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Today IUCN celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity focusing on the links between biodiversity, human development and people's livelihoods. This has special significance for every plant and animal on Earth, particularly during this International Year of Biodiversity, and comes at a time when world leaders are setting new targets to stop biodiversity loss.
This is a day to celebrate all that nature provides for our daily well-being. From the most basic things we need that many of us take for granted, like clean air and water, to sources of medicine and inspiration for science and technology, nature is a life source.
Healthy biodiversity and ecosystems underpin the long term resilience of social and economic development. The world is grappling with economic and climatic uncertainty, and the consequences this may have for food and water security and poverty reduction. By sustainably managing natural resources we secure and diversify our options for development.
Agriculture, fisheries, forestry, water and tourism contribute significantly to economic development and all depend on healthy biodiversity and productive ecosystems. At the same time, the choices a country makes over its economic development affect the state of its natural resources and their ability to continue to provide for human need.
The world's poor, particularly in rural areas, depend on biological resources for as much as 90% of their daily needs, including food, fuel, medicine, shelter and transportation. Greater ecosystem, species and genetic diversity translates into a wider range of options to improve food security, health, and protection against natural disasters.
"The poor were the first to be affected by the economic crisis and they will be the first to suffer from the crisis facing biological diversity," says Stewart Maginnis, IUCN's Director for Environment and Development. "If nature fails to support them, they are left with very few – if any – options to fall back on."
Take mangrove forests. Vital to coastal communities, mangroves protect them from the impacts of storms and flooding, and serve as nurseries for fish and other species important for local livelihoods and food security. They also absorb significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and serve as both a source and repository for nutrients for coral reefs. At the same time, mangroves support jobs in tourism and fishing. And yet, due to coastal development, climate change, logging and agriculture, more than one in six mangrove species worldwide are in danger of extinction.
This is just one example of many species and ecosystems that are of great value for people's livelihoods but that are in decline. More than half of the ecosystem services that we depend on have been degraded, raising major challenges and uncertainties for human well-being.
"With unprecedented changes occurring in the world and a great deal of uncertainty about the future, we can no longer ignore the fundamental role of biodiversity as a foundation of human well-being," says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. "The development choices we make must recognize that the economy, environment and human well-being are all interconnected."
Helping people to manage their natural resources sustainably is one of the most accessible ways of supporting rural livelihoods, as well as helping people adapt to change.
In the Kapiri Mposhi region of Zambia, farmers are looking for new ways of coping with the impacts of climate change, such as increased droughts and floods which are disrupting their farming cycles. By diversifying and rotating the range of crops they grow and maintaining tree cover, these farmers can regenerate their soils, becoming more self-sufficient and resilient to climate change.
In Nigeria, by the waters of the Komadugu Yobe river basin, the lives of almost 15 million people depend on agriculture, livestock, forest use, tourism and fisheries. As inappropriate dam and irrigation systems have reduced water flow by 35%, people have recognized the importance of this natural infrastructure and are now working towards better development of water resources, to restore the degraded ecosystems, and eventually, the river's water flow.
People depend on biodiversity every day of their lives, but today is the day when we must stress this more emphatically. Only when the inseparable link between people and nature is understood by everyone can we achieve effective solutions to today's challenges. Global efforts to save biodiversity and reduce the world's poverty must go hand in hand.


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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; http://www.nwlouisiana.com/html/DA61...99330B10.shtml Saints' bye comes at good time Nakia Hogan / The Times Posted on November 4, 2003 METAIRIE - Given the emotions of the past few weeks, the recent surge of inspired play and the assortment of lingering injuries, Saints ...
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Saints' bye comes at good time
Saints' bye comes at good time
Nakia Hogan / The Times
Posted on November 4, 2003
METAIRIE - Given the emotions of the past few weeks, the recent surge of inspired play and the assortment of lingering injuries, Saints coach Jim Haslett couldn't think of a better time to be facing a bye week.
With his team having just gone on the road and defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-14, Haslett figures a week to heal and gather his troops for a stretch run that'll decide if the team is playoff worthy or a mere disappointment will do plenty of good.
"I'm glad we're off. It's always good to go into the bye with a win,' Haslett said. "But with the situation with our team, the rest will help us.'
With the time off, the Saints can concentrate on recovering from a horde of injuries, including several that occurred Sunday.
At his Monday news conference, Haslett read off a list of banged up players that'll leave the team's training headquarters looking more like an infirmary than a football facility.
Among the injured: wide receiver Donte' Stallworth (quadriceps), defensive tackle Kenderick Allen (knee), guard LeCharles Bentley (knee), cornerback Dale Carter (quadriceps), running back James Fenderson (foot), offensive tackle Wayne Gandy (groin), defensive end Darren Howard (wrist), guard Kendyl Jacox (knee), offensive tackle Victor Riley (ankle) linebacker Darrin Smith (groin) and linebacker Sedrick Hodge (knee).
The injuries caused the Saints to have to use several reserves to defeat the Bucs for the third straight year. But Haslett said he is pleased with how his backups performed.
He is even happier with the 4-5 record his team now has after starting the season with losses in four of their first five games. Since then, though, the Saints have beaten Chicago, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Their only loss in that span was an overtime setback to NFC South-leading Carolina.
"Our goal going into the bye was to try and be 5-4,' Haslett said. "We fell a game short. We wanted to win four in a row. When you start out 1-4, I know people were down on us. But our guys still believed we could win four games in a row. We won three of four. That's something to build off of.
"We are in a good situation. We are not in a perfect situation by any means. We would have liked to be 5-4 or 6-3 like everybody else. But we are still in the middle of this. The positive thing coming off the bye week is that we open with Atlanta, a team we played well against earlier.'
Haslett said over the course of the final seven games, it would be important for the Saints to continue to improve. He said the offense must become more efficient and the defense more opportunistic.
If that happens, the Saints can make a run at the postseason. They have games remaining against all four NFC East teams, along with rematches with Atlanta and Tampa and a contest at lowly Jacksonville.
"We play all the teams that stand in our way: Washington, Philadelphia, the Giants, Dallas and Tampa.' Haslett said. "We really hold our own fate in our hands. I think we can get better.
"I like the way we played physically (Sunday). We played with a lot of passion on the road after a tough loss to Carolina. That says a lot about your team. If we can build on those areas that I talked about, get some poise on defense, eliminate some things on offense, then hopefully we can put a string together.'
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Ammonia coolant leaking from International Space Station
An ammonia leak has been detected in the cooling system outside the International Space Station, but no crew members are in danger as a result, US space agency NASA said on its website.
The agency said part of the station's cooling system might need to be shut down for about 48 hours to fix the leak.
It was not clear whether the leak, which officials said appeared to be getting worse, was related to a similar incident late last year.


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My third cousin who lives in Maine had the picture. It came from his grandmother who was one of the last in that generation and ended up with many family photos. Folks often say the youngest daughter ends up with family bibles & photos and I've found that to be true.
This must have been taken when he was in his 60s in the 1890s or so since his beard is long and white. This is the 3rd photo I have of him, which is very unusual for a family member from that period.
The same cousin sent me this 2nd picture a couple years ago. He is much younger in it and it was probably taken in the 1860s.
This last photo was in the Andrew Green family bible, belonging to James Hogan's daughter Rebecca. My Dad's cousin Hubert had the old bible and I was able to make a copy of the photo in 2001. It was probably taken around 1915 when he was almost 80 years old.


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Actually, no. I know FallenArousal will return and he will read this but I am not exactly looking forward to him. One thing I do like about him was that he is nice to a lot of the newcomers at JUB. I do admit he is a nice guy but I cannot put up with adults acting like teenagers. He reminds me of a teenage who does everything out of the mainstream because he hates his parents but wants his parents to notice that he is a special snowflake.
NaughtyArousal was one my favourite guys on here.
Don't know why he was obsessing about his penis size SO seriously. Really so silly to define himself over something like that, which, in the grand scheme of life, is just NOT IMPORTANT. And anyone could see from his pics that he was a really good-looking guy (I even had a crush on him) and yet he called himself ugly? And he'd never accept that people might like him for who he was as a person.
Hope he comes back.
Elvin was fun! Are we commenting on missing people?
SiriusXM 11am to 3 EST
Oh sorry to clear up in my post to Borg I was saying "no" in reference to "we weren't still talking about Enchanted", I know Naughty Arousal was FallenAsexual. Thanks for the heads up though.
I think most people don't really want to fix their lives, they just want to whine a bitch about them... which is ok, to an extent. Just word your threads in a way that isn't asking for advice.
If people just want moral support, okay cool. But then it's kinda b.s. to act like "oh what do you guys think what should i do" and then proceed to argue wtih all the answers you don't want.
Although, in my defense, my hard drive is "only" 50 GB.
I hate how nowadays "you are running low on hard drive space" kicks in at like 80 or 100 GB.... more than I think my last computer had total..
^I don't like making personal attacks but your white knight syndrome should have been a passing phase and there needs to be some soul searching on your part why you still have it. Most people after getting knocked down several moral pegs in their 20s get over it. I realized this way back in high school when I spent a few years in therapy realizing that you can't change people [in this case, my dad] unless they want to change themselves. Just because someone is bitching doesn't mean they have a real problem or want to even solve their problem. Again, life experience taught me this when one of my own friends was a "Florence Nightingale" [female equivalent to the white knight] thinking she could change "bad" men. When most of her friends, including myself, confronted her about her engagement, she thought we were crazy but she luckily came around. "Putting a ring on it" does not change the guy into this majestic prince.
It is my perception that I see someone who is just after attention fairly early on... but I have to just keep quiet and wait for everyone else to realize it weeks later. If I say something sooner I'm a dick even though it winds up being true.
I just now noticed that tiexgrr self-deleted.
I enjoyed reading his posts.
This ends the 2012 edition.
And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins.
The 2013 year's edition- Confess something that might surprise others or damage your reputation on JUB 2013 can be found here.


