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This is social engineering by subsidizing one group of products and letting other products pay the price.
No it isn't. Protective tariffs are another form of subsidy, and reducing them is a good thing. Plenty of (mostly dumb) subsidies will remain, but this is a step in the right direction.
It depends. Sometimes tariffs are NOT effectively subsidies and are used to counteract subsidies in the producing country. But since you acknowledge that these are very related subjects, then I assume we will agree that both tariffs and subsidies for green energy need to be eliminated, or else we're just manipulating the market with slightly different (but possibly equivalent) forces.
Since when have protective tariffs been "efficient"?
Freemarket capitalists should be supporting freetrade no matter what reason the politicians give for getting rid of tariffs. Or are you one of those freemaket people who only think there should be freetrade if the USA benefits?
Since when have protective tariffs been "efficient"?
If we required accounting of emissions, and not simply of currency units, then there would be no need for tariffs to address the issue of the hidden environmental costs. They can eventually be translated into economic costs, but they also affect quality of life — you can assign economic costs to that as well, but you'll hardly tell the whole story.
When you buy goods made somewhere with inadequate pollution controls, many others have to pay part of your bill. My only problem with the whole idea is that any tariffs should be used specifically for bioremediation, and my prediction is that they largely won't be.
Since when have protective tariffs been "efficient"?
Freemarket capitalists should be supporting freetrade no matter what reason the politicians give for getting rid of tariffs. Or are you one of those freemaket people who only think there should be freetrade if the USA benefits?
"grrr scientists are engaged in a vast left wing conspiracy organized by the lizard people to lie about physics for some reason" is why.
Some peoples brains just sieze up when the scientific community points out some aspects of our cu
This is social engineering by subsidizing one group of products and letting other products pay the price.
Yes. We should stop subsidizing fossil fuels, which currently receive massive subsidies.
> Making solar panels and other green tech cheaper is always good by anyones standards.
In a vacuum? With no other effects? In what scenario would that ever happen?
that is not the only effect. the other effect is that US producers will go out of business, because China is subsidizing the production of their PVs and windmills. the tariffs bring the cost of China's products closer to market price. if you take away the tariffs, you need to simultaneously remove the subsidies. yes, that includes the US's green energy subsidies as well.
So US customers will be able to buy PVs and windmills not only without import tariffs, but in part paid for by the Chinese government? Excellent news!
You're wanting protectionism for expensive American factory workers?
Good lord you clowns are dense. It's not protectionism to counteract a producer subsidy. The subsidy is protectionism. A tariff is only protectionism if it causes the price of the good to be ABOVE MARKET.
Let me try algebra. And I will even use the letters earlier on in the alphabet in case you haven't come across the latter ones.
Price - subsidy of $A + tariff of $A = Price
No change. No protectionism.
Good lord you clowns are dense.
It could be that, or it could be that you don't know what you are talking about, but you're desperate for people to think you do.
If country C is subsidizing and country A is applying a tariff to the exact same extent (which never happens) then they are both playing the same game of protectionism, each counteracting the other. However the government of country C is essentially recieving money from the government of country A. Without the tarriff, the consumers of country A become the beneficiary of the large
They only benefit in a total vacuum. So what is the value of your point? Outside of your tiny narrow focus of consumers only and only at the very time of the transaction in which they consume and not considering at all the ability over time for them to consume, manipulation of market prices leads to waste, and it is not just one sided.
Right, my logic only works in the case I described, whereas your nonsense applies all the rest of the time. Is that a red nose you're wearing? And outsize shoes?
The case you describe doesn't exist outside of your contrived fantasy world.
So, you support eliminating all government subsidies for green energy too, right?
So, you support eliminating all government subsidies for green energy too, right?
Well now, that's a completely different topic. There are plenty of people who oppose that.
No, that's exactly the point. It is not a completely different topic. Many tariffs are used by countries to counteract subsidies in the producing company. That is why we (the US) impose a tariff on Chinese PVs. China heavily subsidizes PV manufacturing. And if you just eliminate the tariff without handling the subsidy, then the problem gets worse, not better.
Does anyone oppose this?
You must be new here.
Eliminating market inefficiencies in a way that benefits the environment seems like something everyone could find a reason to support. Reply to This Share
Except that these aren't "market inefficiencies".
Tariffs exist for real reasons. For example: the solar industry in China is heavily government-subsidized. So by removing any tariffs, the government would allow them to compete on the "free" market (which really isn't) against other companies in the U.S. and Europe that aren't so heavily subsidized.
When government is subsidizing your industry, it's isn't a real "market". And therefore this does not represent "market inefficiencies".
Make no mistake:
Tariffs exist for real reasons. For example: the solar industry in China is heavily government-subsidized. So by removing any tariffs, the government would allow them to compete on the "free" market (which really isn't) against other companies in the U.S. and Europe that aren't so heavily subsidized.
So the goods we buy would be in part paid for by the Chinese government? Excellent news!
The tarrifs are a result of the German company SolarWorld's decision in 2012 to use its influence on the US state department to impose tariffs on Chinese exports. The Chinese responded in kind.
Presumably there are still some companies that sell more domestically than they export. The question is then: how much political influence do these companies have.
(If it weren't legal for corporations to buy US politicians and civil servants, the problem would probably have existed in the first place.)
Tool elitist scams that go together like chocolate and peanut butter. It was only a matter of time. The 1% will eat this peanut butter cup, while the rest of us get laid off yet again "for the benefit of humanity".
with stuff that's crappy but incredibly cheap in 3...2...1...
The United States exported about $106 billion worth of such goods last year.
It's one thing to export $106 billion more than you import and quite another to export $106 billion while importing $250 billion.
A good rule of thumb is that if an article doesn't explicitly tell you that it's a net export, it's because it's a puff piece with a bias and the truth would harsh the whole slant.
If people really care about global warming and economic activity, they should read the latest IPCC report. It says that the best way to avoid warming is economic development. If the economy freezes in place (something a high carbon tax could do) then the warming will be about 4C by the end of the century. If the economy in all the "third world" countries develops into something like first-world conditions by the continued march of progress, then the warming will be closer to 1C.
Anything that stands in the way of that development is going to contribute to the warming. Removing these tariffs is a good thing, but to get maximum environmental benefit they need to get rid of the rest.
I know, Overton's Window and all.
There is a small shelf of this debate that is actually based on logic and facts. But the vast majority of the debate is full of nonsense like that to which you allude. So, unless you are specifically referring to the IPCC as "gospel", then it hasn't changed.
Actions like this are how you get the other half to agree to do things to reduce CO2 emissions.
Good step: Offer to eliminate tariffs on solar panels and other things.
Bad step: Call anyone who so much as questions ANYTHING a denier.
Good step: Get behind building LOTS of modern nuclear plants. LOTS.
Bad step: Say that anyone who so much as questions ANYTHING should be arrested. https://theconversation.com/is... [theconversation.com]
Good step: Get behind building LOTS of electric cars, and the technology to increase batteries' en
Good step: Offer to eliminate tariffs on solar panels and other things.
Good step: Get behind building LOTS of modern nuclear plants. LOTS.
Good step: Get behind building LOTS of electric cars, and the technology to increase batteries' energy density.
Three great steps!
As to "and other things..." I have always favored a move in the direction of free trade in all things, as Jefferson (not Hamilton) intended. In modern context this involves rolling back tariffs altogether, including ones for which a reciprocal arrangement exists, with the objective of simplifying things in general, and Federal law in particular. Henry George's 1886 treatise Protection or Free Trade [mises.org] remains as relevant and thought-provoking as ever. I agree with other posters who have
Okay. Remember in all of this... NO PRESSURE! [youtube.com]
OOPS... a link to a youtube-censored video. Try this one: NO PRESSURE! [vimeo.com]
Bad taste should never be flagged 'inappropriate' for kids of any age.
How else would they learn what it is?
Think of me as the Trix Rabbit of Thorium.
Thorium is for kids?
Come on. You know that "environmentalist makes death threat" is news, but "other environmentalists say nobody should be threatening anybody" isn't. "Western civilization doomed unless we go back to the 1700s" is news, but "carbon cap and trade will mitigate much of the effect" isn't. Is it your opinion that any loose grouping of people around an idea should take out full-page ads in major newspapers to denounce their idiot fringe?
The issue with denialism is that the science is pretty well established
The US uses tariffs to offset subsidies by China, for example, on PV panels. If you agree to eliminate the tariffs without addressing the subsidies, then it doesn't solve the problem, and it certainly doesn't "increase American exports" as the summary suggests. Of course, you'd have to eliminate the US's green subsidies, too.
I'm sure you're all in favor of that, right?
Both the US and EU (at the request of German manufactures) are currently pursuing action against China for dumping of PV cells. There are also issues looming over China's attempts to exploit a near monopoly on rare earths to control the market for wind turbines.
All this while China imposes tariffs on imports.
There is a long way to go before there is free trade in this area.
The US government applied tariffs to Chinese solar panels because the Chinese were dumping them in the US market. If they can agree to see their product in our market for a fair price, sure we can climate the tariffs; otherwise, forget it cause we're not killing our on shore manufacturing and watching the prices skyrocket.
http://rt.com/business/163552-... [rt.com]
China is subsidizing the production of solar panels. Meanwhile, the United States is subsidizing the consumption of solar panels.
The US government applied tariffs to Chinese solar panels because the Chinese were dumping them in the US market.
In other words, they were selling them more cheaply than the local manufacturers could, and the government moved to protect local industry at the cost of the consumer. I'm not sure why you think that's a valid defence.
The United States Imposes Steep Tariffs on Importers of Chinese Solar Panels
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06... [nytimes.com]
So, the US Government is trying to capitalize politically on its effort to "save the environment" by removing tariffs it only imposed on Chinese solar panels LAST MONTH?
I see what they did, there.
Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off.


