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Kind Healthy Peanut Butter Snacks Giveaway
In honor of National Peanut Butter Day that was on January 24, Kind Snacks wants to give away their most popular peanut butter goodies.
One lucky winner will win:
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein (12 bars)
Peanut Butter & Strawberry (12 bars)
Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters (2 pouches)
I've been a fan of Kind for years. Their snacks are healthy, tasty, and wholesome. Although I make many of my own snack bars, granola bars, and granola, it's nice to have a storebought option that I can trust to deliver bars with quality ingredients with names I can pronounce.
I am a huge fan of chunky textures and one thing I love about Kind products is that I can really see what I'm eating. Big oaty clusters, chewy raisins and dried fruit, and peanut butter is always welcome.
I love peanut butter! Some posts about it include:
35 Favorite Peanut Butter Recipes (as of September 2012)
Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes
master compilation of all Peanut Butter Recipes
Here are 15 Peanut Butter Favorites:
1. Homemade Peanut Butter (vegan if plain peanuts are used, GF) – Ready in 5 minutes and you have not lived until you've made your own
2. Homemade Cookie Butter Peanut Butter (vegan, GF) – So similar to Biscoff or Trader Joe's Cookie Butter and it comes together in minutes in the food processor. Dangerously good
3. Special K Bars (no-bake) – The recipe is from my Grandma and one of my favorite bars of all time and ironically was the first picture Foodgawker ever accepted of mine. 250+ later, it's fun to think back
4. Coconut Peanut Butter Magic Cake Bars – One of my favorite bar-desserts that I've ever posted (tied with the bars below it). If Seven Layer Bars (aka Magic Bars or Hello Dolly Bars) met a golden yellow butter cake rather than a graham cracker crust, that's what these are like
5. White Chocolate Vanilla Marshmallow Cake Bars – One of my favorite desserts that I've ever posted (tied with the bars above) – There are four main layers to these bars. Gooey butter cake, peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate chips, more white chocolate. The pictures don't do them justice
6. Peanut Butter & Jelly Blondies – So dense and rich they're peanut butter fudge-like with jelly swirled throughout
7. Marshmallow Peanut Butter Double Chocolate Pillowtop Bars – One of my favorite desserts of 2011. Creamy, sweet, rich. A soft and sweet marshmallow-peanut butter top layer adorns a base of oats, sweetened condensed milk, and white chocolate. An all-time favorite
8. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies – One of my favorite cookie recipes on my site. Chewy, filled with texture, and combines three of my favorite cookies in one – chocolate chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter – and very easy to make, no mixer required
9. Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies – One of my all-time favorites, I love these cookies and they're similar to the cookies above, but with white chocolate chips. I love them
10. Peanut Butter Cocoa Krispies Smores Bars – Thanks to Pinterest, one of the most popular recipes on my site. No need for campfires, make s'mores at home. These smores have three layers, including a cocoa-crispy cereal top layer that's made with peanut butter
11. Caramel Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars (vegan, GF) – Crumble topping adorns layer of caramel, peanut butter, and sweet jelly in these easy, no-mixer required layered bars
12. Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola (vegan, GF) – You'll never want storebought granola after you get spoiled with the ease, flavor, and cost-savings of homemade
13. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (No-Bake, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free) – My favorite, easy, no-bake granola bar of all time. Like a Quaker Chewy Bar, but enhanced
14. Ritz Cracker Stuffed Peanut Butter Cups (no-bake, vegan – Ritz crackers are Accidentally Vegan) – You don't need storebought after making your own in minutes. Customize them and stuff whatever strikes your fancy from marshmallows to caramel
Last but not least…
15. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (gluten-free) – No flour, no white sugar, and no butter is used in these ridiculously moist cookies that overflow with dark chocolate. Robustly peanut butter-flavored and the most amazing peanut butter cookies I've ever had and a new favorite. Stop what you're doing and make these now (and make the chocolate chips ones below, too)
And there's no peanut butter in them, but these are my favorite Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies
Using Rafflecopter, enter to win the Kind Snacks by making sure to leave a blog comment below in response to the first question.
Then follow the prompts for additional entries.
Make sure to also enter the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System Giveaway ($179)


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The company's prototype, called the SYNEK draft system, sits on your kitchen counter and dispenses beer—even from the most obscure craft breweries. The secret behind this "Keurig for beer" is a new kind of flexible packaging that holds the equivalent of about eleven 12-ounce beer cans, says SYNEK strategic director Mike Werner.
The idea is that any brewery can fill up the bags and ship them out in cartridges, which look like the boxes coffeehouses sell for meetings. Take a box home, pop it into the toaster-size SYNEK, and pour a cold one whenever you want. The cartridges keep the beer fresh for about 30 days and are as easy to store as a bag of ground coffee.
- Reposted by

subset: commoncrawl


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Internet Phones
Cisco Unified IP Phones
Learn about an Internet phone that is as smart as a computer, but is as easy to use as an ordinary phone-the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series.
Get an Internet phone that is as smart as a computer, but as easy to use as an ordinary phone. Cisco Unified IP phones enhances the productivity of your employees by opening up new Internet phone capabilities, giving workers voice and data communications wherever they go.
The Cisco Unified IP Phones:
- Gives employees the capability of leaving voicemail
that colleagues can access through their computers,
and even view when they are on the phone
- Improves productivity through new and innovative
telephony applications that can be run right on the
Internet phone, including time-and-attendance, billing,
and other telephony-based tools
- Allows access to traditional phone features like
multiple lines, call-forwarding, call rollover, and
audio conferencing
- Offers multiple network compatibility and connectivity
options that can automatically recognize when your
Internet phones are plugged into the network, eliminating
the cost and complexity of adding or moving your
Internet phones
- Provides support for major wireless and security standards
Additional Internet phone features of the Cisco Unified IP Phones include:
- Internet phone models for a variety of environments, including office, lobby, manufacturing floor, branch offices, home, or mobile
- Standards-based development environment for new productivity applications
- Built-in Internet phone user guide
- Easily visible on-screen command keys
- User-friendly Internet phone touch screens in color
- Conference phone capabilities with easy connection to external speakers
- Hearing-aid compatibility
- Audible and visual alerts
- Reduced phone installation and cabling costs
Internet phones from Cisco retain the communications capabilities your employees use every day-and add new ones that help increase each employee's ability to collaborate. Thanks to network integration, every Internet phone is easy to install, manage, and update.
For more information please visit: Cisco Small Business IP Phones (Linksys Business Series)


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Yesterday, I did my first Tough Mudder.
If you don't know what that is, check it out. It's nuts. Or, to think about it another way, a few weeks ago, I was proud to say that I did my first half marathon. Yesterday, I basically did a half marathon that included live electrical wires, an ice bath, crawling through mud and a host of other obstacles. It was enough to make me think that if someone doesn't knock me off my bike on my commute or if I don't fall in some water, it will have gone too easily.
See the socks in the picture to the right? Those are, or were, white. :)
One thing that struck me yesterday was the Mudder Pledge and how it reminded me of doing a startup:
- I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.
- I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
- I do not whine – kids whine.
- I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.
- I overcome all fears.
Think about how you might rewrite it for entrepreneurs:
- I understand that entrepreneurship is not a race but a challenge.
- I put teamwork and camaraderie before money.
- I do not whine – cubical workers whine.
- I help my fellow coworkers succeed.
- I overcome all fears.
Sounds like a pretty good "Tough Startup" pledge. Perhaps everyone can get their team together this morning to recite the #toughstartup pledge in their offices. Please tweet @ me if you do! Make a video of it!
By the way, doing or startup or doing a Tough Mudder is not for the faint of heart. Not everyone should do it. They say things at the race like, "If you cannot swim, do not go in the water." Seems obvious, but I feel like, in our world, a lot of entrepreneurs don't quite get this. It all seems like fun and games until you start drowning.
Read more posts on This Is Going To Be Big »


