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Gluten-free at Dharma's Vegetarian Restaurant in Capitola, Ca
Dharma Restaurant: Natural Organic Vegetarian Food
4250 Capitola Rd
Capitola, CA 95010
(831) 462-1717
I love finding a new, local restaurant with a well-developed gluten-free menu, and I love finding vegetarian restaurants that have food that I can eat. Finding them both in one place is a rare and exciting event. When I discovered Dharma's gluten-free friendly, vegetarian restaurant in Capitola, California through an online search, I was thrilled. Dharma's Vegetarian Restaurant is a very large, almost cafeteria style restaurant with a warm and cozy family dining atmosphere. You place your order at the counter, since it isn't a traditional sit down and place your order type of place. To tell the truth, this kind of ordering situation always makes me twitchy because I find it hard to make a decision standing staring at a menu above me. It is even harder with a toddler in tow. Baby Yum got a little hyper so the DH carted her off to a table with some of the resident dinosaur toys and left me to pick food for all of us.
As soon as I saw it on their online gluten-free menu, I knew that I wanted the Indian curry, which you can get with gluten-free bread if you order it specially. But I didn't think Baby Yum would be too thrilled with all the "spice, spice" as she refers to anything with seasoning. So. when I saw the daily special was a dish with quinoa, sweet potato and soup, I had to order it… for the DH to share with Baby Yum. Then I felt bad later, because it really wasn't the kind of thing he would order for himself. What can I say, I don't order well under pressure.
The Indian Curry, though, that was right up my alley and exactly what I would order if I could choose anything in the world. When I saw that curry I just about swooned. Lots of fresh veggies married to a creamy, coconut-rich sauce and sprinkled with cashews- yum! The brown rice was fine, the yogurt sauce was tangy, the chutney was sweet, but the curry, now that was a real treat. I would give it a 4 out of 4 stars. It was served with a bit of what I think was Kinnikinnick bread. I don't know how they manage their toasters, so I still didn't eat it. I didn't need it, even with giving Baby Yum some of my plain rice.
Because it was Mother's Day weekend I ordered the raw foods strawberry cheesecake, too. I have decided that cheesecake is my favorite raw foods dessert. How can you not love that creamy, nut-based goodness that seems so naughty but is full of good things? This was a lovely, silky smooth and delicate raw foods cheesecake with a tangy hint of lime. Even the DH approved.
The quinoa sweet-potato special really got my attention because the specials menu mentioned a tahini sauce. I don't care what you drizzle it on, tahini makes everything yummy. Between thinking of my quinoa-loving Baby Yum and drooling over the tahini, I couldn't resist. I selected a potato leek soup that was recommended by the guy at the counter, and it was a nice soup but looked so very plain when it came out of the kitchen that I felt quite bad about having ordered it for the DH. On the up side, Baby Yum gobbled down the rice and quinoa we gave her from our two plates. On the down side, this meal just didn't look sexy or very hard to make at home. Teach me to order the bargain lunch special!
I can't tell you how exciting it was for me to find a gluten-free friendly vegetarian restaurant on our little road trip. The first restaurant I ever really enjoyed was a little place called the Creative Vegetarian Cafe in Boulder, which closed a few years later. I loved the international take on vegetarian dining, and I've missed having the experience of eating good, thoughtful vegetarian recipes out. Here in Silicon Valley it seems the only vegetarian restaurants are based on Chinese/ Taiwanese Vegetarian cuisine, which is so full of wheat-based soy sauce, wheat flour and wheat gluten that it is completely off limits. Or, they are based in Indian cuisine, which I love but often has mystery spice mixes or cross contamination issues. Finding a place that gives me the international dishes I crave but has gone to the effort to have a gluten-free menu was the best Mother's Day present ever! If you happen to find yourself in Santa Cruz and take an excursion towards Capitola, definitely check out Dharma's Vegetarian Restaurant and their fantastic gluten-free menu!
*Please note, they do prepare gluten dishes in their kitchen, so you may want to ask questions about preparation and cross-contamination issues.
I have a crush on Santa Cruz. I'll admit it. Santa Cruz is the home of New Leaf Health Food Stores, my favorite REAL natural food store in California, and also the home of Love Apple Farm, an organic farm that produces gorgeous produce for a local gourmet restaurant while also cultivating and selling amazing heirloom tomatoes. Love Apple Farm has become increasingly involved in education, providing classes on topics from backyard chicken-keeping to preserving to summer or winter organic gardening. Ever since we bought our first house with a yard, the DH and I have been burning to start a garden. And, shortly before Mother's Day, we attended a class at Love Apple Farm to get an education on organic gardening. At that class, we learned about the Mother's Day Plant Sale at the Cabrillo College Horticulture Center where you can buy beautiful organic heirloom plants the likes of which would never be found at Lowe's or Home Depot. This is how I found myself in Capitola, California on Mother's Day Weekend with a car full of gorgeous plants including purple tomatillos, quinoa, and a rainbow of lettuce. I had all this potential food in the car, and yet- I was hungry! Luckily the DH has an Iphone, and so we did a search and I found a vegetarian restaurant in the area with a gluten-free menu. Yippee! I knew I liked the Santa Cruz area.
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subset: commoncrawl


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2014 NAIA Baseball Players of the Week ? No. 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kyle Kinman of Bellevue (Neb.) has been named the NAIA Baseball National Pitcher of the Week and Dylan Mays of Park (Mo.) has been selected as the National Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Kinman and Mays were chosen based on their performances from March 10 – 16 and were selected out of a pool of conference, independent and unaffiliated group winners.
Kinman, a senior pitcher from Omaha, Neb., recorded a program single-game record 22 strikeouts in Bellevue's 6-2 victory against College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on March 15. The performance also is a NAIA single-game high for the 2014 season. Kinman allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in the complete-game win.
On the season, Kinman ranks third nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (13.6). He is also one of the team's top hitters, ranking second on the squad with a .358 batting average.
Mays, a native of Sedalia, Mo., drove in 12 runs to play a key role in four of Park's five victories, including a career-high five RBIs against American Midwest Conference rival Williams Baptist (Ark.) on March 12. The Pirates also broke a program record for runs scored in the 23-8 win. For the week, Mays tallied 11 hits, including four doubles, while also scoring eight runs and walking five times.
On the year, Mays leads Park with a .448 batting average in nine appearances. His 14 RBI are also tied for the team lead.
For a complete listing of all the national statistical leaders, click here.
The next NAIA National Baseball Players of the Week will be announced March 25.
Pitcher Nominees: Brandon Zywicki, Missouri Baptist; Zach Cagle, Reinhardt (Ga.); Jacob Kopra, Corban (Ore.); Ryan Perez, Judson (Ill.); Eric Kartman, Taylor (Ind.); Keegan Yuhl, Concordia (Calif.); Brandon Stennis, Doane (Neb.); Bryan Lopez, Talladega (Ala.); Cyrus Wimberly, Culver-Stockton (Mo.); Sean Callegari, British Columbia; Dan Eck, Bethany (Kan.); Alex Mateo, Point Park (Pa.); Scott Sebald, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.); Jon Davis, William Penn (Iowa); Tanner Dahl, Jamestown (N.D.); Justyn Nunez, Wiley (Texas); Chris Pike, Oklahoma City; Colton Kinnamon, Southern Poly (Ga.); Patrick Barrington, Northwood (Fla.); Anthony Alarcon, Davenport (Mich.).
Player Nominees: Michael Durig, St. Andrews (N.C.); Cameron Balough, Judson (Ill.); Danny Moorehead, Taylor (Ind.); Boone Farrington, Biola (Calif.); Taylor Dudley, Concordia (Neb.); Jean Marmol, Talladega (Ala.); Tommy Barnes, Peru State (Neb.); Kevin Biro, British Columbia; Davidson Peguero, Fisher (Mass.); Ricky Rodriguez, Sterling (Kan.); Hank Stewart, Brescia (Ky.); Nick Rosso, St. Catharine (Ky.); Galli Cribbs, Bellevue (Neb.); William Vazquez, William Penn (Iowa); Nolan Skowronek, Jamestown (N.D.); Shaquille Thomas, Jarvis Christian (Texas); Kyle Lacy, Oklahoma City; Scott Fabre, William Carey (Miss.); Kevin Lindheim, Embry-Riddle (Fla.); Justin Kalusa, Indiana Tech.
2014 Baseball Weekly Honors (Player, Pitcher):
Week 1 (March 18): Dylan Mayes, Park (Mo.); Kyle Kinman, Bellevue (Neb.)


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get the wrong idea (about someone or something)(redirected from get the wrong idea about her)
get the wrong idea (about someone or something)
To develop a belief or impression (about someone or something) that is untrue, incorrect, or has been misinterpreted or misunderstood. I feel like I need to explain my actions, or you'll end up getting the wrong idea about me. Now don't get the wrong idea or anything, but I think we should spend a little bit of time apart. Whoa, I think you've gotten the wrong idea about tonight—this wasn't supposed to be a date or anything like that!


