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Skin Sorella Tank White. Breezy tank in crisp white with a round neck featuring a twist in the back.
• Relaxed fit
• 100% cotton
• Machine wash cold
• Made in Peru
Niki is 5'8", XS top, size 0 pant
She is wearing a size XS
Continental US
Ground (1-5 Business Days): $10
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Pick up in Brooklyn Store: Free
NYC Messenger Service (1–3 Hours): $20
Canada (5-7 Business Days): $25
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A return form will be included with your order. Full price purchases are eligible for a refund, one-time exchange or store credit. Sale purchases are eligible for a one-time exchange or store credit, if not marked 'Final Sale'. International purchases and Final Sale items are not eligible for return.
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Need more details or want to discuss sizing before you buy? Just ask, we are here to help. Email email@example.com or give us a call 347-599-2969.


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I'm alyce and my motto is homemade is always healthiest. I truly believe that, regardless of skill level or time constraints, anyone with a thermo cooker can cook nourishing and delicious food they are proud to serve and share - as long as you have the right recipes and accessories! And that's where I come in.
All tagged chickens

subset: commoncrawl


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For once I wasn't biking up the hill en route to the vineyards and orchards in Palisade in the 90-degree heat, and that was OK by me.
I ride the Tour of the Valley road ride the last weekend of August on my fat tire just about every year, but this past weekend, a couple of Denver Public Schools days off gave us some extra time to make the trek over to the Grand Junction area again, just in time for the popular Colorado Mountain Winefest, which had sold out every hotel room for miles. And this time, I drove from winery to winery to see what was new (and yes, I was spitting).
On the way, we stopped for a night at the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge, always one of my favorites because the room rate gets you two days' worth of soaking in the hot springs for everyone in the room, as well as a breakfast that's worthwhile if you know how to pick and choose (yes to the hard-boiled eggs, coffee, cereal, bagels and peanut butter, no to the squishy fruit, pancakes that get old fast and the cheap syrup). The rooms are comfortable, well-maintained and come with free WiFi and nice TVs, as well as coffeemakers, refrigerators and microwaves.
We got up the next morning and biked along the Glenwood Canyon Recreational Trail, which you can access either by a two-mile road stretch from the Lodge, or by hopping off Interstate 70 at No Name, exit 119. The river is beautiful along here, and in stretches you can get away from the highway noise and get a decent workout on some of the gentle uphills.


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Introduced in 2001.
Contact us at:
Phone and fax:(541) 535-1307
Customer information is used exclusively to conduct the business of RVR. We do not sell or share customer information in any way with any outside individuals or entities.
Please click here if you would like to receive notice of availability updates to the website and upcoming classes and events at RVR via the nursery newsletter.


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Montegrappa Emozione Charcoal Rollerball
Montegrappa Emozione Charcoal Rollerball
Emozione expresses your moods with a selection of pens coloured in the bold shades of yellow and red, as well as the more intense tones of "butterfly" blue-grey and "charcoal" black. Emozione's trim is made of 925 sterling silver and the filigree-patterned nib respects the tradition of employing 18kt gold. It is fitted to a natural hard rubber "ebonite" feeder, preferred by Montegrappa for its ink-flow properties.
The Emozione collection embraces Montegrappa's signature octagonal shape in its top and blind cap, the motif heightened by the octagonal logo pattern on the signature pocket clip and the traditional 1912 logo on the cap top.


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We invite you to Relax, Rejuvenate,and Reconnect with the loved ones in your life.
Give your family the best Summer Vacation, a vacation to Medicine Bow Lodge Dude Ranch. You can still schedule your family Renuion this summer, but we need to know when you want to come. Call us at (800) 409-5439.
Our youngest horse, beautiful buckskin mare.
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June 6, 2011
K-State football single game tickets now on sale
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Single game tickets for Kansas State's seven 2011 football contests at Bill Snyder Family Stadium are now available in an exclusive online sale only at K-Statesports.com. Fans can begin purchasing tickets in person or via telephone through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office beginning June 13.
The Wildcats' 2011 home slate will feature a record five Big 12 Conference games in the inaugural season of the Big 12's nine-game league schedule and will include numerous options and price levels beginning September 3 with the third-annual K-State Family Reunion against Eastern Kentucky.
A limited number of $10 tickets will be available for the season opener, which will include a postgame fireworks show, and must be purchased prior to June 30.
"We are excited for the 2011 season as we begin a new era in the Big 12 Conference and want the entire K-State family to be a part of the action, starting with our K-State Family Reunion on September 3," Athletics Director John Currie said. "As part of our commitment to the best fan experience in the Big 12, we have ticket options and prices to fit every family schedule and budget. We appreciate our fans' support last season as we set numerous attendance records and want to continue to have a sold-out atmosphere each Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this fall."
Bowl/sideline level seating will be priced at $35 for the Eastern Kentucky (9/3) and Kent State (9/17) games, while view level seats, which will feature newly-constructed restroom facilities in 2011, are $20. Fans can also purchase a four-pack of tickets to either of the first two home games for $75, while groups can attend the first two contests at $20 each for 12 or more tickets, or $10 each for ticket purchases of 50 or more.
Tickets for the Baylor (10/1) and Iowa State (12/3) games are priced at $55 (bowl/sideline) and $35 (view level), while four-packs are available for those two games for just $99. Quantities and seat locations are limited for the four-pack options. Group tickets are available at $30 each for groups of 12 or more and $20 each for groups of 50. Combo packages can also be purchased for $85 when you pair an Iowa State game ticket with either the Missouri, Oklahoma or Texas A&M games.
Missouri (10/8) and Texas A&M (11/12) tickets are available for $65 (bowl/sideline) and $50 (view level), with rates of $40 per ticket for groups of 12 or more.
All public tickets for the October 29 Homecoming matchup with Oklahoma are priced at $65. K-State Alumni Association members or Young Alumni can buy tickets to the homecoming game for just $40 if purchased prior to September 1, a savings of $25.
"I have such a tremendous amount of appreciation for our fans and what they mean to our program," added head coach Bill Snyder. "They continue to respond in record fashion in support of the young people in our program. We hope to continue to make progress and know that it has always been a genuine team effort from the entire Kansas State family to help us move in the right direction: our players, coaches, support staff, administration, faculty and above all, our fan support base."
Season tickets for the seven-game 2011 schedule also remain on sale, including a limited number of North End Zone and View Level (sections 420 and 430) seats at $210 each. For more information regarding tickets, contact the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-221-CATS or visit K-Statesports.com. A copy of the 2011 ticket brochure, which includes all ticket prices and options, is also available online at k-statesports.com.
In 2011, K-State will look to continue what has been a very successful run on the field. Kansas State was one just six schools nationally this year to have its football team in a bowl game, both basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament and its baseball team make an NCAA Regional.