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Jon Lester was happy with his mechanics. He wasn't pleased with his results.
Boston's scheduled opening-day starter allowed four runs and eight hits in three innings Wednesday as the Red Sox lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5.
"I felt probably the best I felt mechanically and able to repeat in a long time," Lester said. "To waste it is bad. But I guess that's a positive from today, to really repeat some of the things that we've been working on."
Lester allowed four runs in the third inning, when Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker hit run-scoring singles and Matt Hague hit his third spring-training homer, a two-run drive.
"This is not something I take lightly, results in spring training," said Lester, whose ERA rose to 5.73. "I don't think there's anything we need to address. Like I said, I felt really sound and in good position when I threw the ball today. I was just a little bit under on my fastball. Instead of being at the knee, I was at the thigh. When you face big-league hitters, that's what happens."
Nate McLouth hit a two-run homer in the seventh off new Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey. Matt Hague, who led the International League in hits last year, went 2 for 3 with a home run and raised his average to .429.
Pirates starter Kevin Correia ran his scoreless streak to 10 1-3 innings before Josh Kroeger singled in a run in the second. Pittsburgh's opening day starter a year ago, Correia gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings and allowed a long home run to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the fourth.
"I was pretty efficient today as far as pitch count was concerned," Correia said. "After I gave up a couple runs, I was able to get some quick outs. I very easily could have went a few more innings if it was a regular season start."
Saltalamacchia, who entered hitting .077 (1 for 13), added an RBI double. Adrian Gonzalez doubled in a run for the Red Sox.
"This spring, I really have been kind of getting underneath the ball and popping it up too much," Saltalamacchia said, "just found the bat head dragging a little bit. So we really worked on trying to get the head out and stay on top."
Pittsburgh's Evan Meek, limited to 24 appearances last year because of shoulder tendinitis, allowed a run in two innings.
NOTES: Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said OF Carl Crawford (wrist) worked on baserunning Wednesday and will take part in soft toss Thursday. Valentine wasn't sure when Crawford would be able to take batting practice. ... Pirates RHP A.J. Burnett reported no issues after throwing a 52-pitch bullpen session and is tentatively scheduled to throw batting practice Saturday. Burnett underwent surgery this month to repair a broken bone around his right eye.


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My wife broke my daughter's netbook screen. A £70 repair bill is just too steep, so I spent a tenner and got an old 4:3 acer screen from cash converters.
Problems are few but niggly.
When I boot up, the netbook gets black bars on the cracked screen to reshape it to match the monitor. The monitor gets a crappy 800x600 to match the netbook.
If I try and separate the monitors, I get no aspect ratio on the external screen that works. It is always too big to fit.
If I use ctrl+f8 to switch between outputs, I get the external with a good ratio. Sometimes. Most times it hangs on a black screen with a mouse pointer and nothing else. This seems to go after a wait. Sometimes 30 seconds, but I left it 10 mins yesterday at one point without change.
Can I set it so it uses the external only at boot? Can I get rid of this lag time? A 10 year old with Aspergers won't wait.
It's an eeepc 904HA, 2 GM RAM and runs Mint 14 MATE.


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On the game: "The end of this quarter of the season was obviously a disappointment to our team. To finish the way the quarter ended with three wins, once loss was not the kind of performance we expected or wanted. I want to take my hat off to Miami, their team, their coaches, they outplayed us, they outcoached us, in all facets. Tony [Sparano] and his crew did a terrific job and we felt that going into the game they were a very dangerous team playing a lot better than their record. It's hard to win in the NFL; they just did a better job than us. That being said, I think that this has been a good little stretch for our team up until today. We're just trying to get through this quarter, had a chance to get to four [wins] and didn't do it. We got three wins though, that was first and foremost our goal. Myself as the head coach, coming off a late Monday night game, really tried to work hard to make sure we were handling the week correctly, physically and mentally. I think today...I'm not making excuses for the guys, but we probably did try to do too much during the week, which they just weren't physically capable of handling it. I don't want to take anything away from Miami and how they were prepared and played the game throughout. They just did a better job than us across the board. They deserve credit for that."
If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently? "We put a lot of thought into that....It was clear to me as the game went on that we had a bunch of guys that didn't have much in the tank, it didn't appear. So we have to do everything now. The quarter is over; we're starting the second half of the season. We have to do everything we can as a staff to make sure that we get these guys re-charged now. It's a new four-game set in which we don't have a lot of margin of error. That's where we are."
On preparing to play an 0-7 team: "I really believe our guys understood how good this team was. That's not blowing hot air. They have a talented team that's playing hard, playing physical, and have a number of guys that can hurt you. I take my hat off to the quarterback: Moore, I thought he did a terrific job. We tried to present him with a number of different looks defensively, and the kid handled it very well and made plays for them. He played really well, as far as the game management went."
Did Miami have your guys' attention? "I really believe our guys understood that this was a dangerous team. We went through every aspect of this team and where they were, why they were there. There's a reason you lose games and they were doing a couple of those things that get you beat, just like we've gone through stages and had the same thing. But our guys understood fully that we had to play our best game and we didn't do that. I don't think our guys' preparation or understanding of how we were trying to play and what we expected from them were an issue here today."
On facing 20 third downs and what you do to combat that: "Without watching the tape, I believe defensively we allowed too many big plays, especially early. Offensively, we did things to set ourselves back, whether it was a penalty or minus play, a sack. We aren't a high-powered unit so to speak; we've got a chance to be real good but we're still a work in progress. We can't afford to be going an extra 10, 15, 20 yards during drives. We just have to be more efficient overall. That's where we are. This quarter of the season we are putting to rest, no different than we put the first quarter to rest and it's time to move forward. We will be diligently at work trying to do everything possible to make sure we are better this next Sunday than we were today."
On the secondary not seeing the same success it had the previous two weeks: "We're a team that's a work in progress in a number of different areas, all areas really. There isn't one area where we can say we've arrived or we don't need to worry about this; we've got this set up or taken care of. We as a team, we've got to get better every day. When the season starts, thank goodness, you don't start where you finish. You have to continue to make progress and get better and that's what we need to make sure is happening. I really believe it's been happening throughout this season. I said early on in training camp that it was going to be a wild one and it hasn't disappointed right now. The one thing I do know about our guys is we've been through some very difficult times early in the season and it's never fun to lose; it's never easy, it's never what you want. But the one thing I know with this group is that they'll stick together and they'll pull back together…I believe we will bounce back from this. I as a head coach have to do a better job making sure the physical aspect of it [is taken care of]. I feel like I've learned a lot this week coming off an emotional long, physical game, really a stretch of them in a row where we're fighting our backsides off to get out of debt, so to speak. I'm still happy with where we are at the halfway point. I'd like to be better, but for all things considered, to battle back how we have, and be in a position where all these games mean more than the next…."
On his first impression of the way the Chiefs offensive line blocked today: "One thing we said coming into this game is that this group could pressure the quarterback. They've got a bunch of guys that can bring it and they're not afraid to bring additional players. [Defensive Coordinator Mike] Nolan does a terrific job creating disguise. We knew it was going to be a major test. Watching the tape I'm going to be very careful about saying much negative about our guys because what I saw was a group that kept fighting. That's kind of been their calling card and I think that will be what serves us well and what allows us to accomplish our goals and make our dreams happen. I like the group, none of that's changed. We just have to be better across the board."
On the team's sense of unity being the strongest point of the season: "This is a really good group of guys that sticks together, that has become a team. Today, we were just a team that didn't play well enough and I've talked about the whys of that….Our guys have to re-charge and we have got to get ready for this Sunday because it is now the biggest game of the year for us."
On where to place responsibility for the loss: "If we ask them to practice, they practice, that's the bottom line. It's not like we had a full week as it was. If I asked them to go out and practice for 40 plays and work on special teams even if it's just for one day….I'm not making excuses…they're in there; they're mad and upset with themselves and know they can play better. I know they can. Today we didn't play good enough. It's a loss in the fourth game of the second quarter of the season, so right now at the halfway point, we've got to start up and get ready to go and get better every day and play better."
On getting rid of the hat and beard: "That's the last thing I'm thinking about because nothing that I do, other than coach these guys and get them ready to play, has a lot to do with how our team plays, at least in the dress and grooming areas. We just have to get back to work and be ready to go because we need to be ready to go."