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If you could answer yes to any of these questions, you may suffer from sociotropy — the scientific term for having the need to please others. While that might make you the right candidate to broker peace in the Mideast, excessive niceness is a recipe for excessive girth. And it's only one of the character traits that can lead to unhappy mornings on the scale.
We all know the major triggers of emotional eating: anger, loneliness, rejection, guilt. Most of us, at one time or another, have taken out our fury on a bag of crunchy corn chips or tried to beat the blues with a pint of cookie-dough ice cream. But new research shows that certain personality types are also prone to making a frosted donut a chosen alternative to therapy. Besides the sociotrope, there's the thrill seeker and the worka-choco-holic — and each type needs different strategies for coping without the extra calories.
The People Pleaser: You Eat for One, But It's Not You
In a recent experiment at Case Western Reserve University, researchers screened volunteers for their "gotta be nice" qualities, then invited them to a meeting with a staff member (actually an actor) who casually passed around a bowl of M&M's. When the bowl came their way, students who'd scored higher on the sociotropy scale dug in, taking more than the students who were less concerned with others' comfort or with matching how many the actor ate. "They didn't want him to feel bad by eating fewer," explains study head Julie Exline, Ph.D.
We often eat more when we're around those who are eating a lot — that's one reason studies show that people whose friends are overweight are more likely to be heavy themselves. "Then, if you have a people-pleasing thing going on top of that, you'll feel even more pressured to follow others," says Exline.
After overeating comes depression, and not just because you can't zip your jeans. "When your motivation is to please other people, you're letting them tell you what's important to you," says Exline. "I describe it as 'silencing your own voice.' " The goal, then, to avoid piling on those unpleasing pounds, is to find that voice.
1. First, Consider What You Want
If you're not truly hungry, "Lay on praise, then state your boundary," suggests Karen R. Koenig, a psychotherapist and author of Nice Girls Finish Fat. You might say, "Those pastries look delicious, but I'm so stuffed from lunch that I'm going to take a pass." You can smile at that cute Brownie, give her the money for two boxes of cookies, then ask her to donate them to troops overseas. (Yes, they can do that — see hugsforsoldiers.org).
2. De-nice Yourself...A Little
Of course, you're going to be fighting an enemy that has outposts in your head, as writer Sally Kempton famously said. Even if you were the biggest tomboy on the block, you probably grew up believing that caretaking was in your future, if not somewhere in your genes. "But changing isn't as hard as you may think," says Koenig. "It's really about learning a new life skill."
Practice saying a (polite) no to the salesperson on the phone (start with the robocaller if you're a tough case), then work your way up to strangers offering samples in a store and coworkers tempting you with holiday goodies. After that, you'll be ready to take on your cousin when she pushes a second helping of pie at you.
The Thrill Seeker: You're Bored and Want Candy
What you probably want is a jolt of dopamine, says Susan Carnell, Ph.D., research associate at New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital. That's the brain chemical that drives excitement, pleasure, and motivation — including the motivation to eat. "The dopamine system evolved with the very purpose of making adaptive things like eating feel rewarding so we wouldn't forget to do them."
These days, says Carnell, drugs, thrill seeking, and food cravings have hijacked the brain's reward system, leading to addiction, accidents, and overeating. Recent studies have found that ingesting sugary, fatty foods sparks dopamine production in the brain in much the same way drugs like heroin do, lighting up the neural reward center in imaging studies. "It's just a matter of degree," says Carnell. "Food gives a relatively mild high compared to skydiving and heroin. But it's the easiest route to reward."
Surprisingly, there's not a lot of research on boredom eating, but a small 2011 Bowling Green State University study hints at how prevalent it is. In the study, 139 young men and women reported eating out of boredom more than out of other states of emotion linked to overindulging, such as anxiety or depression.
Older studies, approaching boredom from a slightly different direction, have suggested a connection between having what scientists call a "novelty-seeking personality" and being overweight. In a review from Washington University in St. Louis, obese people were more likely than thinner folks to be novelty seekers; they also had great trouble dropping pounds. One reason: Being high in novelty-seeking can make you more likely to overeat as well as to try and enjoy drugs. Cocaine, a cupcake — it's all the same when you're looking for a kick.
Joking aside, if your life seems like one big yawn, there are things to do other than hitting the fridge.
1. Seek Out a Thrill
Make a list of activities that can fill in the boring blanks. "To stimulate your neural circuitry, it has to be something that makes you feel excited and motivated," says Carnell. You could, for example, take a class. Dopamine is the chemical that fosters learning and memory, so the novelty of doing something new scatters the chemical throughout your brain. Whether it's knitting or scuba diving depends on you and the level of excitement you think you need.
2. Shake Up Your Life Regularly
Get off the bus at a different stop and hoof it the rest of the way to work, checking out the sights you've only seen from a window. Plan your dream vacation or home-remodeling project in detail, as if you're doing it soon. Need to lose weight? A single program may not help you, particularly if you get bored counting calories, carbs, or points. So try one and, after the thrill's gone, try another. Likewise, alternate physical activity — walking one day, Zumba the next.
The Worka-choco-holic: You're Overworked, Overwhelmed — and Overeating
Those are the "three O's" that are the downfall of driven women, says psychologist Melissa McCreery, Ph.D., founder of the website toomuchonherplate.com, which explores how women's busy lives contribute to emotional eating and weight gain. The "O's" can all lead to stress eating. "But there's more to it than stress," says McCreery. "Women who balance many responsibilities struggle with putting themselves first. It takes time. Food is an easy Band-Aid, while real self-care can be more time-intensive."
But solutions come in many sizes — and even small changes may be enough to avoid the extra pounds that can come with extra work.
1. Think "Doable"
You don't want to add more stress to your life. For example, take five minutes to transition between work and home. If you know you won't find quiet — everyone will be "starving" or clamoring to tell you about his or her day — sit in the car and listen to music or meditate before going into the house.
2. Connect With Yourself
When you're stressed, take five again — five seconds — before digging into the Nutella. "Ask yourself what's going on and if there's anything else you want to do besides eat," says McCreery.
Make a list of small breaks that don't involve chewing: calling a friend; playing a game on your cell phone; tossing a toy for your dog.
3. Say It Out Loud
A recently published Greek study found that people who were trying to learn a new skill did better when they spoke to themselves using cue words. When you're stressed, voicing your plan to do something other than eat — "I'm going to sit down and read for five minutes" — will change the direction of your thoughts, says McCreery. "It takes you off autopilot and puts you more in control."
If that doesn't work, instead of blaming yourself, be curious. Think about what went wrong and what you could do next time. Overachievers are smart; harness your own wisdom, and you'll find your answers there.
Go to the Mattress
No matter what your personality, if you're tired, you'll be tempted to look for a quick hit of energy — the kind that lives in vending machines or behind drive-through windows. Many of us know this from life experience, but now, using brain-imaging technology, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have confirmed that people who have been sleep-deprived suffer impairment in the parts of the brain involved in making appropriate food choices. The solution: Make sleep time sacrosanct. When you can't log enough hours, try these next-day tricks: Give your brain a rest every 45 minutes or so. "No matter how busy you are, you'll be more productive if you take breaks," says psychologist Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. And find other quick ways to boost energy — move around, go outside for some fresh air, or listen to upbeat music on your iPod.


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Demi Lovato Talks Bi-Polar and Eating Disorders, Past Addictions + Moreby Thomas Chau | PopCrush
Demi Lovato has opened up about past demons, including her struggles with mental illnesses and addictions, in a long, candid and open interview with The Daily Mail.
The 21-year-old singer hasn't held back anything when it comes to talking about her darker side, to which she says she hopes to be "a beacon of hope for the next generation." Last November, Lovato released a book titled 'Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year,' a book designed to help her young fans get through tough times one day at a time.
"When you are no longer hiding anything, you don't worry about what is going to get out," she admits. "I don't care who knows about my life, and now that I am an open book a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
Lovato believes that being bullied at a young age was what led to her eating disorders. "I'd just performed with an artist called JoJo; my friends were fans of hers but they didn't get to meet her and I did. I felt uncomfortable saying that they were jealous, so I told myself that they hated me because I was fat. They were telling me I was fat, so it made sense – and that is what got programmed into my brain."
She then revealed to The Daily Mail that her addiction to painkillers came after they were prescribed to her after a car crash. "I liked the feeling they gave me – they sort of numbed everything – and I also liked the sneakiness of taking extra pills out of my mum's bag without her knowing."
"Everything skyrocketed, which was awesome, but the negative side was that I thought, 'Right, I am working like an adult so I should be able to party like an adult,'" she admits.
Demi's father, Patrick Lovato, was suffering from his own problems as well. Her birth father was diagnosed as bi-polar and problems got to a point where she didn't want to be around him anymore. "He had started having delusions and I could no longer decipher when he was telling the truth and when he was lying. It just hurt too much, so in the end I cut off all communication."
The drinking and partying got to be too much and her mother firmly said that she needed to get help. Her mother had banned Demi from visiting her sister Madison until she sought treatment. "My life was a shambles and, although I had a lot of success, I was also very alone and miserable. I love Madison and one of the main reasons I wanted to get better was because I didn't want to be apart from her."
These days, Demi is managing her own bi-polar depression with medication and tackling things one day at a time. On being diagnosed bi-polar, Demi confesses that she felt a sigh of relief. "I'd been living with this mania – moments when I was up all night writing songs, thinking I could take on the world, and also these deep, dark depressions, when all I wanted to do was shut the door and not talk to anyone. And that is why I had been isolating myself – to try to deal with the pain."
For more on her lengthy interview with The Daily Mail, click here.


