Hammond, a longtime county employee and former manager of Frying Pan Park, officially started as the new director of the shelter last month, and the facility at 4500 West Ox Road will be expanding next door in December. "This is a dream come true. I'm honored to be doing this," Hammond told Patch from her office. "How we treat animals is an indication of how we are as a society… We live and work for a day that no adoptable, healthy and rehabilitatable animal is ever euthanized." Retiring director Dr. Karen Diviney is enthusiastic about Hammond. "I'm delighted. There was relief of knowing it's Tawny," Diviney said. "There will be challenges for her, …
The Fairfax County animal shelter will offer a free spay or neuter for the first 100 dogs or cats adopted from the shelter through Dec. 31.
The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is having its annual 'Home for the Holidays' campaign to help homeless animals find permanent and stable homes in time for the holidays, according to a recent news release. As part of the campaign, the shelter will offer a free spay or neuter for the first 100 cats, kittens, dogs or puppies adopted from the shelter through Dec. 31. Along with cats and dogs that are available for adoption, the shelter also has rabbits, small mammals, reptiles and birds. The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is located at 4500 West Ox Rd. To view animals available for adoption, visit the shelter's website and click on "Adoption." Regular adoption hours are Tuesday – Friday, 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Dog stabbed in the neck in June is making a full recovery.
The Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter group has raised enough funds to cover Cane’s surgical expenses and follow-up medical expenses. Cane, a 15-month-old pit bull, was picked up by animal control officers late last month. Cane was found with a stab wound in his neck in the 3500 block of Rolling Hills Avenue. The owner turned Cane over to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter because he was unable to pay the medical costs. The animal shelter and the Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter raised money to cover his veterinary bills. “We've been told he's recovering beautifully. We are very grateful to everyone who donated and helped us make a difference in this dog's life,” read a post on the Friends of Fairfax County Animal … | <urn:uuid:5acbaa4e-ec30-4da9-a0b6-4e53ce540f63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greateralexandria.patch.com/topics/Fairfax+County+Animal+Shelter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972641 | 1,865 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Growing your business by going global
The Global Perspective
"For under the equator, and on both sides of it, for the distance taken in by the movement of the sun, there lie great deserts parched with constant heat. . . . But when you have traveled farther, gradually everything grows more gentle: the climate is less harsh, the land pleasantly green, the animals more mild. Eventually you meet peoples, cities, towns. In these there is constant commerce by land and sea, not merely among themselves and their neighbors, but also with far distant countries."
-- Sir Thomas More, Utopia, 1516* * *
"All too often, ostensibly open European markets actually impose tough barriers. Europe is not a market that rewards a better mousetrap. Rather, it first does everything possible to keep the new mousetrap out, then it lays down rules for what a mousetrap must do, and finally, it builds its own."
-- Andrew Hilton, "Mythology, Markets, and the
Emerging Europe," Harvard Business Review,
November/December 1992* * *
According to a recent Inc. survey of 298 fast-growing private companies with international sales, 47% claimed that less than 10% of their overall revenues came from international trade; 37% claimed international trade revenues were from 10% to 25% of overall revenues; and 16% claimed international trade accounted for more than 25% of overall revenues.
"Reading about one . . . successful farmer made me realize how ill equipped most farms I knew were for adjusting to the international world of modern agriculture. Here is an Ohio farmer [as described in the Wall Street Journal in the fall of 1984]: 'A globe on his desk is a reminder that he must think of worldwide supply and demand, of distant politics and climates. These global factors figure strongly in his marketing now that America faces greatly heightened competition for world grain trade. Successful farmers today must have international savvy. The Richards family does. Dinner table talk is as apt to dwell on Brazil's weather as Ohio's. [They] subscribe to the Financial Times of London. Their bathroom reading is a magazine called International Economic Indicators.' "
-- Kathleen Norris, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography
(Ticknor & Fields, 1993)* * *
"We imagined that everyone in Taiwan made cables, that we'd get off the plane and they'd run to see us," says Randy Amon, cofounder of $4.2-million ABL Electronics Corp., in Hunt Valley, Md., recounting his search for overseas suppliers. "But the companies we thought we'd see were on vacation. So we wrote our hotel name, room number, and the words cables and $30,000 on the back of our business cards and slid them under doors." Amon's phone rang at 3 a.m. The following day he ordered $30,000 worth of cable from the caller.
With more than 27 million potential customers just over the border, and all trade tariffs slated to expire by 1998, the business opportunities in Canada abound. ([Article link])
Dennis Gillings wanted to make Quintiles Transnational Corp. committed to open and constant communication among employees -- a place where managers had autonomy but were dedicated to working with one another to get the job done. By using technology and management savvy, he's doing just that in five countries. ([Article link])
On the Road
Terrors of negotiating Collection nightmares Jet-lag cures The world's slowest payers ([Article link]) | <urn:uuid:e5f091b6-344c-4e7a-9b80-3c19345ad2ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inc.com/magazine/19930301/3443_Printer_Friendly.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95466 | 720 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Dr. Eckhard Beyer, Professor at the University of Technology Dresden and Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Germany, has joined the "who's who" list of extraordinary laser pioneers. He was recently awarded the highly distinguished 2008 Arthur L. Schawlow Award for his outstanding contributions to laser science and engineering.
"The Laser Institute of America first presented the Schawlow Award in 1982 to recognize individuals who have made distinguished contributions to applications of lasers in science, industry, education and medicine," said Peter Baker, Executive Director of LIA. "Prof. Beyer joins a world-renowned list of past winners including Arthur Schawlow and Arthur Guenther."
Prof. Beyer's accomplishments span more than 20 years. One of his first significant achievements was the development of a rotating hollow needle for beam diagnostics, which is still in production world-wide. In the late 1980s, he achieved several important patents in the field of intelligent process control during laser cutting and welding.
In 1994, Prof. Beyer presented the first laser hybrid process for deep penetration welding at ICALEO, and he is a recognized authority in laser hybrid welding, laser coating and novel laser beam techniques.
Prof. Beyer became the Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute in 1997, where his leadership has helped to launch the organization into world-class status as a research and development center for laser surface engineering and coatings, and laser materials processing. During this year, he was also appointed to Professor of Laser and Surface Engineering at the University of Technology at Dresden.
Throughout his accomplished career, Prof. Beyer served the industry with consistent leadership in educational initiatives. He served as president of the LIA, chaired numerous LIA technical conferences, and implemented new concepts to promote LIA technology.
Nominations for the Arthur L. Schawlow Award are open to candidates who have made outstanding contributions to basic and applied research in laser science and engineering. Nominees must be endorsed by at least three prominent individuals in the field. The Award will be presented to Prof. Beyer at LIA's International Congress on the Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO) in Temecula, CA on October, 22, 2008.
For more information on the LIA, visit www.laserinstitute.org | <urn:uuid:ef36001f-c64c-4489-965e-624bb437bfb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.industrial-lasers.com/articles/2008/06/eckhard-beyer-presented-with-arthur-l-schawlow-award-in-laser-science-and-engineering._saveArticle.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960209 | 479 | 1.539063 | 2 |
California Hotel Reservations
Set in northern California, Lake County is located north of the San Francisco Bay area – the county seat being Lakeport. Lake County includes attractions like Clear Lake, California’s largest natural lake fully within the state, and cities like Clearlake.
Established in 1861, Lake County is part of California's wine country, and has nearly 9,000 acres of vineyards within its borders, including several wineries. Lake County visitors may explore Clear Lake State Park, Cache Creek Wilderness, or the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.
Alberta | British Columbia | Manitoba | New Brunswick | Nova Scotia | Ontario | Prince Edward Island | Quebec | Saskatchewan | Yukon | Caribbean | <urn:uuid:9a3f4ab8-9e3c-4f09-8181-7c2969bf3b16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bestwesterncalifornia.com/attractions/lake-county | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935005 | 141 | 1.648438 | 2 |
E-periodical aggregator Zite has released a series of interesting blog posts detailing article reading by state. The lists were generated using the topics that readers in specific states are more likely to peruse than the average American. New Yorkers read more about the Yankees, Judaism, and advertising while my lovely homeland of Minnesota scored highly in Innovation, Leadership, Baseball, and Beer. The data is pretty hilarious and the blog also details Zite’s brushes with copyright law.
Project Noah (stands for networked organisms and habitats) was dreamed up by NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program to crowdsource species identification and act as a local guidebook to our plant and animal neighbors.
The site seems to have real educational potential; it works well and the user base seems devoted to documenting and identification. Users can help out on “missions” like that of the Great Pollinator Project, which aims to identify and improve the habitat of pollinators in NYC or the Mitten Crab Watch’s attempts to document the spread of this invasive species in the Hudson. It’s easy to look at local flora and fauna or go exploring for exotic species and it would be easy to incorporate this in an ecological curriculum once it’s more robustly filled with plants, bugs, fungi, and animals. Project Noah is actively seeking teachers and librarians to help them with this goal.
Booktrack, a company offering sound and music enhanced e-books, was recently covered in the NYT for nothing so much as its cool factor. Sugardaddied by Paypal’s Peter Theil and facilitated by Brooke Geahan of the delightfully ridiculous Accompanied Literary Society, Booktrack may have the oomph and networking savvy to take what frankly seems like an awful idea and make it kind of relevant. Their current headliner is YA novel The Power of Six, sequel to I am Number Four but they seem to be focusing on public domain novels in future ventures.
Green, D. (2011). Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.erialproject.org/
The ERIAL project, Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries, used intensive interviews and other data from 5 universities in Michigan to draw conclusions about the current state of academic research and its relationship with the academic library.
The project used two anthropologists and two years of intensive interviews with students, librarians, and faculty to get a clear picture of student research structure at universities diverse in size and population. Collections for the study also included photo journals created by librarians of hardware and spaces used in instruction, design workshops with students on library resources, cognitive maps drawn by students of library facilities, and diagrams of student movements on campus.
Inkmesh, a site developed around comparison shopping for e-books, has been getting mentioned a lot in the wake of the price fixing class action suit against Apple and five other publishers. The site works well, but its functionality is defeated in light of said price fixing.
Inkmesh was built around a simple goal, to create a database of e-book pricing and format so users could find the best deal on an e-book that would work on their device. The site accomplishes this goal pretty solidly and also provides subject browsing and lots of search refinements without many distractions. These features put it miles ahead of similar sites Leatherbound and Luzme. The site also provides a Twitter feed of free promotional e-books from big booksellers.
Michael Levine-Clark’s recent editorial in Collaborative Librarianship draws attention to the developing possibilities of e-material interlibrary loan. The current system, while a marvel of academic library collaboration, is a bit hands-on. The development of systems like OCLC’s ILLiad and Ariel allow libraries to share e-documents, but the future of this kind of lending is a bit murky. OCLC is currently developing a fee-based lending program through MyiLibrary, but it bypasses the potentially problematic library-to-library lending by loaning direct from the publisher.
Levine-Clark suggests that the next step for interlibrary loan is the development of patron-driven ILL.
BookLamp, which I profiled for the blog last month, has just launched a new site. The new incantation of this book recommendation tool is pretty interesting in light of the launch of Pundit and our DR&M conversation today about adaptive technologies. BookLamp is unique among current book recommendation engines as it auto-gathers thematic elements from full text book-searching rather than relying on subject terms created by a reader or librarian.
BookLamp also aims to avoid the popularity bias found in sites that adapt to sales and book collection similarity among users. The previous version of the site contained graphs showing things like pacing and plot and this version seems to focus more on specific thematic keywords while standard indicators of similarity operate in the background. This focus is kind of groundbreaking from a readers’ advisory perspective, which seems to tend towards read alikes based on genre and style. The site promises a future of adaptability, with a Pandora-like “dislike” option and control for the density of each element in your results.
Bibliographic control is one of the most deeply traditional roles in librarianship, but its usefulness for individual libraries has been in question since the Library of Congress began mass-producing catalog cards in 1901. In 2009 the American Library Association established a group to consider the costs and benefits of bibliographic control and original cataloging in an increasingly digital world. This paper represents the results of their analysis.
Bibliographic standards were developed to give libraries a base for collaboration and communication between catalogs. In the days before full-text search and user-generated tags, catalog records were indispensable to the profession and cataloging skill had a direct and palpable impact on the usability of library resources. These benefits are still very strongly felt by most libraries today, but as our collections begin to tip away from physical holdings, good metadata may cease to be the foundation of a searchable collection.
OCLC, massive library conglomerate and the organization behind WorldCat, has debuted a new visualization of identity connection using its Search API and Identities Database. Users are able to browse through connections between creators, companies, participants, subjects, and fictional characters.