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These are good times to be a British sports fan.
Last weekend saw the British and Irish Lions win their first series in 16 years when they defeated Australia in Sydney and Andy Murray become the first British winner of the Wimbledon Men's Singles title since Fred Perry in 1936.
Murray's victory over Serbia's Novak Djokovic sparked a mood of British sporting euphoria last seen during the London Olympics when last year when British competitors won a clutch of gold medals.
However, euphoria is a hard thing to translate from one sport to another.
England are the favorites as they bid for a third straight Test series win over archrivals Australia that starts tomorrow in Nottingham, England.
However, the lesson of history is that touring Australia parties billed as "the weakest to travel for an Ashes" are rarely that.
The last time that line was used was in 1989, when Australia regained the Ashes by a 4-0 margin.
In March, Australia were thrashed 4-0 in India, where England won late last year, and come into this series with huge question marks over their batting which, with the exception of captain Michael Clarke — battling a longstanding back problem — lacks proven world-class performers.
However, an attack set to be led by Peter Siddle — fifth in the world rankings — and likely to feature promising paceman James Pattinson could cause England problems.
"We're not going into this game viewing the Australians as anything other than a very difficult team to beat — despite recent results in India ... We're not viewing them as a pushover at all," said England off-spinner Graeme Swann, who is set to play on his Trent Bridge home ground in tomorrow's game.
Australia vice captain Brad Haddin said the injection of enthusiasm provided by several potential Ashes debutants could be just what the team, regrouping under coach Darren Lehmann after South African Mickey Arthur was sacked last month, need.
"One thing we have in our favor is you just don't know what some of these guys are capable of on the international stage," Haddin said. "We've got a lot of talent in that room and some very, very exciting cricketers. It's going to be exciting to see them unleashed in the biggest series of all."
England's batting in their recent home series win against New Zealand was not as dominant as some had predicted, although, significantly, they were then without the injured Kevin Pietersen, now recovered from a knee injury.
Pietersen, after scoring a brilliant century against his native South Africa at Headingley last year, was briefly dropped by England for sending text messages allegedly critical of then-captain Andrew Strauss to Proteas players.
England batting great Geoffrey Boycott, an equally controversial figure during an international career spanning from the 1960s to 1980s, was once heard to remark: "They don't want me, but they want my runs."
Although no one in the current England set-up would, at least publicly, use similar language to describe former captain Pietersen's recall, it appears a hard-headed assessment of his worth has trumped all other considerations.
One of Alastair Cook's first acts as England captain following Strauss' retirement was to bring Pietersen back on board for the tour of India, where the batsman scored a brilliant 186 in Mumbai.
Pietersen's average against Australia — 52.71 — is higher than his impressive career-best of 49.01 and so long as he remains enthused by the challenge of Test cricket, he remains a dangerous opponent.
"He was exceptional in India not only on the field, but also he changed his demeanour off it as well and really became a positive part of the side," Swann said. "We have absolutely no issues with Kev. He doesn't seem to have any issues with the team and that bodes well for the next seven weeks."


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I just read Allen Sindelar's timeless article, "Toast, Waffles, and Pancakes" (HP133) and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I have been living off-grid for the last 11 years, and encountered the article while preparing an off-grid living presentation for a self-help course that Yukon Housing Corporation provides to assist homeowners in managing the construction of their own homes. Some of them are building in remote locations, and have questions about being off-grid.
I love the relevance of the title, because it is hard to explain to people the little idiosyncrasies of off-grid living. Here in the Yukon, in northern Canada, there's a vast difference in our solar resource and temperature from summer to winter. My solar-electric system operates with virtually no diesel backup all summer, since we get nearly 20 hours of daylight. In the winter, sunlight drops to less than two hours per day. So, it is my winter routine to come home from work, fire up the generator, and get all the stuff done that I need to do—cook dinner, sometimes do laundry, watch TV, run the dishwasher, etc.—while the batteries are charging.
In the summer, I save the laundry for the weekend, during the day, when the sun is on the PV array. My dishwasher has a delay timer that I set to come on when I know the batteries will be charged. My kids have learned to turn off the lights when they leave a room, and ask before they watch TV or play video games. And they look out the window to gauge the weather before asking for waffles!
We heat the home mostly with wood and have an oil heater for backup. Our winters are long, and we require space heating for eight months of the year. Our need for air conditioning is minimal in the summer—most homes here don't require it.
Another little item that has become indispensable to me is a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker does chicken cacciatore in six minutes and a pot roast in 20 minutes—all on the stovetop. That's a device worth mentioning!
I also wanted to mention something in reference to battery versus plug-in clocks. My generator is an older model that fluctuates between 60 and 61 Hz, which causes my plug-in clocks to "gain" time. Over a week, this gain adds up. So I now use my cellphone for an alarm clock, and the kids have battery-powered clocks.
I appreciated the idea proposed in the article for using larger freezers, electric fridges, and microwaves. I put our electric fridge on a plug strip. If my battery's state of charge is low, I shut it off at night, since it doesn't need to run all the time if no one is opening the door. Ice cream in the freezer gets a bit too soft using this method, so we store it in the big chest freezer.
Karen Jahraus, Yukon Housing Corp. • Whitehorse, Yukon


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What a year 2012 was for Heirloom Magazine! This past year saw our dream evolve and grow into something better than we ever could have hoped for, thanks to every single one of you who supported us! Back in September 2011, it started with a photo shoot and an idea. We had a dream - to bring vintage-focused local inspiration […]
Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine
Vancouver wedding magazine filled with vintage inspiration for the modern bride | A focus on weddings, marriage advice, DIY projects, home decor, wedding planning and all that comes after.
Tag Archives: heirloom 2012


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|5 Secrets to Finding Black Friday Deals
|By MATTHEW ONG, NerdWallet
|Nov 28, 2013, 7:18 AM
With all the hoopla over Black Friday deals, how does anyone shift through the noise and get to the real deals? Having your shopping list at the ready and access to the best resources is key to getting the most out of Black Friday. Here are 5 tips to navigate the holiday mayhem.
Have a game plan. You don't want to go into this experience cold, especially since the rules are constantly evolving. Make a concrete list and know exactly what you want before heading out into the long lines. Browse online resources to help you evaluate the best deals alongside your shopping list. Check your favorite store's website and print ads for coupons, as well as online coupon sites. Print and clip your coupons, organize them according to store and make sure you know which credit/debit cards to use before you walk out the door.
Read More: Black Friday: Who Has the Upper Hand?
This year is gearing up to be a record battle among retailers opening on Thanksgiving Day and offering deals before the official Black Friday sales. Walmart even announced that it would match Black Friday prices with Best Buy and Target prices the whole week before Thanksgiving starting Nov 22. Sears, Macy's and others are opening Thanksgiving evening. Online ad leaks are partly responsible for this reaction. Expect to see retailers continue to undercut one another throughout the Christmas season.
Read More: Best Black Friday Deals: Where and When to Get Them
Target the retailers where you plan on shopping and stay informed by frequently checking for social media updates --Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. Also, don't forget to sign up for email updates from your favorite stores. Another fantastic way to keep up with Black Friday specials is to sign up for a Google Alert for the latest news. Lastly, don't forget to check for mobile apps and get alerts on your smartphone as you're waiting at the register.
The past trend of online prices, like on Amazon, outdoing brick-and-mortar store pricing has begun to turn around. Whereas customers used to "showroom" (browsing physical stores' prices and then purchasing online), now consumers are doing the opposite -- "webrooming" (browsing online, then purchasing in-store). As a result, be sure to compare in-store and print ads with online prices. There are many items that can be found at cheaper prices than online, and many stores have announced they will price match Amazon and other online prices.
A great way to double your deals is to research your credit cards to take advantage of any special promotions or coupons for shopping at particular stores. Take advantage of accumulated rewards points and discounts on gift cards offered by companies like Capital One and American Express. You will want to browse the websites of any stores you plan to shop and check if they have offers with your credit card company.
Read More: Retailers Reject 'Gray Thursday' to Stay Closed on Thanksgiving
Preparation is the key to getting the most of this year's upcoming Black Friday deals. Arm yourself with online updates, store websites and print ads, download those mobile ads for flash sales and stay plugged in to social media sites. And don't forget to keep a healthy balance of turkey, family and shopping!
This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.
Matthew Ong is a senior retail analyst for NerdWallet, a financial literacy website based out of San Francisco. He is currently working on reviewing all the Black Friday ad leaks from 2013 and analyzing the best and the worst of the upcoming shopping holiday.


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2 bedroom terraced house for saleMasefield Road, Hartlepool, Cleveland, TS25 4LE
Offers in Excess of
Do you like this property?
Call: 0161 416 6302
Property Description
Key features
- Front And Rear Gardens
Full description
Tenure: Freehold
***Offers In Excess Of £65,000*** Springbok Properties offers this ATTRACTIVELY PRICED property to ENCOURAGE a faster than average sale. This property is PRICED LOW and is an ideal opportunity for buyers who are in a position to buy fairly quickly.
Terraced Property
Three Bedrooms
One Reception Room
One Bathroom
Front And Rear Gardens
Double Glazed And Central Heated (Where Specified)
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Nearest stations
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- Seaton Carew (1.8 mi)
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this program works really reeally good. I have installed the latest k9copy from website, and i can backup dvd very easily
Although, i am very curious as to how it compresses a dvd to half the size with no difference in quality. extremely good compression ?????????
Also it took me four days to figure out how to work this ::::::::
Activate support for encrypted DVDs
You need to install libdvdcss2 to have support for encrypted DVD playback. To do this, enter the following, one line at a time, in the terminal:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread3
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/examples/install-css.sh
from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/K9Copy


text:
I saw them on the Kid's Choice Awards and couldn't get their song out of my head. I bought their CD and can't stop listening to it! I LOVE it! Some of their songs are surprisingly mature!
I think Niall might be my favorite. But... uh, how is that pronounced? Is it like Ny-ull or Ny-all or Neal?