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We know you enjoy Executive Chef Corey Heyer's cuisine at the Inn, and now our talented chef is sharing some of his favorite cooking tips so you can use them at home. "Cookin' It Up" with Corey is a new video series on eHow.com featuring our chef in the kitchen demonstrating how to create a variety of delicious dishes, as well as helpful tips and techniques to improve your home cooking. Discover your inner chef!
In this video Chef Heyer makes Caviar-Truffle Risotto and Scallops


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NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Linda Riss Pugach, who married a man after he hired three others to throw lye in her face -- blinding her -- has died in New York, said her husband, Burton.
She was 75 when she died of heart failure Tuesday at Forest Hills Hospital in Queens, her spouse of 38 years told The New York Times.
Riss was 22 in 1959 when she ended an affair with her married beau, lawyer Pugach, who then hired thugs who permanently scarred her face and blinded her. She married Pugach after he got out of prison more than a decade later.
Their relationship and related legal battles were documented in the 1976 book "A Very Different Love Story" by Berry Stainback, as well as the 2007 documentary, "Crazy Love."
"We loved each other more than any other couple could have," Pugach tearfully told the Times in a phone interview Wednesday. "Ours was a storybook romance."
Pugach, 85, denied in the interview having ordered the use of lye in the attack on his future wife.
"I asked one guy to find someone who would beat her up, to try and get her back," he said. "I didn't ask anybody to throw lye at her."


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DailyDirt: Fuels From Thin Air
from the urls-we-dig-up deptCarbon dioxide has been the focus of a lot of discussions on global climate change and energy policy. Certainly, there are other greenhouse gases, but CO2 is the major by-product of our fossil-fueled economy that people have been massively pumping into the air at an extraordinary rate. Over millennia, biology has already come up with an answer to this problem -- in nature, carbon dioxide is part of a carbon cycle that is recycled and/or sequestered into wood or sugars or other forms of chemical storage. Perhaps some clever chemists/scientists can come up with another kind of photosynthesis to save us from dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Check out some of these research projects that could turn CO2 into fuels.
- A new catalytic system using ionic liquids and carbon nanofibers has been shown to turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, which is could be used to create syngas and other fuels. The real breakthrough here is the discovery of a relatively new class of metal-free catalysis using doped carbon nanofibers. [url]
- The combustion of methanol to CO2 and water is a well-known reaction, but finding catalysts that promote the reverse reaction (CO2 to methanol) is what would be really useful. A novel, very efficient, single-step catalytic system to convert CO2 to methanol has been devised, but the problem is that it uses a borane compound that is actually more expensive to make than methanol (so the process isn't very economical). [url]
- Carbon Recycling International is a company that has a commercially viable process to turn waste CO2 into methanol. The trick is that the company has access to the waste CO2 from a geothermal power plant next to a volcano in Iceland -- giving it access to a relatively cheap source of CO2 and energy. The company brands its methanol as Vulcanol -- to remind buyers that its product comes from a natural volcano source. [url]
Filed Under: borane, carbon dioxide, catalysts, chemistry, climate change, energy, fuel, geothermal power, ghg, iceland, ionic liquids, methanol, nanofibers, vulcanol
Companies: carbon recycling international


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Boy, 15, Dies When Concrete Slab Falls From Parking Garage
Garage To Stay Closed Until Safety Inspectors Give OK
A 15-year-old boy has died in the collapse of part of the O'Donnell parking structure near Summerfest. In addition, a woman and her teenage son were injured and taken to Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said.
Police did not release the names of any of the victims. They said the teenager who died was a friend of the family of the two injured people.
Clarke said his department received a call that a 30-foot-wide decorative part of a wall had fallen.
"It made that crashing sound, like the building was coming down," said witness Dave Jenkins Sr., who said that he and his son saw it happen. "I saw the whole works. It came down in one sheet."
"It was a nice-sized crash. I whipped around and saw the dust flying and people kind of laying around," said Dave Jenkins Jr. "I was going to go over there and help, but the police were arriving and I had to back off and let them do their jobs."
The structure is located on East Michigan Street and Lincoln Memorial Drive near the lakefront.
WISN 12 News photojournalist David Bakken said it was a facade from the outside of the parking structure that came free and fell. He said it looks like a 20-foot section fell from the second level. There is now a blue tarp covering the area.
The woman who was injured was listed in satisfactory condition on Thursday evening with a leg injury. Her son suffered an injury to his foot and was listed in good condition.
Mike Thomas just got his car out of the garage right before it collapsed.
"As we were leaving, people were all around," Thomas told WISN 12 News. "And as we were leaving, then there was a 'Boom.' And it broke."
Todays accident at the ODonnell Parking Structure is tragic. I extend my most heart-felt sympathies to all of those involved," Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said in a news release.
A witness told 12 News it sounded like a train crash.
Lincoln Memorial Drive, along the lakefront, has been closed in the area. Clarke said it will remain closed until further notice. He asked that people use Water Street or Prospect Avenue if they are going to Summerfest or the fireworks.
The parking structure will also remain closed and people will not be able to get their cars out Thursday night.
"The Milwaukee Fire Department and the Milwaukee Police Department have performed admirably at the scene. We also have City engineers at the scene. Ive directed all City departments to provide Milwaukee County with any assistance necessary," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a news release.
"We all have extensive experience, unfortunately, in major incidents like this, including accident reconstruction," said Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. "We're going to be conducting those investigations and give you all of the answers as soon as possible."
Safety Under Investigation
Shortly after the collapse, County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Holloway demanded further safety checks, concerned that a maintenance backlog may to blame.
I am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into this incident, as well as a review of all County facilities to make sure that they are structurally safe for our residents to use and enjoy," Holloway said.
He said he wanted engineers to go through every inch of the parking structure to ensure its safety before it reopened.
"I don't care how long it's going to sit empty," he said. "We're not letting people in until we are 100 percent certain this is safe."
He said he's not sure the last time the structure was inspected, but he said there were no reports of pending maintenance.
"We need to know what happened here and why before anything else can happen," Holloway said.
"Any time you have something like this going on, it's not something you want to see from your government and certainly, the chairman is taking action to try to make sure nothing like this after happens again," said County Board of Supervisors spokesman Harold Mester.
History Of Questions
There have been questions about the $30 million structure since it was built in the early 1990s. An inspection during construction found buckled and cracked beams in the roof.
Epoxy was used to try to fill the cracks, but it was later discovered that it only covered up a bigger problem. Inspectors found that support columns and pilings underneath were the wrong size.
Inspectors also found that the garden area on top of the parking garage was supposed to support at least 500 pounds of weight per square foot, but it was only able to support between 250 and 500 pounds.
The county fired the architect and spent an additional $1.5 million to make repairs.
Former County Public Works Director Patrick Marchese had brought up concerns about the project in the past. On Thursday, he would only say that the collapse was a "community tragedy."