The interface is exciting and organized. When you browse along the line, connections pleasantly burst out of each topic and create nice little identity molecules. It's very exciting to find a record with a lot of connections, suddenly wire structures pop into life all over your screen. I’m not crazy about the color scheme, but the effect is pleasant, fun, and clean. I like that OCLC is still experimenting and struggling with the purpose of print authority control on the internet. The Identities Database from whence this idea came is really quite useful and has more careful feel.
Can a passion for reading be taught? Last week’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education explores the advent of text-based schooling and questions the idea that inspired teaching can create lifelong readers. Alan Jacobs, author of The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, argues that the ability to experience pleasure in long form reading has always been a minority pursuit and that educators have been stinking up this issue with our reading love bias for years. Notably absent from the discussion are the illiterate masses to which Jacobs alludes. Joking aside, the article has inspired a lot of thoughts not only about the teaching of reading, but about the migration of quality content. The biggest issue in educating readers today is that we may fail to identify that good modern reading transcends format. | <urn:uuid:7063bac3-b3e3-4909-a5ab-c9bb242b08ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edlab.tc.columbia.edu/index.php?q=blog/2783&from=130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948453 | 1,591 | 1.84375 | 2 |
John Robison to Appear on ‘Ingenius Minds’
Ingenious Minds enters the lives of savants: individuals who possess an extraordinary ability in areas such as art, music and mathematics, while also suffering from intellectual and developmental disabilities.
John Robison never had a high school degree, but he worked as a highly skilled mechanical engineer designing sound equipment, special effects, cutting-edge toys, nuclear test apparatus, and medical lasers.
John is a savant with Asperger’s Syndrome, which has given him a preternatural understanding of mechanics, but has made his social and work life exceptionally challenging. For more information about this episode, visit here. | <urn:uuid:1c3b825b-4299-4f4f-bb55-7f014d055c24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2011/02/18/john-robison-ingenius-minds/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=671450efa2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968794 | 142 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The number of people filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week after three straight declines, another sign that the pace of layoffs has not slowed.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the highest level in a month.
First-time jobless claims have hovered near 450,000 since the beginning of the year after falling steadily in the second half of 2009. That has raised concerns that hiring is lackluster and could slow the recovery.
Still, the four-week average for unemployment claims, which smooths volatility, dipped slightly to 463,500. That's down by 3,750 from the start of January.
In a separate Labor report, consumer prices fell for the second straight month. The 0.2 decline in the Consumer Price Index was pulled down falling energy prices — most notably a 5.2 percent drop in gasoline prices. Declining energy bills were the main factor pulling down prices.
But core consumer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food, edged up 0.1 percent in May, after being flat in April. Core prices are up only 0.9 percent over the past year — below the Fed's inflation target.
Additionally, the Commerce Department said Thursday that the broadest measure of U.S. trade rose to the highest point in more than a year. The widening deficit is a sign that the U.S. economy is rebounding and importing more from around the world.
Economists say they will feel more optimistic that the economy is creating jobs once initial jobless claims fall below 425,000 per week.
Just this week, casino owner Wynn Resorts laid off more than 260 workers in its two Las Vegas casino hotels in a move expected to save nearly $8 million.
The number of people continuing to claim benefits rose by 88,000 to 4.57 million. That doesn't include about 5.2 million people who receive extended benefits paid for by the federal government.
Congress has added 73 weeks of extra benefits on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. All told, about 9.7 million people received unemployment insurance in the week ending May 29, the most recent data available.
The extended benefit program expired this month. Congress is debating whether to continue it through the end of November.
Adding to worries about the job market, the Labor Department said earlier this month that the economy generated only 41,000 private-sector jobs in May. That was down from 218,000 in April.
Temporary hiring by the Census Bureau added another 411,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:58618776-a8e3-4b18-b963-d4dc529f3639> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/US/US-Economy/2010/06/17/id/362261 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950425 | 577 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Obama's America Expands Its Global Overreach
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In January 2003, headlines such as "American Empire: Get used to it" seemed commonplace. In the wake of 9/11, the United States had already invaded Afghanistan, was weeks away from invading Iraq and in the middle of a "global war on terror." Since then, many Americans have indeed gotten used to American Empire. The most disappointing among them is President Obama, who once railed against the empire's blackest outrages — from torture to perpetual imprisonment without trial. Instead, Obama is about to enter his second term as heir of George W. Bush's imperial strategy unless his latest foreign policy appointments signal significant change.
While following through on some key promises, such as withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq, Obama has often simultaneously deepened his commitment to the empire. In some cases, he pursued his promises, proposing to close Guantanamo and launching a plan to give terrorist "detainees" civilian trials, and then quickly backed away as his political foes attacked.
When in office, Obama ignored warnings about getting trapped in the Afghan quagmire. Pushed by his handpicked advisers, including Hillary Clinton and Republican holdover Robert Gates, and generals David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal, he tripled the number of U.S. troops there. By 2011, the United States was spending $110 billion on military operations. Even as the president announced a slight acceleration of the planned 2014 pullout, it is unclear what long-term impact Obama's Afghan " surge" will have.
Elsewhere, Obama quickly became the world's leading drone warrior, employing more predator drones in his first nine-and-a-half months in office than Bush had in the previous three years. The results are mixed. He managed to decapitate much of al-Qaeda's leadership, but these attacks fueled jihadist recruitment. In Yemen, al-Qaeda had up to 300 members when Obama's drone campaign began. It now has 1,000. When the judge asked Pakistani-born "Times Square Bomber" Faisal Shahzad how he could target innocent women and children, he countered that U.S. drone strikes "kill women, children; they kill everybody." To Shahzad, the victims were human beings. Drone operators referred to them as "bug splats."
Obama claimed the right to murder, without judicial review, anyone he deemed a threat to U.S. interests, making him judge, jury and executioner, and far exceeding Bush's surveillance without judicial review (which also seems to have expanded under Obama). He personally selected the individuals to be targeted who were put on "kill lists." Before 9/11, the U.S. had condemned targeted assassinations. Now, they are Obama's signature foreign policy initiative, one that many other nations have prepared to emulate.
Often, Obama's efforts to expand America's imperial role are obscured by Republican demands that he go further. Obama has been hard on Iran, tightening sanctions and threatening military action if it pursues a nuclear weapons program that the intelligence community has consistently said it abandoned in 2003, and soft on Israel, whose government's recalcitrance and expansion of settlements undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.
In Asia, the U.S. is transitioning to a more confrontational role, dubbed the "pivot" as outlined in Secretary of State Clinton's November 2011 Foreign Policy magazine article titled " America's Pacific Century."
China Cold War
The U.S. has followed up with moves intended to encircle and contain China, disturbingly reminiscent of its Cold War efforts to contain the Soviet Union. Rather than constructively engage China, the U.S. has been militarizing the region with arms sales, joint naval operations, strengthened military alliances, deployment of troops to Australia, and a growing naval presence.
Even Obama's rhetoric has been disconcerting. Though he has not gone as far as Bush in announcing a crusade to wipe out "evil" in the world, he has echoed Woodrow Wilson's post-World War I description of "America as the savior of the world." "Unlike the old empires, we don't make these sacrifices for territory or for resources. We do it because it's right," Obama told troops returning from Iraq. He might better recall the words of long-serving Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who wrote, "Everyone knows: The Iraq War is largely about oil." | <urn:uuid:9810e020-461b-435e-b5d2-b0bac506fc4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/obamas-america-expands-its-global-overreach | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968423 | 915 | 1.695313 | 2 |
09691_000_033Communication with our Father in Heaven—including our prayers to Him and His inspiration to us—is necessary in order for us to weather the storms and trials of life.
My beloved brothers and sisters, we have heard fine messages this morning, and I commend each who has participated. We’re particularly delighted to have Elder Robert D. Hales with us once again and feeling improved. We love you, Bob.
As I pondered what I would like to say to you this morning, I have felt impressed to share certain thoughts and feelings which I consider to be pertinent and timely. I pray that I may be guided in my remarks.
I have lived on this earth for 84 years now. To give you a little perspective, I was born the same year Charles Lindbergh flew the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris in a single-engine, single-seat monoplane. Much has changed during the 84 years since then. Man has long since been to the moon and back. In fact, yesterday’s science fiction has become today’s reality. And that reality, thanks to the technology of our times, is changing so fast we can barely keep up with it—if we do at all. For those of us who remember dial telephones and manual typewriters, today’s technology is more than merely amazing.
Also evolving at a rapid rate has been the moral compass of society. Behaviors which once were considered inappropriate and immoral are now not only tolerated but also viewed by ever so many as acceptable.
I recently read in the Wall Street Journal an article by Jonathan Sacks, Britain’s chief rabbi. Among other things, he writes: “In virtually every Western society in the 1960s there was a moral revolution, an abandonment of its entire traditional ethic of self-restraint. All you need, sang the Beatles, is love. The Judeo-Christian moral code was jettisoned. In its place came [the adage]: [Do] whatever works for you. The Ten Commandments were rewritten as the Ten Creative Suggestions.”
Rabbi Sacks goes on to lament:
“We have been spending our moral capital with the same reckless abandon that we have been spending our financial capital. …
“There are large parts of [the world] where religion is a thing of the past and there is no counter-voice to the culture of buy it, spend it, wear it, flaunt it, because you’re worth it. The message is that morality is passé, conscience is for wimps, and the single overriding command is ‘Thou shalt not be found out.’”1
My brothers and sisters, this—unfortunately—describes much of the world around us. Do we wring our hands in despair and wonder how we’ll ever survive in such a world? No. Indeed, we have in our lives the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we know that morality is not passé, that our conscience is there to guide us, and that we are responsible for our actions.
Although the world has changed, the laws of God remain constant. They have not changed; they will not change. The Ten Commandments are just that—commandments. They are not suggestions. They are every bit as requisite today as they were when God gave them to the children of Israel. If we but listen, we hear the echo of God’s voice, speaking to us here and now:
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. …
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. …
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. …
“Honour thy father and thy mother. …
“Thou shalt not kill.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.
“Thou shalt not steal.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness. …
“Thou shalt not covet.”2
Our code of conduct is definitive; it is not negotiable. It is found not only in the Ten Commandments but also in the Sermon on the Mount, given to us by the Savior when He walked upon the earth. It is found throughout His teachings. It is found in the words of modern revelation.
Our Father in Heaven is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The prophet Mormon tells us that God is “unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”3 In this world where nearly everything seems to be changing, His constancy is something on which we can rely, an anchor to which we can hold fast and be safe, lest we be swept away into uncharted waters.
It may appear to you at times that those out in the world are having much more fun than you are. Some of you may feel restricted by the code of conduct to which we in the Church adhere. My brothers and sisters, I declare to you, however, that there is nothing which can bring more joy into our lives or more peace to our souls than the Spirit which can come to us as we follow the Savior and keep the commandments. That Spirit cannot be present at the kinds of activities in which so much of the world participates. The Apostle Paul declared the truth: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”4 The term natural man can refer to any of us if we allow ourselves to be so.
We must be vigilant in a world which has moved so far from that which is spiritual. It is essential that we reject anything that does not conform to our standards, refusing in the process to surrender that which we desire most: eternal life in the kingdom of God. The storms will still beat at our doors from time to time, for they are an inescapable part of our existence in mortality. We, however, will be far better equipped to deal with them, to learn from them, and to overcome them if we have the gospel at our core and the love of the Savior in our hearts. The prophet Isaiah declared, “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”5
As a means of being in the world but not being of the world, it is necessary that we communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer. He wants us to do so; He’ll answer our prayers. The Savior admonished us, as recorded in 3 Nephi 18, to “watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you. …
“Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;
“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”6
I gained my testimony of the power of prayer when I was about 12 years old. I had worked hard to earn some money and had managed to save five dollars. This was during the Great Depression, when five dollars was a substantial sum of money—especially for a boy of 12. I gave all my coins, which totaled five dollars, to my father, and he gave me in return a five-dollar bill. I know there was something specific I planned to purchase with the five dollars, although all these years later I can’t recall what it was. I just remember how important that money was to me.
At the time, we did not own a washing machine, so my mother would send to the laundry each week our clothes which needed to be washed. After a couple of days, a load of what we called “wet wash” would be returned to us, and Mother would hang the items on our clothesline out back to dry.