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O'Reilly Book Excerpts: Learning C#
Getting Started with C#, Part 1
Related Reading
Find out how to write your first C# program in this book excerpt from Learning C#. This is the first of two excerpts on getting started with C#.
You can use C# to create three different types of programs:
- Web applications
- Windows applications
- Console applications
The .NET platform is web-centric. The C# language was developed to allow .NET programmers to create very large, powerful, high-quality web applications quickly and easily. The .NET technology for creating web applications is called ASP.NET.
ASP.NET, the next generation from ASP (Active Server Pages), is composed of two Microsoft development technologies: Web Forms and Web Services. While the development of fully realized web applications using these technologies is beyond the scope of this book, learning the basics of the C# language will certainly get you started in the right direction. C# is generally acknowledged to be the language of choice for ASP.NET development.
In This Series
Getting Started with C#, Part 2
Typically, you'll create an ASP.NET application when you want your program to be available to end users on any platform (e.g., Windows, Mac, Unix). By serving your application over the Web, end users can access your program with any browser.
When you want the richness and power of a native application running directly on the Windows platform, alternatively you might create a desktop-bound Windows application. The .NET tools for building Windows applications are called Windows Forms; a detailed analysis of this technology is also beyond the scope of this book.
However, if you don't need a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and just want to write a simple application that talks to a console window (i.e., what we used to call a DOS box), you might consider creating a console application. This book makes extensive use of console applications to illustrate the basics of the C# language.
Web, Windows, and console applications are described and illustrated in the following pages.
- Console applications
- A console application runs in a console window, as shown in Figure 2-1. A console window (or DOS box) provides simple text-based output.
- Console applications are very helpful when learning a language because they strip away the distraction of the Graphical User Interface. Rather than spending your time creating complex windowing applications, you can focus on the details of the language constructs, such as how you create classes and methods, how you branch based on runtime conditions, and how you loop. All these topics will be covered in detail in coming chapters.
- Windows applications
- A Windows application runs on a PC's desktop. You are already familiar with Windows applications such as Microsoft Word or Excel. Windows applications are much more complex than console applications and can take advantage of the full suite of menus, controls, and other widgets you've come to expect in a modern desktop application. Figure 2-2 shows the output of a simple windows application.
- ASP.NET applications
- An ASP.NET application runs on a web server and delivers its functionality through a browser, typically over the Web. ASP.NET technology facilitates developing web applications quickly and easily. Figure 2-3 shows a message from a simple ASP.NET application.
- Although most commercial applications will be either Windows or ASP.NET programs, console applications have a tremendous advantage in a C# primer. Windows and ASP.NET applications bring a lot more overhead; there is great complexity in managing the window and all the events associated with the window. (Events are covered in Chapter 19.) Console applications keep things simple--allowing you to focus on the features of the language.
TIP: This book does not go into all the myriad details of building robust Windows and ASP.NET applications. For complete coverage of these topics, please see Programming ASP.NET and Programming .NET Windows Applications, both by Jesse Liberty and Dan Hurwitz (O'Reilly).
Pages: 1, 2