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Posts: 1209
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #30 on:
April 13, 2013, 10:14:41 PM »
I'm 5'3" not considered a little person, however, I need to ask people to get things off upper shelves for me in grocery stores and especially at Bed Bath and Beyond. Just hang in there and do take advantage of job training opportunities.
I'd suggest something like accounting or bookkeeping.
I'm not being funny, accountants can be independently employed and make very good money. Another consideration might be in banking. Talk to the job training site and see if they can help you if you have any interest in this type of employment.
Good luck.
Posts: 1439
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #31 on:
April 15, 2013, 11:10:43 AM »
Though it often feels like it, I know I'm not the only one who has the trouble reaching the high shelves. I wish stores would stock more merchandise vertical than horizontal.
I wish I'd followed what a friend of mine did as she took accounting classes starting in high school and has done quite well in her career. Along with the job training places, some of the nearby colleges have like six-week or eight-week courses in computing, accounting, data entry, etc., and I would like to look into those, too, especially during the summer.
I gotta say again how much I appreciate all of this. It's helped so much!
Always be on the lookout for wonder. --E.B. White
Posts: 2264
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #32 on:
April 23, 2013, 12:46:21 PM »
As I was reading your posts, a couple of things struck me. One is that if you are introverted and shy, that will be a huge barrier to a job in retail since a lot of that type of job is talking to the public and selling to them. I would suggest that this might not be the best fit for you.
On the other hand, a clerical job may be very well suited to someone who is shy. I don't really know why your height would be an issue for most clerical jobs unless it involved a lot of filing or carrying heavy things that they did not think you could manage. I think the advice to address questions head on is a good one. For example, if the job description says you must be able to carry 50lbs, then make sure they know that you can do that. A step stool sounds easy enough, but I'd still mention that you can work in a standard office with no more accommodation than a non-roling chair and a step stool if that's the case, since they may have visions of having to redesign the place to accommodate your height. One has to make reasonable accommodation or wording to that effect, so it will help to try and describe what that really means.
One issue that hasn't been mentioned may be how you present yourself. I think it is particularly important for you to present yourself professionally and confidently since that will send the message to judge you and not your height. It may be that interviewers are taking the combination of nervous, shy, and short stature and seeing a lack of confidence or seeing you as too young. Consider your appearance when you interview. Make sure that your clothes fit well and are professional in appearance. Some styles may work better than others for your body shape. It's not about being taller, but making sure you come across as confident, professional, and an asset to whatever business you are interviewing with.
If you are working with an agency, you might try asking them for feedback from your interview. It is unlikely someone would say they didn't hire you because of your height even if that was the reason, but the feedback may still be useful if they point out areas you could work on.
As an aside, I've seen a not particularly well trained man in a professional looking suit with every hair in place make a much better impression than a better trained and more experienced individual in an ill fitting suit with a bad haircut. The look shouldn't matter, but it still forms part of the whole picture.
Posts: 1439
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #33 on:
April 26, 2013, 02:38:48 AM »
I will say I prefer clerical over retail. One, I'm really not the best salesperson, and then dealing with the general public can be difficult enough, but when you're outwardly different makes it all the more fun. There are other parts of retail I do like though. Such as I've been trained a bit in visual merchandising, and have worked with stocking, and the rearranging of merchandise throughout stores. (The latter gets feedback from customers. I've found most don't care for things being moved around.)
With appearance as far as attire and the like is something I do try put an effort in it. It's one thing I feel I can control. I know there's a good chance I'm going to be scrutinized for lack of height, but have hope that at least I'm seen as looking nice and presentable.
The feedback in this thread alone has given me, along with great advice and information, such the confidence boosters. I cannot describe how much. For one of my fears has been not just being dismissed due to accommodations for me potential employers may be concerned with, but their not being interested in me by being off-put by me, period. It does happen. Although this in here has shown me that really isn't as major as first feared.
Thanks much!
Always be on the lookout for wonder. --E.B. White
Posts: 210
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #34 on:
May 01, 2013, 10:28:11 AM »
Ditto PP who said to practice interview questions (both the questions you'll be expected to answer and the ones you want to ask your potential employer). I am also introverted and shy and found work in a clerical environment within a very small department of a large corporation. My problem is I tend to get very nervous and fidget during interviews so I had to make it a point to sit still, cross my legs at the ankle to stop my feet from bouncing, and fold my hands in my lap.
One tip my DH gave me as a question to ask the interviewer is to ask "What can I do to be a better candidate for this position?". This way, even if you don't get the job, the interview wasn't a complete waste of time as you'll get some sound advice on areas you can improve.
And good luck! You seem very well-spoken and articulate.
Posts: 1771
I am Queen Mommy
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #35 on:
May 02, 2013, 11:41:51 PM »
You say you get nervous in the interviews (we all do
) but is part of your nerves because you feel you may be judged by your height instead of the articulate, intelligent nice person you are? The lady we hired came in for her interview so confident in herself as the person she is that it was easy to not see the hearing aids or notice that she was smaller than me (she made me feel statuesque for the first time in my barely 5'3" life!) . Yes, she needed step stools, but heck, so did I ! There are courses at community colleges that do work on your interview skills..not for any particular career, but just in how you present yourself. They may help you with your interview confidence (they do mock interviews). I think if you go in worrying that they will see your height as a drawback it will make the whole interview tense. And I agree with other posters who said when they get to the interview part where they say "do you have any questions?", you can gently ask them if they feel your height would be a problem for the position. You can tell alot from their answer if they are uncomfortable by it or if it will be no biggie. As far as a career in retail, with some confidence boosting, you would probably be great, but you have to understand that some people will have biases, but that goes for biases against race, gender, and other reasons, but you cannot control what others think or feel, only how you react to it.
Posts: 1439
Re: S/O Inappropriate Job Interviewees - Can't Help your Appearance
Reply #36 on:
May 06, 2013, 08:17:34 PM »
Oh yes I can get really nervous and I tend to fidget a lot when I'm in unfamiliar situations and have worried that folks will see my height as a drawback right off the bat and thus things can get off to a tense beginning. Though this thread has been a kind of wake up call for me in that I've been shown ways to ease my anxiety along with anyone else's who may have it with me. Also it's been so encouraging to hear the personal stories. I am so grateful
Always be on the lookout for wonder. --E.B. White
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Let's be up front about this. The Cataclysm was Deathwing himself. The events were the result of Deathwing's assault on the world of Azeroth - his eruption from Deepholm, his rampage through the Twilight Highlands, his summoning of Ragnaros into Mount Hyjal, the machinations of his minions. Deathwing, in all his rampaging insanity, was exactly what he claimed he was. He was the end of the world, and had he not been stopped, Azeroth would be no more. From the Twilight Highlands to the depths of Vashj'ir, the events Deathwing set in motion unraveled the world.
Let's look over the world, cast our eyes from the jagged peaks of Hyjal to the submerged depths of Vashj'ir, descend into Deepholm and then comb the deserts of Uldum for answers to the question - what did the mad dragon want? Why did his Twilight's Hammer erect their bastion in the Twilight Highlands, where the Maw of Iso'rath erupted from the very soil? The old gods seemed on the verge of their ancient goal, thanks to Deathwing.