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For the quarter ended March 31, 2009, net income was approximately $116,000 or one-third of a cent per diluted share, as compared to net income of approximately $330,000, or one cent per diluted share, in the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Net revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 were approximately $10.4 million, a decrease of approximately 8%, as compared to net revenues of approximately $11.3 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
"In the face of a deep worldwide recession, we are reporting our ninth consecutive profitable quarter," said GVI Chief Operating Officer/CFO Joe Restivo. "Net sales were down approximately 8% reflecting the difficult economic conditions. Despite the economy we were able to strategically deploy our sales and marketing efforts to record strong overall sales gains in Latin America and selectively expand market share."
Net interest expense for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 decreased 42% to approximately $113,000 from approximately $196,000 in the quarter ended March 31, 2008. The decrease was primarily a result of a lower interest rate on the Company's credit facility which stood at prime plus 25 basis points or 3.5% as of March 31, 2009.
The NAHB-Wells Fargo index rose to 16 in May from 14 in April on a scale of zero to 100. It's the highest since the 17 recorded in September. The index got as low as 6 in January. Before the current housing meltdown, the index had never gotten below 20 in its 24-year history. It peaked at 72 nearly four years ago.
"This is one more piece of data that suggests the recession's grip in the economy is beginning to loosen."
Over time, the NAHB index and housing starts are highly correlated. Starts are down 48% in the past year and down 72% from the peak. Economists are forecasting a slight increase in starts to a 519,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from 510,000 in March.
Dennis Raefield, CEO and President of Mace, stated, "I am excited about the future of Mace. We are on track with our growth strategy. Even though our 2009 first quarter sales were soft due to the continuing global economic crisis, we have achieved our cost-cutting goals and have reduced Mace's quarter over quarter losses by improving our gross margin and reducing the Company's overhead.
"We have also improved our Security Division's sales department, product offerings and customer service. We have completed a significant step in our security-oriented growth strategy by acquiring a first class wholesale central monitoring station, which is the platform to build our next generation of services. We plan to roll out new services during both the second and third quarters of 2009. I hope to see continued improvement as we start to see growth rebound in the security sector. I am also pleased to announce that we continue to make progress in selling our remaining car washes, and we are very pleased with the direction of our Digital Media Marketing segment," Mr. Raefield concluded.
Total revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 were $8.6 million, as compared to $12.3 million for the same period in 2008. The decrease in overall revenues during the first quarter of 2009 was primarily due to a decrease in revenues from Mace's Digital Media Marketing segment because of management's decision to discontinue the marketing efforts of its online marketing division, PromoPath, in June 2008. There was also a reduction in sales in Mace's Security and Car Wash segments.
Loss from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2009 was approximately ($1.7) million, or ($0.10) per share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of ($2.2) million, or ($0.13) per share, for the first quarter of 2008. The reduction in loss from continuing operations was partially due to a reduction in selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses from $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008 to $3.7 million in the same period in 2009, a decrease of approximately $1.3 million, or 26%. The SG&A expense savings were realized from a reduction in costs with the consolidation of our security division's Ft. Lauderdale, Florida surveillance equipment warehouse operations into our Farmers Branch, Texas facility, with an expense reduction of approximately $140,000, as well as overhead reductions within our Digital Media Marketing segment. SG&A expenses of our Digital Media Marketing segment decreased from $1.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2008 to $708,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2009. In addition to these cost savings measures, we also noted a reduction in non-cash compensation expense from continuing operations from approximately $253,600 in the three months ended March 31, 2008 to $50,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2009.
The Company's net book value was $41.6 million, or $2.55 per share, at March 31, 2009. In addition, Mace had $53.1 million in total assets, including $8.5 million of cash and short-term investments, at March 31, 2009.
Henry Bros. Electronics, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2009 Results
FAIR LAWN, N.J., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Henry Bros. Electronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBE) , a turnkey provider of technology-based integrated electronic security solutions, today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
The Company reported revenue of $15.3 million for the first quarter of 2009, representing a 3.8% decrease over revenue of $15.9 million for the same period a year ago. The slight decrease in revenue in the recent first quarter is primarily due the winding down of work completed on contracts for several large public agencies in the New York Metropolitan area, as well as a decline in revenue from the Company's Arizona and California operations. Partially offsetting these declines was an increase in revenue from the Company's Colorado and Virginia operations and revenue recorded under the Tactical Video Capture System ("TVCS") contract with L-3 Communications.
The Company reported net income of $166,122 or $0.03 per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, compared to net income of $283,957, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the comparable period of 2008. The Company's decrease in net income is principally the result of higher personnel related costs as part of a strategic growth initiative to increase the sales force by 62%. This initiative was implemented in order to take advantage of an anticipated increase in security spending related to public projects and the expansion of the Company's footprint into Houston, Texas and Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Company's backlog as of March 31, 2009 was $20,133,794, compared to $22,404,437 at March 31, 2008. The aforementioned work completed on several large public agency jobs in the New Jersey / New York area during the year ended December 31, 2008 is the primary factor in the decline in the backlog, partially offset by the L-3 Contract bookings.
Jim Henry, CEO of Henry Bros. Electronics, commented, "While the revenue and net income that we generated during the first quarter was down slightly from last year's comparable period, bookings were in line with the prior year's quarter of $11.7 million and the proposal dollar volume doubled in the first quarter of 2009 versus the prior year. In addition, we have undertaken several reinvestment initiatives in the last several months including the expansion of our geographic footprint, an increase in sales staff, and the introduction of new products and services. Our management team and Board take pride in our ability to effectively anticipate and react accordingly to changes. This was true before the current recession when we curtailed spending and increased system efficiencies, and is true now as we increase staff to prepare for the anticipated project growth in our industry."
Henry continued, "As the new administration prepares to increase spending in areas in which our company has cultivated a strong operational expertise, we have worked to ensure that we have the right regional teams in place to effectively compete for these large infrastructure projects. This increased push to capture a significant number of these jobs is against the backdrop of the very successful management of our TVCS project, which began in October 2008. We strongly believe that our continuing work with several large municipalities and government organizations, coupled with our strong performance with the TVCS project, puts us in a very good position to increase our capture rate of projects related to the integrated security needs of the government as they look to improve our nation's infrastructure. For these reasons we are reiterating our guidance for a 6% operating margin on consolidated revenue of $80 million in 2009".
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Our exclusive lifestyle hotel experience, designed to fulfill the needs of the discerning business executive and leisure traveler.
Our hotels offer a broad range of function rooms - from elegant boardrooms to banquet halls.
Whether on an epic journey or a weekend getaway, we make every child's stay magical.
These exquisite properties are the perfect vacation oasis for you and your loved ones.
Purchase a gift card or browse through our selection of quality bed linens, pillows and bathrobes or sample our premium teas.
After an invigorating day on the slopes, step into consummate luxury.
Our luxurious golf destinations include breathtaking mountains, stark deserts and warm tropical beaches.
Experience our growing collection of breathtakingly beautiful spas around the world.
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Welcome to
The Fairmont Mara Safari Club, a luxury Masai Mara resort hotel in Kenya, re-opened in 2009 following an extensive renovation program.
Surrounded on three sides by the breathtaking Mara River, and on the edge of the world's Seventh "New" Wonder of the World – the Masai Mara - Fairmont Mara Safari Club is the epitome of tented luxury. A Top 20 Luxury Resort by Travel & Leisure Magazine The Fairmont is a host to a number of fine dining, safari and outdoor activities. The main Masai Mara lodge at the center of camp hosts an indoor restaurant, bar and library with Internet access to keep the relatives up to date with safari adventures. A spacious outside deck overhangs the river and leads to a swimming pool, complete with bar and private massage tents.
With four poster, pillow-top beds and a veranda overlooking the hippo and crocodile-filled river, each of the 50 tents at Fairmont Mara Safari Club is superbly furnished with its own private, three-piece bathroom, including a number of "outdoor showers" in select tents. The larger-sized accommodations also feature expanded decks which allow for private dining, a new service. Offering one of the most luxurious Masai Mara hotel accomodation.
Outdoor dining is enhanced with the creation of a boma, a structure influenced by traditional homesteads, where guests can enjoy a cultural dinner reflecting not only African cuisine but also rich musical accompaniment. Guests can choose from a wide range of activities at Fairmont Mara Safari Club resort hotel, including game drives and balloon safaris over the Mara plains capped with a champagne breakfast on the savannah or a stroll in the footprints of the hippo-trodden path escorted by a Masai Moran. The location provides a perfect base for visiting the Masai Mara, one of the world's richest wildlife reserves, and home to an astounding array of animals including zebras, cheetahs, wildebeests, gazelles and of course the "Big Five".
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Silicon Segway provides an outstanding "World of Segway" experience. Here you'll find sales of Segway PTs and accessories, Authorized Segway PT Tours, rentals, parts and maintenance -- and a knowledgeable and experienced staff. Stop by just to chat, to get a question answered or to find the right Segway PT for you!
● Interested in Buying a Segway PT? Check out the full line of new Segway PTsincluding the i2 SE & x2 SE. Then visit our storeto see, try out and learn more about Segway PT products and accessories.
● Looking to enjoy a Segway PT Tour? Are you looking to see San Francisco on a Segway PT or for a Silicon Valley tour, maybe Pacifica, or other great Bay Area locations? Get information about our guided tours then check availability & book your tour. We are Segway PT Authorized Tour agent, which means we will give you the best training available and a safe and delightful ride on a variety of terrains in a choice of spectacular areas! Advance purchase recommended. Tours may sell out!
● Wanting to Rent a Segway PT? Check with us first.We'll provide training if this is your first time riding a Segway PT, share maps and information about great places to ride, and set you free.
For any additional questions contact us.