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Jan. 6, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Schedule
Game No. 13
Saturday, January 7, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. Long Beach State 49ers
at UCSB's Thunderdome
Radio: KIST 1340 AM
Game No. 14
Monday, January 9, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. UC Irvine Anteaters
at UCSB's Thunderdome
Radio: KIST 1340 AM
The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara enters its Big West home opener on Saturday afternoon with an overall record of 5-7 and a league record of 0-2. The Gauchos dropped their first two league games of the year at UC Riverside (81-78) on Monday and at Cal State Fullerton (73-59) on Wednesday. UCSB's last win came in the preseason finale when it defeated Portland 76-53 at the Thunderdome on Dec. 28. Since opening the year at 2-0, the Gauchos have gone 3-7.
Is That Sunlight Outside?
UCSB's Saturday, Jan. 7, game against longtime rival Long Beach State will be the first of several weekend day games in Big West play. Last spring, the league's coaches and administrators opted to move all weekend games from the evening to the afternoon. In addition to Saturday's 2:00 p.m. game against Long Beach State, the Gauchos will host Pacific on Jan. 28 at 4:00 p.m. and UC Riverside on Feb. 25 at 2:00 p.m. The game against Pacific was originally slated for 2:00 p.m. but was shifted to accommodate Fox Sports Net.
Brown Sidelined With Left Knee Injury
Senior guard Cecil Brown, UCSB's leading scorer, will miss this weekend's games against Long Beach State and UC Irvine, and possibly the Gauchos' Jan. 15 game at UC Davis, after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the team's loss at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday. Brown is averaging 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. In addition to leading the Gauchos in scoring, he paces the team in three-point baskets with 23. Brown, who scored just four points in the season-opener against San Francisco, has scored 10 or more points in 11 straight games, the longest such streak by a UCSB player since the 2001-02 season.
UCSB Loses To Balanced Cal State Fullerton, 73-59
In Wednesday afternoon's 73-59 loss at Cal State Fullerton, the Gauchos did about all they could to shutdown the Titans' top two scorers, Bobby Brown and Jamaal Brown, and they had some success, limiting the duo to 10 points apiece. What UCSB could not do, however, was stop the rest of the Fullerton players. Guard Jermaine Harper had a career-high 21 points and reserves Frank Robinson and John Clemmons added 10 each to lead the Titans. The Gauchos led by three points early in the game, but CSUF took the lead with 12:53 to go in the first half and never trailed again. Trailing just 19-18 with 9:40 to go in the first, the Gauchos were outscored 24-9 the rest of the way and were behind 43-27 at the break. UCSB never got closer than 11 points in the second half. The Gauchos were paced by sophomore forward Chris Devine who made 8-of-10 shots and scored 19 points. Senior guard Cecil Brown added 13 points for UCSB. Fullerton made 9-of-19 three-point attempts and had 19 more field goal attempts than the Gauchos.
Possible Starters - Notes
G - Alex Harris - In his last five games, he has made just 4-of-24 shots, 16.7%.
G - Joe See - In his last six games, he has gone 18-of-26 overall, 69.2%, 8-of-16 from three.
G - Josh Davis - Has played in the last two games after missing three with ankle injury.
F - Chris Devine - In last five games he has averaged 17.0 points and made 34-of-50 shots, 68.0%.
F - Cameron Goettsche - Has averaged 6.0 rebounds per game in the last six.
Possible Reserves - Notes
G - Cecil Brown - Will miss 7-10 days with a sprained left medial collateral ligament.
G - Lance Hurdle - Has played 11 or more minutes in three of last four games.
G - James Powell - Freshman guard will redshirt the 2005-06 season.
G - Derek Rasp - Has made at least one three-point basket in five of his six games.
G - Michael Chambers - Scored a season-high eight points, making all three shots, vs. Portland.
F - Chidi Ajufo - Has played in just one of the last five games.
F - Tom Garlepp - Since scoring 23 points in first two games, he has scored 20 in last 10.
F - Glenn Turner - Has had season-best six rebounds in each of the last two games.
F - Chris Moore - Has played in all six games since he became eligible.
C - David Massey - At 7-foot-3 his the tallest player in program history. Will redshirt the year.
The Bob Williams File
Bob Williams is in his eighth season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara. Last year his team struggled with injuries and finished 11-18 overall and 7-11 in the Big West Conference. It marked the first time that a Williams-coached UCSB team finished below the .500 mark in league play. During the 2004-05 season, however, Williams became the fifth UCSB coach to record 100 wins. Prior to last season, he had guided the Gauchos to three straight winning seasons, the first time the program accomplished the feat since 1987-88 through 1989-90. In 2002-03, Williams' Gauchos went 18-14 overall and 14-4 in league. The 2002-03 Big West mark earned Santa Barbara its first-ever Big West regular season championship along with a postseason trip to the National Invitation Tournament. Additionally, the success earned Williams his second Big West Coach of the Year award, his first coming after an impressive 1999 campaign. In 2001-02, Williams guided UCSB to its first Big West Conference Tournament Championship ever and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. Including this season, Williams' UCSB teams have posted a 112-104 (.519) overall record and a 73-49 (.602) record in Big West games. Prior to his arrival at UCSB, he spent eight years at UC Davis and in those eight years, his teams recorded 20 or more wins five times and a 158-76 record. In Williams' final season, the Aggies went 31-2, won the NCAA Division II National Championship and he was named NABC Division II Coach of the Year. Including two seasons at Menlo College, Williams has a record of 301-204 (.596) at four-year schools.
Williams Gets 300th Career Win
Bob Williams' 300th career win wasn't pretty, but at least it was. Get it? The Gauchos' eighth-year head coach posted the 300th win of his career on Tuesday, Dec. 20, when UCSB narrowly topped visiting Sonoma State, 67-66. Last season, Williams posted his 100th career win as head coach of the Gauchos. In all, he has won 112 games since arriving at UCSB for the 1998-99 season.
The Opponents
With the exception of San Jose State, UCSB has played Long Beach State more than any of its opponents. The Gauchos and 49ers have played 97 times in a series that dates back to 1952. Long Beach holds a narrow 50-47 edge over Santa Barbara. Last year, the teams split their regular season games, with the 49ers winning in Long Beach (58-57) and the Gauchos winning in Santa Barbara (54-47). UCSB also defeated Long Beach in the opening round of the Big West Tournament, 55-49. UCSB and UC Irvine have played 51 times in a series that dates back to 1968. The Gauchos hold a 38-23 advantage. The teams split games last season with each team winning on its own court. UCSB won in Santa Barbara by a score of 62-45 and the Anteaters won in Irvine, 72-63.
The Gauchos At Home
The Gauchos are 5-0 at home this season. UCSB has won games against Portland, Sonoma State, Pepperdine, San Francisco and San Diego. Although Santa Barbara struggled through the 2004-05 season, things were not that bad at home. The Gauchos went 8-4 at the Thunderdome, including 2-1 in non-conference games and 6-3 in league games. In three seasons prior to last year, Santa Barbara posted home records of 10-2 and the Gauchos have never won fewer than eight home games in a season under Bob Williams. Including its wins this season, UCSB is 70-26 at home since Bob Williams arrived for the 1998-99 season.
Heavy Workload, Lots Of Rest
UCSB is one of four Big West schools to open the league season with four games in eight days. The Gauchos, along with Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside and Cal Poly, will have played the four in eight when the final buzzer sounds at Monday night's games. Because of a quirk in the schedule that has the Gauchos playing UC Davis, which has no travel partner, and their own travel partner, Cal Poly, UCSB will follow-up the intensive league run with just two games over a 16 day period. The Gauchos will travel to Davis on Jan. 16 and then play at Cal Poly on Jan. 21.
Team Jekyll/Team Hyde
With apologies to Robert Louis Stevenson, the Gauchos really have become Team Jekyll and Team Hyde. One look at the home and road record and its easy to see that UCSB is a very different team at the Thunderdome than elsewhere. A closer look at the statistics can give an even better understanding of just how different the Gauchos are at home than they are on the road. Santa Barbara is a perfect 5-0 in home games this season, but it has gone 0-7 in road games. UCSB is better at home in virtually every category on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. To the right, please note a statistical comparison between home and road games.
Home vs. Road
Category Home Road PPG 71.4 64.3 Opp. PPG 59.8 76.0 Margin +11.6 -11.7 Reb. Margin +2.6 -5.0 FG% 48.1% 41.7% 3-FG% 39.0% 33.3% Opp. FG% 36.5% 48.3% FT% 66.4% 64.3% APG 16.4 11.4 TO Avg. 11.4 15.3
Things Looking Up For UCSB Shooters
While UCSB has yet to gain a great deal of consistency with its shooting, things have generally been looking up for the team in terms of shooting. The Gauchos have shot 43.1% or better in each of the last five games. Santa Barbara has shot 50.0% or better three times this season and two of three have been in the last three games. Overall the Gauchos are making 44.3% of their shots, a significant improvement from the 40.7% they made during the 2005-06 season. Also, while UCSB is shooting 44.3% for the season, it has made 125-of-261 shots in the last five games, 47.9%. Sophomore forward Chris Devine leads all Gaucho players with a field goal percentage of 61.1%. The team's frontcourt players, Devine along with senior Cameron Goettsche, junior Glenn Turner and sophomores Chidi Ajufo and Chris Moore, have combined to make 105 of their 206 field goal attempts for an outstanding mark of 51.0% from the field. Four of the five frontcourt players are making at least 50.0% of their shots.
Double-Edged Shooting Sword
The Gauchos giveth and taketh away. UCSB's shooting has improved significantly in recent games, but on the flipside, the opponent's field goal percentage is improving as well. While the Gauchos are limiting the opposition to 43.4% from the field, they have been a bit more generous recently. On the recently concluded two-game swing to UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, the opponents combined to make 62-of-118 shots from the floor, 52.5%. Four Gaucho opponents this season have made 50.0% or more of their shots including three of the last five. In the last six games, UCSB's opposition has made 154-of-330 from the field, 46.7%. The 46.7% includes a season-best defensive performance on Dec. 28 against Portland when the Gauchos limited the Pilots to 19-of-61 from the field, 31.1%. The other five opponents have gone 135-of-269, 50.2%.
Help, Cecil! Help!
Senior guard Cecil Brown will miss 7-10 days with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. The injury will sideline one of UCSB's two hottest players. Brown leads the Gauchos in scoring at 13.8 points per game, and since scoring just four points in the team's season opener against San Francisco, he has really heated up. He has scored in double-figures in each of the last 11 games, the longest double-figure streak by a UCSB player since the 2001-02 season, and over that span he has averaged 14.7 points per game while making 61-of-135 shots from the field, 45.2%. In addition, Brown leads the Gauchos in three-pointers with 23, just one short of his single-season best of 24 set during his sophomore season in 2003-04. He has made at least one three-pointer in each of the last 11 games and he has made two or more in each of the last five. Also, since opening the year making 2-of-11 from three-point range in the first three games, he has made 21-of-47, 44.7%. On Dec. 20 against Sonoma State, Brown scored 18 points, the second-highest total of his career. He scored six of the points on a pair of clutch three-pointers in the final 51 seconds, including one at the buzzer that gave the Gauchos a one-point win. Brown scored a career-high 28 points in a Dec. 7 home win over Pepperdine. It was the highest scoring game by a UCSB player since Mark Hull had 28 in overtime against San Diego State in a National Invitation Tournament game in 2003. Finally, in UCSB's Dec. 23 game at Fresno State, Brown had a career-high eight rebounds and a season-high five assists. He has had four or more rebounds eight times this season.
Devine Is Fine
Sophomore forward Chris Devine is UCSB's hottest player. He is second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, but in the last five games he has seen his scoring average jump from 8.4 per game. In the last five contests, Devine has scored 85 points, 17.0 per game, the most of any Gaucho over that span. On Monday, in UCSB's loss at UC Riverside, Devine scored a career-high 21 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds. It was the first double-double of his career and it came on the heels of a 19 point game in a win over Portland. Devine followed-up his career-best scoring game at Riverside with 19 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, at Cal State Fullerton. It marked the 10th time in 12 games this season in which he has made at least half of his shots and the eighth time he has made 60.0% or better in a game. Overall, Devine is shooting a team-high 61.1%, but in the last five games, he has made 34-of-50 shots from the field, 68.0%. He has scored in double-figures eight times this season, including the last five in a row. In addition to ranking second on the team in scoring, Devine has reclaimed the team-leading rebounding at 5.5 per game. He has had seven or more boards six times this season. Finally, in Monday's game at UCR, Devine also had a career-high with three steals.
The Harris Poll
Sophomore guard Alex Harris continues to battle a severe shooting slump. Harris, who was averaging 12.4 points per game after five games this season, is now averaging 8.1 per game. While he has scored in double-figures four times this season, he has not done so in the last seven games. Over the last seven, Harris has averaged 5.0 points per game. Also, since making 11-of-19 shots in the first two games of the year, he has hit just 20-of-76, 26.3%. In UCSB's loss at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday, Harris made 1-of-5 shots from the field and scored five points. Although he is the Gauchos' leader in assists with 32, he went without an assist at Fullerton, a season-first. Harris scored a season-high 15 points on Dec. 3 at Loyola Marymount. In the second game of the season, a win over San Diego, he had 14 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first double-double he had ever produced and the first by a Gaucho guard since 2002-03.
Wait And See
Senior guard Joe See has started each of the last four games and in that time he has been one of the team's bright spots. Since going through a three-game slump in which he was scoreless, 0-for-12 from the field overall and 0-for-8 from three-point range, See has regained his shooting touch. In the last six games he has averaged 8.8 points per game, making 18-of-26 shots overall, 69.2%, and 8-of-16 from three-point range, 50.0%. In his four starts, See has averaged 11.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, and he has made 15-of-21 from the field, 71.4%, and 7-of-14 from three-point range, 50.0%. On the year, See has improved his overall field goal percentage to 49.1% and his three-point percentage to 44.7%. He had a season-high five three-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the opener against San Francisco. Finally, with his 17 three-point buckets this year, See now has 104 as a Gaucho, eighth all-time.
Cam I Am
Senior forward Cameron Goettsche has moved into third on the team in rebounding at 4.7 per game. In the last seven games, Goettsche has had five or more rebounds six times and he has averaged 5.7 per game over that span. Also, since averaging just 4.8 points per game in the first five games, he has averaged 9.3 per game in the last seven. On Dec. 20, in a win over Sonoma State, Goettsche scored a career-high 21 points. Finally, he leads the Gauchos with 13 blocked shots and he has had at least one in six straight.
Just Joshing
Senior swingman Josh Davis has come off the bench in the two games since his return after missing three games with a sprained ankle. The injury to Cecil Brown could result in his return to the starting lineup. In the Wednesday's game at Cal State Fullerton, Davis missed all three of his field goal attempts, including a pair from three-point range, and was scoreless in a season-low six minutes. The leading returning scorer from last year's team, Davis has battled a season-long shooting slump. He enters the weekend shooting 22.9% from the field, but since a 4-of-6 performance on Dec. 3 at Loyola Marymount, he has made just 2-of-16 shots, 12.5%. In fact, with the game against LMU omitted, Davis has gone 7-of-42, 16.7%, in his other eight appearances.
As The World Turners
Junior forward Glenn Turner was injured in the same game as Josh Davis. Actually, he slightly re-injured the right knee that he hurt prior to the start of the exhibition season. Turner has played three games since his return and in those three games he had 17 rebounds in just 43 minutes. In each of the games at UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, Turner had a season-high six rebounds. He has had five or more rebounds in five of his last six appearances with the only exception being the Dec. 17 game at San Diego State when he suffered the knee re-injury. In addition, in the two games on the road, he averaged 8.0 points per game and scored 10 at UCR, his second highest total of the season. Turner had 13 on Dec. 7 against Pepperdine.
Grasping His Opportunity
Sophomore swingman Derek Rasp missed the first six games of the season but in six the games since his return he regained his status as a key reserve. Rasp has made nine three-point baskets in six games, ranking fourth on the team. Prior to the game at Cal State Fullerton, he had made at least one three-pointer in each of his games this season. Rasp went without a three at Fullerton, a season-first.


