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Corral Kits
Create a larger temporary corral with this portable electric fence kit. Includes 12 tread-in posts, 660' of 1/2" polytape, wire reel, Speedrite SG50 fence charger, tread-in post battery stand that doubles as ground rod, no-kick gate handle and carrying case. Operates using 2 "D" batteries (not included). Produces up to 6,300 volts.
Speedrite Equine Corral Kitby Tru-TestPrice:$343.95
The SmartFence Portable Fence System combines posts, reels and polywire in one convenient system. Completely self-contained and portable. Just place end post in the ground and four wires unreel simultaneously as you place each remaining post. Allows you to quickly create a portable corral or safe roadside grazing area, fence off hay bales or divide pastures for more efficient grazing.
SmartFence Portable Fence Systemby GallagherPrice:$229.95
* Horse QuickFence is a "ready-to-go" roll with posts built into the electrifiable, plastic mesh. * 4 electrified horizontals * Horizontals are 4.5 mm rope for better visibility. On regular net, the horizontals are 2.25 mm. * Horizontals are white and black * Horizontal spacing from bottom to top are: ground to the first horizontal= 12" then 12", 12", 12". * Verticals are a white plastic strut spaced 24" apart * Posts are .75" PVC with two metal spikes that go into the ground. * Post spikes are 7" long and .31" in diameter * Posts are spaced every 12.5' * 48" tall * Extra posts will be needed at the ends and at 90 degree corners.
Semi-Permanent Horse Quikfenceby Premier Sheep SuppliesAs low as:$80.65
The Power Wizard Portable Corral Kit is ideal for horse shows, camping, trail rides, pack trips and strip grazing. Safe to use with other mid-sized animals such as alpacas and cattle. Use any time temporary containment is needed. Accommodates approximately a 30' square or round corral as needed. The Power Wizard Portable Corral Kit includes 12 fiberglass posts (54"), 275' spool polywire, 25 screw-tight round post insulators, PW350B fence charger (requires 12V battery or 4 D-cell batteries), 24" ground rod/energizer hanger, 2 gate handles, fluorescent flagging tape roll, corner stakes with tie down cords, fence tester and carry bag.
Power Wizard Portable Corral Kitby AgraTronixPrice:$252.95


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City of GlendoraHome Menu
Exam Proctoring
Our reference staff is available to proctor exams. The fee is $35, payable at the circulation desk. To arrange a proctored exam, the following steps should be taken:
- If this is the first time the Glendora Library will be proctoring an exam for you, please contact your school at least a month ahead of time in order for them to certify the library as a test taking center. Give your school the following contact information:
Glendora Public Library
Glendora Public Library
140 S Glendora Ave
Glendora, CA, 91741
Depending on your school, there may be a form(s) for the library to fill out and return.
- Once the library has been certified, you can instruct your school to send the exam and the proctor instructions to the contact outlined above. Depending on your school, this might be sent by email, or by regular post. You should ask your school in what format the instructions will be sent, and when the library should expect to receive this information. This should be done at least a week ahead of time, to ensure that that there is time for staff to receive and read the instructions and to make whatever arrangements might be necessary.
- Once you've received confirmation from your school that the exam has been sent, please contact the library by email. Include your name, the school you attend, the title of the class / exam you are taking, and whether the exam is written or online. You can also request a day and time to take the exam. Exams can be scheduled any time during normal library hours:
Mon – Wed: 10AM to 8PM
Thu – Sat 10 AM to 5 PM
Sun: Closed
A librarian will respond with a confirmation email. If you prefer a phone call, please leave your phone number and the best time of day to call.
Important things to remember
The fee is payable on the day of the exam. You will also need to bring a photo ID. It is important to be on time for your appointment, especially for online exams, as we will need to reserve a computer for you. It is also your responsibility to be aware of and prepared for whatever limitations your school will place on your testing session (such as the maximum amount of time allowed to take the exam, and whether you are allowed to use any study aids such as notes or a calculator). In regards to these conditions, the library will follow whatever instructions are outlined by your school.
If you are taking an online exam, please be aware that our computers shut down 15 minutes before the library closes every day.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mobile Phones Being Used To Bring Fairer Elections To Africa
from the good-news deptWe report on so many stories where technology is used in bad or oppressive ways, that it's important to note when it's being used in positive ways as well. Technology, itself, is just a tool that can be used in both good and bad ways (not to mention neutral ways), but somehow the good ways don't always get as much attention. CNN has an article detailing how the rise of mobile phones throughout Africa is helping in making elections that are more fair. It's certainly not perfect yet, but the ability to communicate has allowed citizens to report abuses of the election process and get the word out when they see any kind of cheating happening.
Filed Under: africa, elections, mobile phones