text: Home Headboards Headboards Shop our collection of metal headboards, upholstered headboards in a variety of fabric types, patterns and colours, plus wooden headboards made of oak, antique pine or beech. Pick from hundreds of shapes, sizes and styles ranging from minimalist to decadent. From single bed headboards, ideal for kids and guest beds, up to a king size headboard, queen headboard and super king size headboard. Filter results 3 Colour/Material Antique Pine Antique/Brass Beech Beech/Silver Black Black/Antique Bronze Black/Nickel Brass Check Coffee/Fusion Coffee Check Silver/Fusion Silver Check Teal/Fusion Teal Chenille Aubergine Chenille Black Chenille Brown Chenille Cream Chenille Grey Chenille Mink Chenille Silver Chenille Teal Cocktail Charcoal Cocktail Straw Cocktail Walnut Faux Leather Black Faux Leather Brown Faux Leather Cream Faux Leather White Faux Suede Barley Faux Suede Black Faux Suede Brown Faux Suede Grey Fusion Bark Fusion Coffee Fusion Granite Fusion Lime Fusion Lipstick Fusion Silver Fusion Stonewash Fusion Teal Glitz Black Glitz Mink Glitz Purple Glitz Silver Glitz Stone Ivory Gloss Ivory/Antique Bronze Naples Beige Naples Black Naples Blue Naples Cream Naples Green Naples Mauve Naples Orange Naples Pink Naples Purple Naples Sand Naples Seal Grey Naples Slate Natural Pine Nickel Oak Pearl Silver Pink Plush Velvet Plum Rose Gold Silver Unfinished Pine Verona Champagne Verona Citrus Verona Coffee Verona Graphite Verona Ice Verona Steel Blue Verona Terracotta White White Gloss Wool Chestnut Wool Clay Wool Jade Wool Latte Wool Pewter view all Headboard Type Upholstered Metal Wooden Size Headboard - Small Single 2ft6 - 75cm Headboard - Single 3ft - 90cm Headboard - Wide Single 3ft3 - 100cm Headboard - Wide Single 3ft6 - 107cm Headboard - Small Double 4ft - 120cm Headboard - Double 4ft6 - 137cm Headboard - EU Double 4ft7 - 140cm Headboard - King 5ft - 150cm Headboard - EU King 5ft3 - 160cm Headboard - Super King 6ft - 180cm view all Price £0.00 - £100.00 £100.00 - £200.00 £200.00 - £300.00 clear filters Sort By: Relevance Name Price: Low > High Price: High > Low Durability: Most > Least Durability: Least > Most Mattress Firmness Rating View 12 Products View 24 Products View 48 Products View 72 Products View All Products 1 2 3 Take a closer look Amelia Headboard From £73.00 Take a closer look Eleanor Headboard From £79.00 Take a closer look Mya Headboard From £79.00 Take a closer look Yasmin Headboard From £59.00 Take a closer look Penny Headboard From £49.00 Take a closer look Penrose Headboard From £89.00 Take a closer look Heather Headboard From £79.00 Take a closer look Autumn Headboard From £89.99 Take a closer look Mulgrave Headboard Floorstanding From £139.00 Take a closer look Dalton Headboard Floorstanding From £139.00 Take a closer look Wilton Headboard Floorstanding From £139.00 Take a closer look Forcett Headboard Floorstanding From £139.00 Sort By: Relevance Name Price: Low > High Price: High > Low Durability: Most > Least Durability: Least > Most Mattress Firmness Rating View 12 Products View 24 Products View 48 Products View 72 Products View All Products 1 2 3 Is your style the same as your neighbours'? Maybe your kids' or housemates'? Didn't think so. Whether you prefer Parisian chic or Gothic inspired headboard designs twisted from metal, an authentic vintage look or something minimalist and contemporary, we can supply a bed headboard to complement it. Your new made-to-measure Bed Guru headboard will take the stage or sit understated in your bedroom, whichever makes you happiest. From a single to king size headboard, a double headboard or super king, every choice is yours. And we're here to help you.


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* Regency Energy to buy PVR Partners for $3.8 bln
* $28.68/unit offer at 26 pct premium to PVR's Wednesday close
* PVR shares trading well below offer, Regency down 7 pct
* Crestwood to buy Arrow Midstream for $750 mln
By Swetha Gopinath and Garima Goel
Oct 10 (Reuters) - Pipeline operators Regency Energy Partners LP and Crestwood Midstream Partners LP announced plans to buy peers to expand their pipe networks as infrastructure companies seek bigger stakes in the U.S. shale oil and gas boom.
Regency Energy, controlled by billionaire Kelcy Warren's Energy Transfer Equity LP, agreed to buy PVR Partners LP for about $3.8 billion. Crestwood Midstream is buying privately held Arrow Midstream Holdings for $750 million.
Burgeoning production has left the United States awash in cheap oil and gas but a shortage of pipelines has put a premium on the infrastructure that moves production to refining hubs.
Pipeline companies have also been attracting investors as they are mostly structured as master limited partnerships (MLPs). They pay virtually no corporate taxes and have a lower cost of capital, giving them the opportunity to hunt for less attractively valued assets.
"It's a seller's market for MLP-qualifying assets. The market's desire for MLP-qualifying assets is enormous," said Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Ethan Bellamy.
The deals announced on Thursday come a few months after Crestwood, Inergy LP and Inergy Midstream LP merged to form a $7 billion entity to cater to a spurt in Bakken shale production, which has made North Dakota the most prolific oil-producing state after Texas.
Other partnerships such as Southcross Energy Partners LP and Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP could also benefit from deals, Bellamy said.
Regency's acquisition of PVR Partners will give it access to the Marcellus and Utica shales in the Appalachian Basin and the Granite Wash in the Mid-Continent region.
Regency, which has assets in the Permian Basin, South Texas and North Louisiana, will offer PVR unitholders $28.68 per unit, a 26 percent premium to the stock's Wednesday close. Regency will also assume $1.8 billion in debt.
PVR units were trading at $25.81 - well below the offer price.
PVR Partners, which was owned by Penn Virginia Corp, has had trouble with producers delaying well connections to its pipelines. Analysts have said its $1 billion acquisition of Chief Gathering LLC also did pan out as planned.
The Regency deal, expected to close in the first quarter, will slightly hurt the company's distributable cash flow in 2014.
Regency units were down 7 percent at $25.99 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In North Dakota's Bakken shale field, Crestwood Midstream will process about 18 percent of crude oil output after it buys Arrow Midstream, making it one of the largest pipeline and storage providers in the lucrative shale formation.
"This is a perfect example of how we are going to aggressively commercially develop and look for bolt-on opportunities ... ," Crestwood Chief Executive Robert Phillips said on a conference call with analysts.
Arrow operates more than 460 miles of pipeline in the Bakken, carrying about 50,000 barrels of oil and 15 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The deal with Arrow is expected to close in the fourth quarter and add to Crestwood's estimated distributable cash flow per limited partner unit in 2014, the company said.
Crestwood's shares were down marginally at $22.77.
BofA Merrill Lynch and UBS Investment Bank advised Regency, while Baker Botts LLP was its legal counsel.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc and Evercore Partners advised PVR. Vinson & Elkins LLP was its legal counsel.
Citi was the exclusive financial adviser to Crestwood, while Arrow was advised by Jefferies LLC.