I had tucked my five-dollar bill in the pocket of my jeans. As you can probably guess, my jeans were sent to the laundry with the money still in the pocket. When I realized what had happened, I was sick with worry. I knew that pockets were routinely checked at the laundry prior to washing. If my money was not discovered and taken during that process, I knew it was almost certain the money would be dislodged during washing and would be claimed by a laundry worker who would have no idea to whom the money should be returned, even if he had the inclination to do so. The chances of getting back my five dollars were extremely remote—a fact which my dear mother confirmed when I told her I had left the money in my pocket.
I wanted that money; I needed that money; I had worked very hard to earn that money. I realized there was only one thing I could do. In my extremity I turned to my Father in Heaven and pleaded with Him to keep my money safe in that pocket somehow until our wet wash came back.
Two very long days later, when I knew it was about time for the delivery truck to bring our wash, I sat by the window, waiting. As the truck pulled up to the curb, my heart was pounding. As soon as the wet clothes were in the house, I grabbed my jeans and ran to my bedroom. I reached into the pocket with trembling hands. When I didn’t find anything immediately, I thought all was lost. And then my fingers touched that wet five-dollar bill. As I pulled it from the pocket, relief flooded over me. I offered a heartfelt prayer of gratitude to my Father in Heaven, for I knew that He had answered my prayer.
Since that time of long ago, I have had countless prayers answered. Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish—one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life—necessities for each of us if we are to survive spiritually during our sojourn here on earth. Such inspiration and guidance are gifts He freely gives if we but seek them. What treasures they are!
I am always humbled and grateful when my Heavenly Father communicates with me through His inspiration. I have learned to recognize it, to trust it, and to follow it. Time and time again I have been the recipient of such inspiration. One rather dramatic experience took place in August of 1987 during the dedication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. President Ezra Taft Benson had been with us for the first day or two of the dedication but had returned home, and so it became my opportunity to conduct the remaining sessions.
On Saturday we had a session for our Dutch members who were in the Frankfurt Temple district. I was well acquainted with one of our outstanding leaders from the Netherlands, Brother Peter Mourik. Just prior to the session, I had the distinct impression that Brother Mourik should be called upon to speak to his fellow Dutch members during the session and that, in fact, he should be the first speaker. Not having seen him in the temple that morning, I passed a note to Elder Carlos E. Asay, our Area President, asking whether Peter Mourik was in attendance at the session. Just prior to standing up to begin the session, I received a note back from Elder Asay indicating that Brother Mourik was actually not in attendance, that he was involved elsewhere, and that he was planning to attend the dedicatory session in the temple the following day with the servicemen stakes.
As I stood at the pulpit to welcome the people and to outline the program, I received unmistakable inspiration once again that I was to announce Peter Mourik as the first speaker. This was counter to all my instincts, for I had just heard from Elder Asay that Brother Mourik was definitely not in the temple. Trusting in the inspiration, however, I announced the choir presentation and the prayer and then indicated that our first speaker would be Brother Peter Mourik.
As I returned to my seat, I glanced toward Elder Asay; I saw on his face a look of alarm. He later told me that when I had announced Brother Mourik as the first speaker, he couldn’t believe his ears. He said he knew that I had received his note and that I indeed had read it, and he couldn’t fathom why I would then announce Brother Mourik as a speaker, knowing he wasn’t anywhere in the temple.
During the time all of this was taking place, Peter Mourik was in a meeting at the area offices in Porthstrasse. As his meeting was going forward, he suddenly turned to Elder Thomas A. Hawkes Jr., who was then the regional representative, and asked, “How fast can you get me to the temple?”
Elder Hawkes, who was known to drive rather rapidly in his small sports car, answered, “I can have you there in 10 minutes! But why do you need to go to the temple?”
Brother Mourik admitted he did not know why he needed to go to the temple but that he knew he had to get there. The two of them set out for the temple immediately.
During the magnificent choir number, I glanced around, thinking that at any moment I would see Peter Mourik. I did not. Remarkably, however, I felt no alarm. I had a sweet, undeniable assurance that all would be well.
Brother Mourik entered the front door of the temple just as the opening prayer was concluding, still not knowing why he was there. As he hurried down the hall, he saw my image on the monitor and heard me announce, “We will now hear from Brother Peter Mourik.”
To the astonishment of Elder Asay, Peter Mourik immediately walked into the room and took his place at the podium.
Following the session, Brother Mourik and I discussed that which had taken place prior to his opportunity to speak. I have pondered the inspiration which came that day not only to me but also to Peter Mourik. That remarkable experience has provided an undeniable witness to me of the importance of being worthy to receive such inspiration and then trusting it—and following it—when it comes. I know without question that the Lord intended for those who were present at that session of the Frankfurt Temple dedication to hear the powerful, touching testimony of His servant Brother Peter Mourik.
My beloved brothers and sisters, communication with our Father in Heaven—including our prayers to Him and His inspiration to us—is necessary in order for us to weather the storms and trials of life. The Lord invites us, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me.”7 As we do so, we will feel His Spirit in our lives, providing us the desire and the courage to stand strong and firm in righteousness—to “stand … in holy places, and be not moved.”8
As the winds of change swirl around us and the moral fiber of society continues to disintegrate before our very eyes, may we remember the Lord’s precious promise to those who trust in Him: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”9
What a promise! May such be our blessing, I sincerely pray in the sacred name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
Jonathan Sacks, “Reversing the Decay of London Undone,” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 20, 2011, online.wsj.com; emphasis added. Note: Lord Sacks is the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. | <urn:uuid:7d76fcf9-fdca-4757-9b9c-973b7f0f30c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/11/stand-in-holy-places?lang=eng | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979625 | 3,346 | 1.625 | 2 |
Administrators said at the nonprofit hospital board’s annual public meeting this morning that the changes were prompted by realization that many area residents were going outside the hospital system and even the county for colonoscopies and other gastroenterology procedures.
“Patients were waiting weeks at a time,” said Jackie Gould, vice president for nursing services. The fact that the hospital didn’t offer certain advanced procedures also contributed to the problem.
So in April, the hospital signed a deal to merge forces with the gastroenterologists at Lebanon Internal Medicine Associates. In May, it hired Dr. Robert Schade as medical director of its Digestive Health Specialists. The hospital also hired one new gastroenterologist.
To complete the changes, administrators said, Good Samaritan bought new equipment, adjusted its physician schedules, standardized terminology and procedures among gastroenterology doctors, started offering care for liver and pancreatic diseases, put a lot more information about procedures online for patients and began allowing patients to self-refer for colonoscopies instead of requiring that they get a referral.
The backlog has now been eliminated, administrators said, and they plan to continue expanding their gastroenterology offerings in the future. The hospital has just performed its first two capsule endoscopies, in which a patient swallows what looks like a pill that takes thousands of digital pictures as it traverses the digestive tract. | <urn:uuid:f98ef650-179c-4433-8c07-6c8fddb53e04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/article/20121119/CPBJ01/121119808/0/hospitality_tourism/Good-Samaritan-Hospital-overhauls-gastroenterology-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961014 | 286 | 1.507813 | 2 |
WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — A recent Supreme Court ruling that bars police from installing GPS technology to track suspects without first getting authorization for a judge is creating problems for the FBI.
The agency has been forced deactivate its GPS tracking devices in some investigations, FBI director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.
Mueller told a congressional panel that the bureau has turned off a substantial number of GPS units and is using surveillance by agents instead.
“Putting a physical surveillance team out with six, eight, 12 persons is tremendously time intensive,” Mueller told a House Appropriations subcommittee. The court ruling “will inhibit our ability to use this in a number of surveillances where it has been tremendously beneficial.”
The Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of the measure in January.
“We have a number of people in the United States who we could not indict, there’s not probable cause to indict them or to arrest them who present a threat of terrorism, articulated maybe up on the Internet, may have purchased a gun, but taken no particular steps to take a terrorist act,” Mueller said. “And we are stuck in the position of surveilling that person for a substantial period of time.”
GPS trackers “enabled us to utilize resources elsewhere,” the FBI director added.
Mueller said the FBI will comply with the court decision and will make certain that whatever test is ultimately adopted, that the bureau will adhere to that in terms of using GPS.
In a Feb. 24 appearance at the University of San Francisco, FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann described just how significant the ruling is viewed in federal law enforcement. He said that in the Justice Department, it is seen as “a sea change” stemming from language in a concurring opinion in the case by Justice Samuel Alito.
Alito wrote that “the use of longer-term GPS monitoring in investigations of most offenses impinges on expectations of privacy.” Alito was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she agreed with Alito’s conclusion.
Alito is a former U.S. attorney and is viewed as part of the conservative wing of the Supreme Court.
The legal team for the nightclub owner criminal defendant in the case did an effective job of presenting “the specter of what I think they called drone law enforcement,” Weissman said at the university during a law school conference entitled “Big Brother In the 21st century.”
Weissman said that the idea the other side so effectively conveyed was that “there was no longer a human element that could put a check on what law enforcement would do.”
Catherine Crump, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said “worries that proper judicial oversight like warrant requirements unduly hamper investigations are unfounded, as many law enforcement agencies routinely obtain such approval for GPS tracking.”
Follow All-News 99.1 WNEW on Twitter for breaking news and updates: @WNEWNews
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) | <urn:uuid:c1d8db9b-afd8-4a9c-890a-0e9b886e3347> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/03/07/fbi-chief-describes-gps-problems-created-by-supreme-court-ruling/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957838 | 700 | 1.648438 | 2 |
by Michael Krieger, Liberty Blitzkreig
Iceland is pretty much the only country in the Western world to have gone through a horrific financial crisis and come out the other side. How did they achieve this feat? Well, they gave the banksters the middle finger. Meanwhile, what have we gotten in the U.S. and Western Europe in return for bailing out these pampered, leveraged speculators that couldn’t make a dime without government backing? Debt slavery for the people, bigger, more powerful and increasingly dangerous financial institutions and unelected technocratic Goldman Sachs puppets as heads of state. Well at least one country got it right. Go Iceland!
Yes, I know the argument. Iceland is tiny. The rest of the world is so complex! Give it a rest. These are sad excuses for the failure of corrupt policies by crony capitalists and their sympathizers.
It has repaid, early, many of the international loans that kept it afloat. Unemployment is hovering around 6 percent, and falling. And while much of Europe is struggling to pull itself out of the recessionary swamp, Iceland’s economy is expected to grow by 2.8 percent this year. | <urn:uuid:c7dc336b-0a73-4681-b33e-bea6ea3f3023> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wrc559.com/tag/key/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948535 | 246 | 1.679688 | 2 |
|Published 191 days ago|
Making history on Wellington's Highway 6
Just in time to regulate Thanksgiving traffic along Wellington's Main Street, the town's first and only traffic semaphore is going up at the corner of 100 East and Main streets. It has been a goal of Mayor Ben Blackburn since he took his oath of office in January 2010. Blackburn and the Wellington City Council have long been concerned about pedestrian safety, especially children who have to cross Main Street - the busy US Highway 6 - to get to and from school or the city's parks. The signals won't run on a timer. Instead, they'll be triggered either by pedestrians wanting to cross or by cross traffic approaching the intersection on 100 East. Wellington Elementary students will have to cross Main Street at the signal instead of the current crossing at 200 West, the mayor added.
|Related Articles |
Best viewed with Firefox | <urn:uuid:a8014e2c-4f0e-4dab-974e-0a7dc6ca3fb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunadvocate.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=26427 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966241 | 179 | 1.765625 | 2 |
NBN essential for faster mobility: Vodafone
Confident Huawei meets trust requirements
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) believes the NBN's fibre to the premises is essential if mobile networks are to meet mobile device owners' expectations.
Speaking in Sydney today at a public hearing of the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network, VHA's General Manager Industry Strategy and Public Policy Matthew Lobb said the argument that “because consumers love mobile tech they don't like wires the NBN is not important” is wrong and that “getting fixed line right is absolutely crucial for mobile networks.”
VHA is putting its network where its mouth is by testing femotcells with some of its small collection of NBN customers and Lobb told the Committee it is doing so because “if you can take traffic out of the mobile network you increase the speed” of both the mobile network and devices that use it. Lobb said picocells and microcells “also have a part to play” but did not mention if VHA is testing or considering them.
Lobb also told the Committee that the company's entry to the fixed line market would not be possible were it not for the industry reforms that have accompanied the advent of the NBN.
“Australia has not been an attractive fixed line market because of Telstra's 70% market share and vertical integration,” Lobb said. “Recent reforms and the NBN have changed our thinking.”
Lobb also called for NBNCo's marketing messaging to emphasise competition.
“There needs to be a pro competition plan,” he told the committee. “Saying nothing will change is a missed opportunity. NBNCo should promote new entrants.”
