text:
I have to admit, that was my first thought as well.
Gives a new meaning to "race condition," doesn't it?
"How can users protect themselves from sometimes life endangering software bugs?"
Amish buggies typically don't have software throttle failures. Run-away horses can be an issue.... and actually having to share the road with dipshit drivers who don't understand the number of slow moving vehicles (not just buggies) that there are out in farm country are a real danger.
Seriously, software has bugs. Mecanical throttle linkages can stick, too. Life has risks.
Skies are blue.
Software and cheaper accommodations have bugs.
Sometimes the question is dumb and asking to do the wrong thing. There isnt a good answer to "how do I avoid software bugs" other than "avoid software", and not the answer that is wanted.
Coming from the aerospace industry, you cannot have software that has bugs. And if there was the possibility of a software bug, you have to prove that you can mitigate the effect in hardware. So just to say "software has bugs...life has risks" isn't an acceptable answer (in my opinion). We have to remember this is not an apples to apples comparison. Just because traditional consumer software always has bugs in it (which are acceptable) doesn't mean they are acceptable in other industries. Considering that the failure puts someone's life at risk, I would think it should be considered unacceptable in automotive industry as well.
Coming from the aerospace industry, you cannot have software that has bugs. And if there was the possibility of a software bug, you have to prove that you can mitigate the effect in hardware. So just to say "software has bugs...life has risks" isn't an acceptable answer (in my opinion). We have to remember this is not an apples to apples comparison. Just because traditional consumer software always has bugs in it (which are acceptable) doesn't mean they are acceptable in other industries. Considering that the failure puts someone's life at risk, I would think it should be considered unacceptable in automotive industry as well.
If you want your cars to be as expensive as a 747, then you can attain that goal. I used to work in the automotive industry designing embedded software for engine management systems. At that time, no automotive company would pay more than $100 for the Engine Control Unit. Probably 60% of the code was written to manage failures (both software and hardware), and there were other electronic fail safe mechanisms. But you can't mitigate every possible failure event without introducing costs that would have made the unit orders of magnitude more expensive.
I'm not so sure cost is the biggest problem. Once upon a time ABS was an exotic tech used only on aircraft. I was impressed when they became a car option.
My biggest concern is whether a driverless car can be smart enough to reliably handle all the situations that arise. Probably someday, but I don't know when. Google's over-hyped toys can only handle clear weather, and even then they often have to kick out and go to manual control.
Once upon a time ABS was an exotic tech used only on aircraft. I was impressed when they became a car option.
In other words, ABS software (and hardware) was very expensive to develop, and only the development budgets of airliners was large enough to cover its development. Once developed, the companies that developed it realized that adapting it for automotive use would be within the budget of luxury car makers, and once it was working there, it became very cheap to adapt for standard cars, as the differences are very minor (in fact it is basically a case of the luxury car makers funding continued improvements, and standard cars getting the previous generation that already has its development paid for).
The aerospace industry deploys bugs very frequently. Don't pretend like you don't. Yes, for some applications, we test the hell out of it, but bug free, hardly.
Even in the aerospace industry, there are software bugs. Very few, yes, because a lot more time and money is spent to track them down. There are mechanical failures too, despite the best engineering efforts. But anything we build has the potential to be flawed somewhere in the process. That's why we still put highly trained pilots in the things, for when something goes wrong - and even then, human error causes unintended faults, sometimes catastrophically.
If a car cost as much as a jet, and drivers went through as much training as a passenger pilot - and had to have a co-driver at all times - we'd be far safer on the roads.
After all, the vast majority of car crashes are driver error. And failure modes when you're at 30mph on wheels are a lot better on the whole than when at 30,000 feet. But if we built cars to the same standard, and held drivers to the same standard as aerospace engineering, only the rich could afford to.
There's a trade off between acceptable risk, and cost. Even though the designs get safer every year, maybe we allow too much risk in drivers and their cars. But absolute flaw free cars? Impossible.
Yes, aerospace software [wikipedia.org] has solved the problem of software bugs. We should all be following its perfect example. </sarcasm>
You're not supposed to, but you do routinely have software that has bugs even in aerospace, because there is no development process that can guarantee the prevention of 100% of defects, nor even guarantee that 100% of defects are detected and corrected.
Coming from a fault tolerant computing background, your non-trivial software could have bugs. There is a reason N-version programming [wikipedia.org] exists (and it's not for fun).
Unless you have true N-version programming with totally separate teams writing on different platforms with different languages, different academic backgrounds, different cultural paradigms, etc, then you don't have perfectly reliable software. (And even then your application may lend itself to certain symantic commonalities.)
When done properly, r
Until someone actually reproduces the bug I'd say the loose floor mat explanation is just as credible.
I'm actually going for "operator error" but hey...
Two cases come to mind. First, was short term unintended acceleration. Probable cause for that is hitting the wrong or both peddles.
Long term acceleration on the highway? Nobody thought to just turn off the ignition switch? Turns off the fuel pump, care stops running, eventually you come to full stop.
BOTH where operator error..
Killing the ignition also means killing power steering and power braking. There is a quite widespread belief that it can also engage the steering wheel lock, but AFAIK no one has been able to name a car where that happens so far. The next challenge is that in many modern cars the ignition switch is just a button which is handled in... software. You could throw the key out of the window and wait for the anti-theft device to kill the fuel supply, but that does not seem like something that most people would try.
In most cars you can put the gear box in neutral. The car will likely have a rev limiter (possibly in software, but it might still work). Worst case the engine breaks, but in almost all cases that would not be fatal to the people in the car.
However, in almost all cars, when not going down a steep hill, the brakes are actually more powerful than the acceleration. Just do not let off the brakes once you get the car slowed down and you think things are under control -- then the brakes overheat and you have a stuck accelerator combined with no brakes, and that has killed at least one driver already.
One way would be to insist that automakers do not nickel and dime design vehicles. The critical components related to vehicle safety should be designed for safety first, cost second.
These vehicles go for over $20 000, I should at least have the option to pay an extra $1000 to chuck the electronic crap.
One way would be to insist that automakers do not nickel and dime design vehicles. The critical components related to vehicle safety should be designed for safety first, cost second.
These vehicles go for over $20 000, I should at least have the option to pay an extra $1000 to chuck the electronic crap.
The electronics are very deeply embedded. Not sure how you're gonna dump them when there's no physical cable connecting your throttle to your engine. Impossible in the case of EVs or hybrids.
Also although the article does a decent job of showing that a stack overflow is possible and might result in unexpected behavior, what's needed is a simulated failure scenario to see if that's what actually happens.
No software. No seat belts. No automatic..anything.
No software. No seat belts. No automatic..anything.
You'd have to restrict that to old motorcycles. My '98 has ABS and fuel injection, both of which used programmed electronics. Newer bikes include systems such as CAN Bus, traction control, fly by wire throttles and more. Except for things like air bags, seat belts and bumpers, motorcycles use a lot of technology found in automobiles.
You better call Yamaha and tell them to stop putting drive-by-wire throttles, ABS, and stability control on their motorbikes.
Idiot drivers hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and instead of owning up to their incompetence as a drivers, they blame the car instead. The Toyota sudden acceleration problem disproportionately affects the elderly and inexperienced drivers. It also a uniquely an American problem and it occurred during a deep recession where GM and Chrysler were going bankrupt and Americans needed some FUD against Toyota because supporting American car companies was the jingoism of the day. The toyota sudden acceleration is more of a case study of an American moral panic and mass hysteria perpetrated by the media than it was an engineering problem.
"We've demonstrated how as little as a single bit flip can cause the driver to lose control of the engine speed in real cars due to software malfunction that is not reliably detected by any fail-safe," Michael Barr, CTO and co-founder of Barr Group, told us in an exclusive interview. Barr served as an expert witness in this case
Emphasis mine.
Yes, a single bit flip can cause unpredictable behavior in any code. You could say that without any analysis. A single mistake in sign can get you a goose egg in the Algebra paper. So many people could have won the lottery if only one digit was different. These are well known. But can != did. Did that stack overflow? Did it actually happen? That is the question.
A watchdog isn't the best solution to this problem. You don't really want your ECU to reboot randomly due to a fixable error. Just use ECC RAM and keep redundant copies of critical values in memory.
There is no way this issue could have caused the number of events people are claiming to have had. Such a bit flip has never been observed in real life (they used a debugger to simulate it) and the changes of that particular bit out of millions corrupting is extremely low. Of bit flips were common enough to cause this we would see the effects as other systems like the dashboard display and head unit crash, not to mention other parts of the ECU.
I do not want my car grinding to a halt because the police are looking for some runaway or a bank was robbed.
Actually the brakes alone are enough to stop the car even in case of a full throttle bug.
That would be hilarious. Something goes wrong, and every car is automated, so you just get car after car calmly driving their passengers to their death in a giant sink hole, or something.
How can users protect themselves from sometimes life endangering software bugs?
Drive older non digital cars. Come to think of it I can get you a great deal on a factory standard model 1971 Ford Pinto.
... you know... i worked for pi technology in milton, cambridge, in 1993. they're a good company. they write automotive control systems, engine control management software, vehicle monitoring software and diagnosis systems and so on. one of the things i learned was that coding standards for mission-critical systems such as engine control have to be very very specific and very very strict. the core rules were simple:
1) absolutely no recursion. it could lead to stack overflows.
2) absolutely no local variables. it could lead to stack overflows.
3) absolutely no use of of malloc or free. it could lead to stack overflows.
now you're telling me that there are actually car manufacturers that cannot be bothered to follow even the simplest and most obvious of safety rules for development of mission-critical software, on which peoples' lives depend? that's so basic that to not adhere to those blindingly-obvious rules sounds very much like criminal negligence.
absolutely no local variables. it could lead to stack overflows
In which case you shouldn't have function calls or interrupts either. I know recursion and dynamic allocation are to be avoided, but even in the highest rel standards I've never heard of not being able to use local variables. Careful stack use analysis and testing, sure.
For anyone else that's curious; at first I thought it was double speak, so not to sound as bad.
Stack overflow refers specifically to the case when the execution stack grows beyond the memory that is reserved for it. For example, if you call a function which recursively calls itself without termination, you will cause a stack overflow as each function call creates a new stack frame and the stack will eventually consume more memory than is reserved for it.
Buffer overflow refers to any case in which a program writes beyond the end of the memory allocated for any buffer (including on the heap, not just on the stack). For example, if you write past the end of an array allocated from the heap, you've caused a buffer overflow.
http://stackoverflow.com/quest... [stackoverflow.com]
From the slides:
"Toyota used dangerous recursion"
Not like that safe recursion that other vendors use.
That article demonstrates just how clueless the guys doing the testing were. For example they complain that there "thousands of global variables", but that is actually the normal way to write safety critical firmware since local variables can cause stack overflows. They couldn't read any of the source code comments which were in Japanese either, only get poor machine translations of them.
Most damning of all though is that actually the skid marks the article claims are evidence of the bug are easily explainable, and indeed Toyota did offer an explanation. If the mat/carpet causes the brake and accelerator pedals to become linked pressing one with of course press the other was well. The driver could not explain why she didn't push the brake pedal hard enough to stop the car (even with max acceleration the brakes will always win over the engine), but Toyota could. The mat that was also pushing the accelerator was preventing her from fully engaging the brakes. The pedal could not be pushed down fully.
The fix was to change the firmware to stop accelerating when both the accelerator and brake are heavily engaged. So, in actual fact, the supposedly lethally flawed firmware is now saving people from their own stupidity.
Use java
Mission critical systems usually have a set of voting computers. Today electronics is cheap and the technology is not new. Maybe inertia prevents them of building something better. Very common in the automobile industry.
A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.