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Frank Ocean is opting for the high road, or "sanity" as he puts it, after an alleged brawl with Chris Brown.
The singer has decided not to press charges against Brown after Brown allegedly "jumped" Ocean outside a Los Angeles recording studio apparently over a parking spot.
Get all the details on the brawl here
After taking to Twitter to tweet the incident as well as his injury, a cut finger, Ocean posted yet another mention regarding the brawl, this time to his Tumblr.
Ocean wrote: "As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in me murdering or mutilating a man. But as a man I am not a killer, I'm an artist and a modern person. I'll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit. Forgiveness, albeit difficult, is wisdom. Peace, albeit trite, is what I want in my short life. Peace."
Frank Ocean is set to perform at the Grammys February 10, wounded finger and all.
Speaking of Chris Brown fights, take a look at this timeline of his past meltdowns


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Confirmed: Left-wing lawyer for so-called "Ukraine whistleblower" tweeted in 2017 "coup has started" against Trump
(Natural News) President Trump has been regularly lampooned and ridiculed by the garbage mainstream media and Democratic Party for claiming that he is the victim of an ongoing "coup attempt" by the deep state, which seeks to toss him out of office and reverse the 2016 election results. But now, it's been confirmed as real...
Source: NaturalNews.com - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Related Links:
The Effectiveness of the M ézières Method in Elite Rhythmic Gymnastics Athletes With Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the postural treatment of the Mézières method on elite rhythmic gymnastics athletes with low back pain. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: The sports hall of "Puente Tocinos," Murcia, Spain. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety gymnastics athletes were randomized into 2 parallel groups (intervention: n = 39; control: n = 51), of whom 98.9% were women (women = 89; man = 1). INTERVENTION: The Mézières method postural therapy was implemented. It lasted about 60 minutes in repeated sessions of 2 to 3 meetings per wee...
Source: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: J Sport Rehabil Source Type: research
Late Activation of the Vastus Medialis in Determining the Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Soccer Players.
CONCLUSIONS: Delayed activation of the VM registered in females determines an increase in anterior shear force, which is an important risk factor for incurring an ACL injury. This testing protocol becomes adequate for the screening of high-risk athletes and for targeting interventions to specific imbalances that may increase injury risk. PMID: 31711040 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: J Sport Rehabil Source Type: research
Gait Retraining With Real-Time Visual Feedback to Treat Patellofemoral Pain in Adult Recreational Runners: A Critically Appraised Topic.
Authors: Fyock M, Cortes N, Hulse A, Martin J Abstract Clinical Scenario: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common knee injury in recreational adult runners, possibly caused by faulty mechanics. One possible approach to reduce this pain is to retrain the runner's gait. Current research suggests that no definitive gold standard treatment for PFP exists. Gait retraining utilizing visual feedback may reduce PFP in both the short and long term. Clinical Question: In adult runners diagnosed with PFP, does gait retraining with real-time visual feedback lead to a decrease in pain? Summary of Key Findings: A literature search...
Source: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: J Sport Rehabil Source Type: research
First-principles density-functional-theory calculations of formation and dissociation energies in germanene multivacancies
Publication date: Available online 13 November 2019Source: Materials Today CommunicationsAuthor(s): Dian Putri Hastuti, Wardah Amalia, Zakiah Priska, Pekik Nurwantoro, SholihunAbstractStabilities and atomic geometries in germanene multivacancies has been studied. We carry out eight configurations, mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, and octavacancies by using the density-functional-theory calculations (DFT). We calculate formation and dissociation energies to analyze the stability by finding the magic numbers. Magic numbers are the number of vacancy belonging to stable configurations. We find that di-, tetra-,...
Source: Materials Today Communications - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research
Publication date: Available online 12 November 2019Source: Materials Today CommunicationsAuthor(s): Manorama Tripathi, Surekha Parthasarathy, Prasun Kumar RoyAbstractThis paper deals with the fabrication of non-woven polyurea nanofibers through an electrospinning process and evaluation of their mechanical properties under dynamic conditions. Polyurea is finding increasing applications for protection against dynamic loads like blast and ballistics. Processing polyurea into nanofibers can further improve their properties, especially with respect to mechanical properties and high surface areas, expanding their field of applic...
Source: Materials Today Communications - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research
Safety profile of HTX-019 administered as an intravenous push in cancer patients: a retrospective review.
Conclusion: HTX-019 administered by 2-minute injection has a tolerable safety profile in patients with cancer, representing a viable method of HTX-019 administration for CINV prevention. PMID: 31709853 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Expert Opinion on Drug Safety - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Expert Opin Drug Saf Source Type: research
Authors: Gabella G Abstract All the cells of rat detrusor muscle fall into one of five ultrastructural types: muscle cells, fibroblasts, axons and glia, and vascular cells (endothelial cells and pericytes). The tissue is ~79% cellular and 21% non-cellular. Muscle cells occupy 72%, nerves ~4% (1/3 axons, 2/3 glia), and fibroblast>3% of space. Muscle cells (up to 6 µm across and ~600 µm long, packed to almost 100,000 per mm2) have surface-to-volume ratio of 2.4 µm2/µm3 ~93% of cell volume is contractile apparatus, 3.1% mitochondria and 2.5% nucleus. Cell profiles are irregular but section...
Source: Journal of Smooth Muscle Research - Category: Research Tags: J Smooth Muscle Res Source Type: research
Source: Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research
Validation and verification of examination procedures in medical laboratories: opinion of the EFLM Working Group Accreditation and ISO/CEN standards (WG-A/ISO) on dealing with ISO 15189:2012 demands for method verification and validation
Journal Name: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) Issue: Ahead of print
Source: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine - Category: Laboratory Medicine Source Type: research
Journal Name: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) Issue: Ahead of print
Source: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine - Category: Laboratory Medicine Source Type: research
More News: American Health | Health | Legislation | Medical Law | Trump | USA Health


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Water Damage In Your Texas City Home
The Texas City Summers are easily recognizable by the hot humid days and sometimes excessive rainfall. Rainfall that unfortunately often results in flooding throughout the city. This flooding can frequently damage properties and disrupt our lives. Flooding in Texas City is becoming more frequent and a potential natural disaster that we should be prepared for.
If the unfortunate circumstance that a water related disaster should occur in your home or business, follow these easy tips and contact us at 409.750.7051 for immediate assistance. We have a water damage team ready to deploy at a moments notice
Things you should do if water damages your property
- If possible, stop the source of water
- Remove as much excess water as you can by mopping, using towels or wet vacuum if safe to use
- Towel dry furniture as much as possible, especially wood furniture
- Move important papers, magazines and any nick knacks to dry area
- Remove all rugs to a dry area
- Place aluminum foil, wax paper or small dish under wooden furniture legs
- If possible turn on A/C fan and fans for maximum drying in summer and heating unit during the winter
- Use clothes pins to pin up draperies to prevent water circle damage
- Remove all loose items on the floor to a dry area
Things you should NOT DO after a water damage
- You should not try to use any electrical appliances, especially while standing on a wet floor
- Do not attempts to use outlets that have been exposed to water or even moisture
- Use heat to attempt to dry closed off interiors, this may cause mold growth
- Leave books, magazines or other color printed materials on wet fabrics or floors
- Leave wet fabrics in wet areas, move and dry as quickly as possible
Experiencing water damage, whether it be from an internal source like a busted pipe, hot water heater, or from flood damage caused by a recent storm, responding quickly is paramount. By taking swift action you can reduce or eliminate structural damage and the potential for mold growth. Delaying the response will only limit the ability to save your processions that could have otherwise been saved .
Contacting the right team of water damage restoration professionals is important for you, your home and your belongings. Texas City Restoration Service has the experience, team and the knowledge to remedy the situation in your time of need.


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Rocky Horror and Rollerskates, The Cove, Hermosa Beach, Late 70s
Rocky Horror and Rollerskates, The Cove, Hermosa Beach, Late 70s
All photos are printed on archival 310 GSM Ilford Galerie Gold Fiber Silk baryta photographic paper with pigment inks.
40x60 - limited edition of 10
30x45 - limited edition of 15
24x36 - limited edition of 25
13x20 - open edition (unsigned)
Framed photos are framed with a 3 inch white matte frame (other framing options are available by request), and acrylic (if shipped) or low glare UltraVue UV70 glass if picked up at the gallery. Photos can also be custom-ordered as acrylic facemounts. Please contact an art consultant (310-853-3564 or firstname.lastname@example.com) for custom orders, custom sizes, or for more information about any specific image.
From the artist:
My book "Sounds of Two Eyes Opening" hit the streets in November of 2014. Some of these images appear in that book, but many are unpublished photos that establish a new collection. It's impossible to declare any as "definitive" of a particular era. This is simply what I lived in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Obvious historical perspectives can be mundane, and sights unseen are often more interesting.
Hermosa Beach was the "Under-Dog Town" on which the media rarely focused its cameras. In the early 1960s (thanks to the Jan & Dean song) it gained notoriety as "Surf City" but by the mid-1970s that connection was lost (even though most of the iconic surf shops were still there). Thankfully, the town's post-bop jazz culture made it one of the staunchest holdouts of Beat sensibilities on the West Coast.
At the restless end of the 70s, the South Bay's just as restless surf/skate/art/music counterculture was in flux and had no choice but to move forward from post-Vietnam War depression and Disco complacency, and to do so with no glamorous expectations. For better or worse, we plodded ahead not caring who the hell believed in us or who the hell didn't.
These images are from a time when men were still stupid, women were still pretty, music was still making people do unthinkable things, skating on cement was still making folks wanna climb walls and fly, and a world of overlapping possibilities was still eluding the modern "experts" who thought they had some clever fix on what was really happening in life. But my grandmother—with the fewest words possible—taught me that the secret to life was to shut up, listen and pay attention to the stories happening all around us. It was just as valid to shut up, look, focus and let light hit film. No Hollywood scripts; no brass bands. Just an invocation of author John Steinbeck's ideal of opening an eyeful of pages to let in an earful of tales.