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Imagine you are one of Shelly Silver's handpicked protectors. Assume the Assembly speaker appointed you to the state ethics panel with a wink-and-a-nod understanding that you would do his bidding and shield him from gumshoes bearing subpoenas.
All was going swimmingly — you acted with abject fealty when the panel met secretly and concluded it would investigate the conduct of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, but not Silver's attempt to hide a $103,000 payoff to two women who accused Lopez of sexual harassment.
Then Gov. Cuomo ruined everything. He piped up and threatened to unleash an army of diggers unless you investigate the whole sordid cover-up, including the roles of Silver, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Whoa, that was not part of the deal. You are furious. One of your colleagues actually accused the governor of being "coercive and threatening." Another said she was "very offended."
We feel your pain all the way from Albany. How are you supposed to protect Silver if Cuomo is going to demand an honest investigation? Aren't there any rules anymore?
The answer, hopefully, is that the only rule is the rule of law. What a change that would be.
The breakdown of the Silver protection racket — the panel reversed itself and agreed to Cuomo's demand — is a necessary start to real reform. While the budding investigation still could be sidetracked, Cuomo's decision to press the issue could turn out to be a watershed moment in modern Albany.
Had he not spoken up, the well-fed foxes would have remained on guard at the henhouse. The move is doubly significant because Cuomo hailed the ethics panel he fashioned but now effectively concedes that the cumbersome structure gives legislators the veto power to protect themselves from scrutiny.
This time, Cuomo's threat crushed that power, but the doubt about the integrity of the ethics panel remains. That doubt illustrates the best way forward. For as much as Silver, Schneiderman and DiNapoli, all Democrats, now insist they welcome the panel's probe, it is clear they prefer it to what Cuomo calls Plan B.
By that he means the Moreland Act. Their quaking fear is the reason he ought to make it Plan A.
An investigation under the Moreland Act mostly would be public. Hearings with sworn testimony could expose new shenanigans that would shock and educate voters. Once appointed, its members would be independent. The process would not be limited by artificial boundaries and would be free to follow wrongdoing anywhere it leads.
Under the ethics panel, however, almost everything will be secret. Its investigation will be restricted by political compromise designed to protect as much as reveal.
Anything it does will have the taint of partisanship and punch-pulling.
Most important, public engagement won't endure the ethics panel's long disappearance into back rooms, with results announced months or years later. Albany's corruption is so insidious that a vivid display of the facts is necessary to galvanize the momentum for a deep and clean sweep.
This is the beauty of the Moreland Act — it lets the public see the sausage factory. While that is often not desirable, a sustained public airing of the dirty, filthy truth is essential where there is systemic corruption.
Having demanded an ethics- panel probe, Cuomo is obliged to support it for now.
But he should drop the Moreland bomb at the first hint of backsliding.
He has been handed a once-in-a-generation chance to get to the root of Albany's crooked dysfunction and it would be a major mistake to fumble it.
Striking teachers fail us all
It's all about respect or, in the code of the day, "disrespect." So says the Chicago teachers' union as it finished a second day on the picket lines instead of in the classroom.
The strike is so chock-full of nonsense that it's hard to know where to begin. The union, whose members earn an average salary of $71,000, the highest in the country, turned down raises of 14 percent in a four-year contract offered by Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The usual tight embrace between Dems and municipal unions makes the strike something of a shoot-out in a lifeboat.
Naturally, the union will gladly take the money, but doesn't like the demand that its members pay more for health coverage and rejects the mayor's plan for evaluations. Apparently holding teachers accountable for student performance is the new "disrespect."
No surprise there. Government unions have lost touch with reality. Their salaries and benefits are lavish compared to the private sector, but none has stepped forward to pay their "fair share." They know one word: More.
Chicago is hardly unique. New York teachers don't have a contract and are waiting for the next mayor in hopes they'll get a sweeter deal than what Mayor Bloomberg offered them.
Chicago is thus a test case, but we shouldn't expect much. President Obama has yet to take a side in the family feud in his adopted hometown, which will embolden the unions and cause other Dems to tread carefully. After all, if the teachers can enforce the silence of a president, what chance do mere mayors have against the juggernaut?
Day never to forget
It never takes long. Each September, the ritual of remembering begins as a duty. Then, as flags flutter in broken sunshine over hallowed ground, a child will read aloud the name of a missing father, or a parent will clutch tight a photo. The taps are haunting.
Without fail, the sights and sounds are a trigger. In a flash, the powerful emotions come rushing back, gushing to the surface in a torrent.
Where have they been? How does such profound pain sleep, only to be awakened so suddenly and violently?
Historians will one day better understand the global shocks triggered by the awful events 11 years ago. But for those who lost loved ones, and for those who witnessed the horror, understanding is thwarted by the mystery of merciless evil.
May the innocent and the brave rest in peace. May the fiends rot in hell. And may America never forget.
Leaks are the real threat to security
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, talking about the book by an ex-SEAL on the Osama bin Laden raid, asked: "How the hell can we run sensitive operations here that go after enemies if people are allowed to do that?"
Excellent question. But if he really wants an answer, Panetta should ask the right people — the White House leakers who spilled a ton of classified secrets to make their boss look good. They're a far bigger threat than a single book.
In his new book, "The Price of Politics," Bob Woodward quotes President Obama describing the GOP House speaker. "John Boehner is like a Republican state senator. He's a golf-playing, cigarette-smoking, country-club Republican who's there to make deals. He's very familiar to me," Obama says.
Not that the president engages in stereotypes, of course.


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I guess what I don't get is why you care so much that he's going "Nikko and Friend, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!". He's not spreading rumors that you're cheating, or selling dope, or anything that could affect your life in any way. As onyonrings pointed out, no one is paying any real attention to this but you. If someone asks, correct them, but don't make a big deal out of it, or you'll give credence to what he said.
When you hear the thud of hooves, they're usually from a horse--not a zebra.
Quote from: LeveeWoman on February 13, 2013, 11:45:54 AMWhen you hear the thud of hooves, they're usually from a horse--not a zebra.As a community college instructor, I have to say there are a lot of zebras out there.
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Do you have the ugliest bathroom in Chester County
AAA Hellenic Marble & Granite of West Chester announces a contest for the ugliest bathroom in the area. Deadline is Jan. 21, 2013 to upload a picture of your ugly bathroom on AAA Hellenic Marble & Granite�s Facebook page. (www.facebook.com/AAAHellenicMarble/app_254553244581393)
AAA Hellenic Marble & Granite will be giving away a countertop for one winner�s vanity. The winner will be able to choose any countertop from the showroom, valued up to $1000.00. To enter the contest, take a picture of the ugly space and submit it on Facebook. Submit as many photos as you like by the submission end date. At that time, those who have liked AAA Hellenic Marble & Granite�s Facebook page can vote on their favorites.
For more information, visit www.aaamarble.com or call 610-344-7700.
Winter tree ID
The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County will hold a program, Winter Tree Identification, at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve, 432 Sharp Road, Avondale,on Sunday, Jan. 20,10 a.m. to noon.
Learn ways to identify common PA trees without the help of their leaves.
For more information, visit www.tlcforscc.org
Garden club meets
The Garden Class of The Woman�s Community Club of Uwchlan will meet on Jan. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Uwchlan Meeting House. Bring your lunch. The program is �Basics of Landscape Design� presented by Mia Mengucci. Guests are welcome. For additional information, call 610-363-2557.
Activities at Jenkins
Valley Forge Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will host a lecture at 2 p.m., Jan. 20, �Hybridizing Evergreen Azaleas,� presented by Joseph Klimavizc.
Other activities at Jenkins include:
Jenkins is located at 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon. For more information or directions, please check our website at www.jenkinsarboretum.org.
Activities at
Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College is holding the following activities:
Jan. 19 -- Guided tour, 3-4:30, free
Jan. 20 -- �A Nurseryman�s Miscellany: What You Aren�t Getting from the Typical Garden Center!� 2 p.m., free Science Center Room 101
For more information, call the Arboretum Offices, located at 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, at 610-328-8025 or visit www.scottarboretum.org.
African Violet Society meets
The African Violet Society of Springfield (AVSS) meets the first Tuesday of each month (September - June) at 7 p.m. at the Springfield Township Building, 50 Powell Road, Springfield. New members can join during any month.
The AVSS is a resource for African violet enthusiasts across the local area. Members of AVSS are interested in sharing information about the culture of African violets. AVSS members work to stimulate interest in African violets by providing educational activities and by judging African violet shows in the community. For information, call 610-864-3392 or 610-356-6183.


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Established in 2005, the Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CaBRI) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. It is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the research campus of Cayman Chemical, a global biomedical research company. CaBRI recognizes that all important and worthwhile science is not big science. In particular, many rare genetic defects and rare cancers remain without treatment, largely because they cannot compete for research funding with better publicized and more common conditions.
CaBRI devotes itself to the study and eventual therapy of these conditions. Our research is dedicated to the Donor Gamete Archive which assists clients in:
As well as, the study of Sinonasal Undifferentiated Carcinoma (SNUC), a rare a devastating cancer.
We welcome contacts from families, donors, or other interested parties who understand that patients with rare conditions are not just sick. They are both sick and alone in their fight for survival.
It is our mission to bring knowledge, better medicines, and a sense of family to all those with such conditions.
Please help CaBRI achieve its goals. Visit our support page.


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Fangraphs' blurb on the starting pitcher match-up tonight.
Also included in the article are GIFs of Fernandez's change and curve for those, like me, who have never seen him before.
NOTE: Almost forgot. It states in the article that this is Today's MLB Free Game of the Day. WOOOO!!!
SUPERCEDING NOTE: I read the headlines incorrectly. Another game is the MLB GOTD. Sorry. My bad.