text:
Some of you are disappointed with the performance of the Miami Dolphins first-team offense and defense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Some of you will excuse the effort because it was only the first preseason game, it was raining and it can get better from here.
Chad Henne is apparently in the camp of the folks who want better, and soon.
"It was just not a good effort from our offense all around ..." the Dolphins quarterback said after tonight's 10-7 victory that was led by a rally from the backups.
"I think every time we step out there on the field, we want to dominate. We want to win as an offense. Tonight we didn't get it done with the first team. The second team picked us up with Tyler [Thigpen] having good plays in there, other guys playing well. Every time we step on the field we have to take advantage of our opportunities and make the best of it."
I didn't like Henne's outing. He completed 5 of 11 passes for 19 yards. His QB rating was 52.5. Fact is, there was plenty not to like about Saturday night's game.
I do like Henne's attitude. It would have been easier for Henne to take the other perspective. But he holds himself and his teammates to a high standard.
I like it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Arsenal are reportedly resigned to losing Theo Walcott and will attempt to sign Newcastle United playmaker Hatem ben Arfa as a replacement.
According to a report from Italian football publication calciomercato.com, Walcott is almost certainly leaving Emirates Stadium in the summer after failing to agree a new deal.
The England winger has been linked with Serie A champions Juventus recently, as well as Arsenal's Premier League rivals Liverpool and Chelsea.
This report suggests Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has begun to consider contingency plans for losing Walcott on a free transfer in the summer and has identified Ben Arfa as a suitable replacement.
The talented Frenchman was inconsistent in his early days at St James' Park, but has now become one of Alan Pardew's more impressive players – his deadly set-pieces have picked him up a number of assists, while he also has a penchant for scoring spectacular goals.
The annoyance of Walcott departing will be tempered slightly by the emergence of a new young star at Arsenal – 17-year-old German winger Serge Gnabry has shown flashes of brilliance in recent cameos and has been tipped for great things by Wenger.
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text:
Mall name:
1105 Walnut St., Suite 200, Cary, North Carolina - NC 27511
Phone number to Cary Towne Center mall
919 467 0145
Hours (mall)
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sunday Noon - 6:00 pm.
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text:
Reviewed By Dwight M (CEDAR CREST, NM) Reviewed for a 1985 Toyota MR2 —6/29/2013 7:52 AM
The Mark I Toyota MR2 coupe (looks like a wedge) had very neutral steering and handling in its first incarnation--before safety freaks forced the increase in oversteer in mortal fear of the car spinning out. I never experienced any tendency for the stock car to come around. The ST kit, set on its stiffest settings increases roll resistance by about 33%, for street driving, but maintains the proper balance front-to-rear, so that the original neutral handling is maintained. Congrats ST !!!


text:
Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation
December 13, 2013
Lachlan Taylor
(510) 622-3959
CHSWC Recognizes the 100th Anniversary of California's Workers' Compensation Law
OAKLAND -- The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) is pleased to recognize the 100th anniversary of the California Workers' Compensation Law. Signed in 1913 at the 40th Session of the California Legislature, the law went into effect the following January 1st, 1914.
CHSWC has also posted the relevant Chapters 75 and 76 for historical reference at http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/1913-CAStatutesCh176-177.pdf. Noteworthy in this original set of laws are the foundations of employer liability protections, worker benefits payments and worker safety protections that persist today.
CHSWC, created by the workers' compensation reform legislation of 1993, is charged with examining the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. CHSWC was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to examine those programs in other states.
Information about CHSWC is available on the CHSWC website, www.dir.ca.gov/chswc. Information may also be obtained by writing to CHSWC at 1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor, Oakland, California, 94612; by calling (510) 622-3959; by faxing a request to (510) 622-3265; or by email to email@example.com.
More Info Bulletins
Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC)
Quick Links
- CHSWC research reports
- Current CHSWC Annual Report of programs and data
- Guidebook for Injured Workers
- Guides about filing workers' comp claims
- Carve-Out/Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Young workers and workers' compensation
- Meetings, information bulletins and subscribtions to CHSWC
- Frequently asked questions about workers' comp for employers


text:
In which issues concerning the profession of philosophy are
bitched griped about
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Another New Philosophy Jobs Website
--Mr. Zero
9 comments:
- Prof. Kate said...
Phylo now has 91 job listings, and PhilJobs already has 54.
It's nice to see the JFP become antiquated. It really is.
- October 6, 2011 at 4:08 PM
People have often suggested that the APA organize some way of allowing applicants to upload dossiers to the site, and indicate which jobs to which one would like to apply, streamlining the application process for both applicants and schools. Given how easy it is to upload (and find) profile information to PhilPapers, this sort of system seems like a natural future service for PhilPapers to offer.
- October 6, 2011 at 4:26 PM
- zombie said...
David Chalmers discusses the PhilJobs project here:
What's really interesting about both PhilJobs and Phylo is that, in a matter of months (or weeks, apparently, in the case of Phylo), they were able to pull together something that APA hasn't managed to do in YEARS. Despite the fact that APA actually gets PAID to put out a job listing, and PhilJobs and Phylo are doing it for free. Amazing what smart people with computers can do these days, huh?
(Pouring one out for my homey Steve Jobs.)
- October 6, 2011 at 5:50 PM
Has the JFP - October already been published? When will it be published?
- October 6, 2011 at 6:49 PM
JFP vol 191 online only ads are up. Just click on the volume 190 link and change the "190" to "191" in the address bar...
- October 7, 2011 at 5:05 AM
While it is great to see groups taking some action in response to the weaknesses of the APA, I just have to put this out there: Is any serious job candidate NOT going to look at the JFP? And is any serious department NOT going to advertise in the JFP? If I were on the market, or hiring, there is no way I would rely on these alternative sites. Seems like folks are doing a lot of extra work for --well, I'm not sure. Could these efforts be put to better use?
- October 7, 2011 at 8:50 AM
In response to anon 8:50, I'm not seriously on the market now, and so am not checking JFP. But since phylo is so convenient I have a look there every week or so (and will add it to my rss reader when it has a feed). If something really nice comes along I might send in a resume. So that's at least one use for these things (perhaps even a _bad_ thing--more folks on the market, though I am looking at the associate level where things are less flooded). Also, phylo in particular is very user friendly, so even with the jfp in hand I'd probably still use it just to scan and sort and stuff.
- October 7, 2011 at 11:35 AM
- Elizabeth said...
Re: Anon @ 8:50:
Right now, you're right. But the more the alternatives are used, the less incentive there will be for departments or candidates to turn to JFP. I could imagine a few trailblazing departments (perhaps ones that know their jobs are very attractive and so feel they can afford to do this) making a point, perhaps next year, of only advertising in free venues, now that they exist. This will further disseminate knowledge of the free venues and reduce incentive to use the JFP.
As well, if everyone doesn't need to check JFP all the time, but only to scan for any ads they haven't seen already, I can imagine more grad students forgoing APA membership and relying on friends' accounts.
Both of these could potentially create pressure on the APA to offer new services to make membership more valuable, as well.
- October 7, 2011 at 12:45 PM
- david morrow said...
Anon 11:35,
We do have an RSS feed for Phylo Jobs: http://phylo.info/jobs/rss. We also have other methods for getting updates, including Facebook and Twitter (#philosophyjobs).
- October 9, 2011 at 2:01 PM