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Dear All;
I write this piece of code to force one of my tasks to work in parallel. The loop at least iterate 5500 times. After afew iteration the system overloaded and stop responding due to Garbage Collection tasks. Please tell me what is wrong and how I can improve the code.
Since, the code is to long I try to simplify the problem. I create a ExecutorService and a Fixed pool equal to
"numberOfCPUsAvailable" in a loop in order to lunch "numberOfCPUsAvailable" threads in each iteration. The loop
iterate at least 5500 times. In each runable I compare a member of and object array with the rest from beginning to that object. After few iterations the system not responding. I increase the heap size in order to prevent GC to start repeatedly and useMarkSweepGC but it is not effective.
for (int i = 5500; i >= 0 ; i--) { distanceExecutor = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(numOfAvailableCPUs); AntibodyDistanceChecker[] DCT = new AntibodyDistanceChecker[numOfAvailableCPUs]; int step = (int) Math.floor(totalUnique / numOfAvailableCPUs ); for(int t = 0; t < numOfAvailableCPUs; t++) { DCT[t] = new AntibodyDistanceChecker("DCT"+t+i, minAllowedDistance); } for(int e = 0; e < numOfAvailableCPUs; e++) distanceExecutor.execute(DCT[e]); distanceExecutor.shutdown(); while (!distanceExecutor.isTerminated()) {} distanceExecutor = null; DCT = null; }


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Just weeks after a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man, killing him in his sleep in his Seffner home, another sinkhole has opened between two houses in the same town.
The latest sinkhole appeared on Saturday and is estimated to be about 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep, according to WFLA.
Both homes on either side of the hole were evacuated as a precaution.
Sinkholes in SoFla Not Likely: Expert
Seffner is the town where 37-year-old Jeff Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole that completely demolished his bedroom three weeks ago. Five others who were in the house escaped unharmed.
That sinkhole was estimated to be 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The house was later demolished.


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What is arguably America's favorite cookie has baked up some controversy by taking a stand on gay marriage.
Oreo posted an image of a rainbow colored cookie on its Facebook page on Monday with a message that reads "proudly support love!"
The gesture has stirred emotions on both sides with some thanking the Nabisco-owned company for taking a public stand on the controversial issue and others calling for a boycott of the
chocolate and creme filled cookie for getting political.
"Guess what I'm boycotting now?" Aaron Giddens, a Facebook user, responded to the image. "Don't
get political Oreo."
The post got more than 221,579 likes and 67,531 shares on Facebook as of Wednesday morning. But
there were also more than 36,000 comments on the post, with opinions on both sides.
The cookie company has more than 26 million fans on the Menlo-Park based social-networking company.


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The GOP tax bill needs some fixing. The massive tax cut, rushed through Congress late last year, includes "a host of errors and ambiguities … that businesses big and small are just now discovering and scrambling to address," write Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport in The New York Times.
Some of the issues can be addressed through Treasury Department clarifications, but others will require legislative action by Congress. Among the issues that have been raised so far by groups lobbying for changes:
Multinational Corporations Want More Clarity — and More Tax Breaks: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week released a list of tax issues requiring regulatory clarification that it sent the Treasury Department. The list included a number of recommendations about provisions in the law meant to crack down on companies using foreign subsidiaries to reduce their U.S. tax bills. But companies worry about how far-reaching and costly those provisions might be.
The 'Grain Glitch': The legislation allows farmers to deduct 20 percent of their total sales to cooperatives. "This allows farmers to deeply reduce their tax bills, but it has caused an uproar among independent agriculture businesses that say they can no longer compete with cooperatives, since farmers would choose to sell to cooperatives to take advantage of the more generous tax break," the Times reports. Independent grain companies have lobbied Congress for a fix, warning that the provision makes it impossible for their businesses to compete with the co-ops.
Tax Breaks for Restaurant and Retail Renovation: A drafting error requires businesses making renovations or property improvements to depreciate those investments over 39 years rather than the intended 15 years. "It is our understanding that it was an honest mistake," an executive at the National Restaurant Association told the Times. "The bipartisan intent behind the law was a 15-year depreciation period, and we are confident Congress will have this resolved quickly."
It may not. Any legislative fixes would require Democratic votes to pass the Senate, and Democrats could look for more substantive changes to go with the technical corrections in exchange for their support. "I'm willing to make technical changes, but they have to be substantive, too," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told the Times. "We're not just going to sit down and fix the things they did badly because they did it in the dead of night with lobbyists at the table."
Writing in The Washington Post, economist Jared Bernstein suggests a number of ways Democrats could use their leverage, including demanding a DACA fix that gives so-called dreamers permanent status, significant expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, making the Child Tax Credit fully refundable, raising the federal minimum wage and the development of federally subsidized jobs programs.


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Breakthrough Anti-Aging Wrinkle Remover was recently featured on The Doctors show. The famous Travis Stork revealed the Stanford University invention that surprisingly came from student Samantha Shaw! Find out more about this new anti-aging skincare line that has women looking half their age in no time. The same product is now available to the general public on a limited basis!
(The Doctors) – It started out as a science project, but Samantha Shaw's wrinkle cream has quickly become the latest trend in the beauty industry. Dermatologists are shocked by how this cream manages to reverse the aging process, and some doctors have even gone as far as calling it The Fountain of Youth. Women across the country are raving about this product and we found out that celebrities like Kelly Ripa and Christie Brinkley have been using the cream to look younger!
Even after its debut on The Doctors, many women are unaware of this new wrinkle remover and are still wasting their money on expensive products or painful botox injections. The select few that have heard about have questions regarding what exactly it is, if it's easy to use, and are skeptical after falling for ineffective products and scams in the past.
Dr. Stork put these rumors to rest after he revealed exactly how this face cream works. He even admitted that a famous celebrity doctor has known about for a while and he was the one that recommended it to his Hollywood clientele!
Hollywood Dermatologists have been careful to keep this beauty secret for only celebrities and socialites…but it's finally been exposed!
" is by far the most innovative anti-aging product available and it's the cheapest & effective alternative to cosmetic surgery" – Hollywood Dermatologists
"Hundreds of stars have admitted to using to dodge surgery and look up to 15 years younger!"
So what exactly is it?
2 Vital Components of this Anti-Aging Serum:
- Proprietary Bisophere
- QuSome
Both of these natural substances combine together to fade lines, remove wrinkles, and rejuvenate skin tissue at the cellular level – beneath the skin. This precise targeting is what sets them apart from the competition.
Proprietary Bisophere is The Fountain of Youth:
The first step in the anti-aging formula that the doctors discussed was Proprietary Bisophere.
"Proprietary Bisophere reverses the aging process for your skin." -Harvard University Medical Team
When absorbed by the skin, Proprietary Biosphere filters deep into damaged skin tissue and releases fresh collagen – a protein that tightens your skin. Beauty advocates are raving about Proprietary Biosphere's effects after a 2016 case study saw a reduction in 70% of wrinkles and fine lines for women above the age of 30. Harvard scientists concluded that is exactly why was so effective. It is one of the only products on the market that has a high concentration of PB with the right consistency.
Famous Hollywood doctors revealed that the second piece of the anti-aging puzzle is QuSome. When QuSome is combined with the correct dosage of Proprietary Bisophere, it thrusts your new skin cells to the epidermis (the top layer of your skin) allowing your skin to appear up to 20 years younger and gives it that radiant 'glowing' look.
Few people know that QuSome actually binds to moisture. The substance itself can hold up to 1000x its own weight in water, so after you rub the cream in, it naturally puffs up your skin in those areas that are prone to wrinkles. QuSome repairs these 'problem zones,' most notably the areas around your eyes and forehead, and regenerates skin that is suffering from dryness or stress. After extensive research, Harvard doctors told the audience that is the only over-the-counter product currently on the market with the proper concentration of QuSome.
"Proprietary Bisophere & QuSome work with your natural facial oils to rejuvenate decaying skin, replacing it with new, tighter tissue. This literally turns back the clock on your appearance, erasing away wrinkles and fine lines allowing you to appear 10-20 years younger in a matter of weeks! Research has proven that has the highest concentration and purest forms of PB and QuSome and that's exactly why Stanford's Samantha Shaw uses as her daily face cream. I also recommend it to all of my prestigious clientele." – Hollywood Dermatologists
This beauty secret was Hollywood's best kept secret until Jennifer Belew, a 62-year-old mother of four from Orange County, California was featured on The Talk. Jennifer's testimonial sent shockwaves through the beauty industry and she became the poster girl for showing how quick-wits and resourcefulness can save women thousands of dollars and keep them from getting painful injections or face lifts.
Jennifer barely had enough money to pay for her mortgage, let alone shell out a ton of cash for every anti-aging product claiming its some type of 'miracle serum,' or to visit to an esteemed plastic surgeon.
Jennifer Belew's 14-day anti-aging metamorphosis using
From the first moment I started using , I was really surprised how smooth and soft it made my skin feel. It felt like the skin on my face and my pores were being gently pulled by some type vacuum cleaner. My skin felt tighter.
There's no other way to describe it! I could feel a tingling sensation on the areas I used the cream – near my eyes, my smile lines, and on my forehead. After looking in the mirror, I could see that my face looked a little rosy – the result of revitalizing blood coming to the surface of my face to renew my skin.
After the skin cream was completely absorbed into my skin, my face looked a bit firmer and had a radiant glow to it.
After just five days of using the Stanford University wrinkle remover cream, I was amazed. These are some serious results!
The lines near my eyes, dark spots, and wrinkles were visibly reduced in size right before my eyes!
I was shocked by the results and I honestly felt 15 years younger. It was like watching all of my fine lines and wrinkles disappear right off my face!
After 14 days with this product, not only had all of my hesitation and skepticism totally vanished – SO HAVE MY WRINKLES!
The deep lines on my forehead, the crow's feet, the sagging skin on my neck – even the dark age spots on my cheek had COMPLETELY disappeared. I have never felt or used any anti-aging product that tightened my skin with this kind of result before. Even the expensive products don't yield these results.
After 2 weeks, the skin on my face and neck not only stayed tightened and smooth, it actually seemed to improve daily until my skin became as beautiful and glowing as it was 20 years ago. At this point, my friends and family are completely shocked. They could not believe the difference in my skin, and they were convinced I had been lying about not having botox!
Will This Work For You? Our Verdict:
Using , virtually 98.9% of all her wrinkles were removed and her problem areas were fixed. It tightened the skin on her face and neck, diminishing all signs of aging, dehydrated skin, and sagging.
There are lots of skin care gimmicks out there, and the majority of them are ridiculously pricey. And with that many options it's only natural to be skeptical about these results. So rather than making promises, we simply challenge you to do what Hollywood Dermatologists and Dr. Travis Stork recommended to Jennifer Belew: try it for yourself!IMPORTANT: *We have tested both products together, so It is important that you use Step 1 and Step 2 in this method to achieve similar results.