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^ Raiders coach Dennis Allen said linebacker Aaron Curry "looked good, moved around well. The key is to see how he responds tomorrow." He worked at all three LB spots
^ What LB spot will Curry end up at? "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Allen said.
^ Allen was asked if he's thought about getting Terrelle Pryor in there for plays, a la the 49ers? "No. We have a quarterback that is playing extremely well."
^ Allen said there were no ill effects for Mike Brisiel (concussion). The guard passed tests and has already been cleared, was limited at practice today
^ As far as Rolando McClain, Allen said conditioning was a factor in the middle linebacker's reduced role. "He responded well. He played well." While McClain will continue to sit for rookie Miles Burris in nickel passing downs, Allen acknowledged McClain could be a big factor against Jacksonville's running attack Sunday. (Pro Football Focus ranks McClain the 8th best ILB vs run so far this season.)
^ Quarterback Carson Palmer: "This is a must-win game. We can't wait to play … excited about this opportunity."
^ Asked Palmer if fullback Marcel Reece (14 catches, 1 rushing attempt) has essentially become a decoy. He said there are big plays to Reece out there and they're being called, but they wind up on the video that the team sends to the NFL showing missed pass interference calls.
^ Palmer: "We understand what a weapon Marcel is & defenses understand what a weapon he is. He's gotten some opportunities and will get some more."
^ Palmer was semi-rooting for the Chargers on Monday night because he knows the Broncos will be there in the end. But either result was good for team, he said
UPDATE TO THIS: Curry looks doubtful for Sunday,,guess ti didn't go as well as planned.
Need to get a win against the Jaguars. To bad Pryor isn't going to get any opportunities to play. Hek, the Jets are considering using Tebow at running back. Maybe we should get Pryor in to run or catch and run on occasion.


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Shakira Becomes 'Most Liked' Female on Facebook With 100 Million Likesby Thomas Chau | PopCrush
If Shakira ever feels the need to connect with her fans, all she needs to do is log onto Facebook. The 37-year-old Colombian singer is the first female celebrity to hit 100 million likes, which makes her the "most liked" female personality on the social network site.
"I am honored and humbled about reaching this milestone, because it's one that's purely about connecting with my fans from all parts of the globe," Shakira said in a released statement. "Social media and specifically Facebook has helped myself and other artists bridge the gap between the stage and the audience. We've been able to create a conversation, where both artists and fans can share with one another their thoughts, achievements, the most important moments of their lives in photographs and videos, and have a real, ongoing dialogue."
Said Justin Osofsky, Facebook's VP of Global Operations and Media Partnerships: "The combination of Shakira's global appeal, her authentic engagement with fans and her use of Facebook as a multi-media platform has positioned her to achieve the incredible milestone of 100M fans."
Shakira released her self-titled album in March and announced a few days ago that she is pregnant again.


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The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), which Homeland Security Deputy Undersecretary Mark Weatherford said has become the operational arm for detecting and responding to cyber attacks against the financial sector, was honored with the award for information security at last week's RSA Conference in San Francisco.
The Financial Services ISAC was created in 1999 under Presidential Directive 63, which mandated mechanisms to enable the sharing of data between the public and private sectors. The ISAC works closely with the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and DHS.
Although information sharing between government and industry remains a challenge, ISAC president Bill Nelson said that willingness to share between circles of trust created in the ISAC has "changed the game" in information security.
ISAC recently completed its Critical Infrastructure Notification System (CINS), though which it issues security alerts to industry while providing for user authentication and delivery confirmation, the organization said. The group also offers anonymous information sharing, including advice on best practices for defending against known and emerging threats.
Also at RSA, the leaders of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence were recognized for their efforts to pass cybersecurity legislation that would improve the sharing threat information between intelligence communities and outside organizations.
Committee Chairman Mike J. Rogers (R-Mich.) and ranking member C.A. Ruppersberger (D-Md.) were the authors of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), a controversial bill that passed the House in April 2012 but failed to move out of the Senate. In receiving the 16th annual award for excellence in public policy, they were praised for their bipartisan effort to protect the nation's critical infrastructure and intellectual property.
CISPA would have allowed the federal intelligence community to share classified cyber threat intelligence with appropriate entities in the private sector "consistent with the need to protect the national security of the United States." It also would have streamlined granting of security clearances for private sector officials and allowed voluntary sharing of threat information between companies and with government.
Among the controversial provisions of the bill are exemptions from liability that would shield companies from any civil or criminal action for use or misuse of information as long as they had acted in good faith.
The bill was criticized as overly broad and lacking adequate privacy protections, and drew a veto threat from the White House. Despite these concerns, it passed the House by a healthy margin of 248 to 168, but died in the Senate with the end of the 112th Congress.
The representatives reintroduced bill in February with no changes as H.R. 624. No action has yet been taken on it.
About the Author
William Jackson is a Maryland-based freelance writer.
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I've become very good friend with my students. I spend most of my free time with them as they also happen to be my age (they're 20 and I'm 26).
I really like them. I think Chinese students are cute and everything they do makes me chuckle.
Have you ever really like someone who didn't like you back? It's rare.
If a student feels you like them of course they will feel the same way.
I've bought presents for my students of their birthdays and always try to make them feel better when I see them.
One simple thing which really helps: remember their names. It's so important.
English Teacher


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yesterday I had the great experience of riding the RR at VIR, took the Keith Code class and what a day.
First time on a track and pretty much a crotch rocket for that matter.
I even had the opportunity to play in the mud with it! No damage to me or bike and I was allowed back on track. Get the hose.
Mind you it was pretty much a downpour the entire day which added to the fun. Quite a learning experience in the rain.
Great bike and I was bummed the day was over. What I really like about the bike is the overall smaller size which is close the Kaw 636 that I've rode a couple times. The corners were blast, I couldn't get enough of them and when you want to move, the bike responds instantly. Had me giggling. I've never moved that fast. A far cry from my R100.
Dad and I had a great time and I'll definitely be doing that again.