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text: I bought some Stinger RCA's, he told me they were 17 feet long. I get them and they were 13 feet and wouldnt reach. I spend 5 bucks to send them priority mail to get a refund. Well he is a **** and said he never got them like 10 days after I sent. Well another week passes by and he is like I got thm I am sorry I will send you a refund. A month later I have never seen the refund, and he is usually banned. It isnt about the money at all, but dont think anyone else should have to deal with him either:verymad:


text:
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF WILLA CATHER. Edited by Andrew Jewell and Janis Stout. Knopf. 715 pages. $37.50.
'I have been running away from myself all my life ... and have been happiest when I was running fastest. Those last three winters of my mother's life held me close to myself and to the beginnings of things, and it was like being held against things too sad to live with," writes Willa Cather in 1933.
Cather's was a restless and philosophically mobile mind, and "The Letters of Willa Cather" is a restless and philosophically mobile book.
From the earliest letter, written when she was 14, it's clear that Cather's mind will be the treat of the volume. She carries a head stocked with ideals, some of them pitting the past against the present and East against West.
As much as she loved the plains and prairie of Nebraska — and she made her first fame with three show-stopping novels set there — Cather was itching to run far and fast away from the provinces.
These letters tell a great story of self-possession in the vital, direct language that is Cather's hallmark. What her editors call "the tang of Cather's character" is irresistible.
So why the 66-year embargo on quoting from the roughly 3,000 existing letters?
Their publication now in "The Selected Letters" is a grand literary event, a dream come true for Cather fans.
Andrew Jewell and Janis Stout are expert editors who serve Cather well with a gorgeous selection of 566 letters and editorial commentary that's just right: useful and informative without being pesky and obtrusive.
They make it clear that they are flouting Cather's will: "We fully realize that in producing this book ... we are defying Willa Cather's stated preference that her letters remain hidden from the public eye."
They also put to bed speculation that the letters hide dark secrets, particularly revelations about her sexuality.
Cather, it seems sensible to conclude, was not in the closet. Her private life was private, but she was not ashamed to live openly for 39 years with her partner, Edith Lewis.
Myths that she systematically burned or asked others to burn the correspondence also don't hold up. Jewell and Stout suggest that Cather, as a "skillful self-marketer," was interested in shaping the public's access to herself and her work: "Her goal was to create a persona that practically disappeared behind the work."
One of the pleasures of Cather's letters is in how much delight she took in every detail of the writing and making of books. No better guide to her work, its origins and moods, exists.
When she is out of college and doing magazine and newspaper work in Pittsburgh, the young Cather already knows that writing "takes all the ennui out of life." After a long run-up, with an important stint as managing editor at McClure's Magazine, Cather was finally able to devote herself full time to fiction at 38.
Whether she's gloating about the bloody murder in "O Pioneers" ("I spent three mortal days a-killing them!") or reminiscing about the old friends she brings to life in "My Antonia" ("The older one grows, the dearer and the clearer one's early impressions somehow become."), Cather is zesty and intimate when she writes about her books.
"A Lost Lady" is "a little lawless un-machine made thing." Professor St. Peter (of "The Professor's House") "has just gone and bought me a grand mink coat." The writing of "Death Comes for the Archbishop" was "the most unalloyed pleasure of my life."
Late in her life, Cather identified the source of her literary power in a letter to her brother, Roscoe: "As for me, I have cared too much about people and places — cared too hard. It made me as a writer, but it will break me in the end."
Cather was a cosmopolitan woman, and she exchanged letters with many of the greats of her time, among them F. Scott Fitzgerald, Langston Hughes and Robert Frost.
But her most revealing letters are those that showcase her capacity to care over the long haul, especially for family and friends from childhood and college. To these dearest friends, Cather discloses both the beauty and the cost of living. As a young person, she wrote, "There is no place in my scheme of life for the unlucky."
Older, she knows that luck is often beside the point. It "rains death," and each year brings new "vanishings." She records her own "dents and scars." On every subject she is heartfelt and candid; the letters fizz with the nearest emotion.
Cather throws herself on the page in a loose, modern way. She lived the 20th-century American story of accelerating speed and distance, burning up track on an east-west axis.
If occasionally in her last years she suggests that some distances are too far to travel, she also shows that it is possible to mourn a lost culture while retaining a precise love for what's left behind.
Reviewer Catherine Holmes teaches English at the College of Charleston.


text:
The city of Longmont late Friday released the eminent domain documents it has filed against Dillard's in Boulder County District Court.
The intent of the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority to file begin eminent domain proceedings against the retailer had previously been announced at a Longmont City Council meeting on May 7 by Brad Power, the city's economic development director. He serves as executive director of the LURA, while LURA board is made up of the city councilmembers.
The documents cite the need to redevelop the mall to cure its blighted conditions, and said eminent domain against Dillard's was necessary to proceed with the redevelopment.
The filing noted that LURA had offered Dillard's $3.6 million for its building and land, but was turned down earlier this month. That offer was $700,000 more than the property had recently been assessed for by Boulder County
An agreement Dillard's had signed with a previous mall owner gave it veto power over any redevelopment planned by the mall's current owner, NewMark Merrill Mountain States.


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Skip to comments.Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) H.R. 748, Parental Notification (Take Action)
Posted on 02/14/2005 9:19:02 PM PST by Coleus
|NRLC Alert: Federal parental notification bill
Coleus,I think I am getting this,let them kill the kids and bring in the immigrants
to replace them.Abortion can be stop by law.
We can say this to our country-stop abortion.I remember my son standing in a class in college and telling the class that half the classmates were dead-by abortion.So it is cheeper to kill our kids and bring in even cheeper kids?
Sent Message to local dim representative.
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Bump & Ping
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A very incongruous situation, if you ask me.
You would think that someone who's imposing such a life-altering decision upon these young women, i.e., the abortion provider, would assume more responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)
Ping, sorry for any doubles..
Bump! Something to remember to do when I get home.
Thank you!
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JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Sunday afternoon,
A day later,
"I'm still thinking about it," he said. "You know, I had my fun in this league … (I've) got to weigh my options and see how I feel at the end of the season."
This was the sixth NFL season for the 27-year-old Rodgers-Cromartie. That's more than he thought he would play when he broke into the league in 2008 as a first-round pick from Tennessee State whose reputation surged after a stellar Senior Bowl week that year.
"Coming from a small school, you know all the talk, small-school guys aren't supposed to make it in the NFL and stuff like that, so you know with the league average being only 2-3 years, I gave myself five," he said.
Rodgers-Cromartie's initial contract with the Arizona Cardinal out of Tennnessee State was for five years. He played out the length of the deal -- including two seasons after he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles -- before signing with Denver last March.
His one-year deal with the Broncos means he will become a free agent in the spring, unless the two sides can hammer out a deal before free agency begins at 2 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, March 11. But as he repeated throughout his press conference Monday, retirement is an option, and he said he's shared those thoughts with teammates.
"I talk with them about it all the time," he said. "It's not set in stone. They always think I am joking about it. I love those guys, I think I've earned their respect and they sure have mine."
Rodgers-Cromartie admitted there are no health reasons for him to retire.
"If at the end of the day, if I really think about it and that is my decision … then yeah. I've had my fun," he said.
If Rodgers-Cromartie retires, he has a notion of what he wants to do, saying that he wants to return to college to study psychology and become a guidance counselor.
"I'm still a young guy, not Champ Bailey being around for 14-15 years," Rodgers-Cromatie said. "I had a goal of playing 5 years and I reached that … so, however I feel after the game."
The pronouncement came after a season that was the best of Rodgers-Cromartie's career. With Bailey out for most of the regular season because of a foot injury, Rodgers-Cromartie filled the shutdown corner void, and has allowed just one touchdown in the last 14 games. According to ProFootballFocus.com, opposing quarterbacks have a 69.8 rating when throwing at Rodgers-Cromartie since Week 1. That rating drops to 47.5 for the Broncos' last 14 games.
"You can trust him. You know he's going to win his matchup," said defensive tackle
"Sometimes we watch him in practice and we're in awe by how quick he moves and the things he reacts to. When the whole side of the field is shut down, it makes things a lot easier for the defense, and I'm pretty sure Coach (Jack) Del Rio appreciates it, too."
But after Monday, the crucial question is, for how long will Del Rio and the Broncos be able to appreciate his work?