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Have you had a chance to check out UW2-121? It is the University of Washington Bothell's Digital Media Lab!
Inside you will find twenty-four high-end audio, photo and video production machines. The Digital Media Lab, or DML for short, is an open computer lab, a tutoring space and a digital media classroom.
We offer in-class workshops for a number of different software titles such as Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro 7 and Audacity. Students can come in during our open lab hours to receive one-on-one help with pre and post production filmmaking techniques, Google Sites and an ever growing list of media production related software titles. Finally, the DML is a cool place to hang out and have fun!
Check out the DML website for more information at http://www.uwb.edu/learningtech/dml121.
Wait there's more! UWB's Digital Media Lab is expanding! We have received four new computers, located in the Open Computer Lab UW2-140, for audio, photo and video production. Also, a new 6400dpi color scanner will be installed in the DML towards the end of the winter quarter.


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Mecklenburg County staff have updated their biennial environmental report with a shorter, color-coded version that's now online.
Environmental changes, good or bad, typically unfold slowly over a period of years. That's what makes these reports, updated every two years, interesting. They report trends back to 1987.
This year's edition uses a matrix of green-yellow-red and directional arrows to summarize trends in air, land, waste and water quality. Details, with relevant links, are inside the body of the report, which will be updated as new data comes in.
Here's ozone air pollution: Improving but still often unhealthy.
Nature preserves: Lagging behind the county's land acquisition goals.
Streams: Too often contaminated by runoff and bacteria.
Lakes: Generally clean and holding their own.
It's worth a read by anyone interested in the air we breathe, the water we rely on and the land under us.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Meck's State of the Environment report online
Mecklenburg County staff have updated their biennial environmental report with a shorter, color-coded version that's now online.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Poll finds support for renewable energy
North Carolina residents overwhelmingly support renewable energy, including legislation that would let independent power generators sell directly to customers, according to a poll out today.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sustainability award winners are announced
The nonprofit Sustain Charlotte announced 12 winners of its first annual community sustainability awards at a Saturday night event at UNC Charlotte's new uptown building.


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Eleven years ago, Detective Investigator Jeff Baird thought the people in power would protect him.
His testimony exposing misconduct within the Internal Affairs Division was a key part of the Mollen Commission. Baird told city officials how officers within his division would create secret files designed to hide evidence that pointed to corruption and misconduct within the department.
"I was only interested in positive change," said Baird, 49. "I didn't think the retaliation would come."
But the retribution that followed would last the rest of his career—and beyond. Baird was shunned by many of his fellow officers and harassed by others. Transfers to different units quickly stalled a once promising career, according to Baird, who also said there was even a warning that his life was in danger.
Baird was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by his psychologist and applied to receive a special accident disability pension. The police medical board disputed this, however. The case went to court, with city lawyers arguing that Baird only deserved ordinary benefits.
In April, a Manhattan judge sharply criticized the city for denying Baird's claim, calling its arguments "pitiful."
"In short, NYPD subjected [Baird] to an insidious 'death of a thousand cuts' in retaliation for his work on the Mollen Commission, with the Medical Board's refusal to even address the cause of his condition being the last gash. This the court will not condone.," Judge Louis York reportedlysaid in his ruling in favor of Baird. The city is appealing.
Baird's story is not unique, as other officers who have sought to expose misconduct within the police department have similar tales. Through the years there has been much talk about how to make police whistleblowers feel safe when coming forward to talk about misconduct and corruption. In a recent inquiry, however, a whistleblower has yet again come forward with claims of being subject to retribution rather than thanks.
The VIPER Division
Sgt. John Marchisotto, a supervisor in a Staten Island unit of the VIPER division, which is in charge of monitoring all surveillance within public housing, has said he began writing memos and letters to department leaders in January outlining how officers routinely watched movies or slept while on duty. During this time he also charged that a female supervisor sexually harassed him.
In April, it was reported that Internal Affairs was investigating how a recording of a March suicide taken by the VIPER division wound up on a website. Later that month, the City Council held hearings to examine VIPER, and Marchisotto spoke out against the division. He also spoke to television reporters and held a press conference outlining his allegations.
In City Council hearings, a housing supervisor admitted that many officers monitoring surveillance cameras in housing developments have pending criminal or administrative charges. Manhattan borough president C. Virginia Fields called for more stringent controls on the VIPER unit. The police department has since pledged to review its staffing policies.
Meanwhile, Marchisotto faces three departmental charges related to a WABC news report.
In that report, Marchisotto said he had already faced some retribution. Marchisotto said a group of officers angrily came to his home late at night, and that the department, claiming that he was mentally disturbed, has taken away his guns and placed him on restricted duty.
"You report misconduct, serious misconduct, or anything in the police department they will try to make you look like you're crazy. They will try to discredit you as a complainant and they're pretty good at that," Marchisotto told Channel 7. Police say Marchisotto abused his authority as a supervisor and shouldn't have videotaped inside his unit. Several stories have cited anonymous and high-ranking police sources that call Marchisotto a chronic malcontent. But in a May press conference, Marchisotto stood with New York State Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Manhattan), the chairman of the assembly's sub-committee on public housing. Wright said in a press conference that "on the surface of it" the charges against Marchisotto look "quite bogus."
Also standing by Marchisotto is Lt. Eric Adams, spokesman for 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.
"The police department did not bring or file any internal charges on any of the men John mentioned," noted Adams. "No charges handed out against them—yet the discipline was taken against the whistleblower."
Marchisotto could not be reached for this story. Police did not respond to a list of faxed questions.
Blue Wall of Silence
"We need to protect whistleblowers as best we can,"said Norman Siegel, a civil rights attorney and former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Siegel has offered his services to Marchisotto.
The city has a whistleblower law on the books designed to protect those that expose wrongdoing, but, even if strengthened, such a law will not eliminate retaliation towards whistleblowers, said Siegel. He suggests a unit should be set up within the Public Advocate's office to protect whistleblowers across all city departments (Siegel has run for the Public Advocate).
And 10 years after the Mollen Commission recommended it, Baird would like to see an independent agency with enough power to oversee the police department. The Commission to Combat Police Corruption was created as a result of the Mollen Commission, but that group has been criticized for being irrelevant. It went for more than a year-and-a-half in the Bloomberg administration without any board members.
Efforts to create a powerful agency with oversight authority failed largely due to staunch opposition from then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Occasionally, the police department has sought to take extra steps to protect whistleblowers and make the department more welcome to criticism. In 1998, then-Commissioner Howard Safir talked publicly about creating ways to reward whistleblowers. But Baird no longer trusts the police to police themselves.
"There's never going to be any real reform within the police department because they crush people like myself who come forward," said Baird.Â


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MARIETTA, Ga. - The Dulins Dodgers 15U continue to display their dominance on the diamond at the 2013 15U WWBA National Championship, defeating the East Coast Eagles, 10-5, and Team Elite. 15U Black, 8-2 The Dodgers have outscored their opponents 29-7 in three wins and have tallied 33 base hits.
Scoring early and often against the Eagles, Dulins looked like a contending team today at Kell High School. After leading 3-0, the Eagles tallied two runs before the big blow came in the bottom half of the third inning off the bat of Jake Criswell.
"The kids grinded very well the whole game and a win is a win in this tournament," head coach Tom Kliman said.
With the bases loaded, Criswell connected for a grand slam over the left field fence to blow the game open for good.
"He threw me a first pitch slider and it was pretty far outside, but I thought it could have gone either way," Criswell said. "I knew I would get a fastball and it was chest high and I was supposed to look opposite field to hit it, but I just couldn't pass that up.
The grand slam created some buzz around the tournament and surely will help Criswell reach one of his tournament goals. "I want scouts to see me," said Criswell. "I wanna see our team go far, hopefully win it all."
Criswell explained his ultimate goal would be for him and his teammates to receive scholarships to play college baseball, maybe even as teammates.
Criswell's day shined on the pitcher's mound as well. He threw four innings against Team Elite 15U Black, not giving up an earned run. Criswell earned the win and can be dubbed Player of the Day for the Dulins Dodgers.
Catcher Thomas Dillard kept the hot bat going, collecting 2 RBI, two doubles and a single in the doubleheader.
Kliman is happy with the way his team has come out and played so far in the tournament. "They go after it," he said. "They play it the right way and they are a good bunch of kids off the field."
The Dulins Dodgers 15U stick together to make an impact on and off the field, "They are great with the community," said Kliman. "We do a lot of things outside. We got a great group of young men."
The official website reads:
"Our free camps and clinics provide positive community outreach to disadvantaged and inner-city youth and are a major part of our pro-active efforts to ensure that inner-city baseball continues."
The website also mentions that Dulins Baseball raises thousands of dollars and provides assistance to athletes with illnesses.
Dulins Baseball is more than just baseball. The organization is also there to instill values into these young men.
Although they are making an impact in the community, they spend much of their time on the baseball diamond, participating in six tournaments from May 31st through the end of July.
The young ballplayers make a huge commitment to playing baseball. Kliman said they are always looking for opportunities to play whenever they can. The Dodgers especially enjoy being part of Perfect Game tournaments.
"We love coming here," Kliman said. "It's great competition. We know we gotta come in and play everyday and it shows our weaknesses as well as our strengths."
"Using wood bats is always fun," added Criswell. "I like coming out and trying to play."
"We have a lot of pitching this year," he said. "I think we have a good chance."
It also seems they have hitting. This Dodgers team should be one to watch deep into the 2013 15U WWBA National Championship this week.