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Govt moves against dodgy carbon credits
Article – BusinessDesk
Nov. 13 (BusinessDesk) – International carbon credits based on large-scale hydro-electricity projects and hydro-fluorocarbon destruction schemes in developing countries will no longer be accepted in the New Zealand emissions trading scheme, if government …
Govt moves against dodgy carbon credits
Nov. 13 (BusinessDesk) – International carbon credits based on large-scale hydro-electricity projects and hydro-fluorocarbon destruction schemes in developing countries will no longer be accepted in the New Zealand emissions trading scheme, if government recommendations are implemented.
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser announced a two week consultation from Nov. 19 on whether to ban Emission Reduction Units from HFC-23 and N20 destruction projects and Certified Emission Reduction units and ERU's associated with hydro projects.
The move is a sop to opponents of the government's amendments to the ETS, passed into last week, which entrench transitional and concessionary arrangements for major emitters and the agricultural sector for as long as there remains no significant global agreement on climate change action.
Unlike other countries with ETS-style arrangements, New Zealand imposes no restriction on the number of carbon credits that can be sourced offshore to offset local carbon emission obligations. That has given New Zealand emitters access to carbon credits at less than $2 a tonne in recent weeks.
The ETS was implemented with a $25 a tonne cap to protect emitters if carbon prices went higher than that, but such low prices were not contemplated at the time of its introduction. Other countries implement restrictions of up to 50 percent on the local use of foreign-sourced credits to bolster domestic carbon prices and encourage investment in carbon-mitigating technology.
Groser said the likely exclusion of the two types of credits named was intended to protect the integrity of the ETS. They could face a ban from other January or June next year. CER units associated with hydro-fluorocarbon destruction have already been banned from the New Zealand scheme after evidence emerged of facilities being established in developing countries to create the substances which could then be destroyed to collect subsidies.
Meanwhile, a decision to "backload" 900 million European Union Allowance credits may lead to some strengthening in global carbon prices. The decision by administrators of the European Union ETS effectively withdraws units from trade in 2013 for reinjection into the market in 2019. The move is intended to help deal with the glut of European carbon credits which is depressing prices worldwide.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url


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Children, 5-18 years of age spend a great deal of time in school. Therefore, the school setting is a great place to encourage healthy eating and physical activity habits. Research has shown that children that are properly nourished and physically active have higher academic achievements, "they have to learn to be successful, but they have to be healthy to learn" (Action for Healthy Kids, 2008 Annual Report).
Use the lesson plans and programs below to help start a healthy habits approach in your classroom, school, or community. Visit the website's resources page for more activities.
Contact us to see which organizations in St. Joseph County are providing the CATCH and We CAN! programs and materials to local schools.
Team Nutrition- USDA Use this website to find lessons plans and activities utilizing MyPyramid; the official USDA food pyramid.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/educators.html - For activities
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mypyramidclassroom.html - For lesson plans
Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge- Indiana Action for Healthy Kids Game On! is a year long approach bridging children, families, and schools in the challenge to adopt healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity.
Coordinated Approach to Children's Health (CATCH) CATCH is an evidence-based, coordinated school health program designed to promote physical activity and healthy food choices from preschool to 8th grade. Currently, over 7,500 schools implement the CATCH program throughout the U.S. and Canada.
We CAN! – National Heart Lung and Blood Institute-National Institutes of Health We CAN or "Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition" is a national program designed for families and communities to help children maintain a healthy weight. This program focuses on 3 important behaviors: improving food choices, increasing physical activity, and reducing TV screen time.
ReCharge! Energizing After-School – Indiana Action for Healthy Kids The first nationally distributed after-school program that fully integrates nutrition and physical activity through teamwork-based strategies for children in grades 3-6. This program is in partnership with the National Football League. ReCharge focuses on energy in equals energy out concept, teamwork and goal setting.
Don't have time within the school day to focus on healthy eating and physical activity habits? Try any of the programs after-school or look into a coordinated school health approach and teach the food pyramid during math class!
What is a coordinated school health approach?
"Coordinated school health programs (CSHPs) are integrated, planned, school-based programs that are designed to promote physical, emotional, and educational development of students. They include health education and promotion, disease prevention, and access to health-related services" (National Center for Health Education)
For more information on coordinated school health approaches, please visit http://www.nche.org/growinghealthy_coordinatedschoolhealth.htm


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"Design With the Other 90 Percent: Cities," a show organized by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, shows how the problems of millions of the world's poorest people are being addressed.
Last week was heavy on the #OWS movement (I was speaking at a forum on my campus, so it was most certainly on my mind). On the flip side, what about the 1%? Do any of their foundations and charitable donations seek to counterbalance poverty in some of the slums? This is a timely reminder that while the system may be imbalanced, there are great people and fantastic projects all around the world bringing hope to communities, one person at a time.


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A's, Oakland Zoo team up for annual holiday party
Cook, Doolittle meet young fans, participate in local canned food drive
By Adam Loberstein / 12/14/12 6:20 PM ET
OAKLAND -- Forgive Stephen Cilono if he's having a hard time hiding his smile.
To his left, the principal of Achieve Academy, a school for underserved children in Oakland, is watching a group of his students tell Santa what they want for Christmas. To the right, they're having their faces painted, their eyes already fixed on the arts and crafts table across the way.
And straight ahead? That would be A's relievers Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle, signing autographs and taking pictures with over 200 fourth- and fifth-grade students as part of the annual A's Community Fund holiday party at the Oakland Zoo.
"For me, I'm incredibly grateful," Cilono said. "Really, this is the first time some of these students have been to the zoo. ... This is an opportunity many of these kids never would have had. Then, to top it off, they get to meet two of the A's star pitchers? What more can you ask for?"
They didn't have to ask, but they did get more. Each child received a wrapped gift, courtesy of the Good Tidings Foundation.
In addition, students were treated to an animal presentation in the Wildlife Theater. Lunch was provided by Round Table Pizza and Pepsi.
"We're in a position where we can help," Doolittle said. "To be able to give back, it's very rewarding. It's a big part of what comes along with being a Major League Baseball player."
For Doolittle, the ability to give back hit particularly close to home.
With his family residing in New Jersey, Doolittle made a trip east from his Arizona home a couple of weeks after Hurricane Sandy struck. Fortunately, his family lives far enough inland that they weren't too affected by the storm. That said, after seeing firsthand what the storm left behind, the chance to make an impact in the community -- whether on the Jersey Shore or back in Oakland -- is one that Doolittle is grateful for.
"Whether it's a natural disaster, or just encouraging kids to get good grades in school, feed the needy during the holidays," Doolittle said, "it really is an honor to come out and represent the team in the community."
Cook, too, was appreciative of the chance to give back. He also looked at the holiday party as a chance to reflect on just how much has happened in the past year, for both himself and Doolittle, as well as the team as a whole.
Cook, acquired by the A's from Arizona in the Trevor Cahill trade last December, was just trying to make the team out of Spring Training. Doolittle, meanwhile, was a converted first baseman, hoping to get to the Majors any way he could.
Both became impact relievers for the A's, helping the team to an American League West title and the team's first playoff appearance since 2006.
"What I was doing 12 months ago," Cook said, "never in a million years would I have dreamt that I did what I did and that we did what we did as a team. To see it come full circle now and be the kind of figure to give these kids that extra incentive to do well, that's pretty cool."
On Thursday, Doolittle and Cook made an appearance at the Bank of America Walnut Creek banking center to sign autographs for fans making canned food donations. The donations benefited the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, as part of a hunger relief effort with Feeding America.
The impact the two have made the past couple of days isn't going unnoticed by the community.
"I've worked at [Achieve Academy] for 15 years," Cilono said, "I've really gotten to know the kids, their families, and one day, their kids' kids. I really love this community. It makes it this much more special.
"To see them smiling and happy, it reminds me why I'm doing this. ... I'm just so grateful for how the A's are giving back."