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This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white blood cell), red blood cells, or platelets.
Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated. It is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. AML is also called acute myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.
Normally, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells (immature cells) that become mature blood cells over time. A blood stem cell may become a myeloid stem cell or a lymphoid stem cell. A lymphoid stem cell becomes a white blood cell.
A myeloid stem cell becomes one of three types of mature blood cells:
Blood cell development. A blood stem cell goes through several steps to become a red blood cell, platelet, or white blood cell.
In AML, the myeloid stem cells usually become a type of immature white blood cell called myeloblasts (or myeloid blasts). The myeloblasts in AML are abnormal and do not become healthy white blood cells. Sometimes in AML, too many stem cells become abnormal red blood cells or platelets. These abnormal white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets are also called leukemia cells or blasts. Leukemia cells can build up in the bone marrow and blood so there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. When this happens, infection, anemia, or easy bleeding may occur. The leukemia cells can spread outside the blood to other parts of the body, including the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), skin, and gums.
This summary is about adult AML. See the following PDQ summaries for information about other types of leukemia:
There are different subtypes of AML.
Most AML subtypes are based on how mature (developed) the cancer cells are at the time of diagnosis and how different they are from normal cells.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of AML that occurs when parts of two genes stick together. APL usually occurs in middle-aged adults. Symptoms of APL may include both bleeding and forming blood clots.
Smoking, previous chemotherapy treatment, and exposure to radiation may affect the risk of adult AML.
Anything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn't mean that you will not get cancer. Talk with your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Possible risk factors for AML include the following:
Possible signs of adult AML include fever, feeling tired, and easy bruising or bleeding.
The early signs of AML may be like those caused by the flu or other common diseases. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following problems:
Tests that examine the blood and bone marrow are used to detect (find) and diagnose adult AML.
The following tests and procedures may be used:
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on:
It is important that acute leukemia be treated right away.
Once adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
The extent or spread of cancer is usually described as stages. In adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the subtype of AML and whether the leukemia has spread outside the blood and bone marrow are used instead of the stage to plan treatment. The following tests and procedures may be used to determine if the leukemia has spread:
There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body.
When cancer cells spread outside the blood, a solid tumor may form. This process is called metastasis. The three ways that cancer cells spread in the body are:
The new (metastatic) tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary cancer. For example, if leukemia cells spread to the brain, the cancer cells in the brain are actually leukemia cells. The disease is metastatic leukemia, not brain cancer.
There is no standard staging system for adult AML.
The disease is described as untreated, in remission, or recurrent.
Untreated adult AML
In untreated adult AML, the disease is newly diagnosed. It has not been treated except to relieve symptoms such as fever, bleeding, or pain, and the following are true:
Adult AML in remission
In adult AML in remission, the disease has been treated and the following are true:
Recurrent Adult AML
Recurrent AML is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The AML may come back in the blood or bone marrow.
There are different types of treatment for patients with adult acute myeloid leukemia.
Different types of treatment are available for patients with adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
The treatment of adult AML usually has 2 phases.
The 2 treatment phases of adult AML are:
Four types of standard treatment are used:
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (intrathecal chemotherapy), an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). Intrathecal chemotherapy may be used to treat adult AML that has spread, or may spread to the brain and spinal cord. Combination chemotherapy is treatment using more than one anticancer drug. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the subtype of the cancer being treated and whether it has spread to the brain and spinal cord.Intrathecal chemotherapy. Anticancer drugs are injected into the intrathecal space, which is the space that holds the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, shown in blue). There are two different ways to do this. One way, shown in the top part of the figure, is to inject the drugs into an Ommaya reservoir (a dome-shaped container that is placed under the scalp during surgery; it holds the drugs as they flow through a small tube into the brain). The other way, shown in the bottom part of the figure, is to inject the drugs directly into the CSF in the lower part of the spinal column, after a small area on the lower back is numbed.
See Drugs Approved for Acute Myeloid Leukemia for more information.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Stem cell transplant
Stem cell transplant is a method of giving chemotherapy and replacing blood -forming cells that are abnormal or destroyed by the cancer treatment. Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored. After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion. These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body's blood cells.
Other drug therapy
Arsenic trioxide and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) are anticancer drugs that kill leukemia cells, stop the leukemia cells from dividing, or help the leukemia cells mature into white blood cells. These drugs are used in the treatment of a subtype of AML called acute promyelocytic leukemia.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
This summary section describes treatments that are being studied in clinical trials. It may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells. Monoclonal antibody therapy is one type of targeted therapy being studied in the treatment of adult AML.
Monoclonal antibody therapy is a cancer treatment that uses antibodies made in the laboratory from a single type of immune system cell. These antibodies can identify substances on cancer cells or normal substances that may help cancer cells grow. The antibodies attach to the substances and kill the cancer cells, block their growth, or keep them from spreading. Monoclonal antibodies are given by infusion. They may be used alone or to carry drugs, toxins, or radioactive material directly to cancer cells.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. This is sometimes called re-staging.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.
Untreated Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Standard treatment of untreated adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) during the remission induction phase depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with untreated adult acute myeloid leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Remission
Standard treatment of adult AML during the remission phase depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:
One of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for adult AML in remission is arsenic trioxide.
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with adult acute myeloid leukemia in remission. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Recurrent Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia
There is no standard treatment for recurrent adult AML. Treatment depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent adult acute myeloid leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
For more information from the National Cancer Institute about adult acute myeloid leukemia, see the following:
For general cancer information and other resources from the National Cancer Institute, see the following:
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
Call 1-800-4-CANCER
For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
Chat online
The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.
Write to us
For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:
Search the NCI Web site
The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. For a quick search, use the search box in the upper right corner of each Web page. The results for a wide range of search terms will include a list of "Best Bets," editorially chosen Web pages that are most closely related to the search term entered.
There are also many other places to get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Hospitals in your area may have information about local and regional agencies that have information on finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems related to cancer treatment.
Find Publications
The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
Images in the PDQ summaries are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use within the PDQ summaries only. Permission to use images outside the context of PDQ information must be obtained from the owner(s) and cannot be granted by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the illustrations in the PDQ summaries, along with many other cancer-related images, are available in Visuals Online, a collection of over 2,000 scientific images.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Last Revised: 2013-01-24
If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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Plate from Ernst Haeckel's visually dazzling Kunstformen der Natur, the Art Forms of Nature, published in 1904. With the assistance of Jena artist-lithographer Adolf Giltsch, Haeckel produced one hundred plates depicting the forms of animal life, mainly marine animals. With this book Haeckel wanted to create an "aesthetics of nature" and to show how the incessant struggle for existence he had learnt from Darwin was in fact producing an endless beauty and variety of forms Darwin and Humboldt combined together." (Image source: Library of Congress)
Plate 65, Florideae
Museum quality Giclee print printed using archival inks on premium fine art paper — 100% cotton, finely textured, and acid-free archival substrates purposefully chosen for optimal historical art reproduction. Orders for US and Canada will be printed on LexJet Sunset Textured Fine Art Paper (310gsm); Australian orders on Hahnemühle's Photo Rag (188gsm); and all other orders on St Cuthbert Mill's Somerset Enhanced Velvet (255gsm).
All frames are custom made to order.
- Solid wood with a 3/4″ face (and 1″ depth for US orders, 3/4" elsewhere).
- 2" acid-free 4-ply natural white mat with beveled edges
- Shatterproof, high quality UV-shielding acrylic glazing
- Archival acid-free foam core backing
Why acrylic instead of glass? Although more expensive than glass, like most art-sellers and galleries we've chosen acrylic for its superior UV protection, and because it is also lighter and much less breakable — not only does this ensure it gets to you safely, but also handy for when you might want to move house in the future!
All prints, unframed and framed, will be expertly and securely packed to make sure they arrive in top condition.
|US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia
|Everywhere else
|$30 for S, M, L, and $45 for XL.
Last order dates for Christmas delivery
– US and Canada: 13th Dec (Unframed) and 12th Dec (Framed)
– UK: 13th Dec (Unframed) and 2nd Dec (Framed)
– EU and Australia: 9th Dec (Unframed) and 28th Nov (Framed)
– Africa/Asia: 25th Nov (Unframed), now too late for Framed.
– Everywhere else: 2nd Dec (Unframed) and 21st Nov (Framed)
All prints, framed and unframed, sent via tracked service. Unfortunately, we are unable to deliver to PO Boxes. Estimated delivery times from day of ordering are as follows:
- US and Canada — 7 to 16 business days
- Australia — 5 to 19 business days
- UK — 7 to 10 business days (unframed), 14 to 17 business days (framed)
- EU — 7 to 14 business days (unframed), 15 to 19 business days (framed)
- Everywhere else — 10 to 15 business days (unframed), 17 to 21 business days (framed)
If ordering to addresses outside of the US, UK, EU, Canada or Australia you may be required to pay duties and taxes to claim your package, depending on your local customs office.
As the prints are custom (made specifically for the image, size, and frame colour you have chosen) then we can only accept returns or refunds in the case of incorrect or damaged goods. For more info see our Returns Policy.


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Revision as of 15:30, 25 March 2011
All telephone solicitors or telemarketers are required to register with the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General per Business and Professions Code 17511. Registrants are required to submit prescribed information annually or whenever changes occur with their businesses. Evidence of registration must be conspicuously placed at their business location (Business and Professions Code Section 17511). The caller (seller) must inform the consumer that the purchase can be rescinded within 3 days and explain how to cancel the order.
If a consumer answers a phone call from a telemarketer and instructs the caller not to contact the consumer again and the telemarketer disregards the request, the consumer may have rights under federal law to take legal action.
The telemarketer must promptly disclose that he or she is making a sales call and identify the products or services being sold. In the case of prize promotions, he or she must state that no purchase is necessary to win. In addition, telemarketers must receive prior written consent or tape-recorded oral consent before debiting your checking account.
Telemarketers must disclose the total cost and any restrictions associated with the product or service before the consumer pays.
The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Telemarketing calls are calls that solicit sales of goods or services. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. Calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
National Do Not Call Registry
To register or file a complaint:
To register a complaint about a telemarketer, consumers must register a complaint before the FTC can take action against the telemarketer. While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems, a complaint will help in investigation of the company and could lead to law enforcement action.
Federal Trade Commission
Division of Market Practices
(202) 326-3128
(877) 382-4357
Although the Federal Trade Commission cannot act to resolve individual problems, it can act when it sees a pattern of possible law violations developing.
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
(877) 382-4357
Telemarketing calls involving financial institutions, insurance companies, telecommunications carriers, intra-state telemarketers.
Federal Communications Commission
Common Carrier Bureau
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
(888) 225-5322
For inquiries, complaints or fraud issues, consumers must register the complaint before Attorney General can take action against the telemarketer.
California Department of Justice
Office of the Attorney General
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(800) 952-5225
Consumers wishing to remove their name and telephone number from telemarketing lists may send a letter with their name, home address, home telephone number, and signature or register on line with the:
Direct Marketing Association
Telephone Preference Service
PO Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512
Publications available: Basic Facts About Telemarketing and Basic Facts About Telemarketing Fact Sheet.
Consumer Resource & Referral Guide
Directory of State Agencies
Directory of Federal Agencies
Return to DCA Home Page


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At My Sheet Music Transcriptions we have transcribed the sheet music and MIDI file for Oginsky Polonaise "Farewell to Homeland" .
We work on arrangements by request and customized sheet music for piano players and any musician that needs our transcription services.
Make sure that you contact us in order to request your song.
Download the MIDI file for Oginsky Polonaise "Farewell to Homeland" below. You can either download it for free or help us with a donation. We greatly appreciate your no-matter-how-small donations to keep working on new transcriptions.
The sheet music for this particular transcription is available too. Contact us if you want to have it.
Comments are closed.