MP Rob Oakeshott, the Committee's Chair, questioned Lobb about VHA's use of Huawei products. Lobb's answer said the company “Uses Huawei a fair way out of our network … in base stations and so on. It is an important part of our netowrk and is delivering good results.”
“The important thing to understand is that security is a vital part of any telco's business. Consumers and government must trust us, so we have a strong interest to make sure the right protections are in place. We are confident they are in place.” ® | <urn:uuid:5d8f13bf-1137-478c-9a8e-560c934163bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/16/vodafone_wants_nbn_to_boost_mobile/print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956277 | 489 | 1.5 | 2 |
Posts tagged "Apps"
The Windows 8 has an option which can make it easier to find apps in your preferred language. There are apps in the Windows Store which are developed for only for some countries. How to easily find Apps in Preferred Language in Windows 8? You could follow the below steps [...]
With just a week time for the London Olympics 2012 to start, here comes few Apps for iPad that helps you to keep updated on the Olympics Games. London Olympic 2012 begins on July 27, 2012 and ends on August 12, 2012. There is tremendous expectation and hype on the [...]
You can do so many things these days using iPad like play games, watch movies, browse websites, take notes etc. You can also use iPad to learn languages that you don’t know. There are quite a lot of iPad Apps available in the iTunes store that lets the users to [...]
Do you want an Alarm Clock App for your iPad? If yes, below are 5 free iPad Alarm Clock Apps that might be of interest for you. Note that there are lot of Alarm apps for iPhone and iPad and below we list only few of them. 1. Nightstand Central [...]
Are you looking for few websites or resources on the use of iPad in Education? Below are list of 3 websites that i found interesting for iPad users to explore on the use of iPad in Education. 1. Apple in Education This website contains links to some interesting Education Apps [...]
IPL 5 – Indian Premier League is about to begin with in a day and if you are one of those users who wish to keep yourself updated on the IPL 5 on your Android or iOS Phones/tablets , below are the Apps for it. 1. Android – Official DLF [...]
Alien Dalvik is an App that brings the Android Apps to Non Android Devices . Looks like soon one will be able to run Android Apps direcky on iPad with this App . Alien Dalvik is a port of Dalvik virtual machine where the Android App is packaged to its [...] | <urn:uuid:e995c66a-fd24-4e95-a91b-04fce2204b07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nativeblogger.com/tag/apps/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940139 | 411 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Knowing The Dangers Of The River Before You Raft
Near Bliss, Idaho (KMVT-TV) With this heat, rafting down the Snake River seems very tempting.
High Adventure River Tours took a group of willing participants on a ten-mile trip down the Snake River today.
But before you take an adventure, officials say you need to have a coast–guard approved lifejacket and also you need to know what to do if you're in trouble.
Wayne White with High Adventure River Tours shares with us some of the most common mistakes he sees.
White adds, "not wearing their life jacket, abusing alcohol on the river, taking the wrong equipment...you need to be very aware of your surroundings and what you do on the river."
White adds they conduct safety courses throughout the year and they have kids as young as three trying the sport. | <urn:uuid:2d2a440e-3af2-42f5-913a-4d19da27fb87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/Knowing-The-Dangers-Of-The-River-Before-You-Raft-165887506.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961133 | 179 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Locals suspect teen backpacker Sam Woodhead was Bear Grylls copycat
- From: The Courier-Mail
- February 19, 2013
EXPERTS have called for increased awareness about the dangers of the Outback as rescuers question the motives of a British tourist who sparked a three-day search.
More than 50 people searched a 450,000sq km zone for the British teen.
Survival expert Bob Cooper said visitors must be told the Outback is life-threatening.
"We need ourselves to be more responsible in our attitude to visitors, and visitors to the Outback, whether they're from the city or overseas," Mr Cooper said.
The concerns come as locals who searched for the teen - who dreams of joining the army - raised questions about his motives when he set off on the afternoon jog armed with a bag of clothes.
Mr Woodhead told The Courier-Mail he was using the bag as a weight for the run.
He said it was "just a run that went wrong".
"It seemed more of an interesting run than around the airfield that I had been going around," he said.
While happy with the search's successful result, locals voiced their concerns that the 18-year-old was deliberately testing his survival skills in a Bear Grylls-style adventure.
"Just a few things don't add up . . . it's a funny feeling," local Norman Philp said.
"You get a feeling he wanted to go bush."
Many other locals have spoken out, including Adrian Roots, who has been involved in several other searches for people lost in the Outback.
"From what his mum told us about him wanting to be in the Royal Marines and being big fan of Bear Grylls, that's probably why people are angry, thinking that's what he was doing.
"There's just the unanswered questions."
Outback Queensland Tourism general manager Lloyd Mills, based in Longreach, said it was the responsibility of tourists to research the dangers of the Outback.
"At the end of the day, (if) you're making a trip to a place in outback Queensland you need to do your research," he said.
"The information is available, you just have to look for it."
Tourism Research Australia data shows about 25 per cent of international tourists to Queensland travel outside the state's major cities. | <urn:uuid:158ca0e9-ff29-49d9-b0b8-76116d2b0c68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/locals-suspect-teen-backpacker-sam-woodhead-was-bear-grylls-copycat/story-e6freoof-1226580681589 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980993 | 491 | 1.539063 | 2 |
I’ve been reading, with what little time I have available, Sandra Mackey’s excellent study of Iran, The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the Soul of a Nation. It’s an excellent and very accessible piece of work.
The book is a bit out of date. A lot has changed since 1998. And the afterword ends on an optimistic note that illustrates just how far Iran has slipped in the past few years:
“If Muhammad Khatami and his 20-million person army for change do succeed in moving Iran another step toward a healthy balance between the Iranian’s interlocked identities of Persia and Islam, and the influence of the West, they will deliver the equilibrium for which the Iranians have so long searched.”
There’s very little room for optimism these days. The sad part of this story is that I believe that balance exists in many Iranians. It’s the state that’s out of balance.
Iran, on paper, is ripe for revolution. High unemployment, repressive government policies, huge numbers of young people, and other factors would lead you to expect even more unrest than we’ve seen. But there is one element that the state has in it’s favor. Iranian nationalism undercuts all other factors, including Islam. Imagine Americans with an additional 2,200 years of history under our belts.
I’ve been thinking about ways that we could engage the Iranian people – bypass the government altogether and encourage direct action by moderate Iranians. Support the faction that believes in social justice, democracy, and tolerance. A lot of Iranians fit that description.
I’m not talking about some utopian belief that we can guide Ahmaninejad and the clerics to embrace personal freedom and tolerance. They’re hopeless and imposing change on Iran, if that is even possible, would require the West to pay an extremely high price. It looks like Iranians are the only hope for Iran. Sanctions, bombings, and invasion won’t bring relief for moderate Iranians or the West. The best possible outcome, for everyone, is a democratic revolution in Iran – led by Iranians.
This isn’t really news to anyone. What’s surprising is the apparent complete failure of the West to embrace this track especially when faced with so many frightening alternatives. Ahmaninejad is the only player who acts forcefully and with absolute clarity. The fact that he’s so successful in staking out the high ground despite his country’s abysmal human rights record and his readiness to promote genocide says a lot about the quality of his competition and the moral confusion gripping the West.
I’ve reached the end of The Iranians and I can’t decide if I’m more pessimistic or optimistic. On one hand, I believe (as I did before reading the book) that Iranians are capable of building a just, tolerant, democratic society. But on the other hand we have Ahmaninejad skillfully playing on Iranian nationalism and facing off against a tough-talking West that’s hobbled by an irrational self-imposed weakness. I think the scales are tipping in favor of pessimism.
Cross posted at Chronicles of War. | <urn:uuid:a9d1010d-0842-4a42-abcc-61d3496987ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogsofwar.com/2006/09/17/the-iranians/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944815 | 665 | 1.5 | 2 |
July 19 2012
State decanting statutes
Decanting a non-US trust
Considerations when decanting
Potential advantage to foreign trust administered under US state law
Significant planning opportunities now exist for both US and non-US trusts using state decanting laws. Several more states have recently introduced or enacted decanting legislation. The US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2011-101 on December 20 2011 requesting comments regarding the tax consequences of decanting. State initiatives are responding to the need or perceived need to provide flexibility in trust administration, while the tax authorities are studying the tax implications of trustee distributions of all or a portion of the principal of an irrevocable trust to another irrevocable trust ('decanting') that result in a change in the administrative provisions or beneficial interests of the distributing trust. Advisers to international families should be familiar with decanting, as it can provide a trustee wrestling with increasing US tax and reporting obligations a method for addressing their impact on a foreign trust's US beneficiaries.
'Decanting' typically refers to the process whereby the funds of an irrevocable trust are paid over to another trust. Usually accomplished by an action of the trustee, the new trust will often have different terms that the trustees and the trust beneficiaries find more favourable. Other than through an explicit grant of authority in the trust agreement, trustee authority to decant was originally found in the common law of some states. The common law rationale maintained that if a trustee has the discretionary power to distribute property to or for the benefit of one or more current beneficiaries, then in effect the trustee has a special power of appointment that should enable the trustee to distribute the property to a second trust for the benefit of such beneficiaries.
Beginning with New York in 1992, many states adopted a legislative solution. State decanting statutes expressly permit a trustee to exercise its distribution authority to modify the terms and conditions on which trust property is held for trust beneficiaries, including to limit or change trust beneficiaries (but typically not to add new beneficiaries). The result is to change an otherwise irrevocable trust without the judicial process and proof required for traditional options such as equitable deviation, modification or reformation.
Decanting statutes respond to a perceived need to provide flexibility and are now available in more than one-third of the 50 states; yet they were relatively rare only five years ago. Within the past year alone 10 states have enacted, proposed or modified decanting laws.
Decanting a trust fund from one trust to another may have tax implications for both trusts and their beneficiaries. In response to the increasing number of state decanting laws, Notice 2011-101 asked for comments from the public regarding the income, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax issues and consequences arising from transfers by a trustee of all or a portion of the principal of a distributing trust to a receiving trust that changes beneficial interests. The public was encouraged to suggest a definition for the type of transfer to be addressed in future IRS guidance on decanting. In addition, the notice asked for comments on the tax consequences of such decanting transfers in the context of domestic trusts, the domestication of foreign trusts and transfers to foreign trusts. Written comments were requested by April 25 2012. Comments were submitted by the American Council of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accounts and the New York City Bar Association's Joint Subcommittee of the Trusts, Estates and Surrogate's Courts and Estate and Gift Taxation Committees.
Decanting can be a useful tool in the situation where an offshore trust has US beneficiaries. Trusts settled years ago for the benefit of family members who had no connection to the United States may now, after a couple of generations of marriage, birth and death, find themselves with a beneficiary class of predominately US beneficiaries. Given the tax consequences of distributions to US beneficiaries or the new rules taxing the use of trust property held in a foreign trust as a deemed distribution, decanting a portion of the trust to a US trust may be advisable.
It is possible that the trust's provisions and governing law may not permit decanting, in which case the trustee might consider first moving the administration of the trust to a state with a decanting statute. In such case it is important to confirm that the decanting statute of the new state will be available to the trustee. Some decanting statutes explicitly address this issue. In some cases, appointing a co-trustee located in a state will be sufficient to obtain access to that state's decanting statute.
The ongoing evolution of state decanting laws provides numerous possible planning options for trustees and advisers to international families. There are significant differences among the state decanting statutes. The following are some of the main considerations when reviewing a state's decanting law.
Beneficiary consent or notice
No state requires beneficiaries to consent to a trust decanting. Some states (eg, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire and Tennessee) go further by not requiring notice to beneficiaries. Generally, there is a requirement of between 20 and 60 days' notice to the beneficiaries of the first trust. Notice can become quite burdensome – for example, New York has adopted a significantly more expansive notice requirement mandating that a copy of the decanting instrument and the second trust be sent to:
Need for court approval
Only one state (Ohio) requires court approval before decanting, and even then only in limited circumstances. A state may also require that a copy of the decanting instrument be filed with the court, such as in New York if the trust has ever been subject to a surrogate's court proceeding. Even though not required, under some circumstances a trustee may want court approval before decanting to preclude later disputes with beneficiaries.
Protection from challenge
Courts generally do not substitute their judgment when reviewing a trustee's exercise of discretion, but intervene only when there has been an abuse of that discretion. Decanting is typically considered the exercise of a trustee's discretionary distribution power and thus should be governed by the same standard of review. Some decanting statutes expressly address this. For example, the New York statute provides that a decanting trustee must act in the best interests of one or more proper objects of the exercise of the power and as a prudent person would. Further, the exercise of the decanting power cannot be contrary to the creator's intent.