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"Why Blockbuster Will Never Survive"
Reader and commenter Salviati writes in to share his personal experience with Blockbuster and his theory for why they will never survive fierce competition from Netflix and the new Apple video rentals.
I am writing to explain why I am no longer a Blockbuster Total Access subscriber and never will be again. Service wasn't always so deplorable at Blockbuster, but in the last several months I have had three very negative experiences with the chain that has caused me to turn from a Blockbuster evangelist, who persuaded my parents and friends to join the Total Access plan, to a disgruntled consumer who won't step into a Blockbuster until they've reformed their customer service attitude.
Keep in mind, I was an easy customer. I auto-paid my monthly bill. I held my movies for weeks and months on end without mailing them back or taking them back to the store for exchanges. I even went for a period of 6.5 months without exchanging my movies (While being charged $17.99 all the while). In the past year I was with Blockbuster, I exchanged only 11 movies in-store. I was as profitable as they could get. But between August and today, I have had three incidences which have convinced me that Blockbuster managers are (1)Incompetent (2)Powerless and (3)Apathetic.
Incident 1: I had exchanged out a set of 3 movies in-store in August. After keeping them out past their initial due date I was billed the price of the movies which is in-line with their policy. As long as they are returned within 30 days, Blockbuster is supposed to refund the charge minus a $1.25 processing fee. However, I got called out-of-town on a business trip, and I left before being able to return the movies. Once I realized the situation, I called my local store and asked if it was necessary to have my wife return the movies while I was gone, or if I could wait a week and return them myself. His answer was that it wouldn't be a problem for me to return the movies after 30 days, but I would be charged the $1.25 fee per movie. Great, I thought, until I got back home. When I tried to return the movies (32 days past their due date), I was told that it was impossible to return the movies, and that I'd have to pay the ridiculously marked-up used price of $40 for the three (the price at Target for all three new was $21). The manager simply wouldn't acknowledge that one of their employees had mis-informed me about my ability to return the movies. I tried to call their corporate customer service, who could only refer me to the district manager. To cut this long story short, I spent 3 weeks calling between the store manager and district manager trying to simply refund the movies, which they still sold on their Used racks. I was repeatedly told it was "Impossible" and "the computer won't allow it". I know the time I spent trying to return the movies was worth more than $40, but I felt like I was being wronged, and didn't want to let the issue go. I finally caved when I received a threatening Credit Agency letter. I thought about writing this letter to The Consumerist back then, but I figured it was partially my fault, even though I thought Blockbuster did a terrible Customer Service job.
Incident 2: This one was much shorter. Me, my wife, and her friend walking into a Blockbuster with three return envelopes to exchange. My wife, who had never exchanged movies before, didn't know to hold onto the envelopes until checkout and sat them on top of the counter as she walked in (thinking that she wasn't allowed to walk around the store with them). About two minutes later, I realized she wasn't holding them any longer and walked back to the counter to pick them up. Too late. The clerk had already checked them in without pausing even for a second to see if someone was planning to use them. Again, the clerk and manager claimed that they were powerless slaves to the computer and wouldn't be unable to let us use the credit towards any new movies since they were already checked-in. Still sore after the treatment I had received a month earlier, I didn't want to let this go, but they wouldn't budge. I explained that I was a long-term customer who rarely redeemed my credits, but they stood firm. We ended up paying for two movies and left.
Incident 3: Today. I tightly clutched my return envelopes as I slowly browsed the shelves for three new movies to exchange. Finally, I settle on two movies and a Wii game. Last year, I was able to use a return envelope to pick-up a Wii game without a problem. Well apparently things have now changed. After scanning my three envelopes, they scanned the three items I had brought up. $5.34. "Excuse me, this should be an even exchange." Apparently not. Now the returned movie only counts as $4 off a $9 game rental. Oh well, I thought, "Just take it off and I'll grab another movie". Nope – Apparently each credit gets automatically applied to a specific item and can't be re-transfered to another item. On top of that, they wouldn't remove the game from my checkout and insisted that I HAD to pay for the game, even though I hadn't payed yet and the transaction was unfinished. They insisted that the transaction WAS finished and now I had to pay for it (Which doesn't make any sense. How can the transaction be over before I am even told what the cost will be). After much debate with the manager, they agreed to take the game off the transaction (as a "Favor"), but they couldn't do anything about applying the credit to another movie. By this time I had already decided that I would be writing this letter when I got home, and canceling my year-long subscription to Blockbuster Total Access.
It no longer surprises me that Blockbuster is failing as a company. They are closing many stores and hemorrhaging cash. Many analysts don't even expect them to survive more than a few years. They may not be able to compete with the price and selection of Netflix or the new Apple video rentals, but they had one thing strongly going for them – availability. I knew that if I really needed to, I could go down the street and pick up a physical movie and talk to a real person if I needed to. Now my mindset has changed. Clearly, Blockbuster has decided that their employees and even managers are too incompetent to run their own stores and must be treated like trained monkeys. Even when I found a sympathetic ear, they were simply powerless to over-ride the computer for even simple tasks. Oh well, now that Netflix has unlimited downloads at less than half of the price I was paying at Blockbuster, maybe this is exactly the incentive I needed to make the change.
What do you Netflix customers think? How's the water in your end of the pool?
Should he switch?
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.


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Flexjet, which just increased its order for Bombardier business jets to up to $5.6 billion in Learjet 85s and Challengers, next will consider adding a large, long-range aircraft to its fleet. That aircraft, though, may or may not be a Bombardier product.
Speaking to ShowNews here, Flexjet President Deanna White says the pending sale to Directional Aviation Capital is providing an opportunity for Flexjet to expand its fleet with fresh capital investments. Directional and Bombardier on Sept. 5 announced a deal under which Directional would buy Flexjet for $185 million and in return buy up to 245 Bombardier aircraft. The sale of Flexjet has not closed yet; that's due to happen later this year, assuming regulatory clearances.
White says customer reaction to the sale has mainly been wanting to ensure nothing will change. But her response is: "We want to evolve forward," and Directional wants to see that happen. This includes looking at new programs to offer the customer base, as well as new fleet decisions.
While Flexjet plans to continue to cater to a domestic customer base, its customers increasingly want to travel internationally. This is driving a requirement for larger and longer-range aircraft, White says. She acknowledges that once the sale is finalized, Flexjet would no longer be required to buy a Bombardier-only fleet, and aircraft from other manufacturers could come under consideration.
At the same time, White says that Flexjet expects Bombardier "to remain our largest and most strategic partnership." The fractional operator will still be Bombardier's largest customer, she adds. A decision on a new airplane likely would come next year.
Flexjet chose to up its order to 265 so soon after announcing the original deal after the Learjet 85 received a strong response from recent tours, she says. The company has sold 68 shares so far of the midsize business jet, which should complete its first flight in the next few months.
The new aircraft will help Flexjet expand its fleet, something that hasn't happened since the downturn, and bring down the average age of the aircraft – already one of the youngest in the industry, at six years – to four years. Before the downturn, Flexjet maintained its fleet at an average age of four years, but it crept up over the past several years.
As part of the growth, the company has been hiring pilots and seeing share sales and card sales rise. While the percentage of fractional sales have gone up more than jet card and lease sales, White has seen a continual shift to jet card and lease business.
Before the downturn, jet cards and leases accounted for 15% of its business. Now that's about 30%, and White believes it will eventually become half of its business. This means a shift in Flexjet's fleet, from primarily owned by fractional shareholders to a more even mix of shareholder owned and Flexjet owned.
This comes as financing fractional shares can still be difficult. White notes financing is more complex when it comes to owning a fraction of an asset. "Only a few organizations will finance that," she says, but customers still need to fly and look at other options.