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BugWise for Schools launch
This is a timely first blog post for me. Thursday 22nd April sees the launch of Bugwise for Schools. it will be the culmination of two major projects for investigating invertebrates - Web2spider and Plant2pollinator.
Bugwise for Schools aims to get you and your students out of the classroom and discovering more about the spiders and insects you share the space with! Most students have a fascination for spiders and insects and it this sense of awe, combined with natural curiosity, that Web2spider and Plant2pollinator will encourage.
Having workshopped Web2spider for more than two years now, I cannot walk past a web without stopping and doing a quick ID. I am more than besotted by the beauty of webs and the continually amazed at the resilience of the inhabitants. Expect your students too to be obsessed or should I say ensnared!
As I had recently finalised the content of Plant2pollinator, I was on the look out for insects which have provided pollination services for native plants around my home. I was drawn to this Melaleuca and on closer inspection found flower wasps on the mauve bottlebrush. It was a first for me - both to see that particular Melaleuca in bloom and to notice a flower wasp. Further inspection revealed flies and dusky grey butterflies making the most of the nectar.
Even as the weather cools, there is plenty of insect and spider activity; as the garden orb spiders (Eriophora sp) begin their decline, the fantastic orb webs are at their largest. Spray them with a fine spray of water and take a photo…that must be inspiration for some wonderful artwork.
Sign up soon and send in your spider web, spider and insect photos as an attachment to a comment on this blog or upload on to the Australian Museum Flickr site and be part of a real-time virtual exhibition.
BugWise Backchat blog is updated weekly.


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The goal of this lesson is for students to understand how to plan a mission to another world in the solar system. They begin by discussing the path of a spacecraft traveling between planets, examining the journey from the Earth to Mars as an example.
In this guided research investigation, students investigate the process of science and build media literacy by studying the public debate about climate change. Students compare media articles from 1989-2010, and observe that statements differ according to the source and publication date.
This series of 28 captioned images depict some the positive and some of the negative influences on the global carbon cycle, including industrial pollution, deforestation, waste disposal, transportation, and recycling.
This is an activity about three dimensional imagery. Learners can follow the instructions to create their own 3D images using a digital camera, photo editing software, and red-blue 3-D glasses.
The human activity featured in this investigation is the choice of settlement sites. Beginning with an analysis of the location of their own town, students consider the negative and positive aspects of both natural and human made features.
Learners will read about and discuss the colors of the day- and night-time skies. They may sing the Top-down Black and Blues, a song about the sky; or they may write a poem, essay, or song about the bluest sky or blackest night they have ever experienced.
Students will use remotely sensed images and topographic maps to classify land cover types in their watershed. A field trip to specific sites will allow the students to ground truth cover types found on the remotely sensed images and extrapolate that information to other sites not visited.
This is an activity about the motion of the Sun and the Earth, specifically rotation and revolution. After identifying what they already know about the Sun, learners will observe and manipulate a styrofoam ball model of the Sun and Earth.
This is a companion book to the Traditions of the Sun web site. Learners can use the book to learn about the Sun's dynamic nature, explore images from NASA's cutting-edge solar missions and understand more fully the human connection we all have to our Sun.
In this data analysis activity, students connect the idea of the tilt and orbit of the earth (changing of seasons) with monthly snow/ice data.


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ZTechnik announces new VStream® windshields for the R1250GS and R1200GS LC available in two heights. The Touring size VStream windscreen is wider and taller than stock. VStream gets its name from the unique shape and dimensional contours. The patented "V" profile helps keeps the wind off your upper body and helmet. The sport size is reshaped in contour but similar in height to the OEM and available in dark tint or clear.
VStream windshields are made from tough FMR hardcoated polycarbonate. This high quality material, along with state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, provides these windscreens' outstanding clarity and strength characteristics unmatched by any windscreen maker worldwide. Optically the VStream windscreen is clear with virtually no distortion (unlike the hallucinogenic views you get from the stock screen).
VStream windscreens are 30X more scratch resistant and have 20X greater crack and impact resistance than other aftermarket windscreens on the market made from commonly used acrylic or "aircraft plastic".
Sport (Clear or Dark Tint) Height=15.5 in. (39.3cm), Width at top=14.25 in. (32.2cm)
Tour (pictured) Height=19.5 in. (49.5cm), Width at top=15.25 in. (38.7cm)
ZTechnik has introduced the industry's first 3-Year Warranty against windshield breakage for our industry-leading aftermarket BMW® windshields. We are so confident in the strength of our polycarbonate windshields that we will warrant them against breakage resulting from parking lot mishaps and accidents! No other BMW® aftermarket windshield manufacturer offers this type of warranty. The warranty is valid for the 3-year term starting with the purchase date. Customers will need to register their windshields on ZTechnik.com before they make a claim against the warranty. The link to the registration form is on the home page. Anyone who has purchased a ZTechnik polycarbonate windshield in the past 3 years can register and activate their warranty for the remainder of the 3-Year term. Certain restrictions apply, see warranty terms for complete details.
Dimensional weight listed. Due to variance from the factory, ZTechnik enlarged the mounting holes to ensure this shield fits all models so some movement may be possible but not an excessive amount and it won't cause undue stress once fully tightened with the original grommets in place.
ZTechnik R1250GS|R1200GS WC (13-)|ADV WC (14-) VStream Windshield
Produced by Z Technik of USA


text:
Turner hit hard early; Marlins lack hits vs. Yu
ARLINGTON -- Facing a premier pitcher like Yu Darvish gave the Marlins little margin for error on Wednesday night.
While Miami's overall play was far from perfect, Darvish struck out 10 in his first complete game, and Shin-Soo Choo drove in four runs in the Rangers' 6-0 shutout win over the Marlins at Globe Life Park.View Full Game Coverage
ARLINGTON -- Facing a premier pitcher like Yu Darvish gave the Marlins little margin for error on Wednesday night.
While Miami's overall play was far from perfect, Darvish struck out 10 in his first complete game, and Shin-Soo Choo drove in four runs in the Rangers' 6-0 shutout win over the Marlins at Globe Life Park.View Full Game Coverage
Marlins right-hander Jacob Turner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on six hits with four strikeouts. The 23-year-old's night included getting drilled on the right side by a line drive in the fourth inning, and his night was over after 75 pitches.
Of late, the Marlins had played pretty effectively, but they were sloppy in several areas. On the bases, Marcell Ozuna was thrown out leading off the seventh inning trying to stretch a single into a double with his team down by six. Turner had two wild pitches and a balk. Catcher J.T. Realmuto committed a throwing error, believing Elvis Andrus was attempting to steal second, when he wasn't, in the fifth inning.
"We've got to play better than that," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "By no means is it one area. We made some mistakes running the bases. We made some defensive mistakes. It's not one of our better games.
"When you go up against a frontline pitcher, a guy where you know it is going to be tough to score runs, you've got to play better baseball than that."
Darvish had never gone more than 8 2/3 innings until he went the distance on 117 pitches against a sluggish Miami squad. The right-hander recorded his 24th career double-digit strikeout game, tying Bobby Witt for second most in Texas history. Nolan Ryan holds the team record with 34.
"He's one of those guys, he has a bunch of pitches he can throw for strikes," said Christian Yelich, who had one of Miami's six singles. "He has an above-average fastball. He's got a cutter, slider, curveball, split. He might have a changeup. He was throwing them all. One at-bat, he shook off like seven times before he threw a pitch. It makes it tough when he throws all his pitches for strikes, and he keeps guys off balance."
Despite Wednesday's setback, the Marlins gained a two-game split in Texas and finished their seven-game, three-city road trip at 4-3.
"We played well on this road trip," Yelich said. "It would have been nice to get one tonight, going into the off-day and the homestand. But you can't let tonight take away from what we were able to do in the other games."
Miami entered the night with a chance to build on some Interleague history.
Dating back to last year, the Marlins had won 13 straight against the American League. Miami's Interleague streak matched the Yankees (2003-04) and the Rays ('04) for the longest all-time. The Marlins are 8-1 against the AL this season.
Given an early lead, Darvish shut down the Marlins, scattering the six singles. Miami was shut out for the third time this season, and first since April 27 (4-0) against the Mets in New York.
In the third inning, Turner gave the Rangers an opening, and they cashed in for four runs. Turner hurt himself by issuing a walk and tossing two wild pitches.
The inning started with a Chris Gimenez walk and a Rougned Odor single. With one out, Andrus singled to load the bases. Choo snapped an 0-for-18 slump with a double to right field that cleared the bases.
"You don't want to put yourself in that situation against a guy like that. I fell behind 1-0," Turner said. "I tried to go with a fastball inside and left it up a little bit. He took advantage of it."
The fourth run was courtesy of Turner's second wild pitch of the inning, which allowed Choo to score.
"The big inning has been tough on him," Redmond said. "It's just a matter it seems like when it is it going to come? Today it happened in the third."
In the fourth inning, Turner ran into more trouble when he allowed a run in an unusual manner. The Rangers collected back-to-back infield singles, which led to a run. Leonys Martin reached on an infield single, and he was awarded second on a balk.
Gimenez chopped an infield single that rolled under the gloves of Casey McGehee at third base and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. When the ball rolled past both, Martin raced home from second without a play.
The fourth inning was doubly painful for Turner, because he was struck on the right side by Odor's comebacker.
Turner was struck right below the ribs, and he felt he could have continued, but Miami didn't take any chances.
"I felt I could have gone back out," Turner said. "Obviously, they went somewhere else. It tightened up a little bit, but it really didn't affect anything on how I felt out there."
Texas made it 6-0 in the fifth inning on Choo's RBI single off Kevin Slowey.
"It's about getting back to making your pitches and not letting it snowball on you," Turner said. "For me, it's very frustrating to have those big innings, and just slowing the game down when they start getting multiple hits in a row. It's really just getting back to making quality pitches."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro.