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Que Faisaient Les Femmes Pendant Que L'Homme Marchait Sur La Lune? (2000)
Directed by Chris Vander StappenGenres - Comedy Drama | Sub-Genres - Family Drama, Gay & Lesbian Films, Period Film | Run Time - 101 min. | Countries - Belgium , Canada , Switzerland , France , United States | MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming
A young woman tries to ease herself out of the closet without terrifying her parents in the process in this comedy-drama. The year is 1969, and Sacha (Marie Bunel) is a young Belgian woman living in Canada. Sacha's family sent her to Canada to attend medical school, but she hasn't had the heart to tell them that she's dropped out of college to devote herself to her new interest in photography. Sacha also hasn't told her parents that she's a lesbian -- and that she has a new girlfriend, Odile (Macha Grenon). Odile is tired of being kept a secret, and insists that Sacha tell her parents the truth before American astronauts land on the moon in a few months -- or else. Sacha flies home to Belgium for a visit, planning to come clean to her folks, but she discovers they've arranged a huge welcome home party for the entire neighborhood. With everyone so excited that the soon-to-be-doctor is paying them a visit, Sacha wonders when the time will be right to give her family the news. Not that it will be easy to explain things to them anyway: Mother (Helene Vincent) is high-strung and suffering from cancer, Father (Christian Grahay) is the owner of a business about to go bust, sister Elisa (Mimie Mathy) is an embittered midget who talks to her goldfish, and her grandmother (Tsilla Chelton) has a few secrets of her own that she isn't sharing. Que Faisaient Les Femmes Pendant Que L'Homme Marchait Sur La Lune? was the first feature directed by Chris Vander Stappen), who won acclaim for the screenplay to Ma Vie en Rose.
lesbianism, family, coming-out, girlfriend, photographer, Belgium, Canada, medical-school, photography, grandmother, cancer, midget, moon-walk


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It seems like CAR Magazine has managed to get some crisp images of the brand new 2014 BMW M3 before its "concept" version premiers at the Geneva Motor Show in March. While this very yellow car could be just a very good rendering, the fine folks at GT Spirit who snagged an early copy of the magazine think it's real.
Here's what they think they know.
According to this article, the new M3 comes with four doors (the coupe will get an M4 badge). It will be lighter thanks to a bunch of carbon fiber parts including the roof. That results in a car weighting under 3,300 pounds. Fantastic if true, but what's even better is a the brand new straight-six engine giving you 444 horsepower to deal with (and not a V6 as rumored). Happy times for everyone but rear tires, which are screwed.
We will have to wait for the exact specifications, but an electric M-differential and possibly a very rapid double clutch gearbox will probably come as standard. A manual option is not likely, which is a shame as always but maybe they'll give the U.S. a reprieve.
It sounds like a package that has the potential to be great. What do you think? This one, or the current V8 second hand?
(Hat tip to consistently inconsistent!)


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MADRID (Reuters) - Local lawmakers in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia voted to seek a referendum on breaking away from Spain on Thursday, setting themselves up for a battle with an implacably opposed central government in Madrid.
The Catalan Parliament in Barcelona voted 87 to 43, with 3 abstentions, to send a petition to the national parliament seeking the power to call a popular vote on the region's future.
The independence movement in Catalonia, which has its own language and represents a fifth of Spain's national economy, is a direct challenge to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has pledged to block a referendum on constitutional grounds.
Independence for the region, which already has significant self-governing powers, is thus considered a remote possibility, but Catalan President Artur Mas is buoyed by a groundswell of public support to defy Madrid with plans for a referendum.
Polls show roughly half of Catalans want independence, but as many as 80 percent want the right to vote on the matter.
Pro-independence leaders in Catalonia say Rajoy should follow the example of British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government opposes Scottish independence, but is allowing the Scots to decide in a vote later this year.
Outside the Catalan Parliament building, a few dozen demonstrators gathered, both for and against staying in Spain. Many flew the separatist banner - a lone white star in a blue triangle, against the background of Catalonia's official red-and-yellow-striped flag.
"Rajoy is totally resistant to change. I don't think he's even aware of what is going on. He thinks this is a small spark that will fade away if he buries his head in the sand," said demonstrator Isabel Guerrero, a 58-year-old retiree.
Business and political leaders of all stripes have piled pressure on Rajoy to diffuse the situation, perhaps by offering Mas greater control over taxes in exchange for dropping the referendum idea.
Isidre Faine, chairman of Barcelona-based La Caixa, Spain's third biggest bank, this week called on Spanish and Catalan political leaders to negotiate a "grand pact".
But Rajoy has so far refused to engage in public talks with Mas.
Critics worry the prime minister's inertia has fanned the flames in Catalonia. But time may once again be on the side of Rajoy, who over the last two years successfully resisted pressure to seek an international rescue to ward off a sovereign debt default and to force out cabinet members or party leaders during a corruption scandal.
Several factors play into his hands.
An incipient economic recovery could take off, easing tensions over tax distribution, one of Catalans' main beefs with the central government. The independence drive could falter on internal political tensions in Catalonia or on quiet opposition from big business. And, without international support, Catalans could balk at the idea of having to leave the European Union or give up the euro to gain independence.
Thursday's vote in the Catalan Parliament will trigger a chain of events that will likely lead to stalemate.
First, the national Parliament in Madrid will almost certainly turn down the Catalan petition.
Then, Catalan leader Mas will set a date without permission from Madrid, which the Constitutional Court will block.
Mas has indicated that once all legal roads are exhausted, he will use Catalonia's next regional election in 2016 as a proxy.
He could call early elections but he is more likely to wait until his conservative Convergence and Union (CiU) political alliance gets a poll boost from an expected economic recovery. If he held the proxy vote now, opinion polls show he would lose to the more radical independence party, Catalan Republican Left,
"The biggest concern is the absolute disconnect between Madrid and Barcelona. There's no room for a negotiated solution right now," said Antonio Barroso, political analyst with Teneo Intelligence.
Rajoy has little incentive to negotiate, said Barroso. He doesn't want to give Catalonia a tax deal that will anger Spain's other 16 autonomous regions nor launch a complex and controversial constitutional reform.
Asked about Catalan independence on a visit to Washington, D.C., this week, Rajoy insisted, "It's not going to happen."
Such intransigence doesn't go down well in Catalonia.
"It's nonsense to say there is no problem and that it will never happen," said Joan Maria Pique, Mas's press secretary. "You can't avoid a question as important as this. The Spanish government thought the protests were a soap bubble, but it hasn't disappeared."
Catalonia has always had a strong movement for greater autonomy, but a more radical independence movement took hold in the last few years during a prolonged economic slump that hit all of Spain. The movement is fed by perceptions of unfair tax burdens, frustration with Madrid's resistance to handing more power to the regional government and friction over the region's Catalan-language school system.
In 2012 and 2013, millions of Catalans took to the streets on their national day, September 11, demanding the right to vote on breaking away from Spain.
Opinion surveys show that Catalans would be less enthusiastic about independence if it meant losing the trade and currency benefits of the European Union and euro zone.
There are enormous uncertainties over how Catalonia's economy would weather a difficult transition period if it had to reapply to enter the European Union, which is the official stance from Brussels.
Mas's government has not set out specific plans on what currency the region would adopt if it were blocked from joining the euro, whether it would set up its own central bank or how to handle Catalonia's portion of the Spanish national debt.
All of which gives Rajoy seeds of doubt to sow.
Pro-independence politicians in Catalonia say they are confident Europe's democratic traditions would lead to it re-writing the rules to respect self-determination if Catalans showed in a vote that they wanted their own country.
"Rajoy can ignore us all he wants. When we have a popular mandate, we'll take it to the international community and we'll go for independence and ask for international support," said Alfred Bosch, a leader of the ERC party.
Additional reporting by Elena Gyldenkerne in Barcelona; Editing by Will Waterman