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Two more recruits will come off the board this week as they announce their college decisions.
Jefferie Gibson of Hope Mills, N.C., is expected to choose between Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State. Gibson was at Clemson for a junior day earlier this year and has been to Clemson several times. He's also been to North Carolina and N.C. State. Clemson likes him as a safety.
Nick Chubb of Cedartown, Ga., is going on television in Atlanta tonight to reveal his choice. The running back is down to South Carolina, Georgia and Auburn. He visited all three last month.
In other recruiting news:
The twin sons of former Clemson star linebacker Jeff Davis — linebackers JD Davis and Judah Davis of Daniel — committed to the Tigers on Friday at the conclusion of camp. Both plan to graduate from Daniel in December and enroll at Tri-County Technical College in January and enroll on scholarship at Clemson in January of 2015. The twins are 6-2, 215, and are the first pledges for Clemson's 2015 class.
Northwestern High School QB Mason Rudolph committed to Oklahoma State last week. Rudolph picked the Cowboys over LSU and Virginia Tech. He also had offers from Louisville, Virginia and Mississippi. Last season, Rudolph passed for 3,990 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Auburn offered rising freshman (Class of 2017) QB Jake Bentley of Byrnes on Friday while he was at camp. Bentley is the son of Byrnes coach Bobby Bentley. He has a brother who is a quarterback at Rutgers and another brother who is Byrnes' starting quarterback and who is committed to Old Dominion. Jake Bentley camped at Clemson last week and is getting interest from the Tigers.
Donnell Stanley of Latta finished a three-day stay at Clemson on Friday. Stanley went to observe the Dabo Swinney camp and check out the campus. Stanley did not work out at the camp.
"He toured the campus and went to the Ag Department," said his uncle, Chris German, who was not on the visit. "He really enjoyed it. He met with coach Swinney in his office and said he was impressed with that. He also met with (OL) coach Caldwell."
Stanley will visit North Carolina and said he might attend a USC camp as well. He is going to Alabama for a camp July 14 ,and will visit Mississippi on July 15 and LSU a couple of days later. The week after he's going to Florida and Florida State, and the following week he will visit Ohio State. German said Stanley will shorten his list after his visits. Stanley does not have a leader at this point, and German said he will announce during the season or right after. He does not expect him to wait until Signing Day.
LB Kendall Joseph of Belton-Honea Path made his final visit to Clemson on Friday. His parents and brother joined him. Joseph is down to Clemson, Duke and Louisville. He will visit Duke on June 14. He won't make another trip to Louisville. At this point all three are even, but Duke is outworking the other two.
Joseph plans to make his decision on June 17.
DB Darin Smalls of Summerville would like to commit prior to his senior season but has not set a date for a decision. "It could be tomorrow and it could be next week ... I don't really know," said Smalls. He does plan to visit several schools this summer. After recently adding Kentucky to his offer sheet, the Wildcats will receive one of those visits. "I'm going to go to Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma," he said. Smalls has publicly favored the Gamecocks but now says he does not have a leader. "They're definitely one of my favorites but I don't really have a leader," said Smalls. "I talk to them all of the time. They keep telling me how much they want me."
His offers include USC, Clemson, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
QB Jacob Park of Stratford is hitting the road this summer to check out the schools on his list he hasn't had a chance to see. Last week he was at Alabama and Mississippi State. He also will visit Florida State, Georgia, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The visit with the Irish will take place June 20 and will be his final visit before he makes his decision. Park also has Louisville, West Virginia and Oklahoma State on his list.
Woodruff WR Blake Bone is now sitting on 11 offers and has put together a top five list. Bone said his five favorites, in no order, are USC, Nebraska, Mississippi, Kentucky and Louisville with no leader. His other offers are Clemson, Central Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Arkansas and Marshall.
Bone said he won't participate in any camps this summer but he'll visit several schools including USC, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, North Carolina and Ole Miss. He's looking at spending one of his official visits with Nebraska.
DL Kwamelle Barnes of Saluda was offered last month by S.C. State. N.C. State and North Carolina are among others showing interest in Barnes. He plans to attend camps at Florida, LSU, N.C. State and North Carolina. He is not hearing from Clemson or USC.
LB Raekwon McMillan of Hinesville, Ga., released his top five Saturday at the Rivals combine in Chicago, and Clemson is in the group. McMillan also named Ohio State, Florida, Georgia and Alabama in his top five. McMillan said he has the closest relationships right now with the Clemson and Ohio State staffs. McMillan doesn't plan to name his school until the Under Armour Game following this season.
DL Peyton Newell of Hawatha, Kan., has six finalists but will visit only two of them this summer before making his decision on Aug. 30. Newell is down to USC, Georgia, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State and Southern Cal. He is going to the Big Red Weekend at Nebraska on June 15 and the USC Showcase Camp in late July. The Gamecocks, Cornhuskers and Georgia are particularly strong with him, although Newell is not ready to call them his top three.
Newell plans to release a top three about two weeks before he announces. There is no leader right now.
Clemson Thursday offered junior QB Tyler Queen of Kennesaw, Ga., while he was at camp. Queen also holds offers from Alabama, N.C. State, North Carolina, Louisville and others. Last season Queen passed for 2,607 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 942 yards and 20 touchdowns.
LB Dillon Bates of Ponte Vedra, Fla., has narrowed his list to Tennessee, Florida and Alabama, eliminating USC and Texas. He plans to announce next month at The Opening.
DB DJ Smith of Marietta, Ga., visited USC on Saturday along with his father and a friend. It's the second straight summer Smith has made a trip to Columbia to check out the Gamecocks. "I had a good time," Smith said Saturday night. "I met some of the new players and they showed me around the campus. We had a good time."
DE Harold Landry of Fayetteville, N.C., landed offers last week from North Carolina and Indiana. He has been committed to Boston College but continues to look at USC and Clemson among others. He visited both before his commitment in early April.
RB Derrell Scott of Havelock, N.C., remains open about his decision and will visit Ohio State and Florida State this summer, his coach said last week. Those visits will take place in the next couple of weeks. USC, Clemson and Oregon round out Scott's top five. Coach Jim Bob Bryant said Scott won't visit USC this summer since he's been there multiple times, but he may make it to Clemson. The coach does not sense a favorite for his star back at this point. "It's 1A, 1B and 1C right now I think," Bryant said. "No order. I think all five are pretty even right now until he takes officials to all five of them and see what they have to offer."
USC also is a factor with Bryant's junior receiver Michael Bowman. The Gamecocks have offered along with North Carolina, N.C. State and East Carolina. Bowman also will go to Ohio State when Scott visits there.
DL Abu Lamin of Fort Scott JC, Kan., is going to take his official visits this summer and will make his decision later this summer instead of waiting until the midway point of his season. Lamin visited Arkansas unofficially last week. He has set an official visit to Florida for June 14 and one to USC on June 21. Lamin talked with Gamecock recruiter Deke Adams last week to finalize plans for his visit, which will include his mother and brother who will drive down from Fayetteville, N.C. Lamin said at this point USC, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona State, Florida, Nebraska and LSU are the schools he's most interested in. "I'm impressed with all those schools." He did not name a favorite.
DB Chris Lammons of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is looking hard at USC and has the Gamecocks in his final 15. He plans to visit this summer. Lammons has never been to USC.
"They produce a lot of cornerbacks and put them in the NFL," he said. "There's a chance to play early because they play five defensive backs."
The others on his reduced list are Oregon, Florida, Miami, Arkansas, West Virginia, LSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State, Central Florida, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Indiana and Kentucky. He doesn't plan to announce until Signing Day.
DL Chris Williams of Tyrone, Ga., has a top five of Ole Miss, Tennessee, USC, Texas A&M and Ohio State in that order. Ole Miss is the team to beat, and he will visit there this week. He does want to visit each of his top five before committing and plans to commit prior to the season. DB Denzel Franklin of Atlanta plans to visit USC this summer and has the Gamecocks high on his list. He will narrow his list down to three or four before the season and says that USC is very much in the mix. He will visit Tennessee, Boston College and Virginia as well. He recently visited Duke. His other offers include Michigan State, UCLA and Florida. Franklin does not have a favorite.
Junior LB Sherrod Pittman of Jacksonville, Fla., put out a top 11 of USC, Clemson, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Miami, Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Louisville, Georgia Tech and Florida State. Pittman added that USC, Florida and Louisville will be in his top five.
DB Quincy Wilson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., released his top 12 list of USC, UCLA, Southern Cal, Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, N.C. State, Florida, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Louisville and Vanderbilt. Wilson said there is no order to his list. He cut his list from more than 40 offers.
DL Andrew Brown of Chesapeake, Va., says he will take official visits this fall to Clemson, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Florida and Florida State. Those are his final five schools and he has not named a favorite. He plans a decision for October.


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The new year is often a time of reflection on the year past and the year pending. I confess: I hope to do a little of both this article.
The past year brought a lot of change. You elected a new mayor and a new township supervisor; the County Board had already elected a new chairman. People wanted change and they got it.
I had a pretty good idea what challenges lay ahead when I was elected to my second tour of duty, but I admit there were some surprises, too. I thought jobs would dominate the first six months. They have, but public safety and neighborhoods have commanded equal billing. You can't grow a city unless people feel safe and the neighborhoods work.
I believe the city made some significant strides in 2013. We developed and implemented a Public Safety Plan. Many of its features, such as community policing and the rental property registration are already implemented.
We put a strong emphasis on street repair and building demolition. Most of the streets and intersections are better today than six months ago. Fourteen dangerous and unsafe buildings are down - with more to come. The diaper is off the building at the corner of Stephenson and Galena (though the bare wall now needs a makeover).
We finished the roundabout at Kiwanis and Pearl City Road - ahead of schedule and under budget. We reduced the city's property tax levy to ease your property tax burden (although other taxing bodies did not follow suit). We completed the cost studies of rehabbing the old City Hall, completed much of the work to link the Jane Addams Trail to Tutty's Crossing, and persuaded the county and Park District to join us in a new IDOT grant application for the trail link east toward Winnebago County.
The city, alone among public bodies, kept its financial commitment to NIDA, the public-private partnership aimed at economic development in this area. We did so under great duress to our own lean budget. We worked with the developers of the JoAnn Fabrics shopping center to revitalize the center and expand the existing stores. We worked with the brokers of the K-Mart building on possible tenants. We also successfully applied for a federal grant for funds to aid manufacturing efforts.
The city did not neglect its infrastructure either. The Burchard Street water tower was completed. A new water well is almost ready to go on line. We are replacing old water lines and relining sanitary sewers. The Fire Department is now operating a new station on South Street - which is actually the old County Highway Building revitalized and reused.
We did these things while reducing a projected $750,000 deficit to zero. I did not do these things by myself; it was a team effort. But, I do hope the changes are noticeable.
Space does not permit me to itemize all of the projects and issues on tap for 2014. But, suffice it to say, jobs, safety and neighborhoods will remain top priorities. The council will take up the issue of a permanent city hall and I hope we will make a decision that is practical, affordable and makes long-term sense.
Finally, I hope we can foster greater cooperation between the taxing bodies and the private business sector than we see today. We have to control property taxes and grow our economy, or the road ahead will be even steeper.
My great hope is that this will be a more prosperous and a beautiful city 12 months from now than it is today. I look forward to 2014. I hope you do, too. Happy new year!
Jim Gitz is mayor of Freeport.