text:
I would like to request a quote for
Cayman Islands gets into action for promoting medical tourism
We can see the boom in Caribbean medical tourism with each passing day. For making
it a better place to live in, people at Caribbean are introducing ... Read More
Citizens of Singapore apparently not enjoying the country's flourishing
medical tourism status
WHO has declared Singapore to be 6th among 191 countries in healthcare and medical
facilities. It has undoubtedly improved its healthcare system within a short span
of... Read More


text: Here's another obscure character who's only been mentioned twice in MOTU history - once in an 80's mini-comic, and then last year in a bio (Vykron's, I believe). It's hinted that he was some kind of ruler or warlord, but no further info was given other than that he sports a beard. Seeing how he's never been seen, this character represents another blank slate that the 4H could go to town with, and I'd gladly welcome their certain brilliant interpretation of him in this line (not until 2016, of course)! What say you??


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All animal bites or scratches drawing blood
be reported to the Grand Traverse County Health Department regardless if the animal involved is vaccinated or not.
If you are involved in an animal bite or have obtained a scratch that has drawn blood you should seek medical attention and report the incident to the Grand Traverse County Health Department Animal Bite and Bat exposure hotline as soon as possible. The hotline phone number is 231-995-6080.
If the animal is a wild animal or the owner of the animal involved is not known and the animal needs to be captured, call 911 and seek medical attention.
All animals involved in a bite must be quarantined or tested by the Michigan Department of Community Health in Lansing Michigan.
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Although rabies is not wide spread throughout the State of Michigan at this time, the Michigan Department of Agriculture requires dog owners to vaccinate all dogs at 4 months of age and recommends that all pets and livestock be vaccinated to protect against the spread of rabies.
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(Click this Combat Boat 90 Stern text link to see the largest size)
Soon after the shot was taken, two Royal Marines (1) arrived and were taken onboard by a member of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (2).
The Dutch boat can carry 18 amphibious troops and has rails fitted on the stern deck to hold a vehicle.
This Dover Harbour photo was taken during a cycle ride (3) at 2.20 pm on Thursday, 3rd of February, 2011, from in front of Dover Lifeboat Station (home to the Dover Lifeboat, RNLB City of London II).
Bow view of Netherlands 918 Combat Boat 90 Fast Assault Craft in Dover Harbour, has a different video and secondary photo to those below.
In 2010, Sweden's Dokstavarvet Shipyard successfully modified 2 Combat Boat 90's to be lifted into davits of LPD's ("landing platform dock") of the Royal Netherlands Navy (4) and the UK's Royal Navy (5).
During trials scheduled to last 6 months, the two boats and a full Swedish boat squadron were embarked on, and deployed from, a Dutch Navy LPD as a fully integrated element of the amphibious forces (6) aboard.
On the 9th of May, 2011, the Royal Navy subsequently announced (7):
1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1AGRM) has taken possession of two Combat Boat 90s being loaned by the Swedish Armed Forces; the UK is to receive four craft in total.
As part of the loan and exchange programme, the Swedes are taking on two of the UK's Offshore Raiding Craft (ORC).
The scheme is a 12 month agreement between the two states which has been organised and worked out on behalf of the UK by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and Försvarets Materielverk for Sweden. FMV is the Swedish Defence Material Administration.
Video - Following an invitation from the Brazilian Army, Dockstavarvet (manufacturer) shipped a CB90 to Brazil in the spring of 2004 for trials on the Amazon River with the 1st Jungle Infantry Battalion:
The Combat Boat 90 (CB90) is a class of fast military assault craft originally developed for the Swedish Navy by Dockstavarvet. In addition to the many variants in service with the Swedish Navy under the Strb 90 H designation, the CB90 has been adopted by the navies of several countries, including Norway (as the SB90N), Greece, Mexico (as the CB90 HMN), and Malaysia. Also the German Navy plans to equip the Berlin-class replenishment ships with the CB90.
The CB90 is an exceptionally fast and agile boat. Its light weight, shallow draught, and twin water jets allow it to operate at speeds of up to 40 knots (74 km/h) in shallow coastal waters. The water jets are partially ducted, which, along with underwater control surfaces similar to a submarine's diving planes, allows the CB90 to execute extremely sharp turns at high speed, decelerate from top speed to a full stop in 2.5 boat lengths, and adjust its pitch and roll angle while under way. See the CB90 in different roles video.
In 2004, the Royal Norwegian Navy conducted tests (including a live fire exercise) to evaluate the effectiveness of their SB90N version as an aiming and launching platform for the Hellfire missile. One SB90N was equipped with stabilized Hellfire launcher based on the PROTECTOR M151, and its machine gun was replaced with a gimbal-mounted sensor package containing visible-light and infrared cameras and a laser designator.
Although the tests were successful, there is currently no indication that the Royal Norwegian Navy will actually deploy SB90Ns armed with Hellfire missiles in regular service. The Hellfire can still be carried on the boats without launching platforms and be fired from shore with the Portable Ground Launch System.
In 2005, the UK-led Exercise Green Osprey (an amphibious forces-based exercise in Senegal) ran concurrent with West African Training Cruise 2006 (WATC '06):
US and Royal Netherlands Navy personnel watch Royal Navy of Norway (RNoN) S90N Combat Boat (possibly L4527) being lifted onto the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, USS Gunston Hall, (LSD-44 website) in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
The German Water Police (the Wasserschutzpolizei WSP - literally translated "Water Protection Police") rented a Combat Boat 90H from the manufacturer Dockstavarvet for the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany (6 June to 8 June 2007). This boat was involved in a high speed chase with three Greenpeace RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) which were trying to enter the restricted area near the Kempinski Grand Hotel where the meeting was being held. A video clip of the incident was later widely spread around the internet and can also be seen on a Der Spiegel webpage.
In July 2007 The United States Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) specified the CB90 for testing as its Riverine Command Boat. Safeboat International of Port Orchard, Washington, was given a 2.8 million US dollar contract to produce one prototype.
On August 1st, 2007, the US Navy Times reported (9):
If the Stryker armored combat vehicle were a boat, it might be the CB90, a Swedish-designed shallow-water vessel that's fast, lethal and flexible enough to be an ambulance or a fast-attack craft.
The United States Navy has decided to buy two of the boats, now known in certain Navy circles as the Riverine Command Boat (RCB), for use by the newest incarnation of the brown-water navy, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command's riverine group.
Already in use with navies around the world, the CB90 originally was a product of the Swedish boatmaker Dockstavarvet. SAFE Boats International, based in Washington state, bought the licenses required to build the same boat for the US Navy. (Abridged)
In June 2009 an unknown buyer from Abu Dhabi bought two civilian luxury versions.
On August 18th, 2011, DVIDS reported (10):
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (Va, USA): Navy Expeditionary Combat Command hosted the Commander of Colombian naval forces, Admiral Alvaro Echandia Duran, in an effort to strengthen relationships between partner nations and provide a first-hand look at NECC capabilities and how expeditionary sailors operate.
The visit included a live demonstration of riverine boat capabilities from Riverine Group 1, and hands on displays from Maritime Expeditionary Security Force, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command and Navy Expeditionary Intelligence Command.
NECC sailors deploy and operate around the globe, building partnerships and helping to increase partner navies' capacity and capability to promote peace and prevent war. See the Riverine Command Boat 2011 photo.
CB90-class overview
Builders: Dockstavarvet (Docksta shipyard), Gotlandsvarvet (Gotlands shipyard)
Operators: Swedish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, Mexican Navy, Malaysian Navy, Brazilian Army
Preceded by: Tpbs 200
In commission: 1991
Completed: 250–300
General characteristics
Displacement: 13,000 kg (28,660 lbs) Empty, 15,300 kg (33,730 lbs) Standard, 20,500 kg (45,190 lbs) Full load
Length: 15.9 m (52') Overall, 14.9 (48') Waterline
Beam: 3.8 m (12'6")
Draught: 0.8 m (2'8")
Propulsion: 2 x 625 bhp Scania DSI14 V8 Diesel; 2 x Kamewa FF water jets
Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h)
Range: 240 nmi (440 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 3 (two officers and one engineer)
Up to 21 amphibious troops with full equipment
Armament: 3 × Browning M2HB machine guns, 1 × Mk 19 grenade launcher, 4 naval mines or 6 depth charges
Docksta varvet (Docksta yard) website: Combat Boat CB 90 H - Fast Assault Craft
(1) Royal Marines: The Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade is the Royal Navy's amphibious infantry on permanent readiness to deploy across the globe, and is a core component of the UK's Joint Rapid Reaction Force. Together the Royal Navy's amphibious ships and the Brigade represent a highly mobile, self-sustained and versatile organisation, with a strategic power projection capability that is unique among the British armed services. The Royal Marines are the cold weather experts of the Services.
(2) Netherlands Marine Corps: The Korps Mariniers is the marine corps and amphibious infantry component of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines are trained to operate anywhere in the world in all environments, under any condition and circumstance, as a rapid reaction force. The Korps Mariniers can be deployed to a given location within 48 hours. Their motto is Qua Patet Orbis ("As Far As The World Extends").
Robsons Yard Flats
(3) On a cycle ride beginning at Robsons Yard Flats in the Tower Hamlets area of Dover, then: Athol Terrace (Eastern Docks) - Seafront Promenade - Prince of Wales Pier (Western Docks) - Robsons Yard.
This is where I do my Evolution and Psychology research! (archive)
(4) The Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy) is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In recent times the Royal Netherlands Navy takes part in expeditionary peacekeeping and peace enforcing operations (Maritime Expeditionary Capability). Royal Netherlands Navy website.
(5) The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service. From the end of the 17th century until well into the 20th century it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power. Royal Navy website.
(6) Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain. In this modern era amphibious warfare persists in the form of commando insertion by fast patrol boats, zodiacs and mini-submersibles.
(7) From Landing Craft exchange for UK and Sweden
(8) Abridged from CB90-class fast assault craft
(9) From the US Navy Times website: New riverine boats are fast, lethal, flexible
(10) From the DVIDS website: Colombian military leadership visits NECC, by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul D. Williams of the United States Navy (USN).
The main photo first appeared at:
Netherlands 918 Combat Boat 90 Fast Assault Craft Stern in Dover Harbour
Of related interest (not yet uploaded):
LCU Mark 10 Royal Marines/Royal Navy Landing Craft, Dover Harbour
P165 HMS Example Fast Training Boat, Tidal Harbour, Dover Marina
P164 HMS Explorer Fast Training Boat and HMS Wasp, Dover Marina
P275 HMS Raider Fast Training Boat, Tidal Harbour, Dover Marina
Click to see all Dover Boat, Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy photos.
A Port of Dover Tidal Harbour, Marina, and Western Docks photo.
Clickable thumbnails of all harbour-related photos on the main Panoramio Images of Dover website are available on this blog on the Port of Dover Page (also linked to below the blog title).
The Panoramio photos are each accompanied by a Google Earth satellite map. However, the images are smaller than those on the Images of Dover Blog and the captions are less well formatted.
John Latter / Jorolat
Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town