All decanting statutes permit decanting when the trustee has absolute discretion to distribute principal and income. However, not all states permit decanting under more restrictive distribution standards. Certain states permit decanting only if there is authority to make principal distributions, while other states allow it under either principal or income distribution authority or are silent as to whether the distribution authority is for principal or income. Similarly, certain states expressly provide that distribution authority permits decanting whether or not it is limited by a standard, while other states allow it only under absolute distribution discretion (not limited by a standard), or are silent and simply require discretion to make distributions without referencing the existence of a standard (thus by implication permitting decanting whether or not distribution discretion is subject to a standard).
No need for distribution
Another important issue is whether decanting is possible even if there is no existing need to make a distribution. Some states have addressed the potentially troublesome issue facing trustees seeking to decant with a limited distribution power. For instance, a trustee of a trust who has the discretion to distribute principal under a health, education, maintenance and support standard may be concerned that decanting to a new trust to make an administrative change is inconsistent with that standard. At least three states permit decanting whether or not there is an existing need to distribute principal or income under any standard provided in the first trust.
Power of appointment
It may be important to a trustee that the decanting statute allows the trustee to grant the beneficiary of a decanted trust a power of appointment. The common law principle that decanting is the exercise of a trustee's distribution authority, which itself is equivalent to a special power of appointment over trust property, is generally unlimited, except to the extent that the trust document itself imposes limits. Thus, a trustee making a decanting distribution should be able to grant powers of appointment to one or more beneficiaries of the new trust, but for limitations in the original trust agreement. Some states have included an express power to add a power of appointment in their decanting statutes, although they vary in their extent. For example, the Delaware, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and South Dakota statutes provide that the permissible appointees of the power of appointment need not be permissible beneficiaries of the decanted trust. New York has a more complicated approach, under which the new trust may continue to grant a power of appointment that is identical to that which existed under the first trust; the new trust may grant a new power of appointment to any beneficiary who, under the original trust, might have received an outright distribution of principal.
A trustee may want to eliminate a beneficiary for a number of reasons, from changed financial circumstances to mental health issues; alternatively, a trustee may want to accelerate the interest of a beneficiary who currently has a future interest. Missouri and South Dakota offer the greatest flexibility by permitting the trustee not only to decant in favour of one or more of the current beneficiaries, but also to accelerate a beneficiary with a future or contingent interest to be a current beneficiary. Generally, other decanting statutes either explicitly provide that the second trust may be for one or more of the current beneficiaries, or simply state that the second trust may be for beneficiaries or proper objects of the first trust – in either case effectively permitting removal of some of the current beneficiaries, but without addressing the remaining or contingent beneficiaries. Only a minority of the decanting statutes, other than those of Missouri and South Dakota, expressly address the treatment of future or contingent beneficiaries. No state permits the direct addition of a new beneficiary, which is why the authority to include a power of appointment can be an important consideration.
Change of distribution standard
Another factor is whether decanting can change the distribution standard of the trust. Most states are silent as to whether the distribution standard can be changed, so presumably the standard can be changed through decanting. Subject to tax issues, if a state permits the second trust to include a new power of appointment, the power can be used in some cases to change the standard of distribution for some beneficiaries. However, a number of statutes restrict the trustee's power to change the distribution standard, such as those of Alaska, Delaware, New York, North Carolina and Ohio. North Carolina mandates that if the first trust contains an ascertainable standard, then the second trust must have the same standard exercisable in favour of the same current beneficiaries. Alaska, addressing possible negative tax consequences of a broad power to change the distribution standard, adopts a more stringent approach and mandates that in all circumstances, the second trust must have the same standard for invading principal that is in the first trust.
Extending length of trust
With the exception of Delaware, every decanting statute either expressly permits or is silent as to the trustee's ability to extend the trust term. Delaware, by contrast, provides that if the second trust has an open class of beneficiaries, then its terms must permit distributions only when and to the extent permitted by the first trust. However, careful attention must be paid to the tax consequences – in particular, US generation-skipping transfer tax consequences – of extending the term of the trust.
Extending the perpetuities period
In some cases, the settlor may have created the original trust in a jurisdiction that did not allow perpetual trusts for non-charitable beneficiaries or limited them to 100 years. In Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire and, in some circumstances, Delaware, the decanted trust, pursuant to general state trust law, may have a new (and potentially unlimited) perpetuities period. In these states, the perpetuities period for a trust created by the exercise of a limited power of appointment runs from the irrevocable exercise, not the creation, of the power of appointment. Other states (eg, Indiana, New York, Ohio, South Dakota and Tennessee), likely concerned about the latent problems of allowing an extension of the perpetuities period, have chosen to restrict their decanting statutes by forbidding the extension of the perpetuities period beyond that of the first trust. Some state decanting statutes are silent as to extension of the period, but effectively prohibit doing so under their general trust law.
Preventing inadvertent tax complications
Non-US trusts that contained no US tax planning provisions when they were created must be aware that tax complications could arise merely from creating a trust in or moving a trust to a jurisdiction with a decanting statute. For example, where a beneficiary is serving as trustee or holds the power to remove and replace the trustee, an unrestricted decanting power may cause the trust to be included in the estate of the beneficiary for US estate tax purposes. Some states, seeking to ameliorate these and other inadvertent tax concerns, have adopted prophylactics to prevent potential tax complications; New York and North Carolina have enacted outright prohibitions on decanting when the trustee is also a beneficiary, while Florida, Ohio and Tennessee have the same prohibition in their general trust law. Other states have sought the same tax protection while providing significantly more flexibility to the trustee.
Suppose that the trustee of a non-US trust is holding the trust fund for the benefit of the settlor's descendants. The settlor has two adult children. One has moved to the United States, is married to a US citizen and has adult US citizen children with children of their own. For many years the foreign trust has owned vacation homes used by the settlor's children. The non-US child is also married and has children, all of whom are currently non-US citizens.
The settlor's children have been successful, do not need distributions from the trust and no longer use the vacation property. The US child may nonetheless be saddled with US reporting obligations because he is a beneficiary of the trust, including the new Form 8938 (for further details please see "IRS releases new form to report specified foreign financial assets"). The trustee could exclude the US child from the beneficiary class, but it will be difficult to benefit US grandchildren in a tax-efficient manner.
The trustee could consider moving the entire trust to a state within the United States. This move would trigger no US reporting, but the trust would carry with it possible adverse US tax and interest charges on distributions to US beneficiaries. Instead, by careful inspection of the trust's distributable net income and undistributed net income (calculated using US tax accounting principles) (for details please see "Taxation of offshore trusts and impact of new lower tax rates") and planning distributions to non-US beneficiaries, the trustee may be able to make a tax-favourable decanting of a portion of the trust to a new irrevocable trust settled in a state within the United States. The receiving trust will have to file Form 3520 with the IRS reporting the transfer (which may have tax consequences depending on the advance planning) but otherwise can proceed as a US domestic trust. The trustee of that new trust may then be able to use the state's decanting statute to establish trusts for US grandchildren and more remote descendants.
A state's trust laws may be attractive even to a trust with no US beneficiaries. A trust could be moved to a state within the United States with favourable decanting laws and still be classified for US income tax purposes as a foreign trust (for details please see "Taxation of offshore trusts and impact of new lower tax rates"). This allows a trustee to take advantage of modern state trust administration laws without subjecting the trust income to US tax. It may mean that an offshore trustee will need to resign in favour of a state trust company, but the family can continue to keep its key advisers in place because, in addition to decanting laws, several states have recently enacted or introduced directed trust laws, which allow for the separation of investment, distribution and administrative responsibilities traditionally associated with the role of trustee. Many states have enacted legislation clarifying that such responsibilities can be bifurcated in the trust context, so that a trustee can rely on the direction of an investment or distribution adviser, with no responsibility to monitor or review those directions. As states continue to stay competitive, the introduction of domestic asset protection trust laws is expected.
Increasingly, beneficiaries and trustees of long-term trusts need practical solutions to US tax and reporting obligations that apply to discretionary classes that now include US beneficiaries. The US rules are affecting how the non-US trust holds property. Distributions to US beneficiaries are becoming tax prohibitive. And offshore trustees may not be willing to complete and submit US reporting forms. Taking action to decant a trust and change beneficial interests or move some or all of the trust fund to the United States may provide the international family with a new succession plan that better meets the needs of the next generation of beneficiaries.
For further information on this topic please contact Jennie Cherry or Rashad Wareh at Kozusko Harris Duncan by telephone (+1 212 980 0010), fax (+1 212 202 4484) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]).
Copyright in the original article resides with the named contributor.
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ILO is a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. In-house corporate counsel and other users of legal services, as well as law firm partners, qualify for a free subscription. Register at www.iloinfo.com. | <urn:uuid:753e3bc5-3b69-496a-ac84-bb20828301cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/detail.aspx?r=25503 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938078 | 3,669 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Sacramento is undoubtedly a place in which many people take pride. But when it comes to life experiences in this city, few people remember Sacramento better than Lou Bordisso, Sr.
For the great number of years he has lived in Sacramento alone, Lou cannot help but have many memories of the city. But his connection with the area extends well beyond simply living here.
Born in Sacramento on Nov. 17, 1913, Lou was one of the three children of Italian immigrants Frank and Maria Bordisso.
Frank worked for the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Marie was a local cannery worker.
During his early childhood, Lou grew up with his family at 1919 14th St. The family, who also included Lou’s siblings, Bill and Katherine, moved to 2710 X St. in about 1927.
Attended local schools
Lou began making friends with many local children while he was attending William Land School at 1116 U St.
He continued his schooling at Newton Booth School at 2620 V St. and Sutter Junior High School at 1820 K St. before becoming a student at Sacramento High School in the early 1930s.
While at Newton Booth and Sacramento High, he was a classmate of Herb Caen, who would eventually become a renowned columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Like many boys growing up in Sacramento at the time, Lou was very interested in the sport of baseball.
And with this interest, Lou began playing baseball at Southside Park when he was 12 years old.
Among Lou’s fondest memories in the game were his years as a third baseman on Sacramento High’s team, which was led by its coach, Edmond A. “Ed” Combatalade.
In reminiscing about these years, Lou said that the Sacramento High team included Alex Kampouris (1912-1993).
“The players named me the captain of the team and we also had (then-future Major League Baseball player) Alex Kampouris on the team,” Lou said. “I remember when we went to Berkeley to play and Kampouris – he was fussy about who he liked – picked me to stay over night. I almost fell over.”
Another notable player on the Sacramento High team was Bill Svilich, who later played for the Sacramento Senators, and Joe Bagley, who was known to practice baseball on a nightly basis at Southside Park.
Minor league player
Lou’s success in baseball in Sacramento led to his signing with the Des Moines (Iowa) Demons, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
And through this experience, Lou was able to practice at Chicago’s famous Wrigley Field.
“I worked out on the Cubs squad with Dolph Camilli (1907-1997), first baseman,” Lou said. “That was a thrill for a kid. I was only 20 years old.”
Camilli, who played for 11 years in the majors, later managed the Sacramento Solons.
The Winter League
Lou was also a baseball manager, as he led his Winter League team to 11 championships. At different times, the team was sponsored by Julius Men’s Shop at 1023 K St. and Matt Transfer and Storage at 851 Richards Blvd.
Local golf phenom
In addition to baseball, Lou also experienced notable success in golf.
Although he did not begin playing golf until after he retired, Lou accomplished a feat that is only dreamed of by most golfers.
Lou made hole-in-one shots on both the first and second holes at Bing Maloney Golf Course at 6801 Freeport Blvd.
Several years later, some of Lou’s friends from Joe Marty’s bar at 1500 Broadway had a bench installed and named in his honor at the 12th hole at William Land Park.
Another one of Lou’s fondest memories was his Oct. 30, 1938 marriage to Rose Elizabeth “Sunny” Thomas. The couple was married by the Rev. Silvio Masante at St. Mary’s (Italian Catholic) Church at 1915 7th St.
Fifteen years later, the couple adopted their only child, Lou Anthony Bordisso.
The adoption was made possible through a letter that was written by Grace “Ciss” Kennedy, who was a friend of Sunny.
The couple’s son, who was adopted through an agency in San Jose, was given the middle name of Anthony as a show of appreciation to the Kennedy family. Ciss’s son is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
While there are many people who associate Lou with his baseball days, others know him as the former owner of two local bars.