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In the middle of the 11th century, St. Odilo, abbot of Cluny (France), decreed that all Cluniac monasteries offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Roman Church.
The theological underpinning of the feast is the acknowledgment of human frailty. Since few people achieve perfection in this life but, rather, go to the grave still scarred with traces of sinfulness, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. The Council of Trent affirmed this purgatory state and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed the process of purification.
Superstition still clung to the observance. Medieval popular belief held that the souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the form of witches, toads or will-o-the-wisps. Graveside food offerings supposedly eased the rest of the dead.
Observances of a more religious nature have survived. These include public processions or private visits to cemeteries and decorating graves with flowers and lights. This feast is observed with great fervor in Mexico.


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Eyezine is dead: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Eyezine is officially shutting down today, almost five years since it began in the winter of 2013.
We started in a small room in Calcutta, with the willingness to pursue truth-telling of hyperlocal issues being ignored by mainstream media, the same media now exposed for accepting bribes to peddle the government's agenda. We grew to a team of 30 in a year, telling stories on feminist counterculture to mass civil disobedience. We wanted to hold powers to account, specifically as feminists in India reporting on gender violence in our own capacities through citizen journalism, relying on crowdfunding and the goodwill of our readers.
Along the way, we've broken the story on hokkolorob, where the West Bengal police denied sending riot police to detain 80 students, hospitalise 37, and sexually assault women at a peaceful protest against sexual assault; a story which gave us 100,000 readers in a month. We used the momentum to raise funds to organise India's first of its kind national feminist convention Hysteria, at the Goethe-Institut in Kolkata.
Amidst death and rape threats from the far-right, sedition charges and server attacks, we'd extensively reported on human rights abuses in Kashmir, from the white papers to mass graves; followed the conflict in Bastar; interviewed people like Nobel Peace Prize nominee Parveena Ahangar and A Softer World; and broken the story on illegal land grabs in Kanha National Park.
Over time, we've been lucky to accumulate a fantastic and tireless group of staff journalists conducting breaking news reporting on Indian student movements amidst extreme violence, as well as columnists offering commentary on topics ranging from antifascism in the era of Trump and Modi, to acid attacks on Soni Sori. We've lost one of our most talented reporters to mental illness when the world became too difficult to continue in, with the rest of us tortured by the trauma of reporting on gender violence as a mostly female team entirely composed of sexual violence survivors.
Eyezine started out as an experiment in collaborative models of journalism, with the formation of Eye Art Collective, a feminist artivist group. We wanted to overhaul the accepted norms of reporting, where official accounts gain precedence over citizen or eyewitness or survivor accounts, where stories of sexual violence and acid attacks are pushed down the news agenda due to its commonplace-ness. And in that, we hope we have perhaps succeeded, by creating a first draft of beginnings of dissent and solidarity in Modi's India, articulating difficult problems with nuance while offering hope.
But, as one of the first generation indie zines in India, Eyezine failed in many ways: it could not hold out against the advertising model of the digital economy.
Since 2016, our revenue had been declining while our writers have been burning out. I left the country and my editorial role in Eyezine at the end of that year, along with some of our best writers, to find funds elsewhere. This slowly signalled the end of this project. For those looking to embark on similar journeys, here is a brief summary of lessons learnt:
The first: find articulate, driven storytellers, and give them the tools and confidence to tell the truths around them. We set up a website, outlined our audience, called out for good writers and trained ourselves in reporting ethics, web management/CMS, and social media strategy. It worked.
The second is to contextualise the present: by finding stories of cultural value and political significance that urgently needed telling or hide in plain sight, and communicate them effectively. We started looking in our own backyard to bear witness to the times, in the hopes of reducing the cognitive dissonance caused by the echo-chamber of mainstream media.
The third was to come together as a women majority and women-led team, to report on the stories that personally and politically affected us. It is possible to be objective about facts without being neutral, because the truths of structural oppression through gender, class, and caste in India are not neutral, but have very clear boundaries of oppressor and oppressed; and it is naive to pretend otherwise.
We started out as grassroots activists, using journalism as a vehicle of social change, and ended up as journalists, bringing perspective into activism.
We are 650 articles strong, solely due to the support from our reader-base and subscribers.
The website will remain up as an archive to discuss the past. It is now time to end this story and pursue different ones.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
— Manisha Ganguly, executive editor and founder, Eyezine.
Update, May 30:
A day after this post went up, allegations of sexual assault were made public against Aranya Gupta, one of the designers associated with Eyezine. Due to the seriousness of the matter, the gravity of the allegations, and our politics as a feminist collective, we have severed ties with him.
It is important to not let feminist efforts such as Eyezine be eclipsed by those who seek to subvert its politics, nor shrink away from the reality of sexual harassment and its prevalence. As Eyezine is no longer operational, we will not be commenting further.


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Las Hurdes, a region to be discovered
Las Hurdes
We're off to Las Hurdes, an ideal destination for nature lovers, located in Extremadura, in inland Spain. Here you can enjoy valleys, rivers and unique landscapes. Come and "lose yourself" in an unspoilt region. Come and discover this beautiful area.
The Las Hurdes region is in the north of the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura. Come and enjoy its mountains, its stunning waterfalls, its flora and fauna, and the way that traditional architecture continues to play a vital role in its landscapes. To get to this region you can head for the town of Moraleja. From there, continue towards Villanueva de la Sierra, gateway to Las Hurdes.
Here are a few hints about what not to miss. Four key points are as follows:
1 - Natural environment. A truly unique area. In Las Hurdes, each moment of the day is lit up by a different colour. The crystal clear waters of its five rivers make you feel at the heart of a unique location. They run along the region's four valleys: Ladrillas Valley, Hurdano River, Esperabán River and the Los Ángeles River valleys. Enjoy them as they flow downstream or at the small pools and natural swimming pools that form along the way. In the village of Nuñomoral you will have the chance to cool off at one of the largest. Bear in mind that Extremadura has the most kilometres of freshwater in Spain.
And on the subject of rivers: can you imagine fishing in the depths of a valley? Las Hurdes has many areas where this is possible. For example, you can make for the villages of La Pesga and Rivera de Oveja. There are different species of fish to be found in their waters, although the most common are trout and barbel.
2 - Flora and fauna. Here you will find a wealth of autochthonous flora, with a predominance of holly trees, holm oaks and chestnut trees. There is also an abundance of plants such as rockrose, broom and heather. As far as fauna is concerned, Las Hurdes is a region that serves as shelter for protected species such as wild cats, otters and black storks. You can also see other animals such as boars and mountain goats here.
If you are a fan of bird watching then this is an ideal destination for you: in the pools of the rivers you will find certain endangered species such as the aforementioned black stork. Black vultures can also be seen flying across the sky.
3 – Traditional architecture. When you visit villages in the region such as Casar del Palomero, Ladrillar and Pinofranqueado, you will notice the traditional architecture that survives to this day. Pay special attention to the farmsteads: houses made from flat slabs of slate, with thatched roofs. Discover the traditional crafts, too: pottery and woodwork.
4 - Gastronomy. Kid is one of the most typical dishes. Neither should you miss the chance to purchase some of the region's most characteristic products such as pollen, honey or local olive oil.
In the Caminomorisco district tourist office they will inform you about possible itineraries, and they will help you to get the most out of your stay.
If you have found this article interesting, don't forget to visit: - La The La Siberia region of Extremadura - landscapes of mountains and water.