text:
Ask Ray | My trip to Brussels, Zurich, Warsaw, and Vienna
December 14, 2010 by Ray Kurzweil
Some recollections from my recent trip on October 11 through October 19, 2010, including a personal exploration of my family history in Vienna.
JFK Airport, October 11
I met my daughter Amy for lunch at our favorite salmon restaurant in JFK Airport. This was the third time I have done this while en route to Europe.
I then flew to Brussels on a red-eye flight.
Brussels, October 12 – 13
I gave a keynote address for MIT Europe Conference, an annual conference organized by the MIT Sloan School on "The Democratization of Innovation." I spoke about today's environment, where the tools to create and to market disruptive change are in everyone's hands. The audience was C level management from across Europe.
I had press interviews at the conference, including De Tijd, Belgium's major financial and economics journal.
Zurich, October 14-15
I gave a joint Keynote with John Major (Prime Minister of England from 1990 through 1997) for a conference for leading entrepreneurs and business leaders. These were owners of leading companies in a variety of industries from around the world. My speech was the "The Acceleration of Technology in the 21st Century: The Impact on Entrepreneurs."
I asked four questions at the beginning of my speech and then asked the same questions again at the end. Here are the results from audience responses:
- When will computers pass the "Turing test" (that is, when will computer intelligence be indistinguishable from human intelligence)?
- Within 10 years (BEFORE: 31%, AFTER: 21%)
- Within 25 years (BEFORE: 40%, AFTER: 60%)
- Within 50 years (BEFORE: 7%, AFTER: 1%)
- Within 100 years (BEFORE: 1%, AFTER: 3%)
- Never (BEFORE: 21%, AFTER: 15%)
- Some people alive today will live for:
- Over 120 years (BEFORE: 64%, AFTER: 55%)
- Over 150 years (BEFORE: 33%, AFTER: 34%)
- Over 200 years (BEFORE: 3%, AFTER: 8%)
- Over 500 years (BEFORE: 0%, AFTER: 3%)
- When will we have desktop "printers" that can "print" any possible three-dimensional object (such as a blouse, a solar panel, a module to build houses)?
- Within 10 years (BEFORE: 53%, AFTER: 57 %)
- Within 25 years (BEFORE: 18%, AFTER: 30 %)
- Within 50 years (BEFORE: 11%, AFTER: 3%)
- Within 100 years (BEFORE: 11%, AFTER: 4%)
- Never (BEFORE: 7%, AFTER: 6 %)
- Would you eat meat that is made by cloning animal muscle tissue without the use of living animals (assuming that it has been proven safe and is indistinguishable from meat produced from animals)?
- Yes (BEFORE: 52%, AFTER: 53%)
- No (BEFORE: 48%, AFTER: 47%)
As can be seen from the above results, the group was pretty bullish on human-level AI, with 71 percent believing that this milestone will be achieved within 25 years, rising to 81 percent after the talk. The percentage believing it will be greater than 10 years but within 25 years (which is my own view) rose from 40 percent to 60 percent.
A third of the group believes that some people alive today will live to be at least 150 years old, and this did not change much. There was a small increase in those believing some people alive today will live to at least 200 years (rising from 3 percent to 8 percent), and over 500 years (rising from 0 percent to 3 percent).
The group was bullish on the prospects for three-dimensional printers printing "any possible three-dimensional object." More than half the group believed that we will see this within ten years (my own view is about 20 years). After my speech, 87 percent believed that we will see this within either 10 or 25 years.
The group was evenly split on whether they would eat meat produced by cloning animal muscle tissue (without the use of actual animals) and this did not change. As I said in my talk this technology will require breakthroughs in marketing (to influence people's emotional reactions to the idea).
John Major, who spoke after I did, was an excellent speaker (he would do well in politics). Both Major and I did an extensive Q&A after our keynotes. Given the nature of the audience, these were confident and thoughtful people with interesting questions. Major and I had an interesting private conversation that ranged from the influence of the Internet on the democratization in the world that took place during his tenure as prime minister of England in the 1990s, to Gorbachev's role in the democratization of the nations that comprised the Soviet Union. He was eager to continue our conversation and invited me to have dinner with him the next time I am in London.
Warsaw, October 16
After several press interviews (including Polityka magazine, the leading Polish political and cultural magazine), I attended the third screening of The Singularity Is Near, a True Story about the Future at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
The theater was filled and the audience responded very favorably, laughing and responding at the right places despite the language difference (there were no subtitles). This was followed by an extended (approximately one hour) question and answer period with some very well informed and sophisticated questions.
Vienna, October 17 – 19
Personal Exploration:
On Sunday, October 17, I engaged a knowledgeable private guide to find some locations of personal importance in terms of my family history.
By way of background, my mother's mother's mother and her family (the Stern family) started a school (the Stern Schule) in Vienna in 1868. This school was the first school in Europe to provide higher education (up through "gymnasium," which is equivalent to the first two years of college) for girls. The school became influential throughout Europe on the issue of education for women. It was run by my great grandmother and then taken over by her daughter, my grandmother.
In March 1938, Hitler came into Austria and annexed it in what has become known as the "Anschluss." As Hitler entered Vienna, he went directly to the Heldenplatz (Piazza of Heroes) and gave a vintage demonic (and anti-Semitic) speech that has become infamous.
The huge Heldenplatz was completely filled with screaming, hysterical Austrians shouting "Sieg Heil" in response to Hitler, and wildly waving swastikas. Photos and television coverage spread quickly and the world began to learn the true nature of the Hitler phenomenon.
My grandparents decided they would need to leave Vienna and began to make preparations. My grandmother finished the school's Spring Semester, celebrated the 70th anniversary of the school and fled with my grandfather and their two daughters (my mother and my Aunt Dorit), abandoning the school (and all other possessions). There were many harrowing stories behind this escape during the Summer of 1938. They got out just in time, because November 1938 brought "Krystallnacht," when all of the Jewish synagogues were destroyed, and it became virtually impossible for Jews to escape.
I was able to find the school (which is no longer a school and now houses professional offices). It was Sunday, so it was locked. But luckily, we were able to find a (very) old woman who let us in. She looked like she was sent from central casting. She told us that "yes, there was a boarding school for girls here before the war."
I also found the apartment building where my mother and aunt grew up:
I visited Sigmund Freud's apartment (and professional office), where he lived from the late nineteenth century to 1938 when he also fled Vienna. I visited the museum that is now located at his apartment.
I visited the Heldenplatz, which is now considerably more placid than it was in March 1938. In the center of this picture, you can see the balcony where Hitler stood when he gave his now infamous speech. No one has given a speech from this balcony since, with the exception of ceremonies dedicated to remembrance of the Jewish victims and advancing reconciliation between the Jewish community and the Austrians (some of which my Aunt Dorit has participated in).
My grandmother (who was one of the first women in Europe to get a Ph.D. in Chemistry) wrote an autobiography titled One Life Is Not Enough, which chronicles her life, including a fascinating history of the school from the 1890s up through 1938. She wrote the book (on a manual typewriter) in 1948 (the year of my birth) and I make a brief cameo appearance in the last chapter. A German translation of the book will be published in Austria, and we are seeking an American publisher for the English version.
I saw other sights, including the famous Landtmann Café where artists, intellectuals, business people, and politicians have been meeting for about a century.
I passed by the famous Lipizzaner Horses, which have been performing for 400 years (these particular horses are not actually 400 years old, however).
I passed by the remaining fragment of the original ancient city wall. Behind the wall you can see Beethoven's apartment (on the top floor of the building on the left).
Segways are popular in Vienna.
Lunch with Steve Wozniak and Austria Telekom CEO:
On Monday, October 18, I had lunch with Steve Wozniak (Apple co-founder) and Hanned Ametsreiter (CEO of Austria Telekom, which is the primary telecommunications company for Austria and 8 other countries in central and Eastern Europe).
This was followed by press interviews with the primary newspapers in Austria, Austria national television, and their public broadcasting radio network.
Presentation for Austria Telekom Employees
We then had the first of three events, a 75 minute session for the employees of Austria Telekom. Steve and I were the two primary speakers. After our speeches, we had an on-stage dialogue with each other and answered questions.
Main Austria Telekom Event
The main event was in the evening for about a thousand people, which included partners and friends of Austria Telekom plus national leaders from government, industry and press.
The event was held in a nineteenth century tramway depot that had never been used before for this type of meeting. They hired a production company that specializes in creating unusual settings for large meetings. They had to bring in heating and air processing, lighting, water, electricity, and audio/visual support, all of which was quite beautifully done.
The title of the session was "Manchine — from Mankind to Machine." Steve Wozniak and I gave full keynotes and there was then a moderated discussion between us and Q&A with the audience. The whole thing was very well received. There were extensive interviews after the session with the press who were present. This was followed by an elaborate party with music, food, and drinks.
Speech to the Austrian Parliament
On Tuesday, October 19, the President of the Austrian Parliament, Steve Wozniak and I gave speeches to the Austrian Parliament and other government leaders. Again there was extensive press. Apparently this type of presentation to the Parliament is unusual.
The President of the Parliament is Barbara Prammer, the first woman to have this position. She is the second most powerful person in the government, second to the prime minister. She is also officially the second in command as head of state (after the President). Interestingly, she has played a major role in the process of Austria's recognizing and coming to terms with its war guilt after decades of denial. She has also been active in building bridges of understanding with the Jewish community. She was aware of my family history and we chatted about this before the session.
Barbara Prammer and Steve Wozniak gave brief speeches and I gave the primary keynote for the presentation to the Austrian Parliament. I spoke at some length about my family history in Vienna.
The Parliament building was built in the 19th century and is quite beautiful. Apparently it was not severely damaged during World War II, as the allies focused their destructive power on Germany.
I had an interview at the airport with the leading newspaper of Austria. I was then escorted right to the plane by being driven across the airport tarmac, similar to the treatment that Sonya and I received in Israel when I spoke at the Presidential Conference.
I then flew back and wrote these recollections on the plane.