After returning from his service in World War II, Lou partnered with his brother in the ownership of Old Ironsides at 1901 10th St.
In 1968, Lou sold his interest in Old Ironsides and purchased the Flame Club at 2130 16th St.
Despite selling the Flame Club a decade later, Lou spent little time away from the bar business before accepting a part-time position as a bartender at Joe Marty’s.
Lou continued to work at Joe Marty’s for a few more years, at which time his legs became too weak to withstand the pressures of standing for hours at a time.
‘Local living legend’
During an interview with this publication, Lou Anthony said that his father is somewhat of a local celebrity.
“There is not a place where we can go to in Sacramento where my father is not recognized and approached,” Lou Anthony said. “People always come up to him to reminisce and share with him how he has influenced their lives. He really is like a local living legend.”
Man about town
Despite being less than two years away from becoming a centenarian, Lou remains active in every day life.
Lou continuously dedicates himself to his social life, which includes writing letters to friends and weekly visits to one of his favorite local businesses, the La Bou Bakery and Café at 4400 Del Rio Road, just south of the Sacramento Zoo.
He also often returns to the Old Ironsides and the Flame Club for lunch and reminiscing about his local baseball days and his other fond memories in the capital city.
When asked what his secret to success has been for maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle for nearly a century in his hometown of Sacramento, Lou said, “My life has been very good, very good. I exercise and eat pretty healthy. I stayed out of trouble, had a good marriage, had a very good boy (Lou Anthony). I’ve had everything I’ve wanted, a nice business, a lot of fun in baseball and (other) sports and I’ve made a lot of friends. Things have been good. That’s all you can ask for in life.” | <urn:uuid:dc50920a-a190-48e2-8de6-5be3335868e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valcomnews.com/?tag=newton-booth-school | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984895 | 1,446 | 1.6875 | 2 |
One of the first things I learned in Home Ec Garment Sewing was that you always picked a sewing thread that was just slightly darker than the fabric you were sewing on. The reason is that when you get down to a single thread, the color of a single thread will seem much, much lighter than the spool of color altogether. This is also true for stitching. I'm sure Crescent Colours 12 Grain seen in a hank seemed dark enough for a sand color, but in actually using it to stitch 1 over 2 on 36 count fabric, it is much lighter than the hank of thread on the card. This is why I changed this thread for Weeks Dye Works Oak. I was at first worried that it was too dark. I am already using Crescent Colours Old Oak Tree for the palm tree trunks and the starfish in the picture below. But you can see when I pull out a single thread from the hank, it is actually not a dark tan at all.
I also used this technique for changing out Crescent Colours Frosted Sage for a darker grey to use to stitch a sea shell. In this case I substituted Weeks Dye Works Tin Roof. I did look at several Weeks and several Gentle Art threads, but this is the one I decided on.
You can see the result in the castle (Weeks Dye Works Oak) and the sea shell (Weeks Dye Works Tin Roof). I also like the fact that Tin Roof has a tiny bit of green in it, much as a natural shell would. I still have some stitching to do in each of these boxes, but I wanted to show the change in colors without the backstitching getting in the way. So the next time you do a floss toss and find that you really don't like the colors once they are stitched, don't beat yourself up. Just consider that the thinner the thread and the lower the fabric count, the lighter the thread will seem when you stitch it on the fabric, especially white fabrics. | <urn:uuid:ba66601b-f2f1-43fc-a5f4-02935343bf6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://threadsofdesire.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-floss-tosses-dont-always-work.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975293 | 411 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Friday 27 April 2012: Willow Warbler - New Garden Tick!
I make a joke about a new garden tick yesterday and a real new garden tick turned up today!
I was sat editing Ponty v Newbridge Semi Final pictures when I noticed a small bird flit along the lawn. At first I thought it was a Jenny Wren, it was small enough, but then I clocked it was green. My next immediate thought was it was a Chiffchaff, as I have had one in a garden once. I quickly grabbed the camera, and got a distant shot at high ISO and hand held that I was quite pleased with. It flew off into the woods, an I thought that was that! I got back to photo editing.
Time passed, and I suddenly clocked movement out of the corner of my eye ... the Willow Warbler was back, and was right outside the patio doors! I rattled off a series of shots, and settled on this one as the best one! Dead chuffed with it.
As a mildly amusing aside, I spent ages looking through the Collins 2Ed (the birding bible) trying to ID it, and separate it from the Chiffchaff, one key indicator is the length of the wing primary feathers ... Chiffchaff quite long, Willow Warbler quite stubby ... so I was trawling through the photos from various angles to try and work out the feather lengths, when someone pointed out Chiffchaffs have black legs, Willow Warblers don't .... *sigh* | <urn:uuid:5e8fa83e-f0ab-4bf0-920a-ffe41f4618bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/1944014 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979892 | 316 | 1.703125 | 2 |
352 - 427 RAV ASHI (Babylon)
First to compile the Babylonian Talmud. He did this orally since it was still considered unlawful to write it down. He renovated the academy at Sura, whose prestige had declined since the death of Rava in 352. Rav Ashi re-established its authority, and served as its head for nearly fifty-two years. | <urn:uuid:dde75e15-39eb-4040-9db0-21ba1193c2a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?id=5204 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991709 | 79 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Cultural arts center has had its share of successes and failures, Arlington Economic Development Executive Director Terry Holzheimer said.
The Artisphere is having something of an identity crisis. Originally conceived as a cultural arts center, county leaders concede that things haven't exactly worked out as planned. The facility didn't bring enough people in to support a bar and restaurant, providing space for area businesses to have a residency didn't work, and it costs the county more than $1 million a year just to keep the doors open. "We're rethinking it now," Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer told Patch. "There's not sufficient funding to create a world-class cultural center." But that doesn't mean arts won't be a part of the Artisphere's future. [More: Artisphere: What Does Success Look Like?] The facility opened in October 2010 under the …
Arlington Economic Director Terry Holzheimer: Scope of project needs to be scaled down and its purpose broadened.
So, what should the Artisphere be? It's the conversation that perhaps started two-and-a-half years late — and it started Tuesday with a few big questions. What does success look like for Rosslyn's cultural arts center? Should the public facility be limited to the arts? Elected officials began wondering aloud as to what the county's end game should be for the Artisphere on Tuesday after Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey questioned increasing the county's subsidy to a struggling facility while cuts are being proposed to social safety net programs. [More: Arlington Leaders 'Rethinking' Artisphere] Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said one thing it won't be is the Strathmore of Rosslyn. "That isn't possible. It…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The gallery features international designers and contemporary pieces and will be on display until mid-May.
International designers have come together to produce a gallery of over 100 eco-friendly and useful every day household items. The Next Wave: Industrial Design Innovation in the 21st Century, on display at the Artisphere in Rosslyn and put together by Curator Douglas Burton, attempts to spotlight the international side of the Washington metropolitan area. “There are people from every part of the world based (in the greater Washington area),” Burton said. “I think it's important that those people, and the people that are native to the area, see that Washington is a major international player like New York, Chicago and L.A." Designers from the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and the United States have …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Entrepreneurship symposium features panels, an expo, a job fair and a 'Dolphin Tank.'
The Foster.ly team is corralling a long list of angel investors, business incubators, and experts in a variety of fields for an eight-hour whirlwind entrepreneurship symposium in May. The Day of Foster.ly will return to the Artisphere in Rosslyn for its second annual event on May 4. Foster.ly, a collective of entrepreneurs focused on the greater Washington area, will announce the event today. "The goal is to get as many panels, and good information, as well as unique opportunities in one space… and to bring as many entrepreneurs together as possible," said Dov Markowitz, who handles operations for Foster.ly. The day features an expo that brings together everyone from venture capitalists to T-shirt printers in an effort to collect all the …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Five local filmmakers were recognized at Arlington Independent Media's Rosebud festival.
A few local filmmakers took home $1,000 at the Rosebud Film and Video Festival awards Sunday at the Clarendon Ballroom. The festival, now in its 22nd year, draws talent from Washington, Maryland and Virginia. About 250 people came out to view 20 films included at a showcase Saturday at the Artisphere in Rosslyn. The following winners were announced: Matthew Pickett for "The King's River" Gemal Woods for "Close Ties: Tying on a New Tradition" Laura Gamse for "The Creators" Robert Parrish for "Next to Heaven: Winner" And Steven Vagias for "Gutted." Vagias was also awarded Best in Show for "Gutted." The festival is put on by Arlington Independent Media, a nonprofit membership organization that provides media production training workshops, …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The event will draw 40 local crafters.
Forty local crafters will be at the Artisphere for Grump, an alternative holiday craft show today. The Artisphere is hosting the free event from noon to 6 p.m. today at 1101 Wilson Blvd. The event features a tacky-sweater photo booth, DJs and handmade goods, according to the arts venue. Vendors are selling everything from T-shirts and to jewelry to comic books and soap. Read a full list of the vendors who will attend Grump on the Artisphere’s website.
Friday, December 7, 2012
The weekend is here! How are you going to spend it?
1. 58th Annual St. John's Greens Sale & Christmas Bazaar When/Where: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at St John's Episcopal Church Georgetown Parish, 3240 O St., NW. Why Go: This family-friendly event offers crafts for the kids, holiday wreaths and greens to make your home festive and food and carols to keep the whole family happy. Cost: Free to attend, prices for greens vary. 2. Miracle on 23rd Street When/Where: Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday outside (and continue inside) Linden Resources, 750 S. 23rd St., Arlington Why Go: This free event features a festive tree lighting, Santa Claus arriving on an Arlington County fire truck, holiday music performances, children's activities and food. Inside, crafts will be on sale. Linden Resources …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Specially commissioned project will be on display on the Artisphere dome's exterior tonight only.
A new exhibit designed to illustrate the connections between our online and offline selves opens tonight with a free reception. The kickoff of W3FI — pronounced "We-Fi" — coincides with the annual Light Up Rosslyn event. The collaboration of artists Chris Coleman and Laleh Mehran is designed to be an "immersive digital installation," according to Artisphere. Artisphere's walls will be animated with real-time information gathered from visitors and the region at large. A specially commissioned project will be displayed on the Artisphere dome's exterior from 5:15 to 11 p.m. tonight only. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 20.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Celebration includes programming throughout the weekend.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
It's the third annual show. | <urn:uuid:a77097b9-5fc4-408e-99e8-dc20aceb4a41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arlington-va.patch.com/topics/Artisphere | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950705 | 1,442 | 1.625 | 2 |
NTSB Identification: WPR09LA083
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, January 10, 2009 in Carson City, NV
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/21/2010
Aircraft: CESSNA 172RG, registration: N6272R
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
During the landing approach the pilot was unable to fully extend the right main landing gear. Following multiple troubleshooting attempts he retracted the left and nose landing gear and performed a partial gear-up landing. During the landing sequence the airplane sustained substantial damage to the belly structure. Postaccident examination revealed multiple fractures in the right main landing gear actuator housing and mechanical damage to the internal piston rack. Analysis of the fractures revealed that they had failed in overload. Examination of an exemplar actuator, piston, and sector gear revealed that the mechanical damage to the teeth on the sector gear occurred after the initial failure of the actuator housing and was not causal to the failure. The airplane manufacturer had released a service bulletin addressing repeated inspections for cracks at a specific location in the actuator body, a typical procedure for monitoring of fatigue cracks. Although it appeared that the operator had not complied with the service bulletin, the primary cracks were in a different location and displayed features consistent with an overload event. Although the airplane had been used for flight training, and the overload failure of the actuator was likely caused by a prior hard landing, the investigation was unable to determine the initiating event.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The overload failure of the landing gear actuator at an undetermined time. Full narrative available
Index for Jan2009 | Index of months | <urn:uuid:7ac6b9cc-68f9-44e4-a4ad-3a7d86d62dca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20090115X05748&key=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941091 | 379 | 1.53125 | 2 |
DURBAN, South Africa — The South Korean city of Pyeongchang has been awarded the 2018 Winter Olympics after failing in two previous attempts.
Pyeongchang defeated rivals Munich and Annecy, France, on Wednesday in the first round of a secret ballot of the International Olympic Committee.
The Koreans had lost narrowly in previous bids for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.
Pyeongchang will be the first city in Asia outside Japan to host the Winter Games. Japan held the games in Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — The IOC selected a host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics in the first round of voting Wednesday, and the winner will be announced at about 11 a.m. EDT.
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge announced the election was over after just one round of the secret ballot among 95 members.
The candidates were South Korean favorite Pyeongchang, Munich and Annecy, France.