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Podiatrists in Seattle
Making an appointment with a Seattle podiatrist is easy with ZocDoc. From Broadview to Rainier Valley, and all points in between, you can search for foot specialists who diagnose and treat corns, plantars warts, sprains, and bunions. Find doctors close to your home or office, and read verified doctor reviews and ratings. When you've made your choice, simply click on a time to book your appointment instantly.


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GLEN ELLYN – As proposed, the 2013 tax levy on Glen Ellyn School District 41 property owners will bring $45,157,672 into the district.
That tentative amount would support items such as education, operation and maintenance, and transportation funds, as well as outstanding bond issues, according to district records.
The proposed 2013 property tax levy represents a 4.57 percent increase, or $1,975,349, over last year's levy. However, the actual amount the district receives will likely be less than what's been proposed, depending on the finalized equalized assessed valuation (EAV), which is used to determine tax rates and will not be known until spring 2014, according to district records.
Officials expect the district will actually see an increase of 2.7 percent more than last year's levy, based on the most recent available numbers, said Bob Ciserella, assistant superintendent of finance, facilities and operations.
To determine its requested levy increase, the district prepared estimates of enrollment growth, staffing patterns, changes in EAV, and long-range plan priorities and financial projections to figure out the tax amount needed to fund its programs and services.
However, DuPage County calculates the final levy amount based on the Property Tax Limitation Act, ensuring the district does not exceed what is allowed. The amount of the district's levy request also affects the final calculation, according to district records.
Board Vice President John Kenwood said he was concerned about the gap between what the district is proposing to levy and what it will actually be allowed to receive and wondered if there was a way to decrease that difference.
"We've worked very hard over the past several years to narrow that number," Ciserella said.
In the end, both the proposed and anticipated levy increases are small percentages of 4.57 and 2.7 percent, respectively, board member Joe Bochenski pointed out.
The District 41 Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the proposed property tax levy at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn.
At a meeting immediately after the hearing, the board is expected to vote on whether to adopt the levy as proposed.
Taxes levied this December will be collected in June and September 2014.
If you go
What: Truth in Taxation public hearing
When: 7:15 p.m. Dec. 9
Where: District 41 Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn


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EAU CLAIRE, Wis (WEAU) --Students from St. James Elementary School, Regis Middle School and High School are learning outside the classroom today
"We are delivering coats people hats and mittens to all the people that need them," said 7 year old Thomas Sizer.
The field trip is part of a partnership between Regis Catholic Schools and Sacred Heart Hospital to help kids learn how they can help their community.
"We love to engage our youth as much as we can and this was the right fit to call our catholic schools and say 'hey can you help,' and they jumped on board and the fruits of the labor has really paid off," said Mary Pengra with Sacred Heart Hospital.
The students collected coats, blankets, hats and gloves for a coat drive sacred heart is holding this Saturday.
"We realize that every year there are people in need. We wanted to make sure that we started the process early before the cold weather," said Pengra.
The Regis students were challenged to look in their closets and find something they no longer need and something that could help someone else.
"That makes me feel really good inside the heart," said 10-year old Adler Bowe.
"It's just good to do nice things for other people," said 9-year old Aiden Auch.
"I've always good to help other and it makes you feel good," said Sizer.
Sacred heart's coat drive is open to anyone in the public.


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Story highlights
- Katherine Heigl says she "couldn't say no" to rom-coms
- Heigl tells magazine she considered opening a knitting store
- Former "Grey's Anatomy" star has new TV show coming in November
If watching Katherine Heigl's romantic comedies made you want to swear off movies, you've got company: the actress herself.
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star, who went from "27 Dresses" to "The Ugly Truth" to "Life as We Know It" to "New Year's Eve," admits she indulged a little too heavily in the frothy films -- enough to make her consider quitting acting.
"I had an amazing time. I love romantic comedies," the actress, 35, told Marie Claire UK in its August issue. "But maybe I hit it a little too hard. I couldn't say no. I stopped challenging myself."
It got so bad, Heigl said, that she took time on a Utah ranch to contemplate a different career.
"I had a moment where, I don't know, I was thinking, 'Maybe open a knitting store, get my money out of retirement accounts and live off that, live off the land.' I had my moment where it all seemed so complicated and all I wanted to do was simplify," she told the magazine.
Of course, Heigl has had ups and downs even without the film choices. She told Marie Claire that her best friend "turned on" her, and she's made some enemies in Hollywood with her blunt talk, criticizing "Grey's Anatomy" plotlines and knocking "Knocked Up," the hit film she starred in, as "a little sexist."
Heigl is returning to television in November as the star of NBC's "State of Affairs," a drama about a CIA analyst who advises the president. She's ready for the new challenge, she told Marie Claire.
"There's a part of me that's a Hollywood animal as well. I can't wait to get into the writer's room and see how we do this," she said. "I feel like I'm finally rolling into the next phase of my adulthood."


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The nursing staff at the Brunswick County Health Department was presented an award from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners at a recent board meeting.
The 2011 Outstanding County Program Awards in Human Services was given to the nurses for their innovative immunization work with the Brunswick County Schools. The purpose of the health department's School-based Influenza Vaccination Program is to increase vaccinations among school-aged children in Brunswick County.
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Yes: Will Play 3 Classic Albums On Tour Each Night
Yes is heading out on the road in 2013 playing three of the band's classic albums in their entirety in one night. Yes -- which now consists of Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, and latest frontman Jon Davison -- will tackle 1971's The Yes Album, 1972's Closer To The Edge, and 1973's Going For The One. Guitarist Steve Howe said, "These albums we all easily agreed on -- they are complete works in themselves. I believe the only song not performed in concert is 'A Venture' from The Yes Album."
The 23-date set will feature all three albums -- except for the five casino dates on the itinerary, which will only feature The Yes Album and Closer To The Edge due to time constraints. At the tail end of March the band will be playing on board Fort Lauderdale, Florida's "Cruise To The Edge." It's not clear at this point whether the band will be tackling all three, only two -- or none of the classic albums on board the ship.
Bassist Chris Squire went on to say: "Probably the most tricky of all the songs planned for this set is 'Turn Of The Century' from the Going For The One album."
Drummer Alan White added: "This is a great opportunity to show the growth of Yes in these different eras -- and to relive the memories of these times."
We asked Alan White how he deals with the fact that Yes has been passed over for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the past 19 years: "You can't sit there and get upset about the fact. But we have had an incredible career, spanning over a lot of years and sold a lot of records. And to me, it will be kind of an obvious thing. The thing is, that when Genesis got in, I saw a little ray of light there as far as they're starting to open their eyes. And it's a very strange process they go through. Jann Wenner, who's the Rolling Stone editor, right? He's kind of the head guy on that. I don't know, I think he's been a guy that never really liked prog music that much."
JUST ANNOUNCED: Yes tour dates (subject to change):
March 1 - West Wendover, NV - Peppermill Concert Hall
March 3 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
March 5 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
March 6 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
March 8 - Temecula, CA - Pechanga Resort & Casino
March 9 - Reno, NV - Silver Legacy Resort Casino
March 12 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
March 14 - Omaha, NE - Holland Performing Arts Center
March 16 - Hammond, IN - The Venue At Horseshoe Casino
March 17 - Louisville, KY - The Louisville Palace Theatre
March 18 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland By AMC
March 20 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
March 21 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre At Grand Prairie
March 22 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Live Biloxi
March 24 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live
March 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Cruise To The Edge MSC Cruises - MSC Poesia
March 30 - Melbourne, FL - King Center For Performing Arts
April 2 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
April 5 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand At Foxwoods
April 6 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
April 7 - Bethlehem, PA - Sands Bethlehem Event Center
April 9 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
April 11 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
April 12 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre


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Content marketing is a simple phrase. It involves just two key elements.
"Content" which can be articles, videos and images in all their various multi-media formats.
"Marketing" which means taking that content and letting the online world knows it exists. In essence it is implementing strategies and tactics of making your ideas spread.
Marketing your content is a challenge in a world where there are over 2 billion internet users who are bombarded with emails, streams of tweets and banner ads.
The process of content marketing involves the creation of material that is informative but is also written on a perspective which shows your business in a positive light. Good content marketing will create interest in your business, attracting traffic to your website and hopefully, sales or conversations as well.
Great content will position your business as a thought leader in its industry and it will also educate, inform, entertain and inspire.
There are many ways of doing content marketing but not all methods yield the positive results! Here are six tips to get you started on marketing your own content:
Via Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com