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Eibach Sportline Kit for 2015 Mustang GT 5.0L
Extreme Performance Meets Extreme Style
Race-Car Like Handling
Lower than our Pro-Kit. Lowers Vehicle
Progressive Spring Design for Excellent Ride Quality
Part of the Eibach SPORT-PLUS and SPORT-SYSTEM-PLUS
Million Mile Warranty
Eibach SPORTLINE is the extreme-performance spring set created for the extreme enthusiast the one who craves a race-car attitude for maximum street performance with the lowest possible drop, but with the exceptional ride quality you expect from Eibach.
Engineered with the same care as our PRO-KIT springs, Eibach SPORTLINE springs achieve legendary handling by aggressively lowering your cars center of gravity, using our precision engineered progressive spring rates.
By radically lowering your car's center of gravity, our SPORTLINE springs dramatically reduce squat during acceleration, body roll in corners and nose-dive under braking. By using our proprietary, progressive spring design, our SPORTLINE springs provide the ultimate balance between high performance, extreme lowering and comfortable ride quality. When combined with today's wild 18", 19" or 20" wheels and tires, the result is a car that handles just as white-hot as it looks.


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One of the most difficult things about representing a client in a jury trial is the process of objecting to the admission of evidence under the Rules of Evidence. The legal Rules of Evidence are designed to help the trier of fact, either a judge or jury, to make a just decision in a case. There are are lot of parallels between the consideration of evidence in the legal sense and in the context of genealogy. So how then do the legal Rules of Evidence apply to genealogical research, if they do? This topic was suggested by a comment from a fellow attorney concerning one of my earlier posts.
In the United States, the Federal Rules of Evidence provide a framework of rules governing the admission of testimony or other evidence to establish the facts of a case in the federal court system. The Rules of Evidence are a relatively recent development in the law and date back to 1975, the year I was admitted to the Arizona State Bar to practice law. The various states have adopted similar rules since that time.
There are two parts to the law in a trial, the legal principles involved commonly referred to as the law, and the facts or evidence in the case. This distinction between law and facts is one of the most difficult concepts to understand about our legal system. Essentially, the Judge decides the law and either the judge or a jury, depending on whether the case is tried to a jury, decide the facts. To give a somewhat simple example, a fact might be whether or not one of the parties paid a debt owned to another party. The law of contracts would then be applied to that fact to determine if the court would award a judgment to the party owed for the amount of the debt.
I could get really lengthy at this point, but let's just say that facts are important. In my previous example, if the debt turns out to have been paid, then all the law in world is not going to help obtain a judgment. The rules of evidence operate as the gatekeeper of the facts, hopefully, letting only those facts into testimony in the court that will help the jury or judge decide the case properly. I realize that there is a lot of skepticism about the efficacy of the legal system, but all in all, the system works.
In this sense, the rules of evidence are totally irrelevant to genealogical research. As researchers, we certainly do not want to have evidence of any degree of relevancy excluded from our consideration. Even seemingly irrelevant facts from third and fourth hand sources can be of help in solving genealogical mysteries. So why then do we talk about evidence rules in genealogy? Because not all evidence is created equal. The rules of evidence are designed to filter out facts that would mislead or be inaccurate. Likewise, in genealogical investigation, we would like to know whether or not a conclusion made by someone about a relationship or historical fact can be relied on to be correct or not. By providing a source for information obtained, a researcher allows others who examine the information at a later date, to determine the reliability of the information. Lack of source reference renders the genealogical information practically useless to subsequent researchers. This is especially true in situations such as those created by online family history aggregators. Contradictory information is rather common in the larger sites that allow individuals to upload their family trees. Absence of evidence, i.e. source citations, is rampant.
Acknowledging that we already have a rather highly developed system of determining the reliability of evidence in our legal rules of evidence, understanding the basis for these rules allows us to be more precise and reliable in our own use of genealogical evidence. Obviously, there is no judge in genealogy, other than the passage of time and subsequent research, but sloppy research with a lack of sources should be ruled inadmissible by any standard.
Another example, there are rules about admitting hearsay as evidence in court. Hearsay, simply put, is second or third (or more) hand information. The further removed from the original source, the more unreliable the information is considered to be.


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Fresh back from a trip to Walla Walla Valley for Spring Release weekend. As always, the trip was a mixture of visits to wineries I had been to before and wineries that were new/new to me. Also as always, despite visiting numerous wineries over the course of the weekend, there were many more that I hoped to visit but was unable to. The valley is currently home to more than one hundred wineries. This is part of what makes the area so exciting to visit.
A few quick impressions from the weekend. The Walla Walla Valley continues to be branded in various ways as a tourist destination. While I noted in my Fall Release report the Charles Smith billboard in downtown Walla Walla, two additional Smith billboards now line the highways on the drive out from Seattle - one 45 miles away from Walla Walla and one 15 miles away. I had brief visions of Wall Drug as I drove along.
Despite the poor economy, numerous new wineries were still opening their doors for the first time this weekend or opening new tasting rooms. I often equate running a winery to steering the Titanic. Things move extremely slowly. Many of these wineries were in progress long before the economy took such a terrible turn. Still, it is always a thrill to visit a winery during their opening days.
At least to the eye, there seemed to be more people in the area than on recent visits. Business seemed quite brisk over the course of the weekend. People also seemed to be buying good amounts of wine with many people leaving wineries with cases under their arms. Despite these positive indications, I did note several 'Winery For Sale' signs around town.
Perhaps more so than on any other visit, I was impressed by the consistently high quality of the wine being produced in the Walla Walla Valley. It seems as if every year the quality bar gets raised higher and higher. Coming off several extremely high quality vintages certainly helps as well.
I was also impressed by the reminder of the sometimes violent forces that continue to shape the valley in particular and Washington State more generally. Winds on the drive home today reached sixty-plus miles per hour. Dust storms billowed high into the sky, at times obscuring most of the highway. By the time I reached Snoqualmie Pass, snow had been added to the high winds. Who says spring is here?
Look for a full writeup of the weekend in the coming weeks.
Blown away by/from Walla Walla Valley
Fresh back from a trip to Walla Walla Valley for Spring Release weekend. As always, the trip was a mixture of visits to wineries I had been to before and wineries that were new/new to me. Also as always, despite visiting numerous wineries over the course of the weekend, there were many more that I hoped to visit but was unable to. The valley is currently home to more than one hundred wineries. This is part of what makes the area so exciting to visit.
9 comments
Scott H Says:
Had hoped to bump into you in WW this weekend Sean. There were some seriously good wines poured, I can think of three impulse buys we made that really impressed me and I hadn't planned on buying. We only hit 10 wineries, I can only imagine what your palate was feeling like after it all.
Chris Says:
Looking forward to the detailed reports, Sean. Any concern in W2 about the temps in the vineyards? I talked to a couple in the Yak that are still nervous about frost.
Also, all of Eastern Washington should be concerned over the past few days that our terroir is being blown into Idaho and Wyoming. And Kansas. Hold on, Toto.
Scott H, sorry we missed each other! Hope to see you next time. Indeed, it's time for a beer!
Chris, in a word, yes. Temperatures were potentially getting down to the teens tonight and several people I talked to were quite concerned. The wind going on at the moment is truly awe-inspiring. This combined with cold temperatures could spell trouble.
Josh Gana Says:
Look forward to the full review! I grew up near Walla Walla and remember when it was a small agricultural area with a penitentiary. Well, I suppose that can describe most of Eastern Washington wine country (sans the penitentiary), and it's sure great to go visit now and be immersed in wine culture.
Josh G, it always amazes me to think about how much Walla Walla has been transformed by the wine industry. My favorite local joke: You know why Walla Walla got the state penitentiary and Pullman got the state university? Walla Walla had first choice (Just kidding you Cougs)! Thanks for the comment.
Rand Sealey Says:
I, too, was impressed with the high quality of wines. I tasted a 20/20 point Syrah and another potential 20/20 wine. A lot of 19+ point wines. The wind was really blowing yesterday (Monday). It's still blowing today, but not as hard.
Rand, good to see you and Lynne this weekend. Look forward to reading your write ups on the weekend.
Catie Says:
Sean, nice seeing you and thanks for letting me hang with you. Of course, at the end of the year I will be counting how many Walla Walla wines you reported on... NOT!