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HIRING CHOOKS WAS AN experiment, like dipping my toe in country living without having to change much at all - a kind of tree-change without a postcode change or even a long-term commitment.
After just a few emails, Fleur Baker, from Book a Chook, delivered two of her finest rental birds - chosen for their chutzpah, particularly in standing up to cats (more on that later). They came with a handsome-looking coop, built by a chap who also makes harps, and all the feed and straw two girls could need for a month in the city.
My cursory ''research'' - devoted almost entirely to seven pages dedicated to the topic in Arabella Forge's Frugavore - revealed backyard chickens would: eat all our vegetable scraps, provide the five of us (two adults, three children) with eggs, and make great pets to boot. But the reality of keeping chooks in a slate-paved courtyard, though rewarding, was a little more nuanced.
Here are 10 lessons I learnt about keeping chooks.
1. Chickens eat mice (but only occasionally - they prefer porridge and yoghurt, and eggs).
It was probably a week after Buffy and Betty arrived. Their usual, steady, rhythmic strut around the yard turned suddenly to mayhem. Betty dashed between some pots, Buffy clucked a lot. Seconds later, Betty reappeared with the back-end of a mouse hanging limply from her beak. Who knew? The rental agreement clearly says, ''Do not feed any animal products'', yet there they were hunting - and not just insects.
Fleur told us we could supplement the supplied grain with porridge (preferably warmed on cooler days), yoghurt and eggs. Eggs? The trick is not to let on that those things they lay are also eggs (serve them without the shell), or they may peck at their own. Oh, and mashed potato with garlic.
What about the vegetable scraps? They'll peck out their favourite bits (Betty likes greens, Buffy is keen on corn), but 90 per cent of kitchen scraps get left (as bait for mice?).
2. A chicken will have a go at a cat.
A few months before the chooks arrived, Gus, the Burmese cat arrived. He was already a year old when we got him and we were still getting to know each other. I thought all cats were programmed to attack everything with feathers, but Fleur assured me that cats and chickens stay out of each other's way. She had only one ''incident'' in two years. ''And that was with a Burmese,'' she said in an absolving tone - as in, there's absolutely nothing to worry about, unless, my cat was Burmese.
Initially, Gus smelt their coop and watched them through wide eyes from a high vantage. Occasionally he stalked them but never made the deadly lunge. He sometimes got close, triggering Buffy to puff herself up and flap at him, which made him walk off. Mostly, he and his flicky tail tolerated them.
3. It's cheaper to buy eggs than to keep chickens for their eggs.
Both Fleur and free-range egg farmer Phil Westwood say keeping chickens for eggs alone doesn't add up economically. And, when I checked with a friend who keeps two chickens in her backyard, she agreed, recalling a recent $245 vet bill.
It may be cheaper to buy eggs off the shelf, but who rushes to a uniformly stacked shelf bursting with anticipation?
Every morning and afternoon my children made a dash for the coop, ducking inside and more often than not emerging victorious with warm egg held aloft. Seeing who got to check for eggs became a bargaining tool for me - a reward for well-behaved children.
Every time we cracked open one of their little eggs, with bright yellow yolks, we were chuffed, a little bit honoured even, that they had made them for us, and we uttered a little ''thanks, girls''. For the record, the girls averaged one egg each a day.
4. All chickens have a crop, which, to a beginner, can look a lot like a tumour.
While on the subject of vet bills, my advice is to wait 24 hours before rushing your chook and her giant tumour-like lump to the vet. It's called a crop.This pouch at the bottom of her neck is where she stores food.
When chooks have just eaten, their crop may protrude until the food moves through.
Fleur takes a lot of calls from worried novice chook fanciers about this, and warned me off the bat.
5. Watching chooks is more absorbing than watching television.
We had our Attenborough moment with the mouse: us pressed against the glass, locked in morbid wonder. But there were tender moments, too. Betty and Buffy had to be by each other's side at all times. They looked out for each other and settled into bed together of an evening. They would come to the back door, seeking our company.
Of course, they taught the children a bit about where food comes from and to respect it. To say nothing of how simply lovely it is to see chooks pootling around the yard and even to have the pleasant-looking timber coop.
6. Poo can be a problem.
For us, with our paved courtyard and decking (full up with bikes and a barbecue), poo became an issue. Despite keeping everyone inside while I patrolled for poo morning and night (collecting it, bucketing down baked-on or sloppy patches and sweeping), one child or another always skidded over in a big wet blob. It accumulated over the course of the day, it stunk and it brought flies.
If I had spread the month's poo over our pots and patches of garden, as I had imagined I would, I would have smothered the plants. We would have had just mounds of poo in pots.
7. The neighbours will hear them.
Councils generally don't allow residents to keep roosters in suburban backyards because of their dawn cock-a-doodle-doo. In the 6am silence of Fitzroy, the clucking of two chickens keen to be let out of their coop seemed as loud as a dog barking. It echoed off the surrounding houses and fences and made me shoot out of bed to do their bidding.
8. Like dogs and cats, chickens can be pure-bred or mongrel.
Book a Chook's chickens are pure-bred pekin bantams, known for their small size (better for suburban backyards), fabulous bustled
bottom feathers (which makes them look like 19th-century ladies) and their cool-headed temperament. They are also pretty prolific layers.
9. You need more space than I have to keep chooks.
We have a big, raised patch of dirt beneath a jacaranda tree into which the girls could retreat and bathe in dirt, as is their wont. They were free to eat all the sage, Thai basil, mint, blackberry and apple-tree leaves, rainbow chard and pomegranate they liked.
But we drew the line at letting them come inside, which they tried to do constantly. Fleur tells us they are allowed to enter homes on some of their holidays in suburbia.
10. You might miss them when they're gone.
Since Buffy and Betty left, the backyard looks neat, yet kind of empty. Yes, we can leave the back door open and not worry about chickens coming inside. But it was always
a bit of laugh watching my two-year-old attempting to boss them out. We have less flies and more kitchen scraps, and we're a lot fussier about the eggs we buy. Our cat Gus is definitely happier.
I sometimes wonder where they are now. I heard recently that their host family frequently found the girls making themselves at home on the bed. They're like an inverse Thelma and Louise: escaping the country for suburbia, constantly pushing the limits, giving their all for domestic bliss. And, not just theirs - they gave us a little.
Book a Chook, seebookachook.com.au.
$170 for a month, including feed, feeders, bedding and housing, plus delivery (varies) and bond ($100). Week-by-week rentals and packages to buy are also options.


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Academic Policies and General Information
Applications Deadlines and Notification Dates for Undergraduates
(The deadlines noted below are postmark dates.)
Spring Semester
November 1 - First-year and Transfer candidates. Notification is on a rolling basis by the end of December. Payment of a $450 acceptance fee as proof of intention to enroll is generally due 20 business days from the date of the letter of admission.
Fall Semester
November 1 - Early Action First-Year candidates. Notification is generally by mid-December. Early Action candidates have until May 1 to pay the $450 acceptance fee as proof of intention to enroll; this program is non-binding.
January 15 - Regular First-Year candidates. Notification for most decisions is by the end of March. A $450 acceptance fee is due May 1 as proof of intention to enroll.
April 15 - Transfer deadline. Notification is on a rolling basis.
International students should adhere to all application deadlines. Notification is on a rolling basis.
Please note: deadlines and payment amounts are subject to change.


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Want to remind yourself or a friend about this program? Fill out this simple form and klru will email you a reminder on the day that it will air.
A More Perfect Union
series: Constitution Usa With Peter Sagal
air date: 5/09/13 4:00 AM
Sagal explores the Constitution's most striking and innovative feature: its resilient brand of federalism. The framers created a strong national government while preserving much of the power and independence of the states. This delicate balance of power, seemingly hard-wired for disagreement and conflict, has served America well for more than two centuries. But it has also led to tensions throughout American history and still sparks controversy today over medical marijuana, gun control and "Obamacare."
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


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This resource is no longer available
Archiving for Dummies
Modern businesses are creating and storing unprecedented volumes of data every day. Simply storing your data isn't enough. You need to efficiently manage and archive this data and be able to access any and all of it at any time, especially with new legal and regulatory requirements.
You need an archive solution that provides sufficient capacity, scalability, and security to meet your own needs as well as stringent regulatory mandates that require long-term preservation of critical data.
Check out this free eBook, Archiving for Dummies, to learn:
- Why a tiered-storage strategy is the best for your archive
- The most efficient and cost-effective archive solutions
- How tape analytics tools help you to maintain the health of your archive
- How to match your archive needs to the right hardware and software solutions
- And more


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Cirque du Soleil provide media representatives with show and corporate press kits.
Carmen Ruest is one of a handful of kindred spirits Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté calls the pioneers-"the people who put their shoulders to the grindstone when we were starting out and made the dream a reality."
Back in the 1970s in Montreal, Carmen Ruest was taking and giving dance classes during the winter and dancing on stilts as a street performer in the summer. During this period, she became versed in various circus arts techniques-including acrobatics, trapeze and tight rope-and honed her skills as a stiltwalker. In the early 1980s, she met Gilles Ste-Croix and became his stiltwalking partner. Ste-Croix, teaming up with Carmen Ruest and others, founded the Club des talons hauts (High Heels Club), which would become Cirque du Soleil in 1984 under Laliberté's leadership.
During her first ten years at Cirque du Soleil, Carmen Ruest spent her time either performing as a stiltwalker or assisting Gilles Ste-Croix in art direction. After a short stint away from Cirque as a production director and a costume designer, she came back to join Cirque's casting department, scouring the world for artistic talent. Since returning to her "roots" at Cirque du Soleil, Carmen Ruest has made great strides. In addition to her work as a stiltwalking coach on Alegría and Mystère, she became assistant to the casting director at Cirque, where she saw the casting department grow from 5 to over 30 people. In 1998-1999, she was creative and artistic coordinator on La Nouba.
When she was hired as director of creation for DELIRIUM in 2005, Carmen Ruest took on her job with great enthusiasm. "The challenge with DELIRIUM is to merge two worlds into one: circus arts and arena productions," she says. "We want to bring Cirque du Soleil to new audiences. My role is to create a synergy between the creative team members and to make their job easier so that the vision of multimedia pioneers Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon (DELIRIUM's creators and directors) shines through brightly in the end."
Carmen Ruest was born in Rimouski, Quebec.