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We deliver nearly everywhere within days
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A magnum bottling of the iconic Pintia, produced by the even more iconic Vega Sicilia. This wine comes from the little-known region of Toro, capable of producing stunning wines rivalling its rather… More info


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November 30, 2012 / 9:54am / Fan Feifei
A steering committee on the selection, quality assurance and review of the E-Textbook Market Development Scheme has approved 30 applications from organizations wishing to contribute to the development of e-textbooks. About HK$26 million has been allocated to assist the development, said Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim on Thursday.
Ng said the price of the e-textbooks to be developed will be at least 20 percent lower than the average for their printed counterparts, adding, the price of the approved geography e-textbook is as much as 63 percent lower than the average price of a printed text.
The applications to develop textbooks cover the main subjects of Chinese, English, Mathematics, as well as General Studies, Computer Literacy, and Physical Education. Twenty-one applications relate to primary education and nine are for junior secondary, Ng added.
The applications came from 13 applicants, including non-profit organizations, textbook publishing-related organizations, e-learning resources developers and tertiary institutions.
He added, these applications are expected to harness the benefits of e-features to enhance the effectiveness of learning and teaching the subjects. It will also increase consumers' choices, Ng said.
A total of 88 primary and secondary schools will be invited to try the e-textbooks and provide feedback so that developers can enhance design and content. It is expected that e-textbooks will be available for use in the 2014/15 school year.
The Education Bureau will conduct an interim review of the scheme in progress. Based on the outcome of the review, the steering committee will determine whether or not a second phase of e-textbook development is required.
Vice Chairman of Education Convergence Ho Hon-kuen said the government may underestimate the high production costs, since publishers need to invite experts to write e-textbooks and spend money on multimedia production. High inflation should also be calculated, he added. Ho said he feared that the production costs could not be reclaimed even after five or seven years.
He also cited an example from South Korea where an e-textbook plan failed after being promoted for three years. He said the program has already been abandoned owing to its high cost, adding he is not optimistic about the future of e-textbooks.
President of the Hong Kong Parents Association Lai Tsang-hing voiced concerns that e-textbooks may be harmful to students' eyesight, and open the door to time being wasted playing games online.
In early May, the government proposed to earmark HK$50 million for the textbook development scheme. The money was to help non-profit making organizations to develop at least 12 e-textbooks sets.
The e-textbook could diversify the market and address the current textbook-market monopoly, said former secretary for education Michael Suen at that time, adding e-textbooks could be a desirable alternative to highly priced printed textbooks as the cost should be 20 percent to 50 percent lower.


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Q: How many plants do I need in my pond, and do I need to fertilize them?
Cynthia – Bishop, CA
A: A good mix of aquatic plants does more than beautify your water garden. The marginal, floating and submerged plants, such as those found in our Aquatic Plant Packages, also absorb excess nutrients in the water and shade the pond's surface, which can help prevent algae attacks and protect your finned friends from hungry herons and raccoons.
When planting aquatic plants in and around your pond, you should ideally have 40 to 60 percent of your water garden's surface covered with floating aquatic plants, like hardy water lilies, water hyacinth and water lettuce. This allows for enough nutrient absorption and shading to prevent algae from gaining a foothold in your pond.
Just like the plants in your vegetable garden, those lilies and bog plants need some nutrients added to their soil to thrive. Here's what we recommend:
- Spikes: Fertilizer spikes, like Laguna Plant Grow Fertilizer Spikes, slowly release plant food, which makes them super easy to use. The balanced nutrients in the spikes encourage both foliage and root growth and flower production, while the low phosphorous and no copper formula ensure no adverse effects on water quality or fish and plant life. You simply push the spike into the soil (one for every 1 to 2 gallons of planting container space) and forget about it until next year.
- Tabs: Tabs, like TetraPond® LilyGro™ Aquatic Plant Food, are formulated for use during your aquatic plants' growing season. As with the spikes, the nutrients in the fertilizer encourage greenery and bloom production, but the tabs need to be added to the soil monthly for best results. Using one tablet per gallon of potted soil, push it deep into the soil 3 inches from the crown of the plant and pack the hole with dirt to prevent the fertilizer from being released into the water.
During the growing season, plan to fertilize your water lilies and marginal plants once per month. Floating and submerged plants should have plenty of nutrients in the water to feed them. Enjoy your blooms!
Pond Talk: What is your favorite aquatic plant?
Filed under: Aquatic Plants, Water Gardens & Features | Tagged: Aquatic Plant Packages, aquatic plants, fertilizer, fertilizer spikes, fertilizer tabs, fertilizing aquatic plants, plant fertilizer |


text:
The Best Games for PC Right Now! Essential games.
The top PC games can be found on digital marketplaces like Steam and Origin and are available in all sorts of different flavors. Known predominantly for its first-person shooter, RPG and RTS/MOBA games, PC is also treated to its fair share of multiplatform titles from third-party publishers. With your mouse and keyboard or even your controller at the ready, these are the best PC games to play today.


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So you have a known good motor and a known good installation environment. The work to ensure both of these conditions caused some delay but prevented failures that result from a rushed motor swap. But don't unwire and yank the old motor just yet. You need to continue down your motor replacement checklist.
That checklist should have you ensuring lockout/tagout and not just of electrical sources. For example, if the motor operates a large press, then you need to block the press to eliminate any chance of mechanical operation (such as by gravity). While this is going on, someone needs to conduct "as-installed" insulation resistance tests on the replacement motor for baseline data. Someone else needs to obtain the torque specs for the mounting hardware (which should all be new), plus a torque wrench suitable to the job.
Once you have isolated the energy sources, your next checklist step is to note how the old motor is mounted, wired, and connected to the load. Note the orientation and condition of any vibration isolators. Before lowering the new motor into place, ensure fingers and tools are out of the way. Shim the motor to level it, but don't fully torque the fasteners until after you've aligned the motor.