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Chrome for Android Update
- Improved scrolling performance
- Increased responsiveness to pinch-zooming on pages
- Faster interactive pages thanks to the latest version of the V8 javascript engine
- Audio now continues to play while Chrome is in the background
- Expanded support for HTML5 features
- Support for pausing audio in Chrome when phone is in use (note: this requires an additional permission)
Interested in other release channels of Chrome for Android? A Beta channel is now available and can be run side by side with Stable. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. More information on Chrome for Android is available on the Chrome site.
Jason Kersey
Google Chrome


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Panel to consider Brazil's economic, environmental concerns
'Brazil's Balancing Act' symposium to be held March 5 in Usdan Student CenterHow do we reconcile the demands of economic development, environmental protection, and indigenous rights in emerging economies? A panel of experts working in diverse fields – including economic development, international business, environmental protection, international law, human rights and indigenous rights – will explore the case of Brazil Tuesday, March 5, at "Brazil's Balancing Act."
The panel, moderated by International Business School Dean Bruce Magid, will be held at the International Lounge in Usdan Student Center from 2 to 5 p.m.
Brazil faces many of the conundrums faced by other developing economies:
• Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America – one of the most dynamic economies in the world – yet 21.4 percent of population lives below the poverty line.
• Brazil has a plethora of natural resources. Yet development of these and other resources can threaten the environment. Brazil is home to world's largest intact rainforest – but government restrictions that in recent years significantly reduced deforestation have been relaxed.
• Brazil is also home to the largest number of uncontacted indigenous tribes. The Brazilian constitution recognizes the rights of indigenous people to live in traditional territories according to traditional lifestyles, and states that the government is responsible for demarcation of indigenous lands and for providing bilingual education and health care adapted to indigenous needs and beliefs. Yet the government has not provided the funds for education and health care, and indigenous people have low literacy rates and high child mortality rates.
The "Brazil's Balancing Act" symposium will provide a forum for dialogue about how Brazil might best fulfill its local, national, and international obligations.
The panelists are:
• Mr. Fernando Ribeiro Delgado, lecturer, Harvard Law School
• Professor Cristina Espinosa, The Heller School, Brandeis University
• Dr. Daniel Luis Gleizer, Banco Itau BBA - vice president (Saõ Paulo)
• Dr. Moises Lino e Silva, lecturer, International and Global Studies and anthropology, Brandeis University
• Dr. Biorn Maybury-Lewis, executive director, Cambridge Institute for Brazilian Studies (CIBS); Institute for International Urban Development; University of Massachusetts, Boston
This event is organized by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life and the Brandeis International Business School's Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership. It is free and open to the public. For more information, email the Ethics Center.
See the event webpage and Facebook page for details and links to resources related to the conversation.
Return to the BrandeisNOW homepage
Categories: Humanities and Social Sciences, International Affairs


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A.S. King
Photo: © Krista Schumow Photography
About the Author
A.S. King is the author of the highly acclaimed Everbody Sees the Ants, a 2012 ALA Top Ten Book for Young Adults, and the Edgar Award nominated, 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz. She is also the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs and the upcoming Ask the Passengers. After a decade living self-sufficiently and teaching literacy to adults in Ireland, she now lives deep in the Pennsylvania woods with her husband and children.


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Cushion and Bed - Rapid
By Felix & Milou
PLEASE NOTE that this product is an overseas import and therefore it can take up to 10 to 14 days for delivery.
Looking for a pet bed that gives you, your home and your favourite four-legged friend a little bit more? Finding the perfect pet bed to fit your style, your home and your dog doesn't have to be a nightmare - introducing Felix & Milou's fabulous range of Pet Beds...
Felix & Milou prides itself on offering a range of high quality, handmade cushions, using hard-wearing Swedish fabric. Its variety of striking and decorative designs give a modern spin on traditional pet beds and you and your pet will love them!
Additional information and key product features:
Felix & Milou Cushion and Bed - Rapid,
Other designs available,
Dimensions: 70cm diameter,
Monochrome print throughout,
Logo to finish,
Removable patterned cover,
Fabric: 100% cotton,
Washing instructions: The cover and cushion are machine washable. Cover 40°C, Cushion 30°C.
Product code: FEM-00008
- UK Delivery (Mainland) - Courier or Signed for - £8.99 - Delivery Time: 9 to 10 days
- Western Europe - International - £9.99 - Delivery Time: 9 to 10 days
- Rest of Europe - International - £9.99 - Delivery Time: 9 to 10 days
- USA & Canada - International - £9.99 - Delivery Time: 13 to 14 days
This item will be dispatched to you direct by our partner seller Felix & Milou who follows the general PetsPyjamas returns policy:
Please check your items on delivery. If you wish to return an item, it should be returned to our partner seller directly and not to PetsPyjamas. If you wish to organise a return, exchange or refund of any item, please go to the returns page on our website at www.petspyjamas.com/returns. For standard items, you have 7 days, from receipt of goods, to notify our partner and you must return goods at your own cost within 14 days of receiving the item.
For damaged/faulty items, you must contact us within 48 hours at email@example.com. To help speed up the returns process, we recommend you send us photographic evidence of the relevant item. You will then be issued with return guidance from us.
You must return items unused, in a saleable condition, with any labels still attached and in the original packaging that you received them in. Any items that do not comply with these guidelines, we hold the right to not refund. You should use a 'signed for' delivery method and obtain proof of postage.
Please note any exemptions and exceptions to the standard returns procedure, where the following items are likely to be non-returnable and non-refundable: personalised/customised items, perishable products (such as food), grooming products, large items of furniture which are often custom made and custom homewares. Please make sure you understand the relevant partner sellers' policies whenever you buy.
Please see www.petspyjamas.com/petspyjamas-returns/ for full PetsPyjamas general returns information.
Please click here for full PetsPyjamas general returns information.
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So the background on the latest update is awesome and I highly endorse it. Also, the colors are amazing.
Hrm, I wonder what is up next, especially since this does feel slightly like an ending.
Artwork is getting more awesome.
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Paris, France
The City of Light has every right to call itself a World City
Famously seductive, with a picture postcard scene on every corner, it boasts a legion of the planet's most romantic spots – and is the one place you'll want to dine in, schmooze in, propose in, wake up in, relish the view in and come back to time after time after time.
Destination overview
|Time zone:
|GMT +1 hour (GMT +2 hours in summer)
|Flight Time:
|1 hour 30
|Holiday type:
|City break
|Average maximum temperature: 10.5░C
Rainfall: 607.4mm a year
Fly to Paris in style – if on business fly into Europe's busiest business aviation airport - Paris Le Bourget Airport that has the largest number of private jet charter terminal facilities of any European Airport, this airport is the premier choice!
Whether you are flying for business or just somewhere different for lunch then Paris Le Bourget
For private jet hire to or from Manchester Airport call PrivateFly on +44 (0) 1747 642 777 (24 hours).
Must see:
If you haven't the time to walk the city on foot, do it by boat in one of the famous Bateaux Mouches that ply the Seine and take in most of the sights in around an hour or so.
Disneyland« Paris - Europe's top tourist destination with 2 large theme parks, Disneyland« Park and Walt Disney Studios« Park. In addition to the 2 parks and there are 7 Disney themed hotels and the Disney« Village entertainment complex, bustling with themed restaurants, bars, shops and cinemas, something for everybody in the family to enjoy. For more information visit www.disneylandparis.co.uk
Must eat at:
In this gastronomic capital city, the Michelin-starred chefs abound... and it would be almost insulting not to visit at least one of them, if your budget can stretch to it. Pierre Gagnaire at the Hotel Balzac in Rue Balzac is one of the world's greats, having held three stars for many years – and you can expect to pay over Ż150 a head for the privilege.
Must be there for:
The main state celebration of the French Republic, Bastille Day on July 14th is a massive national holiday, with dancing, parties and balls all over the city – not to mention a world-famous military parade and a huge firework display to top it all off.
Well-travelled tips:
- To see Paris at its best, walk. Although public transport is quick and efficient, you'll see much more if you're on foot. Start at the Arc de Triomphe and end at the Ile de la Cite and you'll encompass some of the greatest urban sights in the world.
- Nothing beats Paris at night – especially if you walk up the steps of Sacre Couer and look back on the city.
British citizens do not need a visa to visit France.