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Hi, sorry for being an old pain but first time reporting fault, bear with me please. I used Fedora 17 Live Disk and when I tried to close down the session could not find a "Shutdown" path similar to Ubuntu versions. So I clicked "Log-off (I am not 100% sure of exact wording) expecting to find another screen which would give me more detailed choice. Sadly there was not one. So I decided to give up and switched the XP PC off. It went off for a few seconds and immediately re-boots. I have found a temporary cure by holding Power button ON and forcing PC to switch off. This is my second bad experience on Linux Format disks the first one was a version of Ubuntu which screwed up PC altogether, my wife was & is NOT very pleased.I have found one suggestion about changing one setting in the registry as follows:-
Press (Windows Key)+R and type in regedit and hit enter. Locate the following key:
Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Double Click on "PowerdownAfterShutdown"
Change it to "0" if it is "1" OR
Change it to "1" if it is "0".
And hit Enter.
Mine is showing "0". I am not confident on carrying out this advice yet. Can anyone Help me please. I don't fancy a divorce at 70 years of age over a darn PC and Linux.
Would appreciate so,e suggestions please otherwise I'll have to consider giving up Linux (or at least Fedora), why does it NOT have a shutdown Button to closedown, like Ubuntu.


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I was recently surprised to find my plant of Aupouri coastal five-finger (Pseudopanax lessonii) swarming with flies.
The flies were attracted to the flowers presumably by a feed of nectar on what was a hot, summer day.
I could see at least three fly species, plus a bumblebee.
Pollination is not a role we often credit to flies. I'm hoping these ones were effective and I get a bumper seed crop.


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Bloggedy babble blog
This is a blog. I really don't like the word 'blog.' It is a contraction, which erases two or more words and creates a new one, and the original meanings are lost. When I first heard the word 'blog' I thought it was 'blob.' It took me a while to figure out it was 'blog, which comes from the two words: 'web' and 'log. 'Web' is taken from the world of arachnids describing a woven or spun structure with a high degree of connection, which is how we described such things before we created the word connectivity. A 'log' originally meant short brief entries in a diary that measures naval progress. And then we get this word 'blog,' short for 'web' (meaning world wide web) with 'log' stapled on to the orphaned surviving 'b' of 'web.' Frankly, lots of stuff that ends up in a blog isn't a log at all. It is just writings of all sorts. And I guess people who coined this term continue to believe that since all of this was birthed by young people it should have funny, interesting, and cute kinds of names. Now you're thinking to yourself, blah, blah, blah, where is he going with all of this blog, blob, babble about all the babble, babble that the new technology that gives us web logs, blobs and blogs has made possible. I'm headed right for the first babble of all babbles, the Tower of Babel read in this season in the Synagogue.
Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words…They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard." …And they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world." The LORD came down to look at the city and tower that man had built, and the LORD said, "If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. Let us, then, go down and babble their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another's speech." Thus the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD babbled the speech of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Gen 11:1-9 TNK)
Now what was their sin and why does the punishment fit the crime? So what if they wanted to get into Heaven? What's so bad about that? It's cooler than trying to get into Hell. And if they wanted to get into Heaven it's probably because they had some interest in God and possibly even wanted to talk with Him.
Whatever their sin is, we do know one thing, God identifies the cause of the sin. Their desire to capture Heaven, their desire to build a monument for themselves, their desire to make a name for themselves, their complete focus on themselves, could come about, the Torah teaches, in only one way. They all spoke the same language; literally and figuratively. Language reflects the creativity and the infinite complexity of the human mind. Their language was engraved and frozen in stone; this means their thoughts were frozen. They lacked a multiplicity of cultures. They lacked creativity. Language is the first product of human intellectual creativity. So all they could do was focus on themselves, a tower for themselves, a name for themselves. People who focus on themselves think they can capture Heaven itself. What does God say? You've got to get away from yourselves. You're going to get dispersed all over the Earth, but more importantly, you will no longer have one language. Human multiplicity is borne of human beings being created in the infinite image of the One God. If God is infinite then human intellectual, cultural, and spiritual variety is a testimony and an expression of that infinity. These people were idolatrous. They worshipped themselves and only one aspect of God. So they spoke only one language. God spreads them out. God mixes up all their languages. God babbles their language. That's where you get the Tower of Babel from, He babbles it all up. He mixes it all up. This people who were all of one language and of one mind, got together in one place refusing to spread out and create many cultures and languages. What's their judgment? God gave them so many languages they couldn't communicate. Babel, Babel, Babel. And out of that civilizations were created.
They created new languages. And we do it to this very day. That's how we got 'blog' out of 'web log,' and all the new language of inter-connective, intergalactic, uploading and downloading, platform connectivity, interface, webhosting, and a bunch of other words that all those younger folks know, that I do not, and not just contractions, but far worse, like LOL, BTDT, BTBS, TYOA, LIAM, GLY and on and on….. and blog, blob, babble blog.


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The New England Patriots quickly distanced themselves from Aaron Hernandez by cutting the tight end before he was charged with first-degree murder.
Now they are encouraging fans to do the same with their No. 81 Hernandez jerseys -- get rid of them.
The Patriots are offering fans who had purchased a Hernandez jersey a chance to exchange it for a new one. Fans can come to the stadium store on the weekend of July 6-7 and trade for a jersey of comparable value.
Wonder how many Tim Tebow jerseys will be taken? Wonder if Tim Tebow is any closer to playing tight end instead of quarterback?
The team has already taken all Hernandez jerseys off the shelves of its souvenir store at Gillette Stadium, and Hernandez's jersey is no longer available online.
On the team's website, the club is urging parents to encourage their kids to make the exchange. Patriots spokesman Stacey James said children might not understand why parents wouldn't want them to wear the jersey.
Third suspect arrested in Aaron Hernandez case