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your car in stock, check out the online wheel choosing tool to
see how your car will look with the new wheels.
Auto Part Giant - Many of the cars in our car videos have performance parts ranging from exhaust systems, intakes, performance chips, and other parts that will make your car go fast and corner great. Visit out parts section for performance parts.
Car insurance - Insurance offers personal automobile, motorcycle, and umbrella insurance. The company receives much of its new business through referrals from current policyholders; the average annual renewal rate of existing policyholders is over 90%.


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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.
Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from starting, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer.
Different ways to prevent cancer are being studied, including:
Stomach (gastric) cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the stomach.
The stomach is a J-shaped organ in the upper abdomen. It is part of the digestive system, which processes nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and water) in foods that are eaten and helps pass waste material out of the body. Food moves from the throat to the stomach through a hollow, muscular tube called the esophagus. After leaving the stomach, partly-digested food passes into the small intestine and then into the large intestine.
The stomach and esophagus are part of the upper digestive system.
See the following PDQ summaries for more information about stomach cancer:
In the United States, the number of new cases of stomach cancer has stayed about the same since 2005.
Since 2005, the number of new cases of stomach cancer in the United States has stayed about the same. Men are twice as likely as women to be diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Stomach cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world.
The number of deaths from stomach cancer has decreased over many years, especially in the United States. Black men are more than twice as likely as white men to die from stomach cancer.
Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may help prevent stomach cancer.
Avoiding cancer risk factors may help prevent certain cancers. Risk factors include smoking, being overweight, and not getting enough exercise. Increasing protective factors such as quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet, and exercising may also help prevent some cancers. Talk to your doctor or other health care professional about how you might lower your risk of cancer.
The following are risk factors for stomach cancer:
Certain medical conditions
Having any of the following medical conditions may increase the risk of stomach cancer:
Certain genetic conditions
Genetic conditions may increase the risk of stomach cancer in people with any of the following:
The risk of stomach cancer may be increased in people who:
Environmental causes
Environmental factors that may increase the risk of stomach cancer include:
The risk of stomach cancer is increased in people who come from countries where stomach cancer is common.
The following are protective factors that may decrease the risk of stomach cancer:
Stopping smoking
Studies show that smoking is linked with an increased risk of stomach cancer. Stopping smoking or never smoking decreases the risk of stomach cancer. Smokers who stop smoking lower their risk of having stomach cancer over time.
Treating Helicobacter pylori infection
Studies show that chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria is linked to an increased risk of stomach cancer. When H. pylori bacteria infects the stomach, the stomach may become inflamed and cause changes in the cells that line the stomach. Over time, these cells become abnormal and may become cancer.
Some studies show that treating H. pylori infection with antibiotics lowers the risk of stomach cancer. More studies are needed to find out whether treating H. pylori infection with antibiotics lowers the number of deaths from stomach cancer or keeps changes in the stomach lining, that can lead to cancer, from getting worse.
It is not known if the following factors lower the risk of stomach cancer or have no effect on the risk of stomach cancer:
Not eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables is linked to an increased risk of stomach cancer. Some studies show that eating fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C and beta carotene may lower the risk of stomach cancer. Studies also show that whole-grain cereals, carotenoids, green tea, and substances found in garlic may lower the risk of stomach cancer.
It is not known if changing your diet to include more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains lowers your risk of stomach cancer.
Studies show that eating a diet with a lot of salt may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Many people in the United States now eat less salt to lower their risk of high blood pressure. This may be why rates of stomach cancer have decreased in the U.S.
Dietary supplements
It is not known if taking certain vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements helps lower the risk of stomach cancer. In China, a study of beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium supplements in the diet showed a lower number of deaths from stomach cancer. The study may have included people who did not have these nutrients in their usual diets. It is not known if increased dietary supplements would have the same effect in people who already eat a healthy diet.
Other studies have not shown that taking dietary supplements such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, or selenium lowers the risk of stomach cancer.
Cancer prevention clinical trials are used to study ways to prevent cancer.
Cancer prevention clinical trials are used to study ways to lower the risk of certain types of cancer. Some cancer prevention trials are done with healthy people who have not had cancer but who have an increased risk for cancer. Other prevention trials are done with people who have had cancer and are trying to prevent another cancer of the same type or to lower their chance of developing a new type of cancer. Other trials are done with healthy volunteers who are not known to have any risk factors for cancer.
The purpose of some cancer prevention clinical trials is to find out whether actions people take can prevent cancer. These may include eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, quitting smoking, or taking certain medicines, vitamins, minerals, or food supplements.
New ways to prevent stomach cancer are being studied in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about clinical trials can be found in the Clinical Trials section of the NCI Web site. Check NCI's list of cancer clinical trials for stomach cancer prevention that are now accepting patients.
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.
Changes were made to this summary to match those made to the health professional version.
If you have questions or comments about this summary, please send them to Cancer.gov through the Web site's Contact Form. We can respond only to email messages written in English.
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.
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 a certain drug or nutrient can prevent cancer. 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 and those who are at risk for cancer. During prevention clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new prevention method and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new method is better than one currently being used, the new method may become "standard." People who are at high risk for a certain type of cancer may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
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: 2012-05-24
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
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BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball head coach Phil Stern was chosen as one of 36 coaches to attend the Center for Coaching Excellence seminar put on by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on the campus of Columbia University.
The invitational-only event was a two-and-a-half day leadership training program utilizing interactive learning sessions and self-assessment to introduce coaches to various aspects of leadership, as well as a deeper understanding of the importance of ethics and integrity in women's college basketball.
Stern is entering his 13th season with the Retrievers and is nine victories shy of becoming the program's all-time wins leader. Stern is one of only three active head coaches in the America East to have won an America East title, piloting the Retrievers to a 2007 league crown as the seven seed, and has guided UMBC to a pair of postseason tournaments (NCAA in 2007 and the WNIT in 2011).
The WBCA was founded in 1981 and has a mission to promote women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport of women's basketball and to foster and promote the development of the game of basketball as a sport for women and girls.