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Check out over 30 tips to decorate, play, and craft with eggs.
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) April 06, 2014
Easter is just around the corner. Fun Easter egg crafts and Easter coloring pages have been released on Kids Activities Blog. Get ready for over 30 tips to decorate, play, and craft with eggs.
Easter eggs are both fun to decorate and to use for decorations. The list of ideas is divided by unique ways to decorate the eggs, by fun ways to stuff and hide the eggs, by learning science with eggs, and finally by crafting and playing with eggs.
Use hot glue and a vinegar-based dye to create cool designs this season. Use crayons to decorate the eggs while they are still hot. The crayons will melt on the egg and create cool art.
Kids will love to find musical shaker eggs in the yard at Easter. These eggs will provide hours of fun playtime.
Get ready for fun science this Easter. Kids will have fun to learn about the anatomy of cells by conducting the naked egg experiment. Another great idea is to explore crystals by making fun egg geodes with the tutorial published on Kids Activities Blog.
The fun Easter coloring pages are perfect for kids of all ages. The pages feature cut and paste designs to create fun egg pals. Younger and older kids will have a blast working with the funny accessories to create the perfect egg pal.
The set includes two big, blank eggs, and feet and hands to add to the eggs. Even a set of duck feet can be used to create the cute little pal. Additional features include eyes, noses, mouths, ears and beaks. Some extras include a hat, carrot, Easter basket, ball cap, ball and bat.
For detailed instructions and to get additional fun ideas, check out Kids Activities Blog this week. Come get inspired to have a blast together with the kids this Easter.
About Kids Activities Blog
Kids Activities Blog is a website created by two moms (who collectively have 9 children), Rachel Miller and Holly Homer from June Cleaver Nirvana. It is their daily goal to inspire parents and teachers to play with kids. This interactive website publishes simple things to do with kids twice a day. Kids Activities Blog is a great tool for moms and teachers to find kid-friendly activities that create memories and sneak learning into the fun.


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"Money for Nothing." "Sultans of Swing." "Walk of Life."
These popular Dire Straits songs were all over the airwaves in the 1980s, and can still be heard on many radio stations today.
Now, that music is coming to Osceola with the band The Straits, which features Dire Straits' Alan Clark and Chris White with other talented, hand-picked musicians.
"People can expect to see Dire Straits music played extremely well by a superb band of word-class musicians," said Clark during a telephone interview with the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune Feb. 20.
The show is 8 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Lakeside Casino's Event Center.
How it began
The band The Straits was formed when Clark and White, a saxophonist, were having breakfast at a hotel in Rome. They'd been presented with an opportunity to play a charity show.
"I had no idea what this would become," Clark said. "I was completely open-minded about it."
The charity show soon evolved into a world tour for the band. During the time of the phone interview, The Straits were performing shows throughout the United Kingdom.
They travel to the United States this week for their tour, which will be the first U.S. tour for The Straits.
"It's going to be a very pleasant experience," Clark said.
He joked, if the crowd asked nicely, maybe they would play some Scottish music.
According to Clark, one of the few differences from Dire Straits to The Straits is when he looks over his shoulder while performing and sees a different musician playing.
Once the U.S. portion of the tour is finished, Clark said the band will fly back to London and spend a night there. The next day, they will travel to Russia — or more, specifically, Siberia — for their next leg of the tour.
"At one point, we wouldn't have been able to do that," Clark said.
Later this year, The Straits intend to record some of their own original material. Clark said the "whole process is well under way."
The Straits
It has been 34 years since Clark joined Dire Straits in 1980, and he has played on every Dire Straits record from "Love Over Gold" onward and co-produced their last studio album "On Every Street."
Clark said he remembered the popularity of the band becoming extremely huge as the years went on.
"Everything was on a huge scale with Dire Straits," Clark said. "The scale is smaller with this band, and I welcome that because it makes life simpler. It's more fun with this band."


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Kurt R. Myers, who is believed to be responsible for the shootings at John's Barber Shop in Mohawk, is still at large. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Police in upstate New York early Thursday remained in a tense standoff with a man suspected of killing four people and injuring two more, according to authorities.
New York State Police believe Kurt R. Myers, 64, is holed-up in an abandoned building in Herkimer, N.Y., after going on a shooting spree at a local car wash and barber shop.
The Utica, N.Y., Observer-Dispatch reported that loud bangs, alarms and a PA system were heard about 1:30 a.m. ET on Thursday at the site where Myers is believed to have barricaded himself.
The newspaper said a police robot had been sent into the building and that tactical units could been seen going in and out of the former bar. Floodlights remained pointed at the former bar, and police could be heard on a PA system asking for a peaceful surrender, the paper said. NBC News could not immediately confirm the report.
Troopers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when they first arrived at the scene of the now-abandoned sports bar, superintendent of New York State Police Jospeh D'Amico told reporters at a press conference Wednesday evening.
No officers were hurt, but police have so far had no success in communicating with Myers.
NY State Police
Police believe Kurt R. Myers, 64, shot four people on Wednesday.
Authorities believe that before his rampage, Myers set his residence on fire in Mohawk, N.Y., a small town between that lies roughly halfway between Syracuse and Albany.
From there, Myers is believed to have gone to John's Barber Shop at about 9:30 a.m. ET, and shot four people, killing two of them, cops said.
"Totally unprovoked, we believe he fired a number of rounds from the shotgun," D'Amico said.
He then allegedly went to Gaffney's Car Wash in the neighboring town of Herkimer and killed two more people before driving off to the abandoned bar where police believe he currently is in hiding.
"This is truly an inexplicable situation. There was no apparent rationale motive to the best of our knowledge at this time to provoke these attacks," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the press conference.
State Police identified the victims who died in the barber shop shooting as Harry Montgomery, 68, of Mohawk, and Michael Ransear, 57, of Herkimer. Killed at the car wash were Thomas Stefka, an employee in his 60s, and Michael Renshaw, a man State Police said was in his 40s and is a 20-year-veteran of the Department of Corrections.
Myers only other known criminal history was a 1973 arrest for driving while intoxicated. A number of guns and ammunition were found in his residence, according to Cuomo.
The areas around the standoff have been evacuated, and D'Amico said police are prepared to be hunkered down for the long hall.
James Baron, Mohawk's 29-year-old mayor, said he doesn't know Myers but knew several of the people who were shot, including "at least" two of the barber shop victims.
The mayor described his town of 2,700 people as close-knit and friendly, "the kind of place where you'd say, 'Oh, it would never happen here.'"
Cuomo echoed those sentiments in front of reporters, noting, "This is just another example that there is no community that is beyond the scope of senseless gun violence, and unfortunately we see this more and more and more."
Michele Mlinar, a bartender in Herkimer, told the Observer-Dispatch that Myers was a regular at The Cangees Bar and Grill where she works.
"When I saw his picture, I just got sick to my stomach," she told the paper, adding that Myers was nice to staff but always "very jittery and nervous."
"It could have been here. It could have been us," she said.
NBC News' John Newland contributed to this report.
AP Photo/Mike Groll
Law enforcement officers walk along Main Street in Herkimer, N.Y., while searching for a suspect in two shootings that killed four and injured at least two on Wednesday.
This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:21 AM EDT


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Robert Morris University
Pittsburgh -- For the second year in a row, Robert Morris student-athletes raised more than any of their Northeast Conference (NEC) rivals in the "Penny Wars" fundraising effort for the Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation.
Student-athletes competed within their athletic departments and were challenged to raise more money than the other NEC institutions over a two-week period in January and February. RMU athletes raised $3,028 this year, their third participating in the fundraiser.
Since the start of "Penny Wars" in 2010, the NEC has contributed almost $22,000 to the Harrisburg-based foundation. The money raised goes to the charity's Helping Hands program, which provides financial aid to families whose children have cancer and who are struggling economically.
Leah Prentice, a women's soccer player at Robert Morris, said she is pleased with the outcome. "I'm very proud to know that we can come together and accomplish something this significant. The Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation is really such a worthwhile charity and it's just great that the conference has that connection with them."
Prentice is also a member of the RMU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which consists of 50 members, all of whom participated in the fundraiser. Money was raised by donations from students, faculty, and the surrounding areas.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITYRobert Morris University, founded in 1921, is a private, four-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The university offers 60 undergraduate and 20 graduate programs. An estimated 22,000 alumni live and work in western Pennsylvania.