It's the first time an Olympic bid race with more than two finalists was decided in the first round since 1995, when Salt Lake City defeated three others to win the 2002 Winter Games.
A majority is required for victory, meaning Wednesday's winning city received at least 48 votes.
Had no majority been reached in the opening round, the city with the fewest votes would have been eliminated and the two remaining cities gone to a second and final ballot.
There has been speculation of a possible first-round win for Pyeongchang, which led in each of the first rounds in the votes for the 2010 and 2014 Games, but then lost in the final rounds to Vancouver and Sochi.
Pyeongchang is seeking to bring the Winter Games to a new territory in Asia.
The Winter Games have been staged twice in Asia, both times in Japan — Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998. Pyeongchang, whose slogan is "New Horizons," says it can spread the Olympics to a lucrative new market in Asia and become a hub for winter sports in the region.
Munich, which hosted the 1972 Olympic and is trying to become the first city to stage both a Summer and Winter Games, contends it's time to bring the event back to its roots in Europe. Germany hasn't hosted the Winter Games since Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.
Annecy, the clear outsider in the race, is bidding to take the Winter Games to France for a fourth time after Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992.
Wednesday's vote came after all three cities made final presentations to the IOC members, backed by presidents, prime ministers and sporting greats.
In a presentation featuring South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na, Pyeongchang asked the IOC to reward the country's persistence after 10 years of bidding.
"We never gave up, and tried again and listened to your advice and improved our plans," said Kim Jin-Sun, the former governor of Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang is located.
"I believe it is my destiny to stand in front of you for the third time," he said, his voice choking and eyes welling with tears. "Our people have waited for over 10 years for the Winter Olympics. Today I humbly ask for your support for the chance of hosting the Winter Games for the first time in our country."
Munich sought to counter Pyeongchang's emotional pull.
Thomas Bach, an IOC vice president and a senior leader of Munich's bid, noted that Germany was making its fourth Winter or Summer Olympics bid in recent years and that it has been more than 70 years since the country hosted the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
"Today's decision is not about how many times someone has bid or how long we have been waiting, this decision today is about the merits and only the merits," he said. "The question is whether now to explore new territories again or time to strengthen our foundations."
The issue of security was not raised in the presentation or in the question-and-answer session with Munich, where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed in an attack by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Olympics.
Annecy took a simpler, more human approach in its campaign for an "authentic" ecologically friendly games in the heart of the French Alps.
"The host city must have a soul," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said, a subtle dig at Annecy's bigger-budget and glitzier rivals.
Each city had 45 minutes to present its case, followed by 15 minutes for questions and answers. | <urn:uuid:bedb1436-17bd-4bb0-b7e8-da5cc7f61654> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.silive.com/sports/advanceonsports/index.ssf/2011/07/south_koreas_pyeongchang_award.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968791 | 996 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Reason: Hit & Run | Ron Bailey | Bipartisan Plan for Climate Geo-engineering ProposedI'm open to geo-engineering if it is done in using incremental methods, but it does strike me as hubristic. Of course the certainty with with many climatologists pronounce about the future of the world seems similarly intellectually arrogant. I'm not sure how you accept the latter as justified, but label study of the former as dangerously prideful. If scientists really understand the climate as well as I am so often told they do, why wouldn't engineers be able to take that understanding and put it to use?
The New York Times is reporting that the D.C.-based Bipartiscan Policy Center is releasing a new study developed by an 18-member panel of researchers and policy wonks calling for research on ways to cool the planet down through geo-engineering, or as they prefer to call it, climate remediation. From the Times:
In fact, it is an idea that many environmental groups have rejected as misguided and potentially dangerous....
Last week, various environmental activist groups urged the British government to stop a minor experiment in which British researchers plan to hoist a hose via helium ballons into the air and spew out water droplets.I'm sorry, I thought the AGW movement was 100% congruent with being pro-science. Apparently it is "pro-science" to block experiments now? Or perhaps it's not as simple as "this side supports Science and the other side hates Science."
I continue to believe that most of the support behind the AGW movement is less about concern for the environment than it is about gaining leverage to tell other people -- especially ones who consume or produce the wrong things -- what to do. It's the simplest explanation I can think of which explains this situation. | <urn:uuid:c65d31e1-3595-4d77-a7a1-e853223af37d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southbend7.blogspot.com/2011/10/geo-engineering.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975357 | 371 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Security protocol for net banking, Facebook has serious weaknesses: experts
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The protocol that provides security for online banking, credit card data and social networking site Facebook has "major weaknesses" which may lead to interception of sensitive personal data, UK scientists warn.
The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is used by millions of people on a daily basis. It provides security for online banking, as well as for credit card data when shopping on the Internet.
In addition, many email systems in the workplace use it, as well as a number of big companies including Facebook and Google.
Professor Kenny Paterson from the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway University and researcher Nadhem AlFardan found that a so-called 'Man-in-the Middle' attack can be launched against TLS and sensitive personal data can be intercepted in this way.
They have identified a flaw in the way in which the protocol terminates TLS sessions. This leaks a small amount of information to the attacker, who can use it to gradually build up a complete picture of the data being sent.
"While these attacks do not pose a significant threat to ordinary users in its current form, attacks only get better with time. Given TLS's extremely widespread use, it is crucial to tackle this issue now," Paterson said in a statement.
"Luckily we have discovered a number of countermeasures that can be used. We have been working with a number of companies and organisations, including Google, Oracle and OpenSSL, to test their systems against attack and put the appropriate defences in place," Paterson added.
- Paddy shortfall blamed for mystery death of procurement officer
- 'Bookie' Vindoo was close to BCCI chiefís son-in-law: cops
- Net widens, police watching three more players, new set of bookies
- Suspected Islamists behead soldier on London street
- Malegaon 2006 case: NIA names four right wing terror suspects
- BJP invokes 'sarcasm, ridicule' against PM | <urn:uuid:e8159a0b-da38-4fdb-9e53-08e219faca36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-pulls-up-cbi-over-delay-in-appealing-babri-verdict/1069147/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934991 | 518 | 1.835938 | 2 |
What kind of pirate am I?
Through history, there have been many pirates. The great Blackbeard; Bluebeard; Redbeard; Anne Bonny; Long John Silver; Pugwash the Magnificent. All have had illustrious histories, full of battles and victories the likes of which ye have never seen.
And arrrrr, it be true that ye wants to be a pirate. I see it in ye eyes. But deep down, knows you what kind of pirate ye would be? Knows you truthfully?
Yarrr. It is an important question, what kind of pirate ye would be. But it is not one ye can answer yeself. Piracy is earned, ye little scallywag, not chosen. And it is in this spirit that we invite ye to submit ye name - and let ye friends and peers decide for ye. | <urn:uuid:0598c609-99f7-45ef-ae96-f5fe93b084f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/pirate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938001 | 176 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Radio 4 did an excellent three-part programme a couple of weeks ago on the history of the Euro and the roots of the current crisis. If you are interested in the subject it’s well worth listening to the whole thing but the comments from a French civil servant working on the Euro agreement struck a chord (listen to Episode 1 from about 22:05). It was an open secret, he says, that Europe’s southern tier was not ready for the Euro but no-one was prepared to challenge them. Why not?
Because we have had, in Europe, a big political correctness problem of etiquette. The good old tradition of not pointing the finger at any other member state to make sure that the other member state will not point the finger at you.
How often do you see that in management teams? No-one wants to shatter the group consensus so no one says what everyone is thinking. They let things pass when they should challenge. This happens even when the issues being brushed under the carpet are serious and a threat to the organisation’s existence. Social norms are powerful; people are extremely reluctant to challenge them. As Malcolm Gladwell says, people will, sometimes literally, crash and burn before they break these unwritten rules.
Most of you are probably familiar with Bruce Tuckman’s stages of group development; Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Teams go through this at varying speeds depending on the wider culture, the personalities involved and the urgency of the task. Storming is the most difficult stage because it’s uncomfortable. People argue, confront, jockey for position, score points of each other and sulk. Sometimes they have open rows. Most of us don’t like conflict so we tend to want the Storming stage to be as short as possible. Which is where the problems start. Team members often bury their differences rather than dealing with them. Leaders, anxious to get to the Performing stage, will close down dissent. The consensus created during the Norming phase is, therefore, imposed by the leader or a powerful sub-group, rather than shared by the whole team.
This is fine, up to a point, and can be adequate in some situations. But for those teams dealing with longer term strategic issues, such groupthink can become a hinderance. Chief executives and business unit heads usually claim that they have cohesive management teams but often, what looks like cohesion is simply suppressed conflict.
This penny first dropped for me a dozen or so years ago. My (now) good friend Mike Vernon challenged our team, “Why are you all being so polite to each other?”
Strange question, I thought. We were a cohesive and supportive team. Why wouldn’t we be polite to each other. But, of course, we weren’t supporting each other, we were colluding with each other. We were all engaged in that little dance in which I won’t challenge your unsubstantiated and anodyne statements if you don’t challenge mine. Eventually, I recognised the behaviour in our team and I’ve seen it dozens of times since.
To break out of this inertia, teams have to go back into another Storming stage. Someone has to take a risk and start asking difficult questions. This can be extremely difficult and uncomfortable. Breaking group norms and taking the team back into the Zone Of Uncomfortable Debate (ZOUD), even if it is necessary, will not always be popular. In my experience, the difference between a good facilitator/team coach and a great one is the ability to take a team through this second Storming stage. Once a team has been through that stage, instead of settling down to a comfy consensus again, they learn to make use of their conflicts to make better decisions. As one executive described it, “We have more productive fights now.”
It is tempting to bury disagreement and to reach a superficial group consensus, especially when there is an urgent task to be done. I can understand why management teams do it and I can see why the visionaries of the EU would rather everyone ignored the obvious questions about the suitability of Greece and others for monetary union. But group consensus and social norms can be dangerous. The resulting code of silence can see companies going bust, planes crashing into mountains and, in all probability, the near collapse of at least one European state.
Like many a management team, the EU rushed to Norm before it had properly Stormed. The result, as ever, was collusion, comfortable debate and the avoidance of challenge. For any group, especially one taking such important decisions, the result is likely to be disastrous. There is a warning there for companies, governments and management teams everywhere. | <urn:uuid:9dca5c10-5d61-41b0-af6d-b15126425e80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/what-happens-when-you-start-norming-before-youve-finished-storming/?like=1&_wpnonce=a2298bf464 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966494 | 976 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Bread and Puppet Theater's "Circus of the Possibilitarians" at Freedom Square!
The Circus of the Possibilitarians is a satirical horse and butterfly circus, addressing pertinent national and international issues in a clownish fashion, including rotten ideas, a wild dancing horse and some mellow lions, a solemn salute to the world’s casualties and much more!
The Dire Circumstance Jubilation Ensemble provides a little bit of brass and a lot of noise. Please take note that if some of the circus acts are politically puzzling to adults, accompanying children can usually explain them.
Join us earlier in a day of events which kick off the NEA Our Town grant "Found Art in North Troy!", as Bread and Puppet Theater returns to the community to celebrate StoryHarvest!
Before the event, from 11am - 3pm, join us for a "Be the Media" workshop with Bread and Puppet: Institute for Subversive Papier Maché.
The workshop culminates in a parade on 6th Ave. from Troy Bike Rescue, to Collard City Growers, to Missing Link, and on to Freedom Square, where workshop participants will join in a prologue to the performance!
After the event, join us at the Sanctuary for the second annual StoryHarvest community meal, honoring local farmers from across the region. And, enjoy our Fall '12 photography art exhibit opening, with images of North Troy neighbors engaged in creative action, by artists Brenda Ann Kenneally, Patrick Dodson, and Ellie Markovitch.
More about Bread and Puppet
“We believe in puppet theater as a wholesome and powerful language that can touch men and women and children alike, and we hope that our plays are true and are saying what has to be said, and that they add to your enjoyment and enlightment.”
The Bread and Puppet Theater was founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side. Besides rod-puppet and hand puppet shows for children, the concerns of the first productions were rents, rats, police, and other problems of the neighborhood. More complex theater pieces followed, in which sculpture, music, dance and language were equal partners. The puppets grew bigger and bigger. Annual presentations for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day often included children and adults from the community as participants. Many performances were done in the street. During the Vietnam War, Bread and puppet staged block-long processions and pageants involving hundreds of people.
In 1974 Bread and Puppet moved to a farm in Glover in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The 140-year old hay barn was transformed into a museum for veteran puppets. Our Domestic Resurrection Circus, a two day outdoor festival of puppetry shows, was presented annually through 1998.