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TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quality Distribution, Inc. (Nasdaq:QLTY) ("Quality" or the "Company"), a North American logistics and transportation provider with market leading businesses, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Annette M. Sandberg as a director, effective January 1, 2013. Ms. Sandberg has more than 20 years of professional public safety and law enforcement experience at Federal and State levels of government. Ms. Sandberg became the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on August 1, 2003 and led the agency until April 1, 2006. She also served as Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from February 11, 2002 until November 25, 2002. A nationally recognized expert in law enforcement and public safety, Ms. Sandberg led the Washington State Patrol as Chief for 6 years. When appointed in 1995, she was the first woman to lead a state police agency. She served in the Washington State Patrol from 1983 to 1994 rising to the rank of Lieutenant. Ms. Sandberg is currently of counsel at Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C., a nationally recognized, full service transportation law firm. She also is principal of TransSafe Consulting, LLC, which provides transportation, public safety, and security consulting services to public and private organizations dealing with regulatory policy compliance, implementation, and management of complex transportation and safety programs. Ms. Sandberg received a law degree from the Seattle University School of Law in 1993. In 1988, she received an MBA, Magna Cum Laude, from City University, Bellevue, Washington. She attended the Government Executive Institute at Harvard University in 1996 and the FBI's National Executive Institute in 1998. "We are very excited that Annette has agreed to join our Board of Directors," said Tom White, Chairman of the Board of Directors, "Her wealth of experience in the transportation industry, and in particular her experience with the transportation industry in public service, will be a valuable resource to the Company in the years to come."
About QualityHeadquartered in Tampa, Florida, Quality operates the largest chemical bulk logistics network in North America through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quality Carriers, Inc., and is the largest North American provider of intermodal tank container and depot services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Boasso America Corporation. Quality also provides logistics and transportation services to the unconventional oil and gas industry including crude oil, proppant sand, fresh water, and production fluids, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries QC Energy Resources, Inc. and QC Environmental Services, Inc. Quality's network of independent affiliates and independent owner-operators provides nationwide bulk transportation and related services. Quality is an American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Partner and is a core carrier for many of the Fortune 500 companies that are engaged in chemical production and processing. The Quality Distribution, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5285
CONTACT: Joseph J. Troy Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 800-282-2031 ext. 7195


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|Authored By: Polly Pitchford, Full Spectrum Health
|Make a double batch if you can. This batch will disappear.
|Diet Types: Macrobiotic, Vegan, Vegetarian
|Serves: 6
|Cooking Time: Under 30 minutes
|Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pop popcorn and season lightly with salt. Place Barley Malt and rice syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce flame to low and simmer 3-4 minutes. Pour hot sweetener over popcorn and mix in well. Add peanuts and mix again. Place sweetened popcorn on an unoiled cookie sheet, making sure not to spread popcorn too thick on the sheet or it will not heat up properly. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the syrup becomes darker and starts to bubble. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool. Baking causes the sweetener to harden. Break apart when cool and store in zip-lock bags.
|Printable Version
|E-mail a Friend


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Fans of AMC's "Mad Men" are already head over heels for redheaded firecracker Christina Hendricks, who plays saucy head secretary Joan Holloway on the popular series, and now it appears the folks at Esquire magazine are flipping for Christina too.
The men's mag picked the striking 34-year-old to front the cover of their May 2010 "Women" issue.
In the mag, the beauty, who is married to fellow actor Geoffrey Arend, revealed one of the ways her man wooed her – with a thoughtful picture book.
"When I first started dating my husband, I had this weird fascination with the circus and clowns and old carnival things and sideshow freaks and all that. About a month after we started dating, he bought me this amazing black-and-white photo book on the circus in the 1930s, and I started sobbing. Which freaked him out," she told the mag. "I thought, 'Oh, my God, I mentioned this three or four weeks ago and talked about it briefly, but he was really listening to me.' And he actually went out and researched and found this thing for me. It was amazing."
Despite playing Joan, who is a master of office and bedroom politics, Christina revealed in her series of suggestions to men in Esquire, that in her own life, things don't go as smoothly.
"When we come back from a date, we feel awkward about that transition from our cute outfit into sexy lingerie," she revealed. "We don't know how to do this gracefully. It's embarrassing. We have to find a way to slip into another room, put on the outfit as if it all happened very easily, and then come out and it's: Look at me! Look at the sexy thing I've done! For you, it's the blink of an eye. It's all very embarrassing. Just so you know."
She also revealed a hard stance against social networking.
"No man should be on Facebook," Christina said. "It's an invasion of everyone's privacy. I really cannot stand it."
In related "Mad Men" news, creator Matt Weiner has reportedly said the show, centered around Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the Sterling-Cooper ad agency, will have an end date.
At the National Association of Broadcasters convention last week, Matt reportedly said the show will conclude in 2012 after six season on the air, TheWeeklyBlend.com first reported.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: It's Hamm-er Time! Hot Shots Of 'Mad Men' Star Jon Hamm
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Scenes & Stars From AMC's 'Mad Men'
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Christina Hendricks - Mad Men - Couples - TV


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Coverage & Results
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VHSL State Championships Class 1/2/3
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4 Videos 1,098 Photos
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Do I get access to content from other sites?With a universal subscription, you gain access to all MileSplit original content, athlete profiles, interviews, rankings, and live events PLUS unlimited access to every other FloSports sports website, including FloTrack!
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If you would like to change plans, send our Customer Support team an email at firstname.lastname@example.com and they'll handle that for you.
More questions?Feel free to Contact us.


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How to Identify Your Target Market
Identify your business's target market so that you can best serve and advertise directly to your real customers. To identify your target market, you first need to answer these questions:
What are you selling, and what makes it so unique? For example, what makes your merchandise different from what people can buy from other big retail chains?
To whom do you want to sell it? Are you selling to parents? To retirees? To the environmentally conscious?
Why should people buy the product or service from you? Are you open very late at night so that customers who work long hours can drop by your store? Do you offer free delivery of large items so that walk-in customers don't have to lug your product home?
When you have the answers to these questions, you should do two things:
Focus on your primary market. Many business owners fall into the trap of believing that their products or services are "for everyone"— that is, anyone would be interested in or need the products. But even if your business appeals to a broad market of diverse consumers, you need to identify who your ideal consumer is. After you've identified your primary market, your advertising should match that focus.
Research your market. Knowing your target audience is critical: Your ads won't work if they don't appeal to what your potential customers want or need. Research and find out as much as possible about the people you want to sell to.
Your market research can take many forms:
Demographics: If you oversee the advertising for a new business (or you want to go after a new type of consumer for your business), you can start by checking out some basic demographic information. The best research comes from primary sources — in other words, you should call around for information.
Publications: You may also be able to find information in publications, which may track demographics, sales information, trends in your industry, and other useful consumer information.
Potential customers: Conduct an informal poll by asking potential customers — especially those you've identified as your target audience — what they're looking for that other businesses don't provide.
Differentiate your business from your competition (in a good way) by targeting customer needs and attracting business!