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Cisco and VMware are going to great lengths to paint a picture of the two companies working together to bring software-defined networking to customers.
In fact, VMware Wednesday went so far as to pledge allegiance to the new Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) in a Cisco press release as one of 20 "leading companies" supporting ACI.
This even after VMware last year spent $1.26 billion to buy software-defined networking innovator Nicira and introduced its own software-defined networking platform at VMworld this summer without Cisco's endorsement.
[Related: Partners: Cisco A 'Serious Contender' In SDN Market With Insieme Launch]
Beneath the surface, partners are buzzing about a battle that is starting to be waged in the sales trenches between the two respective market leaders for the hearts and minds of IT buyers.
"It grows more and more combative every day even though neither has had a real functional product or [software-defined networking] solution yet released to sell through the channel," said an executive for a top Cisco-VMware partner who did not want to be identified. "Just imagine if and when these things are actually being sold into the commercial and enterprise spaces how bad it will get."
Another partner executive, who did not want to be identified, said Cisco's bid for data center dominance has put the networking leader into a battle with all the major longtime data center players including VMware and EMC, which owns VMware. "Cisco is EMC's biggest competitor right now," said the partner executive. "To scale applications you are going to either buy a ton of [Cisco Unified Compute Systems] or you can build a virtual SAN using EMC products. Cisco is building out a world where everybody lives off UCS. Cisco is building software-defined networking, software-defined storage and flash with Whiptail -- all with UCS. All the major vendors are scrambling to see how their solutions can work together and coexist together."
Another partner, who did not want to be identified, said the SDN battle is coming down to a philosophical war between VMware and Cisco on whether SDN will be a pure software solution or a software solution with hardware that leverages Cisco ASICs. "I personally believe having a lot of that intelligence being put into ASICs like Cisco has done is the true game changer," said the partner. "Cisco just trumped [VMware's] Nicira."
Rob Lloyd, president of development and sales for the $49 billion networking market leader, in response to a question from CRN at the ACI introduction said customers see Cisco's support for both physical networked resources and virtual networked IT resources as a "game changer" versus VMware.
"When we do meet with customers and take them through the material you saw today they say, 'Wow, if I could have that policy implication on the applications I originate in the data center and then extend that out to the policy when I get on the network on the access layer and enforce that policy end to end,' they say -- 'Wow, that's a game changer,'" said Lloyd.
NEXT: Cisco's CTO Trash Talks VMware's SDN Offering


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The capsizing of the Costa Concordia cruise ship will send a tidal wave of bills at the owners that could reach $130 million -- if the ship can be salvaged.
If it is determined that the $650 million luxury liner is too badly damaged and is little more than fancy scrap, the owners -- Costa Cruises and its parent company Carnival Cruises -- will have to absorb the loss of the ship.
"They just lose," said Jaime Katz, an equity analyst for Morningstar Inc., an independent investment research firm. "The ship is gone. They will have to start over or have one less ship in that market."
That determination has yet to be made, but even a bill that big would not sink the company, experts said.
Carnival Cruises is the largest company in the cruise industry with more than 100 ships in service and 11 global brands.
Nevertheless, the company is bracing for a tsunami of bills heading its way.
Already the disaster has affected Carnival's stock. On Tuesday shares of Carnival were down nearly 14 percent to $29.53. Bloomberg said it was the biggest drop for the company since April 2009.
Morningstar has estimated that the company will face $85 million to $95 million loss in revenue while the ship is out of service.
Carnival, which is based in Miami, has a $30 million insurance deductible for damage to the ship.
Lawsuits will poke a hole in the company's bottom line.
The company reportedly has a $10 million deductible on third-party personal injury liabilities and Italian laws regarding civil suits may protect Carnival and Costa from mega suits that are common in the U.S.
"Italy has a civil law system," said John H. "Jack" Hickey, a maritime lawyer in Miami who represented passengers who suffered severe injuries in July 2006, after the Crown Princess cruise ship tilted nearly 24 degrees.
"Italy's civil code has schedules of compensation for various injuries. There are many, many factors that go into that. There is compensation for death ... and [for passengers'] loss of vacation or opportunity to enjoy themselves for a week. Italian code allows for compensation for that," Hickey said.
He said that passengers seeking to bring claims against the Costa Concordia cruise company would have to do so in Genoa, Italy, where Costa is based. So far, a class action suit has reportedly been initiated by an Italian consumer defense group and 70 passengers have joined the suit.
Carlo Rienzi told the Agence France Presse that his group's objective was "to get each passenger at least $12,773 compensation for material damage and also for ... the fear suffered, the holidays ruined and the serious risks endured."
Carnival said it "further anticipates other costs to the business that are not possible to determine at this time," according to Bloomberg.
Despite the public relations nightmare, Katz said that passengers would continue to sail the high seas after a bit of assurance from the industry, especially Carnival and Costa.
"People are not going to be booking as quickly," she said. "[Carnival] is going to have to assure people this is a safe way to travel."
But she said the industry was ripe for growth.
"A lot of cruisers are repeat travelers. They know that things happen. That ships go aground. At the end of the day, it's still a great ship," she said. "This is not something that happens on a regular basis. It's a pretty rare event."
The Associated Press contributed to this report


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Patriarch of Kesler's Market dies at 91
BLACKFOOT — Local businessman Jack White Kesler of Kesler's Market in Blackfoot, died last Thursday at age 91.
Kesler started working in the family grocery business in 1934, when he was 12-years-old.
His sons, Bob and Kelly, said they got into the business "because we figured Dad would retire."
"When he was getting into his 70s, we thought he might consider retiring; and then when he turned 80, we thought he would surely consider retiring," said Kelly.
"He definitely was part of the Greatest Generation," he said. "He taught us how to work.
Kesler came into the store every day to keep the books until he retired a couple years ago, at age 88.
"He stuck to the one he did best," said his daughter, Sue Nelson.
"I was 11-years-old when he first brought me to the store to sell hot dogs for a nickel," said Nelson. (There was hot dog booth in the corner.)
"He would get me up at 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning on Saturday," Nelson said. "I was the checker and he would bag the groceries.
"He taught us how to treat people," she said.
"I worked as a checker, and then sold ice cream before becoming [Dad's] secretary," she said. "Most of us can do all of it.
"There were a lot of us and we had a good time," she said. "We still do.
"He tried a lot of things—hunting, snow skiing," said Nelson. "He had a cabin in Island Park and was busy with family.
"He was always involved in something," she said. "He did what needed to be done."
Kesler served as chairman of the Blackfoot School Board through the 60s. He was a member of the Lions Club, was active in his church responsibilities and supported Scouting.
"He loved to travel," his sons said. "He and mom (Roma) traveled (at different times) to India, Australia, St. Petersburg and Africa.
"They wintered in California and would take each of us kids, one at a time, with them," said Bob.
"When my dad was growing up during the Depression, he would tell of receiving an orange and a steel car for Christmas," said Kelly.
"He didn't have a lot of hobbies," said daughter-in-law Marilyn Kesler. "The store was his life although he enjoyed mowing the lawn and building stuff in his later years."
During WWII, Kesler served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. He was a ship fitter, stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He repaired ships.
"He was really proud that he was a certified welder," said Kelly. "He learned how to weld underwater.
"Most of the pictures [from that time] are of him and his buddies down at the beach," said Bob Kesler.
"After the war, he took flying lessons," Kelly said.
"I remember sitting in the car, waiting for him to finish his flying lessons," said Bob. "I don't think he ever flew after getting his license."
Kesler was a family man. He and his wife had eight children. Most of the children and their families are still around this area. He has 49 grandchildren and 94 great-grandchildren.
Kesler's Market was started by Jack's father, F.C. (Fredrick Clark) Kesler.
F.C. survived the Depression on a ranch near Mackay, raising cattle.
F.C. was hauling a load of pigs to Ogden when he spotted a house on the corner of Bridge and Pine in Blackfoot.
He thought about that house all the way to Ogden, said Kelly. When he got back to Blackfoot, he purchased the house with his profits from the sale of the pigs.
For lumber, F.C. and his family tore down sheds on their ranch near Mackay. They used the lumber to add a neighborhood grocery store unto the house. The store measured 16 feet X 20 feet.
F.C. opened the neighborhood grocery store in 1934.
"The first day's profit was $11," said Bob.
Today, the fourth generation of Keslers owns, manages and works in Kesler's Market.
Jack Kesler's funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the Blackfoot Stake Center, 1650 Highland Dr., Blackfoot.
The family will meet with friends from 6-8 p.m. this evening at Hawker Funeral Home, 132 S. Shilling Ave. in Blackfoot and one hour prior to the service at the Stake Center.
Interment will be in the Fielding Memorial Cemetery in Idaho Falls.
Condolences may be sent to the family at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network filed a motion on Dec. 21 to intervene in federal district court in San Diego to defend the California statutes that prohibit discrimination and harassment in publicly funded schools, including the newly enacted Student Civil Rights Act (SB 777). EQCA was the official sponsor of SB 777, and both organizations actively supported the law. The two organizations are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center, the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, LLP and the Law Office of David C. Codell.
"By enacting the Student Civil Rights Act, the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a clear message that California will not tolerate discrimination in our schools," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "This law protects all youth in our public schools. It helps prevent harassment and discrimination so students can learn, free from threats and physical violence."
The Student Civil Rights Act, authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, reinforces existing California laws that prohibit discrimination in publicly funded schools and activities, including discrimination based on religion, race, disability, gender, and sexual orientation. For years, California law has prohibited discrimination in public education on these bases including sexual orientation and gender. SB 777 did not change the categories of discrimination prohibited by law, but merely updated the Education Code to clearly reflect current law, so school administrators and teachers know their responsibilities to protect students without having to cross-reference other sections of state law.
"We're intervening in this lawsuit because our student members advocated for SB 777 and are eager to defend it," said GSA Network Executive Director Carolyn Laub. "Thousands of our members have endured daily harassment at school based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It's a shame there are adults who don't think all students deserve to have a safe place to learn."
According to the 2001 California Healthy Kids Survey, nearly 30 percent of California youth in grades 7 to 11 report experiencing harassment or bullying based on their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
"This law protects all students, plain and simple, irrespective of their race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity," said Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney Brian Chase. "With 200,000 of California's school children every year finding themselves victims of harassment or violence, the need for this law is beyond argument."
"Every student has the right to be safe at school," said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter. "SB 777 simply makes this clear. The organizations bringing this suit are wasting taxpayers' money and seeking to undermine common sense protections for all California students."
"The Transgender Law Center is proud of our Legislature for passing a bill that protects all of California's students," said Transgender Law Center Legal Director Kristina Wertz. "Education is dependent upon safe and constructive learning environments for all young people. All youth deserve to be treated with dignity and respect." California's Legislature passed SB 777 in September and Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law on October 12. The lawsuit challenging SB 777 was filed by lawyers with Advocates for Faith and Freedom and the Alliance Defense Fund last month in federal district court in San Diego.
Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve equality and civil rights of all LGBT Californians. GSA Network is a nonprofit organization, governed by youth and adults, that empowers youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools through Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. There are currently more than 650 GSA clubs in California schools, including more than 45% of the public high schools. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of GLBT people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of LGBT people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. The Transgender Law Center is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities through direct legal services, education, community organizing, and policy and media advocacy.
[1] http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=7221