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ASBMB spotlights members from developing and emerging countries.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, like the science it represents, truly is an international entity. Most of the society's nearly 12,000 members have some connection to the global scientific community; some were born or trained abroad, others have mentored foreign students in their labs, and many have no doubt gone abroad for collaborations, sabbaticals or conferences. And of course, numerous ASBMB members carry out their research endeavors at institutions outside of the U.S. In recognition of this global reach, ASBMB Today once again presents profiles of some of our international scientists, this time focusing on those who deal with the challenges and opportunities of working in emerging scientific nations.
"I'm not a big fan of heat and humidity," Albert Ketterman confesses. Of course, making that confession from his office at Mahidol University's Institute of Molecular Biosciences in Bangkok – where Ketterman has been since 1996 – might seem odd.Although the tropical climes of Thailand admittedly were not an anticipated destination for Ketterman while he was an undergraduate biochemistry major at the University of California, Riverside, he has adapted well to the unusual circumstances that have brought him here.
Shortly after Ketterman began working in a lab at the University of California, San Francisco, the lab head was killed in an automobile accident, throwing the lab into chaos. Ketterman received an offer to work with Susan Pond, though she warned him that her husband might receive a department chair back in her native Australia, which would uproot her lab. Ketterman accepted, and before he knew it, he was a graduate student looking, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.
His graduate work entailed analyzing mammalian carboxylesterases and glutathione transferases, enzymes found in copious amounts in the liver that help break down various xenobiotics. That led to a postdoctoral position in the entomology department at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where Ketterman applied his knowledge of these conserved enzyme families to look at the role of GSTs and carboxylesterases in mosquito insecticide resistance.But during a second postdoc at Imperial College London, Ketterman developed an interest in c-Jun N-terminal protein kinases, which respond to external stimuli and regulate processes like cell growth and apoptosis. "I had hoped to continue this area of research as faculty, but finding a position proved fruitless, because schools were looking for someone with 10 years of JNK experience as opposed to only two," he says.
A Thai student in Ketterman's lab overheard his plight and noted that Mahidol University had a job opening that would fit Ketterman's skill and expertise with malaria enzymology, bringing the intrepid researcher to where he is today.
And while the long distance didn't bother Ketterman much at all – he grew up with a father in the Air Force and moved around constantly as a kid – the adjustment to Thailand's research culture has taken a little longer.
Financial resources are indeed an issue, though it's not a simple cut-and-dried proposition. "Budgets, grants and salaries may be much smaller in Thailand," he says, "but so is the cost of labor, so getting bodies and hands into a lab is not hard at all."
Ketterman adds that the Thai government has placed an emphasis on improving science education, so the labs are filled with eager students in addition to technicians and support staff.
Supplies tend to be more of a concern, however, as Ketterman has to pay prices for products that are similar to those paid by any U.S. lab. "The deliveries for these products can take a while, and we don't really have the capabilities to handle frequent shipments," he notes, "so you often have to plan far ahead in your experiments and anticipate what reagents you might need in a month or two." That planning can be tricky, because given limited resources, funding priorities can shift abruptly.
In Ketterman's case, he slowly shifted his GST work from malaria-related questions to a more general understanding of the enzyme family; as part of this effort, he recently pulled out all 41 GSTs identified in the Drosophila proteome for some comparative analysis.But then engineers took over funding policy positions, and the government cut back basic research money to prioritize applied science. That meant Ketterman had to put his Drosophila GST collection on hold and find a new project.
So he teamed up with five other Mahidol investigators to study chikungunya virus, a tropical mosquito-borne pathogen that has re-emerged in the past few years.
The formation of such megagroups is an increasing trend in Thai research projects, as it provides a way to combine resources and use a variety of approaches to try to solve a problem more quickly. For his part, Ketterman will use his enzymology background to study a protease critical for chikungunya replication.
It's a worthwhile task, for the virus has come back stronger than before. "It used to be the virus induced joint pain similar to arthritis, but it wasn't too serious," Ketterman says. "But now people are starting to die from chikungunya infections, so it's become an active research area here."
A generation ago, protein scientists followed a straightforward paradigm: "one protein, one structure, one function." But research now has revealed that moonlighting is not restricted to struggling Hollywood actors. Several protein families have developed a degree of promiscuity and can carry out activities not related to their main functions.
The actual paradigm goes something like, "one protein sequence, several structures, many functions."
Hector Riveros-Rosas can take pride in the fact that he played a role in shifting this paradigm when he showed that alcohol-metabolizing enzymes might have evolved differently than people had thought.
It all began back when Riveros-Rosas was an undergraduate at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He was invited to participate in a research project studying the metabolic effects of chronic ethanol administration on isolated rat liver mitochondria.
That independent work solidified his interests in biochemistry, particularly alcohol metabolism, and he continued his research career at UNAM School of Medicine, first receiving his master's in 1996 and his doctorate in 2004.
During this time, while studying the properties of the main enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism, alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs), he observed that ADHs could utilize a huge diversity of alcohols as substrates. Other groups also had found that ADHs display higher catalytic efficiency for many endogenous substrates, such as retinol, steroids and dopamine."Thus, we proposed that the main physiological role of ADHs is the metabolism of these important endogenous substrates, and not ethanol oxidation," he says.
To help validate this conclusion, Riveros-Rosas began to investigate the evolutionary history of ADHs. He and colleagues uncovered a big piece of evidence when they showed that the origin of ADHs predates the major natural dietary source of ethanol (fermentation of fruit sugar by yeast). Thus, ethanol availability could not be a selective force that directed the evolution of these proteins.
This discovery seemed unexpected given that the presence of ADHs in animals had been assumed to be a consequence of chronic exposure to ethanol. However, if the origin of the different ADHs predates the origin of angiosperms with fleshy fruits, then perhaps, ethanol metabolism was not an adaptive function in animals but just an incidental one.
"This opens up new ways of thinking about the deleterious effects of ethanol consumption," says Riveros-Rosas. "People who drink heavily can acquire ethanol concentrations in their blood that reach the millimolar range. Even though ethanol is not the preferred substrate, this amount can significantly impair the metabolism of natural ADH substrates, which occur in the micromolar range."
(Interestingly, like the moonlighting proteins he studies, Riveros-Rosas conducted a secondary project on the chemistry of air pollution with the National Institute of Ecology during this time; his team's work provided some of the necessary data to push the Mexican government to prohibit the addition of lead to gasoline.)
Since starting his own lab several years back, Riveros-Rosas has been eagerly following up those initial studies with more detailed evolutionary analyses into the roles of ADHs and ALDHs in animals. His group also is employing bioinformatic and phylogenetic tools to obtain broader insight into the forces that drive enzyme evolution, using both ADHs and chromate transporters as model systems.
That such an intriguing discovery would come from Mexico is both surprising and expected, Riveros-Rosas thinks. While Mexico is considered an emerging country in research, he notes, it does have a respected biochemical history.
Back in the 19th century, Leopoldo Rio de la Loza, who founded Mexico's National Academy of Medicine in 1864, was honored by many scientific societies in Europe and the United States for his pioneering work introducing chemistry into medicine. Later, Juan Roca Olivé, who spent several years working with Journal of Biological Chemistry co-founder John Abel at the Johns Hopkins University, brought the concept of physiological chemistry to Mexico and became the country's first great biochemistry teacher.
At the same time, limited funding, equipment and even lab space did prevent research in Mexico from really blossoming. However, some economic changes in the past couple of decades have enabled the creation of many new research laboratories in several Mexican universities and also have improved the number of grants available."On the other hand, this increased research development has not yet reached the job sector," Riveros-Rosas says. "Recent graduates have been encountering problems finding jobs, and this is discouraging new students from enrolling in master's or Ph.D. programs."
Still, Riveros-Rosas has been encouraged by the growth and believes the situation will balance out eventually. In his own life, the recently tenured professor is looking forward to leaving Mexico temporarily for a sabbatical to further enrich his training and get a taste of the outside world.
Initially, Veronica Okochi's scientific journey seemed on track to become another one of America's immigration success stories.
She arrived in the United States in 1967 to begin her undergraduate studies, following in the tradition set by her two older brothers, both students at the University of Illinois. It was fortuitous timing for Okochi, as her native Nigeria was experiencing rising instability that would soon lead to civil war.
She enrolled at Barat College of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Ill., and studied chemistry, a topic she had excelled at in secondary school. She also received the chance to work in the lab of noted clinical chemist Norbert Tietz at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, where she became fascinated with the relationship between chemistry and diseases, and sought to continue her education in this area.
After receiving her undergraduate degree in 1971, Okochi completed her Master of Science degree in clinical biochemistry at the University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School (today, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science), in 1974.
But at that point, Okochi made a big decision. "I chose to come home to Nigeria," she says. "I knew it would not be easy, but I was inspired by the events I saw in the U.S. – the civil rights struggles and the teachings and hope of Martin Luther King. The civil war had ended, and Nigeria was rebuilding, and I had the zeal to give my service to my country."
She found a job as a demonstrator (lecturer) in the biochemistry department at the University of Lagos, a staff position that also enabled her to pursue her doctoral degree. She began studying the membrane properties of the parasite Trypanosoma vivax, a serious livestock pathogen. "Trypanosome diseases not only cause tremendous human suffering in endemic areas, but they can render vast areas of grazing land unsuitable, causing serious economic and social consequences," she explains.
Her hope was to gain more knowledge about the parasite's biology and then explore the abundant medicinal flora in the region for potential antitrypanosomal agents. As Okochi completed her doctorate and rose to the rank of professor, her lab identified several promising trypanocides and conducted preliminary studies.
Unfortunately, Nigeria's deficiencies in facilities and resources hindered the full-scale translation of her work for any commercial use. "The lack of infrastructure is a big challenge many Nigerian scientists face," she says. "Our work does receive interest and sponsorship from more developed nations in those areas that have international dimensions, like HIV/AIDS and malaria, but that still leaves most of our research under-appreciated abroad."
However, hope is visible on the horizon, as the Nigerian government recently set out a policy goal to make Nigeria an industrially developed nation by 2020. And understanding that research is at the base of all development and progress, the government is making conscientious efforts to increase funding to the universities and research institutes across the country as part of its ambitious national goal.
"This is great news for the scientists here who are striving to make an impact in their research and help solve the problems of poverty, hunger and disease in our country," claims Okochi.
Okochi also has shifted her focus, in part to join the biotechnology movement, but also to appease interests she developed through her travels. Over the years, she has accompanied her husband as he served at foreign missions in Japan and France, and she has had the privilege of working in places like Juntendo University in Tokyo and the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris. Studies with respiratory chain enzymes and protease inhibitors awakened a strong curiosity in enzymology.
Currently, Okochi is isolating pure cultures of fungi like Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum from industrial plant wastes such as sawdust, corn cobs and sugar cane pulp and using them to produce enzymes like cellulases, pectinases and xylanases. In turn, these enzymes can hydrolyze the wood wastes into simple sugars for a variety of applications, such as animal feed or biofuels; she also has developed a technique to produce natural penicillin.
"I envisage this research as an environmentally friendly way to extract value from the volumes of cellulosic wastes that constitute a major source of pollution in our urban cities," says Okochi, who now is looking at improving yields. "It's important that as we develop as a nation, we do so in a responsible way."
Nick Zagorski (firstname.lastname@example.com) is a freelance science writer.