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The Name Game: Whose Last Name Should I Give My Baby?
"Should I give my baby my last name or the father's last name?" asks Circle of Moms member Nicole H. Pregnant and single, she wonders if it is okay to give her child her own name "because the father isn't involved now," and may never be.
Nicole's situation is not unique. One of the significant and often touchy issues that faces single moms almost the moment after their baby's birth is whose last name to pen in on the birth certificate. This is a frequent topic of conversation among Circle of Moms members who are pregnant but not yet married to the father, and there's often easy consensus on the core issue: moms believe that unmarried moms hold the naming rights. As Peggy H. explains, "It is totally your decision, don't let anyone try to make it for you. If you are not married to the father, you can always change the last name if you marry. Give the baby your name now so you both have the same name. You know that you will always be there for your baby — will the father?"
Is the Dad Going to Be An Involved Parent?
That's exactly the sentiment that drives many Circle of Moms members to say they feel strongly that the naming rights belong to the parent who is actively involved in the baby's care. "Am I wrong for wanting my child to have my last name?" says Elizabeth D. "I recently decided to give my child my last name instead of the father's. Some say I shouldn't do that, while others think I have every right." Heather T. says she too believes it depends on if whether dad is actively involved or not in the baby's life. "I think that it depends on your situation," she says. "If the father is a part of the child's life, then maybe you should leave the name alone unless he agrees to have it changed as well. But if the father is not going to have anything to do with the child, then by all means give the kid your name. Ultimately though it is up to you and what you think is best for your kid."
At the same time, Circle of Moms members agree that if the father is engaged in the child's life, an unmarried mom should at least consider giving the child his last name. "I think that if you're in a loving relationship with the father and figure you're going to stay with him and possibly marry him, then you should give the baby his last name," says Shannon." If you do marry him, then you'll all have the same name (assuming you take his name). But if you're not sure about him, and you think in a few years you won't be with him and you think things would be easier for you to have the baby have the same name as you, go for it."
There are good reasons for single moms to give babies their names, many Circle of Moms suggest. April M. advises: "It's a lot easier as well when they grow up to have the same name as you, because if not they ask why they are different."
Other Circle of Moms members recommend pairing together or hyphenating both last names, again with the caveat that the father is actively involved in the baby's upbringing. Blackwood K. says moms need to ask themselves: "Will the father be a positive aspect in your child's life for the long term? If yes, then you could use both names, if not then maybe you have the right [to use just your name]. But whatever your decision, it should be for your child's sake, not to...get back at the man."
Nothing's Permanent...or Is It?
Some Circle of Moms members assure single moms that the decision does not have to be permanent. "If you are not married you aren't entitled to give your child the father's last name," says Brandy W. "Examine yourself and your motives and make the decision that feels best to you in your heart. If you and your child's father marry later you can always change your baby's last name. It costs a little over $100 to do, but you can always do it later so that takes off some of the pressure."
Still other Circle of Moms members caution that deciding the last name of the baby can be very delicate and should not be done lightly or with the wrong intentions. A baby's last name can turn into a bargaining chip, says Brenda. "I ended up using both surnames for my two kids. My (then) partner was absolutely against having both surnames so I gave him some advice: do something about making mine the same [as yours], or our babies' surname will stay combined. If I had been on my own I would definitely given my kids my own surname. They are a part of you, well that's how I felt anyway. We are now married, so as promised I have changed our kid's surnames to my husband's." Leanne H. agrees. "My son has my last name," says Leanne H. "I made it clear that there was no other choice in the matter. If my boyfriend and I were married it might be different. However, we are not."
There are some Circle of Moms members who believe that ultimately the child should make the decision on his last name, when he's old enough. "A friend of mine gave her son her last name, then when he was old enough (I think he's six now), she gave him the option of having it changed to his father's last name," says Laura C.
If you weren't married when you had your baby, whose last name did you use?
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.