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Days before the filing period for municipal elections opens, it appears there will be new blood on the Flat Rock and Mills River councils next year.
Days before the filing period for municipal elections opens, it appears there will be new blood on the Flat Rock and Mills River councils next year. But incumbents in Hendersonville, Fletcher and Laurel Park say they plan to run for re-election.
The filing period for municipal elections begins at noon Friday and runs through noon on Friday, July 19. Although off-year elections don't usually generate strong showings at polling places, Board of Elections Director Beverly Cunningham said this November may be different.
"There are five municipal elections and two of them have a mayor," Cunningham said. "So they'll be a lot of interest in these."
In Hendersonville, all three candidates up for re-election this year say they intend to file. Last week, Councilman Jerry Smith became the final incumbent to announce he'll seek another term. Mayor Barbara Volk and Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Collis have already thrown their hats in the ring.
"It's been a great honor to meet the people of the entire community, not just the city, and keep them informed about what's going on," said Volk about why she's excited about running again. "Plus, we have a lot of ongoing projects I'd like to see through to completion."
Collis said he originally ran to "broaden the makeup of council" and represent younger families in the city. Like Volk, he hopes to stay on council to help guide planned improvements at Berkeley Park and the Oklawaha Greenway, among others, while striving to keep taxes down.
"In seven budget cycles, I've not voted for one tax increase," Collis said. "That's something I've been pretty proud of."
Eddie Henderson, mayor pro tem of Fletcher Town Council, confirmed Tuesday that he intends to file for re-election after the holiday weekend, along with fellow incumbents Mayor William Moore and Councilwoman Sheila Franklin.
"We're going Monday," Henderson said. "Everybody is on board, at this time. If we're all healthy and if nothing happens to us between now and then, we'll be filing on the 8th."
Moore agreed that was the plan, adding, "We're just hoping to keep things moving forward. We've got a lot of good things going on. It's been an honor to serve the people of Fletcher."
However, three members of Flat Rock Village Council said they won't be seeking another term. Councilman and Budget Officer Dave Bucher said he's stepping back after 10 years to allow others to serve, although he plans to continue working on development of the village's new municipal park as a volunteer.
Councilmen Ron Davis and Jim Wert have also indicated they're stepping down at the end of their terms. Davis, 74, has served for six years on "one of the best councils that Flat Rock has ever had," he said.
"But it is a possibility — in fact, it's a certainty — that the majority (of today's council) will be gone by the end of 2015," said Davis, a retired corporate attorney who drafted many of the village's codes and ordinances. "And one good reason for me to step aside now is to get some new leadership in place, so they can be training, if you will, for the next couple of years so we'll have some continuity and experience beyond 2015."
After a decade serving on Mills River's town council, Mayor Pro Tem Lois Pryor said Tuesday she's also handing over the reins to a new public official next fall. Pryor, who was instrumental in the town's incorporation, represents District 2 constituents.
"I'm involved in so many other things, that I've decided I need to devote more time to them," she said, mentioning the Friends of the Library, fire department auxiliary and Mills River Recreation Foundation as other commitments.
Councilman Larry Freeman said he "intends to file very soon" for his second term representing Mills River's District 1. However, his colleague, District 3 Councilman Shanon Gonce, said he's still weighing his options.
"I'm curious to see if anybody else files," Gonce said Tuesday. "If they do and I consider them a good candidate, that might sway my decision to file myself... I've served eight years and the family ain't getting no younger, so I'm just weighing everything. I'm not ruling it out at this point, but I will be interested to see who files."
Laurel Park's two incumbents said this week they plan on filing for re-election. "My intention is to file," said Commissioner Dona Mennella, who has been involved in the search for a new town manager. Commissioner Paul Hansen said Tuesday he "probably will file."
Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or email@example.com.


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MK Dons midfielder Peter Leven looks set to leave the club after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.
The Scot, forced to miss the play-offs last season after breaking his foot in training, was offered a deal towards the end of last season, but is now free to speak to other clubs.
"Peter has been an unbelievable servant to this football club and while I'm sad that it has come to this, I have the utmost respect for Peter," said Dons manager Karl Robinson.
"Due to the relationship the club and I have with Peter we will continue to support him during his rehabilitation and ensure he returns to fitness."
Leven has made 105 appearances for the Dons since arriving from Chesterfield in the summer of 2008.
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The Pennsylvania State Police are offering free child safety seat checks statewide Nov. 19 to Dec. 2 as part of the National Highway Traffic Safey Administration's "Click It or Ticket" campaign.
Locally, the Skippack barracks are offering child passenger seat fitting and car seat inspection Dec. 1 from 3 to 7 p.m. at 2047C Bridge Road in Skippack. Anyone interested in getting their child seat checked should make an appointment by calling 610-584-1250. Parents are welcome to bring their children to the inspection.
"It is crucial that we encourage drivers now to make sure that all passengers are properly restrained whenever they travel," said state police Commissioner Frank Noonan. "I'm directing our troopers to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward violations of the state's seat belt and child passenger restraint laws during this campaign period."
State police will be holding traffic safety checkpoints to educate drivers about the traffic laws and enforce the laws in areas that see a higher number of crashes.
Currently, about 84 percent of those who ride in motor vehicles in the state properly buckle up, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
For more information on the state's seat belt laws, visit www.buckleuppa.org
Find a local child safety seat inspection event near you at www.psp.state.pa.us and click on the Click It or Ticket logo.


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67 WALL STREET, New York - March 21, 2013 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Oil & Gas: Master Limited Partnerships Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs and Equity Analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: Increasing Demand for Midstream Assets - U.S. Energy Infrastructure Build Out - Emerging Shale Plays - Oil and Gas Transportation Infrastructure Demand - Master Limited Partnerships Distribution Growth - Outlook for Natural Gas Liquids - Low Treasury Yields and MLP Dividends
Companies include: Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (ETP), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P (EPB), Copano Energy LLC (CPNO), Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Enterprise Products Partners L (EPD), EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP), Linn Energy, LLC (LINE), Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (APL), Plains All American Pipeline L (PAA), Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Targa Resources Partners LP (NGLS) and many more.
In the following excerpt from the Oil & Gas: Master Limited Partnerships Report, an expert analyst discusses the outlook for the sector for investors:
TWST: What are your favorite names right now and why?
Mr. Bellamy: Our top pick has been, frankly, very disappointing over the last four- to five-month period, but we're not giving up on it. That's EV Energy Partners (EVEP). For about a year now it's been apparent that they have a very strong land position in the Ohio Utica shale, and for about six months they've been actively pursuing a sale that was supposed to be completed by the end of the year. It did not get completed, and there is widespread speculation about why that did not occur.
We remain very positive on valuation on the expectation that ultimately those 150,000 net acres of royalty interest and a midstream investment that EV has in Ohio will bear fruit and will prove to be very valuable. The timing on a potential sale to another party is somewhat uncertain, and the stock has drifted lower this year as expectations around that sale have continued to falter in contrast to the rest of the MLP group, which is up pretty strongly this year. So that's been disappointing, but we still like it, and we still think there's pretty strong value there.
Within the downstream market, we're big fans of Lehigh Gas Partners (LGP), which is a very small, call it microcap downstream name that is a wholesale fuel distribution business. It's trading just above last year's IPO price. They've done a few significantly accretive acquisitions, and they have first-mover advantage along with Susser Petroleum Partners (SUSP), which has performed much better. We think that the next distribution announcement will be higher, and you can expect LGP units to react favorably when they raise their distribution. And I think they are, again, first movers in an area where they can potentially use their cost of capital to expand their business rapidly and in an accretive fashion, so we like that name as well.
We are also big fans of...
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.


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Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
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mabye you could help me?
hey man i love your videos, they are awsome releif at the end of the day.anyway , my girlfriend is a christian, and i wanna not so much convert her, but to at least tell her my beleifs without her gettin pissed. i dont know mabye you could help me?
Say to her, "Let's noth become Muslims". It works (I hope so)
To many people, religion is a big part of their life. At my church, they say that you should only date other Christians. I don't really believe too much in that, obviously since I dated this girl who was polytheistic. I don't remember what she was exactly, but she was like a druid and believed in all the nature gods and stuff, but that didn't affect our relationship. The only thing you have to think about is how big a deal her religion is in her life. She will definitely be pressured into either converting you or dumping you, so if she's really big in God it might be really difficult. Also, I dislike you calling religions cults. Although it is true in it's own way, a cult is generally deemed as a mass suicide ending. All religions that I know of are against suicide.