The company makes its income from touring new and old productions both on the American continent and abroad, and from sales of Bread and Puppet Press’ posters and publications. The traveling puppet shows range from tightly composed theater pieces presented by members of the company, to extensive outdoor pageants which require the participation of many volunteers.
Bread and Puppet is one of the oldest, nonprofit, self-supporting theatrical companies in the country.
Co-sponsors: Collard City Growers, Troy Bike Rescue, Missing Link Street Ministry, Community Gardens, Communities for Healthy Living.
Funded by National Endowment for the Arts "Our Town" grant. | <urn:uuid:64196b74-5bc8-4760-b41b-d5e36ed2af6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediasanctuary.org/node/4132 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946694 | 702 | 1.632813 | 2 |
By Jason Bloomberg
It sounds so obvious when you get right down to it: you need to know what problem you're solving before you can solve it. Common sense tells you to start with the problem before you can find the solution to the problem. If you start with a solution without knowing what the problem is, then there's no telling if the solution you have will be the right one for the problems you're facing.
Obvious, yes, but it never ceases to amaze us at ZapThink that when it comes to service-oriented architecture (SOA) projects, time and again we run into technology teams who don't have a grasp as to what business problems they're looking to solve. Now, it might be tempting to dismiss this disconnect to "techies being techies" or some other superficial explanation, but the problem is so pervasive and so common that there must be more to it. As a result, we took a closer look at why so many SOA projects have unclear business drivers. What we found is that the underlying issue has little to do with SOA, and everything to do with the way large businesses are run.
The wrong question
This story begins with the SOA architect. Architects frequently call in ZapThink when they're stuck on some part of their SOA initiative; we're SOA fire fighters, so to speak. Frequently, the first question we get when we sit down with the architecture team is "how do I sell SOA to the business?" Well, if that's the first question they ask, they're already on the wrong foot. That's the wrong question! The correct question is "how do we best solve the business problems we're facing?"
SOA is not a panacea, after all; it only helps organizations solve certain problems typically having to do with business change in the face of IT heterogeneity. It's best to solve other problems with other approaches as appropriate, a classic example of the right tool for the job.
For this reason, ZapThink considers the SOA business case as an essential SOA artifact. Architects must have a clear picture of the business motivations for SOA, not only at the beginning of the initiative, but also as the architecture rolls out. After all, business issues evolve over time, partly because of the changing nature of business, but also because properly iterative SOA efforts solve problems during the course of the overall initiative.
Even when architects ask the right question, however, there is still frequently a disconnect between the business problems and the SOA approach. The challenge here is that the architects -- or more broadly, the entire SOA team -- are only one part of the bigger picture, especially in large organizations. In the enterprise context, how the business asks for IT capabilities in the broad sense is often at the root of the issue.
SOA Business Driver Pitfalls
Here are some real-world examples of how we've seen the issue of unclear business drivers for SOA play out in various enterprises. We've generalized a few of the details to protect the innocent (and the guilty!).
The SOA Mandate at the US Department of Defense (DoD) -- In aggregate, the DoD is perhaps the largest implementer of SOA in the world, in large part because they have an organization-wide SOA mandate. It's true they have high-level drivers for this mandate, including increased business agility and a more cost-effective approach to siloed IT resources. But those general drivers don't help much when a defense contractor must create a specific implementation.The ZapThink Take
This particular DoD project involved a contractor who delivered a perfectly functional SOA implementation to their client. The client, however, found it to be entirely unsatisfactory, and the entire multi-million dollar effort was canceled, the money down the tubes. What happened? The problem was a disconnect between high level business drivers like business agility and specific business problems the agency in question wanted to solve. The fact the client wanted to "do SOA," so the contractor "delivered SOA" to the client only made the situation worse.
The most important take-away from this fiasco is that SOA wasn't the problem. From all the information we gathered, the contractor properly designed and implemented the architecture, that is, followed the technical best practices that constitute the practice of SOA. In essence they built a perfectly functioning tool for the wrong job. Fundamentally, the client should have specified the problems they were looking to solve, instead of specifying SOA as their requirement.
SOA for the Enterprise Morass -- ZapThink recently received a SOA requirements document from a financial services client who asked us to review it and provide our recommendations. This document contained several pages of technical requirements, but when we got to the business requirements section, it was simply marked "to be determined." Naturally, we pointed out that among the risks this project faced was the lack of a clear business case.
Our recommendation was to flesh out the business case by discussing business drivers for the SOA initiative with business stakeholders. In response, the client told us that it wasn't feasible to speak with the business side. The entire SOA initiative focused on the IT organization, and the business wasn't directly involved.
We pressed them on this point, explaining how critical having clear business drivers is for the success of the SOA initiative. Why is communicating with the business such an issue for them anyway? Were they afraid of such interactions? Did they not know who the stakeholders were? Or perhaps there was no business motivation for the project at all?
The problem, as it turned out, was more subtle. They described the challenge they faced as the "enterprise morass." As happens in so many very large organizations, there are no clear communication patterns connecting business and IT. Yes, there are business stakeholders, and yes, business requirements drive IT projects in a broad sense, but there are so many players on both sides of the business/IT equation that associating individual business sponsors with specific IT projects is a complex, politically charged challenge. As a result, the SOA team can only look to the management hierarchy within IT for direction, under the assumption that at some executive level, IT speaks to the business in order to get specific drivers for various IT initiatives, including the SOA effort. Speaking directly to business sponsors, however, is off limits.
The SOA Capability Conundrum -- The chief SOA architect at this European firm was in one of our recent Licensed ZapThink Architect Bootcamps, and when we got to the Business Case exercise, he explained that in their organization, the motivation for SOA was to build out the SOA capability. His argument was as follows: if we implement SOA, deploying a range of Services that can meet a variety of business needs in the context of a flexible infrastructure that supports loose coupling and reusability, then we'll be well-positioned for any requirements the business might throw at us in the future.
The reasoning behind this argument makes sense, at least on a superficial level. Let's build several Business Services that represent a broad range of high-value IT capabilities in such a way that when the business comes to us with requirements, we're bound to be able to meet those requirements with the Service capabilities we've deployed ahead of time. The business is bound to be ecstatic that we planned ahead like this, anticipating their needs before they gave us specific requirements!
While this organization might very well get lucky and find that they built cost-effective capabilities that the business will need, taking this "fire-ready-aim" approach to SOA dramatically increases the risks of the initiative. After all, it's difficult enough to build reusable Services when you have clear initial requirements for those Services. Building such Services in the absence of any specific requirements is just asking for trouble.
If you take a close look at the three scenarios above, you'll notice that the stories don't really have to be about SOA at all. You could take SOA out of the equation and replace it with any other IT effort aimed at tackling enterprise-level issues and you might still have the same pitfalls. Master data management, customer relationship management, or business process management are all examples of cross-organizational initiatives that might succumb to the same sorts of disconnects between business and IT.
At the root of all of these issues is the dreaded phrase "business/IT alignment." It seems that the larger the organization, the more difficult it is to align IT capabilities with business drivers. Sometimes the problem is that the business asks for a particular solution without understanding the problem (like the DoD's SOA mandate), or perhaps a combination of politics and communication issues interfere with business/IT alignment (the enterprise morass), or in other cases IT jumps the gun and delivers what it thinks the business will want (the capability conundrum). In none of these instances is the problem specific to SOA.
SOA, however, can potentially be part of the solution. As ZapThink has written about before, the larger trend of which SOA is a part is a movement toward formalizing the relationship between business and IT with flexible abstractions, including Business Services, Cloud capabilities, and more. If you confuse this broader trend with some combination of technologies, however, you're falling for the straw man that gave rise to the SOA is dead meme. On the other hand, if you take an architectural approach to aligning business drivers with IT capabilities that moves toward this new world of formalized abstraction, then you are taking your first steps on the long road to true, enterprise-level business/IT alignment.
This guest post comes courtesy of ZapThink. Jason Bloomberg is managing partner at ZapThink. You can reach him here.
SOA and EA Training, Certification,
and Networking Events
In need of vendor-neutral, architect-level SOA and EA training? ZapThink's Licensed ZapThink Architect (LZA) SOA Boot Camps provide four days of intense, hands-on architect-level SOA training and certification.
Advanced SOA architects might want to enroll in ZapThink's SOA Governance and Security training and certification courses. Or, are you just looking to network with your peers, interact with experts and pundits, and schmooze on SOA after hours? Join us at an upcoming ZapForum event. Find out more and register for these events at http://www.zapthink.com/eventreg.html. | <urn:uuid:ee72aab5-4e12-4081-aa95-ade439c56288> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://briefingsdirectblog.blogspot.com/2009_07_26_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962197 | 2,144 | 1.5 | 2 |
Eurozone, Afghanistan hot topics for G8 0
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to see tough action on the eurozone debt crisis at this weekend's G8 summit in Maryland, his chief spokesman says.
Then at the NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday and Monday, Canada will push for major reforms in how the defence alliance deals with 21st century threats.
Andrew MacDougall, Harper's director of communications, told reporters Thursday Harper intends to work closely with his G8 and NATO counterparts this weekend to help chart a course forward.
"The prime minister is of the opinion that this (the eurozone financial crisis) is the problem that needs to be talked about now, and I think it's good timing that we have this opportunity with some of the principals around a table," MacDougall said in Ottawa.
"It seems like we've been discussing this issue for many a summit," but none of the actions taken to date have cured the underlying debt problem that's plagued Europe for years, he added.
"Tough action needs to be taken ... We need to get on top of this."
U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting the G8 summit at secluded Camp David.
Perhaps complicating matters for the summit is that this will be the first such meeting for France's rookie socialist president, Francois Hollande, who was elected just weeks ago on promises to renege on France's commitment to the European fiscal pact, which is helping to keep the continent solvent, and to yank French troops out of Afghanistan two years ahead of schedule.
Also on the agenda for Harper at the G8 and NATO summits are the humanitarian crisis in Syria, threats posed by Iran and North Korea, food security in Africa and -- most notably for NATO -- how to make a smooth transition from NATO to local security forces in Afghanistan before the end of 2014.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has made it clear he intends to pressure Canada to keep trainers in Afghanistan past the current 2014 deadline. There are about 900 Canadian Forces members based near Kabul currently helping to train Afghan security forces.
But Conservative MP Chris Alexander, Defence Minister Peter MacKay's parliamentary secretary, said Canada is committed to bringing its troops home in 2014, as currently planned.
"These sorts of statements prior to a summit are absolutely nothing new," Alexander told Sun News Network recently about Rasmussen wanting Canada to stay engaged longer. "They are part of a lot of dialogue (that) is happening ahead of the Chicago summit, and clearly Canada has contributed strongly at every stage of the Afghan mission.
"Our allies know that, but the current mission is scheduled to end in 2014."
Also in Chicago, where thousands of protesters are expected to drag out their concerns about corporate greed and rail against the war in Afghanistan, the NATO leaders will discuss the very nature of the 60-year-old defence alliance.
Rasmussen -- with Canada's support -- has been pushing the idea of "smart defence," which is essentially an answer to the West slashing defence budgets with each member nation specializing in different aspects of NATO's fighting force.
A senior Canadian government official on Thursday referred to it as "burden sharing."
Another major issue for the European nations in particular will be the U.S. shifting its focus -- and critical military resources -- to the Pacific front, meaning Europe will have to pull more weight in upcoming missions in the region.
But as Stephane Abrial, NATO's supreme allied commander transformation, wrote in an op-ed Thursday, the Asia- Pacific region is just as important to Europe as it is to the U.S., meaning the entire Eurocentric nature of NATO will likely shift as well.
Indeed, along with the initiatives of smart defence, Abrial wrote, Sunday and Monday's summit in Chicago could change the very nature of NATO.
"Multinational harmonization of this scale is undoubtedly a challenge, since defence is tightly bound with national sovereignty. Nonetheless, it is incumbent on my command and all NATO structures to implement the political commitments that will be taken at Chicago and put the alliance firmly on this new path," Abrial wrote. "The result will be a more cohesive and stronger trans-Atlantic alliance, adapted to the 21st century.
"Ultimately, the goal our leaders will set in Chicago is to fundamentally change the way allied nations think about developing our capabilities in the long run. This objective must be sustained by strong political commitments to deepen cooperation necessary for the alliance to be prepared for current and future challenges." | <urn:uuid:0034d726-af52-4f2e-939b-b17eb6a5818d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/05/19/eurozone-afghanistan-hot-topics-for-g8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960063 | 921 | 1.765625 | 2 |
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