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It's not news that the rest of the country loves to hate Aucklanders. I'm pretty sure it's because they think we look down our noses at them which I reckon isn't really true. Much as non-Auckland-based New Zealanders like to believe we Aucklanders spend a lot of time thinking they're inferior to us, the truth is we're not generally obsessing about them at all.
We're too busy sipping our lattes and being stuck in traffic to worry about anything south of the Bombay Hills. It's just a myth that developed to give those in the provinces a good reason to loathe us. And anyway, there's no homogeneous "them" for us to sneer at: Cantabrians are as different from Southlanders as the Waikato people are from the folk in Hawkes Bay.
But because they think we're up ourselves some out-of-towners don't hesitate to deride Auckland whenever the opportunity arises. Perhaps they really want to have a go at the people but make do with critiquing the place.
The three main criticisms centre on the traffic, the weather and Auckland's perceived physical inhospitableness. Now I concede the first point. The traffic can be diabolical. If I have to venture onto the motorway before 10am or after 3pm on a weekday I pretty much lose the will to live. Ditto if I need to cross town in rush hour. So I won't argue about the traffic thing. Let them chalk that up as a win.
But an outsider's perception of our weather is invariably incorrect. "It rains a lot up there, doesn't it?" I've lost count of the number of times someone from the provinces has asked me this. And then I try to describe a typical "rainy" Auckland day by saying: "Well, it rains frequently. So you could have a day that you considered rainy but when you actually reflect on it you'll realise it rained briefly maybe three times but for no more than more than 15-minutes in total if you added them together."
By the time I've finished explaining that the other person's eyes have glazed over and I suspect they may have lost the will to live. Maybe they were only making conversation and perhaps I'd offered too much information. But I won't stand by and have our weather falsely maligned.
I've played tennis outdoors hundreds of times over the past twelve years and it's been rained off maybe five times. Sure sometimes there's been light drizzle and occasionally we've played between deluges but it's mainly fleeting inconveniences rather than precipitation of note. Friday was a classic example. There was torrential rain when I woke up and at 8am my daughter's class trip to take photographs at Highwic historic house was cancelled. About 10 minutes later the rain stopped and it was brilliantly sunny for the rest of the day.
One of my favourite uncles has a low opinion of Auckland. He flies up regularly from Palmerston North (I know: don't get me started) for a meeting then flies straight back. From this he has decided that Auckland is a barren, concrete wasteland. I try to suggest to him that the journey from the airport to Onehunga and back again just might not be indicative of the very best that Auckland has to offer but his mind is made up. In his view Auckland is busy, sterile and comprised mainly of motorway. I suspect a lot of people have formed their opinion of the place on equally spurious evidence.
But then I'm biased too because I've always been a little bit in love with the city. When I was 15 I'd read about Auckland in the NZ Herald and dream of relocating. Mind you, anywhere would have probably seemed like an improvement on Hastings. I've lived in Auckland for 22 years now but I'm likely to be regarded as just a visitor from Hawkes Bay by those born and bred here. Never mind. I consider myself an honorary Aucklander at least and I'll defend the place against unfair slurs if I have to.
Do you think people from elsewhere in New Zealand sometimes get the wrong idea about Auckland? And if you're from outside of Auckland, what's your impression of the place and those who inhabit it?


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Growing up we always had a fairly large garden, the kids were enthusiastic about planting, but less enthusiastic about watering and weeding. The first couple of harvests from the green beans, onions and tomatoes were exciting, but that soon faded as the cucumbers seem to multiply and the squash would take over the entire garden. So, while planning this garden project, I was cautious of planting too much... as I know my 31-year-old self is basically the same semi-lazy 11-year-old during the summer months while the pool is open. However, Emma LOVES to be outside, so I think this mini-garden will be just enough to keep me busy while she chases Mr. Darcy around with tennis balls.
I've included photos of the project, but I'll tell you - it was silly simple. It took me a total of 2 hours start to finish (with a trip to Home Depot for an extra load of topsoil...) and cost about $75. I watched this "This Old House" (my absolute favorite show!) "Gaden" video online before I started, but simplified it a little. Because my box is smaller (6x4 vs. 4x10) I didn't feel the need to brace it. I might regret it later, but for now, my 2 hour project looks perfect for me!
Supplies :
2 - 2x10x10's (cut into 2 - 4ft & 6ft pieces)
Outdoor Wood Screws (decking screws)
Electric Screwdriver
30 Bags of Topsoil
1 Bag of Mulch
10 Tomato Plants
1 Rosemary
2 Basil
3 Thyme
3 Chive
1 Oregano
1 Cilantro
1 Italian Parsley
Leaf Lettuce
Green Onions
The spot is shaded just in the morning, but has full sun from 10am - 6pm. Hopefully, that will be enough... we'll see.
The wood frame is completed after joining all of the sides with 3 screws each. The box measures 6ft x 4ft.
I feel almost silly typing the "instructions" - too easy.
Hauling 30 bags of topsoil = good morning workout
Planted! The tomato plants line the back and the herbs are in the middle and front left.
I got the tomato plants from my cousin Bret's produce Farm, Fahrmeier Farms. He recommended that I plant them very deep to create a strong root system.
My plants were already anxious for a good drink! The right front side of the planter will have lettuces, radishes and green onions later this week.
Next step is to mulch and water.
I like the dark brown mulch the best - it will help to keep out the weeds, help keep moisture in... and help it look nice!
I staked the tomato plants with wooden 6 foot stakes. I'll tie them to the stick with twine later.
I'll keep you posted on the progress and status of the garden... wish me luck.