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BRICK, NEW JERSEY -- Fill out forms sent them in. From there they are put on back burner. They told me they are busy and they might because they have to have an Answer for me by the time I am scheduled to go back to work. My question what good is that? What are you there for? All your claims of help are lost.
HOUSTON, TEXAS -- I have been attempting to book a ticket using the "Advanced Search" option. I was looking for the lowest fare so I did not need exact dates or the +/- 3 Days option, I was/am "flexible" with my dates. I have used this option many times to review prices and to actually purchase tickets. As you know, the destinations are required and then a beginning date for travel, then a choice for the total number of days desired for the trip. I did this and the familiar grid appeared with dates and fares, noting the lowest fare in green, which were December 25-31 and then again in mid-January...$470. I clicked the price and as usual it took me to a list of flight options but with a price of $710.
I spent an hour or so trying to figure out if it was me, my computer, or a rogue cookie... I called customer service and she got the same results and could not explain it but said she would notify the appropriate department. I continued this for two more days, getting a mix of prices, and all considerably higher than what www.continental.com said was the "lowest available fare". Now, I just hung up with a representative in your web support department and after about twenty minutes of her getting the same bizarre results, researched the issue enough to find there is a $240 International Fuel Surcharge Fee.
That "fee" is over 50% of the "lowest available fare" and is NEVER mentioned or explained on the website or during the reservation process. I fully understand and expect that the $470 does not include fees and taxes so the final fare is higher...but double your "lowest available fare"? I wasted (yes, I am at fault for being so stupid) three days checking your website, expecting the computer glitch to be fixed or frankly, some semblance of logic for the unexplained increased fares. So, now I can use what few miles I have and pay the fees for expediting the OnePass reward ticket (that fee is posted), pay the increased fare or not make the trip.
I could also try American Airlines but they do not have good connection times and they have really gone down hill the past few years... I'm writing this due to two reasons, I decided at the last minute to visit my family in OKC and the price seemed fair enough, considering my timing... and I want someone, somewhere at Continental Airlines to know how disappointed I am with the online services. It has been an extremely frustrating few days that could have been avoided if this YQ tax was noted and explained on the site.
I still do not have, what I feel is a logical answer to how a tax could be so much... and a flat $240, not a percentage...and hidden from a loyal flier. Plainly put, it is deception in advertising. Okay, I feel better and now I just need the tax explained to me. I can then move forward with planning my trip. Thank you.
Continental Airlines - Our Flight from Austin to Jacksonville, Fl on 6/22/11 was delayed due to weather. My business colleague and I had to spend the night in Houston. All flights to Florida ended at 7 pm even though the weather had been clear for hours prior to that. All voucher accepting hotels were full, so we had to incur $30 in cab fare, $82 in hotel and $50 in meals for 2 breakfasts and two dinners, total of $162. The next morning, our flight to Jax, Fl was delayed three times and had three gate changes. The stewardess on the flight to Jax, Fl was rude and seemed bothered by her job.
Upon arriving in Jax, Fl one of our bags was lost. The value of the bag was $5000. The baggage clerk in Jax, Fl – ** – was rude and unsympathetic. She told us that "It is only common sense", (implying we had none), to make sure we label every bag we hand over to Continental Airlines. She told us that the bar codes on the bags are not scanned. We later found out that this is not true. She finally offered a strained apology after I became more upset with her lack of professionalism and downright rude behavior toward your customer. She needs to be fired immediately.
We reported the lost bag. I called baggage tracking and they also seemed equally ill-informed as to how bags are identified when Continental airlines takes possession of them. I was told that bags are scanned only to "clear' them, not to identify them. I could not get a straight answer to a most simple question of "How do you identify your baggage?" I was then told that all bags end up in a warehouse in Houston, TX, whereby they are opened and the contents matched with my description of them. I was then informed that I have to fill out your lost baggage form, which I am doing; fax it to your system tracking center and wait.
Typing this letter, filling out the form and faxing it has taken 2 hours of my time. My time is worth $42 per hour, total = $84. Added to the above total, it is now $244 lost due to the inefficiency of Continental Airlines, not counting the time lost due to an overnight stay in Houston, TX and my lost bag, worth $5000. I need Continental Airlines to compensate me for the $244 I have lost and I need my bag returned to me within the next 45 days. I need either a voucher for the amount or a free, roundtrip ticket to the destination of my choosing that equates to the $244 I have lost.
I will post this all over every social media outlet I can find, every blog and everyone I know if I am not compensated in some manner. The President of your airline does a little speech during pre-flight, does he mean what he says or is it all smoke and mirrors and just another shallow airline scam? He will be my next point of contact if this issue is not resolved.
HOUSTON, TEXAS -- We were supposed to return to Pittsburgh on a round trip ticket on Jan. 2 from Newark on Continental Flight 3205 leaving 5:29 PM. We got to gate 111, C terminal early and all was well until about 5:15 when they announced a gate change to 114 where we were told our plane was coming in from Montreal. At 6:30 PM, we were told it was 15 minutes from the airport and would board shortly. At 7:00 PM we were told to go to gate 70 on another concourse were the plane would arrive and then board us. We arrived at the gate and the passengers and crew were disembarking. At 7:30 PM we were told the crew had timed out and they were getting another crew.
At 7:45 PM we were told they couldn't find a crew and CO 3205 was cancelled. We were told to report to the Customer Service Desk where vouchers would be provided for lodging and food and we would be put on a morning flight for Pittsburgh. When I arrived at the desk around 8 PM and got through to the Representative I asked for vouchers for the night, what we needed to do about our luggage and tickets for the next available flight. He looked me in the eye and stated that I would not get any vouchers since it was the fault of the FAA and Air Traffic Control that our flight was cancelled.
I said it was Continental's fault since they, not the FAA & Air Traffic made the schedule for their crews. He then countered that we were "Local" and therefore wouldn't get any vouchers (local meaning we're beginning our flight in Newark and not part of a continuing flight). I countered that I didn't live in Newark, it was a round trip ticket, and we wanted vouchers since the other agents were giving them out to all customers from our flight (I had been checking with my fellow passengers leaving the desk prior to my turn. He called his "boss" who apparently approved our vouchers.
I didn't appreciate his sullen attitude so I requested his name. He said nothing so I just waited while he worked on his computer getting our boarding passes and vouchers. Neither of us had raised our voices during this exchange. We regarded each other silently for the few minutes it took to get our paper work. A hostile, but quiet atmosphere. I would not have bothered with a complaint at all except for the poor attitude of the customer service agent. Situations like this occur in air travel these days and I, like many others, just accept it. The frowning and defiant customer service agent angered me, however.
He didn't have to be friendly, but he could have been minimally civil. I've never had a big problem with Continental, but thanks to this one person I have very negative feelings about them at present. I will be contacting Continental using website feedback, a phone call and snail mail. I will be interested in their response. We may be using them again considering that all their other personnel on this day (and most other times we've flown Continental) have always been fairly pleasant. Much will depend on how they handle my complaint to them.
Continental's response was deemed adequate by consumer.
My boyfriend and I missed our flight 222 at 5:25 am 11/19/10 from New Orleans to Houston. We were supposed to make connecting flight to Las Vegas. I have flown for years, but this is the ONLY time in my life I missed a flight, and for that, Continental staff dragged us through hell! First, since I never missed a flight, I did not know protocol. I was told "stand in that line." I stood in that line, and when I got to the counter I was told, "No, stand in that line over there."
After standing in that line for a while and got to counter, I was told, "stand in that line over there" (the first line.) I replied, "I was already standing in that line, then I was told to stand in this line. Why do I have to go back to the other line?" They said that is where I should be. Staff was very snappy and acted like customers are a bother. We are the reason they have jobs. I noticed I was not the only customer they were nasty and snappy with. So I stood in the first line (again) then they issued two "standby" tickets and said we could take the next flight with open seats. That sounded fair. We went through security and waited for the next flight, 6:40 am.
After everybody boarded, they said they had seats available, so they gave it to customers who were ahead of me, which was fair. Staff member (female) told us we would have to go on next flight around 7:35 am. That did not seem bad. So we waited. The next flight came around for 7:35 departure, but customers who had a flight at 8:30 wanted to get on the 7:35 flight, so we got bumped off. The next flight for 8:30 came. Customers who were early for their flights wanted to get on 8:30 flights, so we went from being next on the list to being 3rd and 4th on the list. We waited for the next flight, and the next. We went from 3rd and 4th, to 5th and 6th on the list.
We waited for the next flight. We went from 5th and 6th in line to 7th and 8th. I told the staff that we are not making progress, but that we are being pushed later and later. She kept telling me "It doesn't matter. If a platinum customer or anyone who spent more money on their ticket arrives before their flight, if they want that seat on the earlier flight, they get it first." I asked, "It doesn't matter if we stay here all day?" She said that "They come first." For 1:30 pm flight, a young man ran up, missed his flight, and the staff girl put him on next flight and bumped us again! We waited over 11 hours stressed exhausted and hungry. I was ready to burst into tears.
When I asked the other lady who came up to work "Why was that guy let on on the very next flight that he missed when we've been here all day?" She looked at me and snapped "I did not clear anybody for standby!" I said, "But the other girl did, and I don't understand why one person can get on next flight, and we have to be here all day." I finally begged "Is there any way we can get a flight another day and not be put through this?" I had to beg to get someone to issue me a flight for another day. I never want to deal with Continental again.
Last month (May 2010) I was scheduled (had purchased a ticket and checked in online a day prior) to fly from Buffalo to Denver via Newark. This was a return flight and, while not happy with the Newark connection, I booked that flight because of cost and scheduling factors. I arrived at the airport over an hour before departure, noted that the flight was on time (monitor in the ticketing area) and, since I was carrying on and had checked in online, went directly to the gate. I chose a seat near the desk and noted that the gate signage indicated the flight was still "on time"; I noted the time as being @ 1 hour before departure.
Approximately a half hour before the original departure, an agent announced that the flight was delayed due to weather into Newark but that he'd "checked all connections" and we (scheduled passengers) would be fine. I had about 2 hours in Newark so wasn't concerned - at this point. 20 minutes or so later I overheard a passenger talking to the gate agent (I was sitting close enough to hear the conversation) regarding her concerns about making her connection and thought I'd better check - just to be safe.
Imagine my surprise when I approached the gate agent, handed over my boarding pass and was informed that they had "put" me on a US Air flight - that had left 20 minutes before - without notifying me. When I asked why they hadn't (notified me), the gate agent told me (repeatedly) that it was because I hadn't checked in at the airport or the desk.
(While I was waiting to be rebooked, I heard several passengers being paged for the flight I no longer had a seat on - they'd given it away when they "adjusted" my itinerary - and witnessed them hold the plane for a passenger they had paged repeatedly, who was sitting 50 feet away but had earphones on and took his time gathering his carry on items...but they couldn't page me when they changed my flight?!?!?) I was eventually (the next day) booked on a Delta flight that, due to weather and plane safety issues, went from Buffalo to Detroit to Charlotte to Atlanta to Denver. My "next" day of travel started at 8:30 am EDT and ended the next day at 1:15 am MDT.
I eventually spoke with a Continental representative (I tried using their website but was - conveniently? - foiled by a faulty link that wouldn't let me verify my email address and so couldn't be assigned a case number; called and talked to someone who advised me to send a fax; sent a fax; emailed and got a "canned" response; finally got a case number; got a voice mail from someone whom I played phone tag with for a couple of weeks....) and, after explaining what happened, was told that Continental wasn't "responsible" because I didn't notify them (at the airport) that I was there.
It didn't matter that I had checked in and had a boarding pass because "a lot of people make reservations and don't show up" and Continental apparently won't page anyone that hasn't made their presence known. According to the representative I spoke with it specifically states in Continental's Contract of Carriage that passengers have to notify the airline that they are in the airport - or all bets - and reservations - are off!