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Gardeners Seek Tips
ST. MARYS — Gardeners were out in force for the second-ever Swap n Share at St. Marys Community Public Library Thursday night.
Locals took plants others had left, offered extras from their own garden and heard new ideas from old pros.
While some may think of gardening as an adult recreation, youth crowded the event on skates and with their families to check out the plants and participate in a children's gardening area.
"It's the Lily of the Valley," said grandma Anna Frederick of a plant that her granddaughter, Tayla Meeker picked out.
"Don't you think it's neat?" asked the girl, as they picked it up to take it home.
The swap was busy with more than 70 gardeners in attendance, said Allison Brady, with the Heritage Trails Park District, a sponsoring organization for the event.
"This lets people just share the bounty of their gardens," Brady said.
The Gardening Club was present, along with farmers market representatives. Door prizes, free seeds and plants were given. The library sold gardening books and recommended books for check-out related to gardening.
Special speaker Larry Gruber spoke on square foot gardening with a raised bed.
He explained that with square foot gardening, the garden was marked off foot by foot, filled with loose compost and soil in a raised bed, then planted.
About anything a person would plant for a garden or in flowers could be planted in the square foot beds.
"Basically it's an introduction to making a successful square foot garden with a sample for people to see," Gruber said.
Beth Keuneke, adult services coordinator at the library, said she loves to garden, and thinks it interests many people in the area.
"Gardening is part of nature, and people like to be close to nature," she said.
The plants were going fast for the first twenty minutes, with more people unloading even as the plants dwindled.
"People want to share. If you're gardening, things multiply," Keuneke said.


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The announcement was made on Monday via Hov's site Life+Times. In a video promo released for the game, his song "Public Service Announcement" plays in the background.
In addition to endorsing NBA 2K13, Jay-Z was recently named director of Brooklyn's Barclays Arena, where his Brooklyn Nets will play in the fall.
Check the trailer for the video game below.
Follow @Buzz_ent


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Please note that different bios revisions may give different results. All benches are done with AUTO settings without altering any BIOS option besides CPU VCore, NB VCore and FSB Termination Voltage.
x264 is a h.264/AVC codec which supports four threads, and it's available for free. We took a PAL episode of "Babylon 5" with a length of 41 minutes, 57 seconds and 8 frames. We tried to "emulate" the most common usage when you encode your movies:
1st: We have a perfect master, so we only de-interlace the content and resize it without any other manipulations; we marked this as "fast."
2nd: You get bad mastering on many DVDs, especially "old" stuff or when the studios are in a hurry for the release. In this case you want to improve the picture quality, which is done by filtering the content. You can choose from lots of filters for any purposes you can think of, but we only used the most common "undot," "FluxSmooth" and "MSharpen." Of course, we also de-interlaced, filters were done before any resizing took place (which is slower). We marked this as "slow."
Note: The DFI P35 mainboard doesn't support half multipliers, so it was using 417x8.
The same episode we encoded, we used for our MP3-testing. We don't recommend using MP3 for encoding, because AC3 can do the job better, but nearly 42 minutes gives us approximately the length of any given album.
A measurement in seconds, as many sites do, is useless, because the differences are too small. So we used the built-in play/CPU ratio, this means the CPU is encoding x-times faster then the track-length. Fast memory does not play an important role here. For your convenience we also show the single-threaded benchmarks figures, they can be re-produced with any version of L.A.M.E. Only LameMT can do multi-thread and take advantage of multi-core processors.
We used this setting: lamemt --vbr-new -q 2 -V 2 -m j --strictly-enforce-ISO --resample 48
Note: The DFI P35 mainboard doesn't support half multipliers, so it was using 417x8.


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Just a few months ago, Jake Johnson had never heard of the Wyoming Cavalry.
Now he's one of them.
The former Longmont High standout quarterback signed last week to play with the Indoor Football League team based in Casper, Wyo.
The gig is the next turn in what's been a winding football path since high school. After signing to play at Colorado State-Pueblo and a brief stint at Adams State, Johnson opted to go the semi-pro route instead of trying to get on with another college team.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Johnson played for the Prague Lions in the Czech Republic over the summer. He started at quarterback for the first six games before moving to safety for the final six games to try and showcase his talents on the other side of the ball as well.
It was while browsing a Facebook-like website for European football players that Johnson saw someone else who had signed with the Cavalry and decided to give the team a ring.
IFL training camp begins in February, with the season beginning in March and running through June. IFL players make roughly $250 or so per game, though teams also help players with housing, meals and landing part-time jobs that they can work on the side.
Johnson, who has been living and working in Longmont since returning from Prague, is hoping this next step can help him advance his dream of reaching the Canadian Football League or the NFL.
"This was the right fit and a close fit," Johnson said Wednesday.
In Casper -- where the Cavalry play in the same league as the Fort Collins-based Colorado Ice -- Johnson said he will get a shot at quarterback again. But he also said coaches have told him he could see time anywhere from running back to receiver to safety.
"I'm just going to be all over the field I guess," Johnson said. "It will be interesting to see where (the coach) thinks I can play."
The St. Vrain FC club soccer organization in Longmont announced recently a partnership with English soccer club Sheffield Wednesday's North American Academy.
The partnership will allow St. Vrain FC players and coaches a chance to work with Sheffield Wednesday academy coaches in both Colorado and the United Kingdom.
Sheffield Wednesday will also host a series of player identification camps to search for prospects to train with its academy squad in England.
"This partnership will allow our coaches access to Sheffield Wednesday's curriculum, enhancing the soccer experience players at St. Vrain FC receive," St. Vrain FC executive director Steve Lepper said in a release.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshLindenstein


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A two-day training workshop was conducted in mid-December 2007 for government officials at the Vietnamese Institute for Human Rights (VIHR) to address the issue of environment in relation to health and human rights.
The workshop was co-organized by VIHR and The World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Viet Nam and was based on the results of a survey conducted in September and October 2007. The survey was implemented by experts from VIHR and the Viet Nam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) to analyze legislature and government policies to assure the human right to good health and sound living environment as well as the implications of environmental degradation on human life. IUCN provided preparatory support for the workshop by reviewing Viet Nam's compliance with relevant international treaties.
During the workshop, the potential impacts of climate change emerged as a major obstacle to the realization of human rights in Viet Nam. It is estimated that about 20 million Vietnamese people will be directly affected by predicted sea level increase due to climate change. Based on the example of climate change, the nexus between the environment and human rights was clearly established for all workshop participants.
The workshop concluded with recommendations for VIHR and IUCN Viet Nam to collaborate on future training courses for the environmental police and high-ranking party officials.
The survey conducted prior to the workshop indicates that there is a low level of awareness on international environmental policies, laws and international human rights treaties among high ranking party officials (25.5%). Staff from other government agencies were found to have a slightly higher level of awareness (30.7%).
A large number of political leaders, bureaucrats from various government agencies and people from Ha Noi, Bac Ninh and Ha Tay were interviewed in the survey in order to ascertain the level of awareness and knowledge on international environmental and human rights conventions. National issues pertaining to connections between the environment, human health and natural resources management were also discussed.
Approximately 45 participants attended the workshop representing environment and human rights stakeholders, including researchers, policy makers, national and provincial enforcement officers as well as journalists.


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Inquire about a product Cartier Santos 100 Large Rose Gold W20124U2:
Thanks for your interest in this timepiece. If you wish to order or purchase this watch, and have specific questions about the item, please fill out this form and submit your information. One of our expert watch consultants will contact you shortly about purchasing details. If you would like immediate assistance, please call us at our retail store to speak with Philippe directly.


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Let us help you create the perfect yacht vacation. Call 800-524-7676
*If you are not sure of your dates, please leave this area blank and complete the rest.
**Many smaller sailing and motor yachts offer "all inclusive" rates that include food, beverages and other onboard activities. The majority of larger motor yachts operate on a "plus expenses" basis. Please contact us for clarification.


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The Public is invited to its annual Peoria County Democratic Family Picnic, which will be held on Saturday, August 21, 2010.
The Picnic will be held in the Pavilion at the Itoo Club, 4909 W. Farmington Road, Peoria Il. It will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with an opportunity for candidates to speak between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
There will be free food courtesy of State Senator George Shadid, Retired, a bake sale sponsored by the Peoria County Democrat Women, entertainment donated by The LR Band, games for children will be provided by Regional Superintendent of Schools Gerald Brookhart and beverages will be available for a small donation.
Please put this event on your schedule and come join us and our Democratic friends for a day of fun and fellowship.