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"Terminus" captivates audience
March 16, 2011
Hearing a man with an Irish lilt describe murder in rhymed verse is oddly captivating. As is hearing a young woman speak passionately of a body assembled of worms, the temporary home of a soul shucked of its body. Or the tale of a woman on a mission to prevent death, only to have her efforts rewarded by more casualties. This snapshot offers only a glimpse into the power of the Abbey Theatre of Ireland's production of Terminus, an inventive play composed of rhyming monologues that took liberties with realism and form, but had no trouble captivating the audience during its single performance on Saturday, March 5.
Terminus, written and directed by Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe, takes place in a modern Dublin where violence is commonplace and where magical realism reigns supreme. Three unnamed actors stood on stage the entire performance, surrounded by fog and a sparse set of platforms for them to stand on and large abstract angles reflecting their shadows and framing them upstage.
The play is a series of nine monologues — three for each actor. When a monologue was finished, the actor speaking would fade into the darkness as the lights focused on the next character, making sure whoever was speaking captured all of the audience's attention.
The play began with A, played by Olwen Fouéré, a woman in her 50s who regrets many of her past actions — like sleeping with her estranged daughter's fiancé — but is trying to remedy her wrongs by stopping a former student from aborting her nine-month old fetus. Fouéré was a favorite of many people I spoke to after the performance, mostly for her hardened nonchalance, take no prisoners attitude. B, played by Catherine Walker, is a woman in her 20s and has been scorned by life for too long. When love arrives in the form of a worm-riddled soul escaped from hell, she embraces the opportunity, although the character's description of their rapturous night together — and all the wriggling worms that involved — inspired many offended murmurs from the audience. Walker was probably the weakest performer of the three, but the passion and innocence of her performance made her my favorite. I also think she had the best series of lines, which I'll explain in more detail later.
C, played by Declan Conlon, is a serial killer who just wants to be loved, but is terrified of women. In a deal with the devil he trades his soul for "a voice refined, resplendent, defined by transcendent notes which rose, froze, then dipped and slipped away without a trace," but cannot find the courage to share his gift after the deal is done.
Each of the character's stories were fascinating on their own, but one of the most magical parts about the production was slowly uncovering the characters' connections — that A was B's mother, that the passionate soul B loved was the one forsaken by C, and that each character's terminus is dependent on the decisions of those whose monologues precede and follow theirs.
Although the only movements that occurred on stage were the gesticulations and pantomimes of the stationary actors, the story the three characters wove was riveting nonetheless. When an entire play consists of only monologues and the audience must furnish most of the action with their imagination, the words in the script take on an added importance, a recognition that O'Rowe's script much deserved. The monologues never grew tedious or monotonous, partly because of their intensity and partly because they truly were poetry, theatrical slam poetry sprinkled with copious amounts of swearing and cringe-inducing violence for flavor. You could hear the audience's mind at work when the characters' descriptions grew intense — the audience collectively recoiled and gasped at a particularly vivid description of A, the official badass of Terminus, poking out someone's eyeballs, and the mention of bloodthirsty C cutting a young woman's throat or any mention of worms provoked a similar response.
Jason Zinoman, who reviewed Terminus for the New York Times described the monologues as a "dense, musical brand of colloquial poetry that sounds like a mix between Jay-Z and Tom Wolfe on a gonzo riff," and with a play that has the lines, "I was hopeless until hope appeared one night in my room, my fright at first sight subdued by the dude, suppressed, I confess, by the thing I missed the most; a kiss, though not from a chick, but Old Nick, the host of all the f***s who fall," I'm not prone to argue.
In a workshop held the day after the performance, O'Rowe said that his goal as a playwright was to write scenes that he thought were cool, and the sheer joy he must have felt in finding such creative ways to rhyme with curses and make something beautiful out of such somber themes as abortion, murder, incest and fear of death, is noticeable in the performance. The actors also offered a workshop the day before the performance, and many students participated and absorbed much of the advice and knowledge these professionals had to offer.
The actors also deserve major kudos for bringing the play to life. They took a script that offers them little opportunity to move and denote action — except through inflection and a mastery of timing — and turned it into something alive and poignant. The play was a testament to the power of words — in a strange alternate realm where time is frozen, it is fine, even fantastic, that the characters tell us their deeds instead of showing us.
The point in the narrative when the play crescendoed into something to remember, something that sticks to your brain long after the curtain call, at least for me, was B's recitation of the greatest hits of her life at the end of the play. The dying memories she spoke of — "crying the first time I slept with a guy, not knowing why, getting high, getting drunk, bingeing on junk food" — a never-ending litany of the things we all experience as young people, seemed particularly profound when performed for an audience of college students for whom her joyful reminisces seem infinitely relatable. It didn't matter that she was speaking in rhymed verse or that there were angels trying to murder her and her only savior was a disembodied serial killer. That moment of the play was one of the most heartbreakingly human and real things I have ever seen in theater, and we weren't even witnessing any event! Just the character's description of the event and the emotional resonance that these experiences had on B, a resonance so palpable that is was bound to leave an imprint on the audience.
Terminus also had the peculiar gift of not letting the violence interrupt the audience's enjoyment of the characters or the beauty of the actor's words or diction. The violence was not something the audience ignored — we cringed at the misdeeds we heard described so vividly, but we forgave and still do forgive. We do not pass judgment, for we were in a moment suspended in time, and we did not want to ruin the slow rhythmic unraveling of these characters' connections and passions by being offended by their choices. Judgment was passed on each of them by the end of the play; their terminus was imminent. So, we sat enraptured, completely under the spell of those nameless forces of nature, waiting for them to fall.


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Engineers lay out rationale, timing for plant project
A rehash of Coulee Dam's wastewater treatment plant project dominated the town's regular council meeting last Wednesday night.
Gray & Osborne engineers Jeff Stevens and John Wilson took the council and about 15 people who attended the meeting down memory lane, explaining the time frame and processes used to get the project where it is today.
Just where it is, is a question that's not easily answered.
Gray & Osborne has been called off the design phase for three months while the town attempts to go through a "value engineering" process to help determine if the cost and scope of the project is the best the town can do.
The town had been pressured to stall the project by community activist Greg Wilder and town officials of Elmer City, who tried successfully to get Coulee Dam to connect with the Colville Tribes and Indian Health Services, with the hopes of developing a new financial partner.
Several hundred tribal families live within the two towns, which has piqued the interest of the tribes.
Wilder, who has had some fiery confrontations with Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow, was at Wednesday's meetings, again pointing out that the tribes through IHS would only be interested in helping to fund the project if a value engineering study showed that the town was getting the best bang for the buck.
The town had already agreed to do that, and Snow stated that he was looking for funding for the study. Estimates of the cost for the study range from $15,000 to $35,000 or more.
Engineer Wilson said that G&O had been involved with the project since its inception and "at no time did anyone come forward to support an alternate site."
Wilder contends that was an alternative the engineers should have put forth.
Gray & Osborne engineers contended that utilizing the present wastewater treatment plant made more sense than to have Elmer City proceed with building its own plant. The infrastructure is in place and the permit process that allows the town to discharge its water into the river is already established, the engineers stated.
Elmer City Councilmember Gail Morin brought up that Elmer City residents can't afford the sewer rates on a $4.92 million plant loan. Elmer City residents now pay $35 a month for sewer service and Coulee Dam residents pay $59 a month.
Larry Holford, another Elmer City councilman, asked if G&O had looked at locating the plant down river someplace when they first got started on the project. Wilson said there had never been any interest in doing so.
Elmer City has about 10 years remaining on a contract agreement with Coulee Dam to accept its wastewater.
Morin said she understood that the contract was invalid. She said that Elmer City is still paying on the initial loan it took out to get the current plant started. The loan agreement is still considered valid and Coulee Dam's attorney had stated at a joint meeting of the two town councils that if Elmer City didn't like the agreement, then it should negotiate a new one. This hasn't been done.
G&O pointed out that Coulee Dam currently has a $4.92 million loan offer from the Department of Ecology, and if the two towns wanted to get their monthly rate down, then they could get a 40-year loan and reduce residents' monthly charge.
Or as engineer Wilson put it, "If you want to lower rates, get proactive and work with Coulee Dam to get the rates lower."
Wilder stated that Elmer City would be better off with its own 20-year plan.
After more discussion, Snow stated that Wilder had had his five minutes, and it was time to move on. Wilder thanked Snow for interrupting him and limiting his time.
"There are other paths to the truth, so thank you Quincy for encouraging me to take them," Wilder said. "Thank you for validating my approach and behavior." The town limits comments at its council meetings to five minutes.
With that, several of those attending from Elmer City left the meeting.
The action plan of getting money to pay for a "value engineering" study that existed when the meeting got underway, was the same at the end of the evening.
This story has been corrected to delete a reference to Greg Wilder leaving the meeting, which he did not.