Note: the Contract of Carriage DOES NOT say that; it states that the passenger must have checked in AND have a boarding pass AND be present at the gate (15 minutes before departure). Moral of the story: it may not be "required" but you'd better make an airline representative aware of your presence - or really enjoy sleeping in an airport!
HOUSTON TX 77253-3046, TEXAS -- On May 9th I went online to Continental.com to make a reservation for a round trip from Tampa to Austin. I mistakenly made the reservation for first class and promptly went to Continental's refund page to find out what to expect. The following was copied verbatim from the link: "Effective Aug. 24, 2008, all customers booking travel at Continental.com or Continental Reservations will be required to purchase tickets at the time they make their reservations. Customers will have the flexibility to make changes to reservations within 24 hours without incurring change fees. This includes cancelling your reservation and requesting a refund to the original form of payment."
I then called the reservation 800 231 0856 and spoke with **, a very nice lady who was working from home. I know this because I could hear her cat meow in the background. She changed my reservation to coach and that the difference would be refunded to the credit card within 48 hours. This was a big deal since the difference was over $600! I got off the phone only after looking up the reservation number and confirming: a) the seating change from first class to coach, b) the corresponding price drop. Everything looked correct, so I got off the phone.
Fast forward to the end of the credit card billing cycle. Bad News, Continental was still charging for the first class ticket. Well there must be some mistake that would be easily handled by Continental's exemplary customer service, and promptly. I called the reservation line and confirmed that the ticket was for coach class. When I asked why the charge was for first class, I was advised that the refund could take up to two billing cycles to appear, and that I would have to contact the Refund Department for more information.
Round One: I then called the refunds department and spoke with ** first. It really seemed like she did not want to help customers or even be polite. After putting me on "hold", which was actually mute for over 5 minutes without asking, I hung up and called back.
Round Two: I called back and spoke with **, who was very polite and was the only employee who actually seemed to care. She informed me that the refund had "already been processed". When I asked her why it had not shown up yet, she told me that it could take up to two billing cycles for the refund to process. She also stated that I should have never been charged for the first class ticket "per Continental's policy" since I called literally minutes after mistakenly booking the first reservation. Unsatisfied with this response, I asked to speak to a manager.
Round Three: After about five minutes of hold time, I was put on the phone with **. She did not announce her name at the beginning of the call as phone professionals everywhere do. I only found out here name after saying:
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." To which she replied: "That's because I didn't say it." At that point I knew I was speaking with a real piece of work. I advised her politely that I had gone through one rude representative already, and that given the circumstances would appreciate patience or at the very least some empathy for the situation, neither of which I received from ** the "refund manager".
She curtly asked If I was the cardholder. When I replied that I was not, she said that she could not discuss the reservation with me. I asked her why the two previous reps could, and why I could even make the reservation in the first place since I was not the cardholder. The very weak answer she gave was: "I can't help it if other reps don't follow the rules, but the cardholder would have to call the credit card company." "Fine, have it your way." I thought. I called the cardholder, a 65-year old retired widow without any immediate family around her.
I conferenced the two together and was absolutely appalled at how rude and condescending "** the Refund Manager" was. She told the cardholder that she should call "the little 800 number on the back of your credit card"
to resolve the issue, after interrupting her numerous times. I really could not believe how incompetent and lacking the customer "service" was. I would not fly free on Continental.
On April 15, 2010, my wife and children were returning from a visit with family and friends in the USA. We were born and lived in the USA until moving to Honduras four years ago to run an orphanage. Our funding is an equal mix of donations and earnings from my computer programming services. I had traded four weeks of work for airline tickets purchased by a client's credit card reward miles. As it turned out, the miles could only be used to purchase first class tickets. It was the first and probably only time my family will ever fly first class; at least on Continental Airlines. Although the trip to the USA went smoothly, the return trip was traumatic.
At the check-in counter of Continental Airlines in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, my wife and children were greeted by a hostile woman of color. The woman accused my wife of kidnapping because she was taking the children out of the country without a note from the father. She then told my wife the passports were not valid because they were not signed. Next came the luggage. With first class travel your luggage is normally included. Not so on that day. First of all the same woman/clerk told my wife that there was an embargo and they could not bring the luggage. My wife challenged the clerk on that because she had not heard about an embargo.
The clerk looked it up and recanted. The clerk then told my wife that she needed to pay for the luggage and of course it was $25/bag. Since we thought luggage was included with first class travel, my wife was returning with medicines, school supplies and books for the children at the orphanage. Most of the items are not available in Honduras and the things that are available are very expensive imports. For that reason, they were bringing back the maximum amount of luggage (8 suitcases). So the total bill was $200 for the luggage that should have been free.
Finally there was a carry-on suitcase. We'd used the suitcase for seven prior round trips and never had a problem putting it in an overhead bin. On this day the clerk would not allow it. She told my wife that it was too big to carry on and would need to check it. Of course since it exceeded the maximum of eight bags for four passengers, it would cost $100. By this time our three children were in tears and the youngest was asking their mother why the woman was so mean. They saw that other people were carrying on larger bags than the one we were forced to check in.
They knew that $300 was enough to feed the children for several weeks. They knew that I had worked four weeks to pay for the supposedly first class tickets. My wife knew that at 4:30 AM and without a phone, there was no way to leave the luggage behind because she could not call anyone to pick up the suitcases without missing their flight. So pay we did.
We asked Continental for a refund but again, it appears their website includes misinformation (lies) about luggage and first class travel. In fact, the clerk asked my wife where she got the information about luggage inclusion with first class. My wife told her that she clicked on the link that she received with her ticket via email. The clerk told her that the link was invalid because they were no longer Continental Airlines. They had changed to "Star Alliance". So both their website and emails contain misleading information (lies). It's best to steer clear of Continental Airlines.
At the very least beware of the Continental Clerk at DFW Airport. The same woman has harassed other friends of ours in the past. Our friends were also travelling with children. She also harassed an African American Woman while my wife was leaving. Seemed to be trying to force her to buy a ticket for her 16-month old son. She seems to have an affinity for Arab Men. They were allowed to carry on luggage that far exceeded the one we were forced to check in at $100.
I was treated poorly with a newly broken wrist. Flight # co59 March 27th 9:05 A.M. Three days before my flight home I slipped and broke my wrist. My husband ** tried to move us to first class for the trip home - there was no seats available, so we asked to be seated in the front row. We were told you had to request those at the desk before we board. I get to the boarding desk and request the front row seats - they tell me they were already assigned and that the flight was full. I said "how could they already be assigned when you have to request them here?" I was told "They were probably given to someone who Really needed them."
I said "Excuse me". He then said "Well to passengers in wheelchairs or travelling with a baby." He then actually looked and said there was one seat available in the front row. I said that would not work, I was travelling with my son and I needed his assistance for my seat belt, opening packages, etc. I was then told "Well that was all they had." I then asked if I could at least have extra pillows to help support my wrist which is in a cast and still swollen. I was then told I would have to stand there and wait so that I could ask a certain cabin member, so I stood there and waited. I was told they would give me an extra pillow.
As we boarded the plane the flight attendant who ended up being the one who served our drinks said "Oh you're the one with the broken arm. I heard about you." We took our seats and shortly after a woman that works for Continental came on and asked the woman with the baby to move to the back section of the plane. She did this so that a family of four could sit together on the front row all adults in fine physical condition.
I stopped her and said I have a problem with this. She said "What? You have an aisle seat what more do you want?" I said the seats in the front row are supposed to be for passengers who need the extra room (like for my son fastening and unfastening my seat belt). She said "they are for passengers." I then stopped another flight attendant - the one we first spoke to when we checked our bags and told her what had just happened - how they moved the woman with a baby to give the seats I had requested to a family who needed no assistance. She said "I will have to see what is going on" and never came back.
When we got in the air ** made an announcement and said if you have any problems or concerns to contact him so I did. The guy that came when I pushed the button I told him I had requested extra pillows for my arm (yes after they made me stand there and wait to ask they did not give me one extra pillow) and I needed to talk to **. He brought me back a used wrinkled pillow. He told me it was ground crew who made the decision to move people and now that we were in the air they could not move people (I did not put quotations because I can not remember exactly how he said it.)
I told him I asked his flight attendants while we were on the ground and that I was going to be making a complaint about this. I also told ** about that I did not appreciate the used pillow the other attendant had brought me and he did bring me a new pillow. They also did not bring the drink cart all the way down so that they were not bumping my arm. The flight attendant that was serving our drinks was rude at first but we were not rude back and her attitude changed and she was pleasant the rest of the flight. I appreciate the little things but the seat situation and how it was handled was inexcusable.
For future training with a broken wrist you can not grasp things with your fingers, you can only use one hand. I would love it if all the attendants on the flight had one hand immobilized had to fasten their seat belt, open the packages such as pillow, headset & food or how about a simple trip to the restroom. They need to think about that before they treat another passenger the way I was treated. In comparison my short flight to El Paso the flight was late and it had been a very long day of travelling BUT the flight attendant made my day when she offered to fasten my seat belt for me.
My husband is a Silver Elite member and our flight was on his account and disappeared after this flight, but we had copied our itinerary the night before the flight so I have proof of this. The family they moved people to sit were adults. I took pictures because of the way I was being treated so I also have proof of this.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA -- BEWARE FLYING CONTINENTAL FROM PITTSBURGH! Yesterday I had the, without a doubt, worst experience of my 20-plus career flying - not just on Continental, but on ANY airline. Upon boarding the 1st flight of the day from Pittsburgh to Houston, a verbal announcement was made (the PA system is faulty), asking if there were any more "confirmed seat holders" yet to board. I approached the check-in desk with my boarding pass and was told to board. Since the line boarding was still all the way out the jet bridge I told the Continental desk check-in person ** (Supervisor #**) that I was going to step across the way and quickly go to the restroom before boarding.
I was told I could not and that my seat would be given away and the door closed, forfeiting my being allowed to board the flight. Upon returning in less than 2 minutes, I was banished from the flight, my seat was given away and the door opened again to allow standby passengers to board. None of this had any bearing on the flight's departure as no baggage was involved, nor did my wishing to utilize the facilities in the airport alter the standard boarding procedure in any way. I know this to be fact because I recently surpassed the half-million mile career mark with Continental and am currently listed as a GOLD member in their frequent flier club.
Since I do fly regularly, I'm well aware of the standard practices. I was shocked at the treatment I received - to the degree several other passengers offered me their contact information in the event they may be of assistance in confirming what transpired. Upon recovering from what happened at the boarding station, I then went back to the gate agent to see what options I would now have to endure. Both the agents working the main gate conveyed having seen similar treatment from ** previously. The original flight was scheduled to depart at 5:50 am.
After not being able to board the next two flights via standby status (8 am & 11:30 am) I was finally granted a seat on a 2:30 pm departing flight. The other agents expressed their sincere apologies, I was offered a meal voucher. I actually felt bad for them to have to work under such tyrannical conditions.
Above my own concerns - I came away from it all thankful I am healthy enough to have only wished to pee before standing another 20 minutes in the jet bridge. I couldn't help think of someone less healthy that may have needed the contend with a more serious medical condition. My advice when travelling out of Pittsburgh would to be to dehydrate yourself or better yet AVOID flying Continental.