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Welcome to WorkInNonProfits.ca!
What do we do? WorkInNonProfits.ca is committed to help build and strengthen Canada's non-profit sector by connecting non-profits across the country with job seekers as well as suppliers of services and products.
How are we different? Well for starters we work and volunteer in non-profits. We understand how difficult it is to raise funds and how most of the money you do raise is usually restricted for programs. We also understand the moral obligation that non-profits have to spend that money wisely. We don't think that non-profits should have to pay hundreds of dollars to advertise a single job on other web sites.
So we decided to do something about it.
- First of all, all job postings on our site are free of charge and can be posted in English, French or both.
- Secondly, our non-profit focused Supplier Directory allows non-profits to quickly find the service providers or suppliers they need: such as bookkeepers, consultants, web developers, event coordinators, etc. Listing in the directory is also free of charge and provides suppliers to Canadian non-profit organizations with the most affordable, comprehensive and effective place to advertise their offerings.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Behind the doubles play of rookies Justin Chan and Brendan Tannenbaum, the Dartmouth men's tennis team had a solid showing at the Crimson Halloween Invite over the weekend. Posting a 2-1 record in doubles play, the pair won the Backdraw Finals, 8-5 over Army. The duo also defeated BU, 8-1 in the semifinals.
In singles action, the Big Green went 3-5 overall. Chan won his first Flight A singles match, downing Brown's Justin To (6-3, 6-1), before falling in the second round to Harvard's Shaun Chaudhuri (6-4, 6-4). Tannenbaum picked up two wins in the backdraw.
Sophomore Andres Isaza also competed for Dartmouth, going 0-2 in singles action on the weekend. He lost a tough third set, 7-6 to Army's Harrison McCormick in Flight B First Round.
The Big Green return to the court Nov. 2-4 for the Gopher Invitational in Minneapolis.
Complete results
Brendan Tannenbaum (2-2)
Mark Kahan (Amherst) def. Brendan Tannenbaum, 6-4, 6-4
Justin To (Brown) def. Brendan Tannenbaum, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 (Backdraw)
Brendan Tannenbaum def. Kravtchenko (Brown), 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (Backdraw)
Brendan Tannenbaum def. Fife (Amherst), 6-0, 7-6 (Backdraw)
Justin Chan (1-1)
Justin Chan def. Justin To (Brown), 6-3, 6-1
#2 Shaun Chaudhuri (Harvard) def. Justin Chan, 6-4, 6-4
Andres Isaza (0-2)
Harrison McCormick (Army) def. Andres Isaza, 6-0, 1-6, 7-6
Skalak (MIT) def. Isaza (Backdraw)
Chan/Tannenbaum (2-1)
Nguyen/Lam (Harvard) def. Chan/Tannenbaum
Chan/Tannenbaum def. Friedman/Kopelman (BU), 8-1 (Backdraw Semis)
Chan/Tannenbaum def. Isoh/McCormick (Army), 8-5 (Backdraw Finals)


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Employees can make a difference in internalizing sustainability and translating high-level commitments from a corporate sustainability plan into action and results. Employees make far-reaching decisions impacting an organization's environment and social consequences on a daily basis. What is the evidence for employee engagement to further sustainability within organizations?
Via Digital Sustainability


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Office Space to Rent in Emerald Street, WC1
We have a variety of serviced offices available to rent in Emerald Street, WC1. Each office space is offered at the best rates and suited to your individual needs and requirements.
We have a variety of serviced offices available to rent in Emerald Street, WC1. Each office space is offered at the best rates and suited to your individual needs and requirements.
Self-contained building, approx. 3,000sqft over 6 floors. 40-50 workstations with 2 executive offices and lower ground boardroom benefiting from natural light. There is also a kitchen area and roof terrace. Fully managed inclusive of: rent, business rates and service charge, utilities, cleaning and maintenance, furniture (if required), buildings insurance, fully network cabled, bandwidth (can bring own lines), key phone entry, facilities management, decoration and upkeep and fire detection. Flexible terms available from 12 months.
Meeting Rooms Only
The serviced offices at this centre occupy a prime location in the heart of Clerkenwell between Russell Square, Farringdon and Chancery Lane. The business centre is situated within an impressive 18th Century Georgian building that has been recently refurbished to provide high quality office space, with excellent natural light and period features. The centre maintains its heritage but creates superb unbranded offices that come fully furnished, with a wide range of state-of-the-art IT and Telecoms and 24/7 access. You will also be able to benefit from the onsite team who will act as your company receptionist and assist you with anything you may need. Meeting rooms are available to book upon request from 2-10 people and offer a full catering service and audio visual equipment. Great building features include; fire places, high ceilings, staircases, renovated vaults, a large courtyard and a roof terrace.
Good quality fourth floor space with excellent natural light, located on the edge of Clerkenwell and within easy walking distance to Chancery Lane, Holborn and Russell Square underground stations. Features includes: raised floors and air conditioning, showers and WCs, inclusive, flexible terms available up to 4 years, fully managed solution with 24-hour access. Benefits include: flexible terms, straightforward and inclusive cost structure, bespoke working environment, experienced team and excellent support throughout occupation.
This centre has five offices and a total of 19 desks available to rent at a rate of £450 per desk but rent can be negotiable depending on volume of desks required and contract length. Prospective tenants can either choose to rent out desks or one our offices. All of these offices are fully furnished, bright, modern with brand new desks and chairs. All bills and rates are included along with the facilities below: • Reception • Kitchen • Fibre Optic Internet • Conference Meeting Room.
Offering flexible licenses in non-branded period style office buildings conveniently located in and around Soho and Central London. Offices are fully furnished with complete telecomms and IT infrastructure pre-installed. Prime locations and the latest IT and Telecoms infrastructure are the focus, with the target market being Start-ups, Small and Medium Enterprises.
This centre provides professional office and studio space in a modern business centre in Holborn. The building has recently undergone a refurbishment and now offers a stylish open plan reception area and high-spec meeting room. Just minutes from Chancery Lane tube station, this centre is well placed for access to both the financial centre in the City and the business, entertainment and media heartland of the West End.
Recently refurbished, this business centre boasts six floors with a modern and stylish office spanning each. Located just 100 meters from Chancery Lane it's in an ideal location for businesses seeking space in the heart of the capital.
This business centre is located in London's central business district; these offices offer clients an elegant corporate environment and a prestigious business address. With excellent access to transport links, these offices are fully managed and fully furnished to help you save time and money. With a receptionist, stylish meeting and conference rooms, high spec IT infrastructure and support services available, the aim is to help you focus on your own business, while the centre takes care of all your office requirements.
This business centre operates over 3 floors. The entrance and reception area have just finished a recent full refurbishment complete with modern design Amourcoated walls providing a very welcoming first impression to your visitors. Offices are newly refurbished ranging in size from 2 workstations to whole floor plates, offering views over to Red Lion Square. Full air conditioning, lifts to all floors, 24 hour manned security, fully refurbished, modern British made desks and modern working environment with latest technology telecoms and internet provision.
Below you can see the nearest areas to Emerald Street, WC1 where you can find serviced offices:


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Monday, June 21, 2010
/Bubble. Popped.
...Not all "top prospects" are created equal. Teams like the Nationals (Stephen Strasburg), Pirates (Pedro Alvarez), Indians (Carlos Santana), and Marlins (Mike Stanton) calling up their best prospect represents an "exciting youth movement" and "watershed moment in the franchise's future," but the Astros doing the same doesn't represent much of anything, really.
And then it busts up Castro ("doesn't project as a star, let alone someone whose arrival is capable of creating 'a watershed moment in the franchise's future.'") and Johnson ("giving him a chance to supplant the washed-up remains of Pedro Feliz at third base makes plenty of sense, but Johnson's upside is somewhere between role player and mediocre starter.").
And now Rob Neyer weighs in:
It must be at least moderately heartening to promote a 2008 draft pick to the majors and get him into the lineup. But I think Gleeman's right, as Castro just doesn't qualify for the pantheon of great young catchers. His .411 career slugging percentage as a professional isn't impressive, but it's actually even less impressive than that; his slugging percentage above Class A is just .370. He's young and he's a catcher and there's probably some development potential there ... but if Jason Castro is the best prospect the Astros unveil this summer, the rebuilding process will be off to a slow start.
I'm now going to bed...
2 comments:
- Andrew said...
While it may not be as exciting as a Strasburg or a Stanton, I would argue that it is still a "watershead moment" for the season and the future as well. Management is essintially "pulling the plug" on a team that we the fans have known is done for a while now. Coupled with the fact that we actually have prospects who have been doing decently enough at AAA to warrant a call up is a sign that the minor league pipeline is close to being back up and running. Which in itself is and exiting thought. So I for one am still excited about the callups.
- June 21, 2010 at 2:30 PM
I'm excited by the callups as well. Gleeman is right in that Castro will not have an impact like a Strasburg or the aforementioned prospects. But Castro has been the posterboy of the renewed dedication to the Houston Astros organization building up the farm system.
Random thoughts:
Unfortunately, I think some of the more uninformed Houston Astros fans will be expecting too much out of Castro at the plate and will ultimately be disappointed by these lofty expectations. However, i do think his patient approach at the plate will serve the lineup as a whole well.
- June 21, 2010 at 4:55 PM