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Season Premiere Thursday, March 15th at 10pm ET/PT
NEW YORK -- February 14, 2012 - Master Pastry Chef Ron Ben-Israel returns to Food Network for the second season of the sugar-packed competition series Sweet Genius, premiering Thursday, March 15th at 10pm ET/PT. Back with more whimsy and wonder, each episode has four of America's premier pastry chefs competing against one another through three rounds of challenges judged by Ben-Israel, along the way testing their creativity, ingenuity and imagination. The chefs are given surprise ingredients, an inspiration and a limited amount of time; with those three elements as a guide, they must create a delectable chocolate, candy and cake dessert. The winners from each round will advance for a final test, with Ben-Israel crowning the remaining chef Sweet Genius and receiving a $10,000 cash prize.
"Sweet Genius viewers will be on the edge of their seats as we continue to push the limits with inspirations and ingredients, while showcasing the talents of some of the best pastry chefs around," said Ron Ben-Israel. "As a result, the desserts that the chefs create are truly outrageous."
Over the thirteen-episode season, the chefs experience a myriad of new inspirations and ingredients, testing their pastry prowess. Whether it is making flamingo-inspired chocolate desserts with pink lemonade; creating candy desserts from rolled fruit snacks and shortbread cookies; or incorporating the inspiration of a music box to bake a cake using avocado and stinky cheese, each pastry chef will prove their imagination and skills worthy, but in the end, there can only be one Sweet Genius!
As Chef-Owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, one of the country's finest couture cake studios, Ron Ben-Israel's cakes have been hand-delivered to destinations throughout the continental U.S and abroad. Ron started his confectionery adventures after a fifteen-year career as a professional modern dancer. Upon retiring from performing with companies spanning three continents, he utilized his art training, military background and ballet regime into the discipline of pastry arts. After arriving in New York City, Ron's cakes were discovered by Martha Stewart while on display in the windows of Mikimoto on Fifth Avenue. In 1999 he established his flagship design studio and bakery in Manhattan's fashionable SoHo neighborhood. He is a Master Pastry Instructor at the International Culinary Center in New York City, and has been awarded prestigious gold medals for his confectionery achievements.
Sweet Genius is produced by Jane Street Entertainment.
# # #
FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.4 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com), is the manager and general partner.


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LaHood defends Obama rail strategy
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood mounted a forceful defense Tuesday of President Barack Obama's investment in the country's long-neglected passenger rail service, making what may have been one of his final speeches as a member of the Cabinet.
It's a playbook LaHood's successor will learn intimately.
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( PHOTOS: Highlights from Obama's first term)
The next transportation secretary will also have to protect the vision of a president who wants Americans to one day be able to zip hundreds of miles by train in an hour or two, from one downtown to another. If it's to be successful, the effort will need many more supportive presidents, transportation secretaries and congressional champions. But LaHood will be remembered for getting the ball rolling.
"This has been an extraordinary four years for high-speed rail. We've come a long way," LaHood said to open his remarks to the High Speed Rail Summit in Washington's Navy Yard neighborhood, just across the street from his office at the Department of Transportation. "When the economic recovery plan was passed by Congress within 30 days of the president being sworn in, there was $8 billion for high-speed rail. That's $8 billion more than any other president."
LaHood, who will retire once his yet-unnamed successor is confirmed by the Senate, didn't have a new vision for faster trains to unveil on Tuesday.
That's partly because of a conservative-dominated House that has little interest in new spending and is fighting to prevent more federal funding for high-speed rail's beachhead in California. But it is also because many of the new rail routes and upgraded corridors that benefited from the $12 billion the Obama administration eventually parceled out for high-speed rail nationwide are not finished. The centerpiece of LaHood and Obama's vision, a brand-new high-speed rail system in California that will eventually top 200 mph, hasn't even broken ground yet.
It's all a work in progress that will take energy, patience and a grass-roots effort to convince lawmakers of high-speed rail's viability, LaHood said. "The people are so far ahead of most politicians on this," he added.
The former Illinois congressman reminded the friendly audience of the arduous process that birthed the Transcontinental Railroad and the Interstate Highway System. These aren't projects that came easily, quickly or cheaply.
But until they are up and running, every discussion of fast trains includes shadowboxing with critics, even when they aren't in the audience. There are doubts over the cost, timeline and necessity of untold billions of dollars to realize the fantasy maps that rail boosters salivate over. And the familiar question comes from conservatives: Is this worth borrowing money from China to build?
"There's no turning back. Do not be dissuaded by a few detractors. Do not be dissuaded by people without a transportation vision," LaHood advised his audience. "The last group of transportation officials left us an interstate system. What we will leave to the next generation is high-speed rail."
Speaking after LaHood, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo reminded attendees that the interstate system "started with eight lonely miles" in Kansas. Trains bounding across the California desert will start with about 130 lonely miles of new track in the Central Valley. And though ground will break on the project as soon as this year, it may be a decade or more before sleek, Euro-style trains clock the elusive 200-mph benchmark in the Golden State. In the interim, slower Amtrak trains will use the new track.


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text: After School Art Studio Tuesday, April 24, 2018 4:15 PM 6:00 PM 16:15 18:00 Google Calendar ICS After School Art Studio | Tuesdays4:15pm-6pm | 4 days per month | $160Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 17 & 24, 2018After School Art Studio is where serious teen and adult art students can get help building their portfolios. Designed for ages 12 and up; younger artists will be considered based upon interest and experience.Regardless of medium, there is no substitute for time-honored drawing skills that involve a thorough understanding of classical form and technique, individually taught by a master.Classes are small, focused and fun. This program is designed as a long-term commitment to artistic development that will prepare students for continued study at any art school or atelier in the world, as we specialize in the classical skill set.Monday and Wednesday classes are longer sessions designed for older/returning students. Tuesdays are shorter and are best for new/younger students.All drawing materials are provided by the Atelier; a periodic materials fee will be charged to cover this, and a handbook with more detailed materials lists and home studio information is provided to new students. register today Posted in Atelier Tagged Atelier, After School


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New release: HAZARDOUS UNIONS: Two Tales of a Civil War Christmas/
Twin sisters separated by war, bound by love…
After the death of their father, twin sisters Maggie and Matty Becker are forced to take positions with officers' families at a nearby fort. When the southern states secede, the twins are separated, and they find themselves on opposite sides of America's bloodiest war.
In the south, Maggie travels with the Hamiltons to Bellevue, a plantation in west Tennessee. When Major Hamilton is captured, it is up to Maggie to hold things together and deal with the Union cavalry troop that winters at Bellevue. Racism, politics and a matchmaking stepmother test Maggie's resourcefulness as she fights for Bellevue, a wounded Confederate officer and the affections of the Union commander.
In the north, Matty discovers an incriminating letter in General Worthington's office, and soon she is on the run. With no one to turn to for help, she drugs the wealthy Colonel Cole Black and marries him, in hopes of getting the letter to his father, the governor of Michigan. But Cole is not happy about being married, and Matty's life becomes all about survival.
Two unforgettable stories of courage, strength and honor.
Book Details:
ISBN: 978-1-927792-30-8 (Kindle ebook); $3.99 US; September 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-927792-32-2 (Trade paperback); $12.99 US; September 7, 2013
Language: English
Editorial Reviews:
"Maggie and Matty Becker will enchant you as they struggle for respect, survival, and love in the Civil War's troubled time. You'll sigh with pleasure as you finish each story." —Caroline Clemmons, author of Bluebonnet Bride
"Two very talented authors, Alison Bruce and Kat Flannery, teamed up to write Hazardous Union; Two Tales of a Civil War Christmas. It is the story of twin sisters, Matty and Maggie Becker who are separated at the beginning of the Civil War….One major thing ties them to each other—their upbringing by loving and wise parents. As their stories unfold, they are both able to make a difference in the lives of the people they hold dear. They each solve a different mystery and, at the same time, fall in love. They also witness a form of racism within each of the families, reflecting the mores of the north and the south. The characters and the times are well depicted in this short novel. I highly recommend this novel to Civil War enthusiasts and readers who enjoy a well-written historical romance. If you like intrigue, mystery and romance, this book is for you. It will hold your attention and is a quick read that you won't be able to put down." —Katherine Boyer, Tear a Page Blog
"Double your reading pleasure with twin passions—two novellas featuring twins Maggie and Matty, and heroes who'll steal your heart. Alison Bruce and Kat Flannery penned stories that play on your senses like a sonata. A must read!" —Jacquie Rogers, award-winning author of Much Ado About Madams
"Hazardous Unions are twin stories about the adventures of two sisters during the Civil War and the dilemmas they get themselves into. Maggie's story, written by Alison Bruce, tells the tale of a Northern young woman who accepts a job as housekeeper to a Southern family…A wonderfully entertaining and well written novella, with engaging characters and appropriate language for the era. Ms. Bruce knows her history. I will be eager to read more of her work. Mattie, by Kat Flannery, is equally delightful. Unlike her sister, Mattie stays in the North working for a Union General…Even in the midst of war and danger and death, love will have its way, as it does with Maggie and Matty." —Charlene Raddon, author of To Have and to Hold
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