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The California Library Association's 115th annual conference is now history--and, as with any event in history, it offers information and insights we can use now in the present and take into the future. This year, the programs werre particularly impressive for their diversity, professionalism, and, most importantly, their subsuntative content. As we move from #clanoise to the road that will bring us to the 2014 conference theme of Be the Change, a couple of these programs deserve specific shout outs here.
Infopeople, along with the CLA Legislative Committee, sponsored a preconference in Long Beach titled "It's All about Them." In a jam packed three hours, Craig Gerhart, of the International City/County Managers Association, ignited participants' understanding of, and enthiuiasm for, getting outside the traditional library mindset of looking to ourselves and working to get others to attend to what we think is so special about us, to recognize that public libraries--and staff--are (important) parts of a much larger web of community service. Mr. Gerhart, whose understanding of public libraries is deep and admirable, walked us through how librarians can be effective community change agents through our ability to demonstrate leadership where it is needed in other civic service and engagement processes. You can view his slides and visit the Twitter thread (#allthem) posted throughout the morning for details.
A day later, the impressive crew from Santa Ana Public Library--many of whom are Eureka Fellows--shared their compelling experience with mentoring youth right into professional librarian positions. In Seeds to Trees, Cheryl Eberly, Lynn Nguyen, Patty Lopez, Manuel Escamilla, and Silvia Cisneros told their personal stories as players in the process and also provided immediately usable take-aways. One of the latter--among the several noted in the Twitter thread (#seedstrees) that documented the hour--was the discussion of how connecting local youth to their own community's roots through historical document work can broaden their views of their own possibilities within the community.
Combining some of the learnings from "It's All about Them" and "Seeds to Trees" points up how community recognition can promote individual achievement, as well as how recognizing the community can lead to achievement in an individual sphere. When we see ourselves as a part of the community, we can be more effective as elements within it. True for people, true for libraries. With a mere eleven and half months to go before CLA2014, we can begin already to Be the Change.
- Francisca Goldsmith's blog
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Let's just face the cold hard facts. Sometimes it's way too hot to get in the kitchen and rattle them pots and pans (sorry Bill Haley) over the fire or heaven forbid, turning on the oven. Talk about torture. On those days I just don't eat. No I'm kidding (mamma, of course I eat). On those days I actually try not to cook. I guess I should say I don't like to make extravagant meals, slaving away in the kitchen for hours on end, because I actually do cook, they're just super fast dishes with minimal actual "cooking" involved. Not to mention, who wants to eat a hot meal when it's deplorably hot outside as well? I don't folks, I don't. That's when these easy and refreshing meals come into the picture. Recipes that cool me down without making me spend too much time in the heat of the kitchen. Recipes that are super easy to put together, and utilize ingredients I already have on hand in the fridge or pantry because the last thing I need is to have to go to the market to buy ingredients for dinner. Is it too much to ask for to have such recipes at my disposal? No, not really. That's totally reasonable. Yes I just answered my own question and no I'm not ashamed of it. Welcome to the inside of my head ladies and gentleman.
Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that I've put up a healthy recipe on here. High-fives and pats on the back are totally appreciated. I'll even accept some A-OK's and thumbs up. I mean I deserve brownie points for such a feat. Cue the flying pigs. Start the freezing over of hell. For the greater part, most of my recipes are rich desserts that are full of butter and sugar and chocolate and you know what, there's nothing wrong with that. That's what breakfasts of champions are made of. I just don't want you guys to think that's all I bake and cook and eat so I thought I'd show some variety with this dish, which I happen to make at home all the time. It's a hit. Just ask my family, they'd tell you, "It's a hit!" I may or may not have paid them to say that, no big deal. So why not let it be a hit at your house too? You can even take all the credit, go ahead I'm giving you permission. When someone asks you how'd you come up with such a delicious recipe you can say you made it up. "I don't know how I come up with such things. I surprise myself sometimes. I guess I'm a genius." Look at that, I'm even telling you what to say. Free of charge. You can pay me by making the recipe and trying it out for yourself. And if you want to invite me over to help you eat it, well I won't complain.


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This is a kid's bike that has all the performance of an adult model, but in a 20" wheel package. The Q20-R is packed with features like a light alloy frame, reliable drivetrain and brakes, and a strong yet light wheelset. The result is a bike that is as fun to ride to school as it is down singletrack in the forest.
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If you flag a comment that happens to have been deleted before you flagged it (probably because several other people have flagged it) then a red box is displayed that states that that comment no longer exists. Ordinarily flagging a comment will not display anything.
I don't think that flagging a comment that doesn't exist is so significant that I should see a big error box when it happens. This is made even worse by the fact that I can't do anything about it!
If you feel like you have to display something to me when I try to flag an offensive, spammy or abusive comment that doesn't exist anymore, then please don't make it look like I've done something wrong. Make it something that is happy and cheerful because this one little piece of offensiveness, spam or abuse is no longer a part of this world.
Edit: Since this feature is probably behaving as designed I've retagged the post as a feature-request.