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I'm sure this is getting very old with you reading about all of my new additions but I decided to let the cat out of the bag instead of keeping her a secret. Yes, the newbie is not only a female but she's not orange either. Wow!!! What a shock!:eek: I actually fell in love with her when I was helping FOSMAS out in early June with their Maddies Adoptathon. The only reason that I didn't adopt her that very day is that she's a female. Now FOSMAS is having another price break for adult cats that are over 18 months old to hopefully help them get adopted during kitten season. Through the month of July all 18 month old and older adults are only $17.76. I kept thinking about her and she is very used to being around a lot of cats both female and male. Bentley also knows her. I officially adopted her on Fri. July 5th and I'm taking a nice staycation until July 15th. She's a petite Siamese mix even though she doesn't have the Siamese markings. Her mom looked like a Siamese and she was brought to FOSMAS with her mom and 6 other siblings. She's a little over 2 years old and now only her shy brother is left looking for his forever home. If you remember Digit, she's his sister. My co-worker and her daughter adopted him last year in early April. I'll post a picture of him too.
Since it's now kitten season, Summer was taken back to her foster mom's house. Unfortunately she started losing some of her fur. When I saw her, I also noticed what looked like flea dirt on her. I suspected that she had fleas and I was right. Her foster mom put Advantage ll on her and I've been keeping her in my bathroom. I later combed out 8 live fleas. Yuck!!! Later on I was sweeping the bathroom floor and I swept up 3 more live fleas. The next morning I swept up a few dead fleas and I couldn't find any more fleas on Summer. I later cleaned the bathroom very well and then I sprayed Orange Guard in all of the crack and crevices. I also sprayed it on the carpet in front of the bathroom door. This product is safe to use around food, pets, and people. You can either buy is at Orchard Supply Hardware or online. I've already used it at one of my pet sitting jobs to kill carpenter ants and it really worked well. Summer was in my other bathroom in a carrier while I was cleaning the main bathroom.
I thought all was finally well until a live flea jumped on my white slippers this morning when I was sweeping up some litter in Summer's bathroom. I still can't find any fleas on her. Today her foster mom came over to give me some drontal pills just in case she now has tapeworms. I gave her the first dose and in 2 weeks I'll give the second dose. I'm still worried about fleas though. I put advantage ll on all of my cats every month and they're due this Sunday. I made annual exam appointments for Sky, Bentley, Levi, and Summer for this Tues. morning at 10am. I now learned that my vet only works from Sun.-Tues. She used to work from Sun.-Wed. On Mon. she does surgery most of the day so she has limited appointments. Summer keeps scratching her head and her ears. She did have some ear wax in her ears which I cleaned out but it didn't look like ear mites or anything. Just to be safe I'm going to keep her in the bathroom until my vet gives me the all clear for her to be out and about with the others. Please wish me good luck with everything. Now on with the pictures.:)
Summer's Petfinder Pictures:
As a young kitten.
As a young adult cat.
These were taken last night. She's a sink kitty too.:)
More pictures coming up.>>>>>


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Joan C. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of the Law, has been awarded $25,000 from the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Trust, which each year honors educators who have inspired their students to public service.
Williams worked with Jamie Dolkas '08 while Dolkas served as a fellow at the Center for WorkLife Law, of which Williams is the founding director. As a fellow, Dolkas researched laws that provide workplace rights for family caregivers, analyzed litigation trends, and wrote numerous scholarly articles with Williams. Her latest contribution is a piece Williams and Dolkas collaborated on in "Women Who Opt Out: The Debate over Working Mothers and Work-Family Balance," published in April 2012 by New York University Press.
As a law student, Dolkas worked as a research assistant at the Center for WorkLife Law, and then took Professor Williams' course on Gender and the Law, where Williams encouraged her to find her voice and contribute. Later, as a research fellow at the center, Williams "invested in me. She took a chance on me, on my analysis, and it built my confidence," Dolkas said.
Dolkas currently works as a Staff Attorney at Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), a national nonprofit law firm located in San Francisco that's dedicated to advocating for gender equity in employment and education. Dolkas represents women and girls in various aspects of ERA's litigation, writes publications, manages ERA's legal advice and counseling hotline, leads policy advocacy, and supervises law clerks. She was part of the legal team representing plaintiffs before the U.S. Supreme Court in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, a suit brought by women seeking class action status for their sex discrimination suit alleging low pay and lack of advancement for women employees.
The high court ruled in Wal-Mart's favor, saying the plaintiffs did not have enough in common to constitute a class. However, ERA and co-counsel continue to litigate and have filed amended regional class action complaints in several states.
Dolkas and Williams recently collaborated on California legislation, AB 1999, to protect family caregivers from workplace discrimination. The bill did not pass, but ERA and its allies hope to introduce similar legislation in the future. "In my 32 years of teaching, I have had some amazing students –but even among them, Jamie stands out. She is passionate about women's rights, and brings to her work creativity and force that are inspiring. I feel honored to have played a role in helping her shape her career."
Dolkas said she "pays it forward" by mentoring young attorneys interested in public interest law. "I learned so much from Professor Williams; how to communicate about issue that matter, and how to important it is to mentor others, all by watching her."
Since its inception in 2008, the Beckman trust has awarded more than $500,000 to educators in the fields of psychology, medicine, and law.


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When Michael Smith '79 wasn't studying accounting, one of his favorite activities was intramural team handball in the John Jay gymnasium. "I liked it because it was a team sport," says Smith, who played for Delta Tau Delta. "It was fast-paced and very competitive. I remember we won the intramural championship one year — in fact, I think I still have the newsletter article."
Today Smith heads a different kind of team as CEO of Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The organization serves 17 counties, and with more than 1,000 employees, is one of the largest Goodwill chapters in the nation. The nonprofit agency provides employment education and workforce development programs for people with physical and mental disabilities and other special needs. Revenues from the company's retail thrift stores help to support its programs.
"By giving people education, training, support, and, most importantly, the opportunity to work, Goodwill gives people the dignity and respect that comes with employment," says Smith, who has been with Goodwill for 22 years. "The programs and services we provide are needed now more than ever."
The chapter operates 27 stores in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is in a growth phase, recently moving its workforce development center and administrative offices to Lawrenceville from the South Side, opening two new stores in Gibsonia and Natrona Heights, and planning three more in the North Hills, Lawrenceville, and Robinson Township. The stores bring in annual revenues of over $20 million, Smith says. "The more profit we can generate, the more people we can serve. As a result, each year we are able to serve at least 70,000 people with special needs and find jobs for about 1,500."
Smith serves on Goodwill's board of directors with two others with university ties: Gary Claus '74, chairman of the RMU Board of Trustees, and Sidney Zonn, university vice president and general counsel. Claus just finished a two-year term as Goodwill's chairman in March, and Zonn is secretary.
"Goodwill is an incredibly effective organization," Claus says. "It's one of Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets. They were doing 'green' before 'green' was cool. They've been recycling old clothes and housewares for over 100 years now, and to use that to make someone else's life better has a far-reaching effect."
"I sincerely believe in the mission of Goodwill," says Zonn. "What is distinctive to me about Goodwill is not only the largely self-sufficient nature of the organization, but the supportive environment to train clients to be active, productive, and gainfully employed members of the community."
"They are two of my most active and committed board members," Smith says of Claus and Zonn, "and if I need their assistance, all I have to do is ask. Both bring a great business sense but, more importantly, keep the mission at heart."
Smith, a Pittsburgh native, worked his way through college and was hired immediately after graduation for a field accounting position with a construction company. "The education I received and the whole Robert Morris experience prepared me well for my career and life in general," he says. "Even back then, the Robert Morris name was well respected by employers, as it is today."
The university's 2002 Alumni of the Year, Smith is proud to say his son, Michael Anthony Smith, just finished his freshman year at RMU as an actuarial science major. Both he and his son were impressed by RMU's elite designation by the Society of Actuaries as a Center of Actuarial Excellence, of which there are fewer than 20 in the United States. "I think Michael also liked the fact that I was an RMU grad," Smith adds. His daughter, Sarah, a high school freshman, already has her sights on Robert Morris too, he says.
Smith is a champion of education, and he recommends that students take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. "If you're thinking of going on for your master's degree," he says, "don't wait until you're 47 like I did, when you're working full time and helping raise a family. Do it while you're younger and have more time and energy. Take your education very seriously and work hard, but have some fun along the way."


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Submission + - Steam For Linux Officially Released, Available In Ubuntu Software Center (muktware.com)
sfcrazy writes: Valve has officially released Steam for Linux client. Valve is not shying away from using the word Linux on it's home page. With the launch of the official client the company is also offering heavy discounts on games for Linux — over 50 Linux titles are now 50-75% off until Thursday, February 21st at 10 AM PST.