text:
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· May 25, 2010 · $18.99 · 978-0-385-73531-5 (0-385-73531-6)
CHAPTER ONE"Never thought we'd ever see this place again." Sophie Newman grinned and looked at her brother."Never thought I'd be so happy to see it," Josh said. "It looks . . . I don't know. Different.""It looks the same," his twin answered. "We're the ones who've changed."Sophie and Josh were walking down Scott Street in Pacific Heights, heading for their aunt Agnes's house on the corner of Sacramento Street. They had last seen the house six days earlier—Thursday, May 31—when they had left for work, Sophie at the coffee shop, Josh in the bookstore. It had started as just another ordinary day, but it had turned out to be the last ordinary day they would ever experience.That day their world had changed forever; they too had changed, both physically and mentally. "What do we tell her?" Josh asked nervously. Aunt Agnes was eighty-four, and although they called her aunt, she was not actually related to them by blood. Sophie thought she might have been their grandmother's sister . . . or cousin, or maybe just a friend, but she had never been quite sure. Aunt Agnes was a sweet but grumpy old lady who fussed and worried if they were even five minutes late. She drove both Sophie and Josh crazy and reported back to their parents about every single thing they did."We keep it simple," Sophie said. "We stick to the story we told Mom and Dad—first the bookshop closed because Perenelle wasn't feeling well, and then the Flamels . . .""The Flemings," Josh corrected her."The Flemings invited us to stay with them in their house in the desert.""And why did the bookshop close?""Gas leak."Josh nodded. "Gas leak. And where's the house in the desert?""Joshua Tree.""OK, I got it.""Are you sure? You're a terrible liar."Josh shrugged. "I'll try. You know we're going to get grilled.""I know. And that's even before we have to talk to Mom and Dad."Josh nodded. He glanced over at Sophie. He'd been mulling something over for the past few days, and figured this would be the perfect time to bring it up. "I've been thinking," he said slowly. "Maybe we should just tell them the truth.""The truth?" Sophie's expression remained unchanged and the twins continued walking, crossing Jackson Street. They could see their aunt's white wooden Victorian house three blocks away."What do you think?" Josh asked, when his sister said nothing more.Finally Sophie nodded. "Sure, we could." She brushed a few strands of blond hair out of her eyes and looked at her brother. "But just let me get this straight first. We're going to tell Mom and Dad that their entire life's work has been for nothing. That everything they have ever studied—history, archaeology and paleontology—is wrong." Her eyes sparkled. "I think it's a great idea. But I'll let you go ahead and do it, and I'll watch."Josh shrugged uncomfortably. "OK, OK, so we don't tell them.""Not yet, in any case.""Agreed, but it'll come out sooner or later. You know how impossible it is to keep secrets from them. They always know everything.""That's because Aunt Agnes tells them," Sophie muttered.A sleek black stretch limousine with tinted windows drove slowly past them, the driver leaning forward, checking addresses on the tree-lined street. The car signaled and pulled in farther down the block.Josh indicated the limo with a jerk of his chin. "That's weird. It looks like it's stopping outside Aunt Agnes's."Sophie looked up disinterestedly. "I just wish there was someone we could talk to," she murmured. "Someone like Gilgamesh." Her blue eyes magnified with sudden tears. "I hope he's OK." The last time she had seen the immortal, he'd just been wounded by an arrow fired by the Horned God. She looked at her brother, irritated. "You're not even listening to me.""That car is stopping outside Agnes's house," Josh said slowly. A vague warning tingled at the back of his skull. "Soph?""What is it?""When was the last time Aunt Agnes had a visitor?""She never has visitors."The twins watched a slender black-suited driver get out of the car and climb the steps, his black-gloved hand trailing lightly on the metal rail. Their Awakened hearing clearly heard the knock on the door, and unconsciously they increased their pace. They saw their aunt Agnes open the door. She was a slight, bony woman, all angles and planes, with knobby knees and swollen arthritic fingers. Josh knew that in her youth she had been considered a great beauty—but her youth had been a long time ago. She had never married, and there was a family story that the love of her life had been killed in the war. Josh wasn't sure which one."Josh?" Sophie asked."Something's not right," Josh muttered. He broke into a jog; Sophie fell into step beside him, easily keeping up.The twins saw the driver's hand move and Aunt Agnes take something from him. She leaned forward, squinting at what looked like a photograph. But when she bent closer to get a better look, the driver immediately slipped around behind her and darted into the house.Josh took off at a sprint. "Don't let the car leave!" he shouted at Sophie. He raced across the street and up the steps into the house. "Hi, Aunt Agnes, we're home," he called as he ran past her.The old woman turned in a complete circle, the photograph fluttering from her fingertips.Sophie followed her brother across the street but stopped behind the car. She stooped and pressed her fingertips against the rear passenger tire. Her thumb brushed the circle on the back of her wrist and her fingers glowed white-hot. She pushed; there was the stink of burning rubber, and then, with five distinct popping sounds, the rubber tire was punctured. Air hissed out and the tire quickly settled onto its metal rim."Sophie!" the old woman shrieked as the girl ran up the steps and grabbed her confused aunt. "What's going on? Where have you been? Who was that nice young man? Was that Josh I just saw?""Aunt Agnes, come with me." Sophie drew her aunt away from the door, just in case Josh or the driver came rushing out and the old woman was accidentally knocked down. She knelt and picked up the picture her aunt had dropped, then helped the older woman a safe distance away from the house. Sophie looked at the photograph: it was a sepia image of a young woman dressed in what looked like a nurse's uniform. The word Ypres and the date 1914 had been written in white ink in the bottom right-hand corner. Sophie caught her breath—there was no doubt who the person was. The woman in the photograph was Scathach.Josh stepped into the darkened hallway and pressed flat against the wall, waiting until his eyes had adjusted to the gloom. Last week he wouldn't have known to do that, but then, last week he wouldn't have run into a house after an intruder. He would have done the sensible thing and dialed 911. He reached into the umbrella stand behind the door and lifted out one of his aunt's thick walking sticks. It wasn't Clarent, but it would have to do.Josh remained still, head tilted to one side, listening. Where was the stranger?There was a creak on the landing and a young-looking man in a simple black suit, white shirt and narrow black tie came hurrying down the stairs. He slowed when he spotted Josh, but didn't stop. He smiled, yet it seemed more of a reflex than a voluntary gesture—it didn't move past his lips. Now that the man was closer, Josh saw that he was Asian; Japanese, maybe?Josh stepped forward, the walking stick stretched out in front of him like a sword. "Where do you think you're going?""Past you or through you, makes no difference to me," the man said in English tinged with a strong Japanese accent."What are you doing here?" Josh demanded."Looking for someone," the man answered simply.The intruder came off the bottom step into the hall and moved to walk out the front door, but Josh barred his route with the stick. "Not so fast. You owe me an answer."The black-suited man grabbed the stick, yanked it from Josh's grip and snapped it across his knee. Josh grimaced; that had to hurt. The man tossed the two pieces on the floor. "I owe you nothing, but you should be thankful that I am in a good mood today."There was something in the man's voice that made Josh step back. Something cold and calculating that made him suddenly wonder if the man was entirely human. Josh stood in the doorway and watched the man move lightly down the steps. He was reaching for the car door when he spotted the back tire.Sophie smiled and waggled her fingers at him. "Looks like you have a puncture."Josh hurried down the steps and joined his sister and their aunt. "Josh," Agnes said querulously, "what is going on?" Her gray eyes were huge behind thick glasses.The rear passenger window eased down a fraction and the Japanese man spoke urgently into it, gesturing toward the tire.Abruptly the door opened and a young woman climbed out. She was dressed in a beautifully tailored black suit over a white silk shirt. There were black leather gloves on her hands and a pair of tiny round black sunglasses perched on her nose. But it was her spiky red hair and pale freckled skin that gave her away."Scathach!" both Sophie and Josh cried in delight.The woman smiled, revealing a mouthful of vampire teeth. She pushed down the glasses to reveal brilliant green eyes. "Hardly," she snapped. "I am Aoife of the Shadows. And I want to know what has happened to my twin sister."
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text:
via Clinton: 'Great Hope' To One Day Work With Terrorist Group Hamas.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her "townterview" at the Newseum in Washington, DC on January 29 that she hopes Hamas will turn into a "political entity." She said it is her "great hope" that they will be "at the table" of negotiations in the future.
Watch video at Breitbart where she references her old pals the PLO (and Fatah).
Meanwhile, here's what Hamas says about negotiations via The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement.
Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.
And contrary to Clinton's naive and foolish "hope" of Hamas renouncing its jihadist existence, Hamas plans to establish a military academy in the Gaza Strip to train and educate schoolchildren.
He said that children in grades 7-9 could join the school and graduate with a diploma or a BA in military affairs.
Haniyeh said that the new academy would educate and prepare children for the establishment of a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea."
More from Hamas' Youtube page:


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Read the original article in The Oregonian here.
How long have we been debating the value of musical competitions? For as long as we've had them, which is approaching 100 years. But even if competitions don't always produce the most arrresting, creative winners, they do much to promote young careers.
If you watched live streaming of the most recent Van Cliburn International Piano Competition last June, you'll remember Vadym Kholodenko, the Ukranian pianist who eventually won. He played commandingly, poetically and musically and deserves a robust career.
Kholodenko plays two programs on the Portland Piano International series. Sunday's is sold out. On Monday, he plays Nicolai Medtner's, "Forgotten Melodies" and Rachmaninoff transcriptions of Bach, Schubert, Mendelssohn and more.
Since its beginning in 1978, the Portland Piano International concert series has faithfully presented each new winner of the Cliburn. Here's the list:
1981 Andre-Michel Schub USA
1985 José Feghali Brazil
1989 Alexei Sultanov Russia
1993 Simone Pedroni Italy
1997 Jon Nakamatsu USA
2001 Stanislav Ioudenitch Uzbekistan
2001 Olga Kern Russia
2005 Alexander Kobrin Russia
2009 Haochen Zhang China
2013 Vadym Kholodenko Ukraine
I vividly remember Sultanov's battering of Sergei Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata in 1989. I wrote: "Sultanov played with such force in the Prokofiev, he snapped an upper piano string -- and he still had the Liszt to go. His sole encore, a Chopin waltz, had him playing peek-a-boo with the offending note. By that time, he also had pushed many notes out of tune.
I found Nakamatsu immaculate but conventional: "Nakamatsu made no mistakes. Throughout two hours of bewitching playing, he retained an unnerving sense of focus. He remained calm and poised. Unlike Alexei Sultanov, the 1989 Cliburn winner who broke a piano string here while playing a tempest of notes, Nakamatsu harnessed his virtuosity to the needs of the music. Sultanov was a circus act, but Nakamatsu is much more than a superbly trained pianist.
"And yet, he is not yet as probing as Andras Schiff or Murray Perahia. Despite his poise and subtlety, his bravura and fascinating control, he remained a conventional, if thoughtful, pianist. I wanted more, but maybe that's not the kind of artist Nakamatsu is. Still, I couldn't help wishing he'd let his hair down just a little."
Ioudenitch did not impress: "Whatever qualities earned him the top prize in Fort Worth, Texas, were invisible here. He showed little grasp of the tragic grandeur of the (Mozart) A Minor Sonata (K. 310), preferring small-scale phrasing and an opaque tone in the middle part of the keyboard. In fact, his control of texture, color and overall design bordered on the amateurish. He might have been sight-reading the second movement, a fine aria in slow motion, for all its interpretive subtlety."
Kern was electrifying in a good way and performed a rare feat, both books of Brahms' difficult Paganini Variations: "Kern's pianistic arsenal is based on speed, a transparent touch and a musical compass that keeps listeners oriented even in the thorniest passages. Few pianists Kern's age play the Paganini Variations so swiftly and surely. She earned a standing ovation before intermission."
We often think of Cliburn winners as big, bravura players, but Zhang surprised us with his poise and understatement in 2009. "Maurice Ravel's perilous 'Gaspard de la Nuit' depicts a water sprite, a corpse swinging on the gallows and an evil dwarf in one of the piano's most difficult and shape-shifting works. Zhang flashed through the drama coolly, shimmering in liquid sound and building to enormous, pointed climaxes. He played not with boring brightness, but with wonderful shadows."
Arnaldo Cohen, artistic director of Portland Piano International, says there are now over 1,000 piano competitions around the world. Many winners go on to successful careers, others do not. What's the difference? He paraphrases Guiomar Novaes, the late Brazilian pianist: "The difficulty in life is not to receive the crown and scepter, but to wear them."
Vadym Kholodenko will perform at PSU's Lincoln Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3. Tickets are $45 to $54 through Portland Piano International, 503-228-1388, portlandpiano.org. The Sunday, Feb. 2, concert is sold out.
Photo top: Vadym Kholodenko, 26, plays with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra during final rounds of the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, June 7, 2013. (Ralph Lauer).


text: The Knoxville City Council will meet in regular session on Monday. The council expected to receive an update on the 118th Place reconstruction bid award, consider approval of change order number 1 for the 2010 city paving contract, and consider adoption of a resolution approving easement for the West Area Relief Sewer Project, among others. The council will meet on Monday at 6:15 pm in the Council Chambers in the Knoxville Municipal Building.