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And now for something different, Carbon for Twitter is a new client on Android.
What does it do?
It lets you read and post tweets in a better, simpler interface than the default Twitter app.
Why do we like it?
Carbon is a much nicer looking Twitter client. Carbon also has some good gesture controls. For example, tap on a tweet for more options, or swipe to see your @ replies, DMs, and so on. In terms of features, it's normal for a Twitter app. But in terms of looks, it's quite pleasing, with a big display for composing Tweets set on a dark, minimalist background. If you're making a switch to Carbon from your current Twitter app, it's definitely more of an aesthetic choice, but we don't think it's a bad one.
Carbon for Twitter
Download this app for:
- Android, Free
The Best:
Nice design
The Worst:
No tablet support yet


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Castle Story
UPDATE July 27th : We can't believe we reached our goal in under 5 hours. Heartfelt thanks to everyone and your amazing generosity!
UPDATE July 28th : CLARIFICATION - After a large amount of questions regarding the first reward, we'd like to clarify that for 15$ you OWN the game! You will never need to pay anything ever again. Unfortunately, we cannot reformulate the reward description.
UPDATE August 17th: Half a million dollars have been pledged! This is incredible! Ginormous thanks to everybody involved! \:D/
UPDATE August 18th : ADDED SPACE IN LIMITED TIERS - Premium and Elite backer tiers have doubled available space.
UPDATE August 22nd : ADDED DOUBLE BETA+PROTOTYPE for the Premium, Elite and ATOMIC Backers.
"Its promised blend of building and strategy looks great, the kind of thing to rekindle the very fondest of childhood memories..." - Kotaku
"... I'm having a nostalgia rush [...] Castle Story is the first new game that I shall be observing by means of a spyglass each morning throughout 2012." - Rock Paper Shotgun
"I am super excited about [Castle Story]! Looks like a game I'd really enjoy." - Notch
Castle Story is a creative voxel-based strategy game in which you can build castles one brick at a time using an army of little characters called Bricktrons.
Your goal will be to explore a vast landscape full of mysteries and dangers, and defend your castle against onslaughts of hostile creatures and possibly other players.
The world of Castle Story takes place on flying islands, high above an infinite ocean. The islands are made of voxels, cubes made of various elements, which means you can dig, carve and build anything you can imagine in the landscape. Digging underground to gather resources, stacking bricks on top of each other to build a wall or even tunnelling through a mountain is all possible and even necessary to keep your Bricktrons safe.
Carefully designing your castle not only requires creativity and imagination, but thanks to pathfinding AI and physics simulations, Castle Story has layers of strategy and depth on top of an otherwise free-form sandbox experience.
Castle Story will be released for Windows & Mac (with possible Linux support once Unity4 is released).
- Build any structure you can imagine! Using 2x1 blocks, create structures that are not only good-looking, but also functional. Your Bricktrons need to be able to navigate your castle to build it and to keep the monsters out!
- Physics! Watch a tower crumble to the ground realistically when its foundations can no longer support it. The entire world obeys to the laws of physics which means that you need to build cleverly so your castle can withstand attacks from projectiles and explosives.
- Sandbox! Build a huge sprawling fortress, a single impenetrable bunker or a network of underground tunnels. The choice is yours. Castle Story rewards imagination and ingenuity.
- Strategy! Command your Bricktrons as they build your castle brick by brick. Manage the way they work, what resources they gather, and the places they explore. Use your resources to build weapons and armor for your Bricktrons and all kinds of upgrades for your castle.
- Combat! Using shields, swords, bows and lots more, your Bricktrons can defend themselves against the hostile creatures inhabiting the world of Castle Story. Lead your Bricktrons through tough fights, and use your wits to gain an advantage. You can even build catapults to rain destruction on your foes!
- Magic! The world of Castle Story is permeated with all kinds of magic. Discover resources with magical auras and learn to mix them to create effects. Explore strange places and find mysterious artifacts left behind by unknown civilizations.
We've been working on Castle Story in our free time ever since we graduated from game design studies two years ago. We posted a video demo of our game on Youtube last January and received a flood of good comments and an amazing reception on the Internet. So we decided to quit our jobs and work on the game full-time.
Until recently we've been working heavily on creating the engine for the game. While most of what is in the trailer and demo video currently exists, it needs to be refined and organized into a cohesive whole. In other words, we have a prototype, but we want to turn this in a complete game.
We're using Kickstarter to be able to fund the next stage of development for Castle Story, so we can build the single player and multiplayer modes. We'll use the money for:
- Software Licenses : As a startup studio, we are missing several tools to help us get the job done. Software is expensive and the costs add up quickly.
- Hosting : Our website currently isn't capable of hosting large amounts of traffic. Bandwidth and maintenance for our website and forums as well as a server to handle traffic will be essential.
- Multiplayer : We've never done a multiplayer game of this scope before, so it's going to take a lot of time and effort to learn the ropes and get it right.
- Music & Audio : We hired two musicians to compose the music for the trailer and the results were pretty amazing. We would like to hire them back again to compose a full fledged soundtrack for the game. We would also hire a professional SFX artist to make the soundscape just as good as the visuals.
- Surviving : Paying rent for food and basically sustain the basic needs of three full time developers for a full year.
- Polish : If we reach our goal, anything past that will be put back directly into making the game more polished.
The game has already come pretty far in the last months. Here's what it looked like only 6 months ago, before we quit our jobs:
Kickstarter is great because it allows us to have a direct relationship with you. Instead of having publishers interfere with the game development, you can contribute to the decision process so we can take the game into interesting directions. That's one of the great advantages of "independent" game development.
Getting your name in the game:
Here is a video attempting to explain what we plan on doing with the names of our backers:
The Beta:
Everyone who contributes to the Kickstarter (enough to qualify for the first reward) gets an early version of the game and has access to any updates that come further down the road. The Beta will become the final game eventually so anybody who backed the Kickstarter with the minimum amount of 15$ gets the final game.
The Prototype:
Get access to an alpha build of the game soon after the Kickstarter is over. The prototype represents what we've shown so far that works. The amount of content and the replay value will be limited, and the build will probably be slightly broken. But we want people to test this version and give us feedback so we can make the Beta better.
We've designed a few t-shirts for you to choose from. Once the Kickstarter is over, we will contact you to see what t-shirt you would like and what size.
During the 30 days that the Kickstarter is going to run. We are going to post several timelapses of the painting process behind our two posters. Afterwards, we are going to print limited-edition high quality prints for the backers who signed up for the posters.
Here's a preview of the posters. Keep in mind that those are only sketches. The real posters will be painted during the Kickstarter.
The Bricktron Plushie:
This hand-crafted plushie is made by one of our friend, a professional seamstress and fashion designer. Each plushie will be made one at a time, so every one will be unique. If you want, you can choose a name for it, or we can choose for you, and we'll sew the name on the plushie.
We call this one Randy:
More coming soon...
We're pretty busy working on the prototype. But once we see what kind of response we get, we have a few extra rewards that we would like to offer.
Funding period
- (30 days)