text:
Tenderloin for Two with Cherry-Brandy Sauce
I'm a stay-at-home mom with an active toddler and busy teenager. An evening alone with my husband is truly a special occasion. So I make this elegant entree for two.—Gina Hardy, La Vernia, Texas
Total TimePrep/Total Time: 30 min.
Makes2 servings
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup port wine or additional beef broth
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon grated horseradish
- 1/4 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 beef tenderloin steaks (6 ounces each)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter, divided
- 1/4 cup cherry brandy
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cherry preserves
- In a small saucepan, combine the first 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until liquid is slightly thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup. Strain and discard the shallot, peppercorns and bay leaf; set liquid aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook steaks in oil and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter for 5-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°). Remove steaks and keep warm.
- Remove pan from the heat; add the reserved broth mixture, then the brandy. Return pan to the heat. Bring to a boil; cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is thickened and reduced to about 1/4 cup. Stir in preserves and remaining butter. Return steaks to the pan; heat through.


text: Hilltop - Norfolk Poppies Framed Signed Limited Edition Print £40.00 Quantity: at £40.00 each Add To Basket A limited edition print, mounted and framed in a glazed pale oak coloured frame ready for hanging. Prints are individually hand-signed by the artist and strictly limited to 100. The print / aperture is A4 sized (19.5cm x 28.5cm approx), finished with an ice white mount and presented in a pale oak coloured frame, with the overall size being 35.5cm x 45.5cm x 2cm approx. All images are the Copyright of Sarah Burt and are not to be copied, reproduced or circulated, in part or in full, in any format without the artist's full written permission.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This example makes use of a Piezo Speaker in order to play melodies. We are taking advantage of the processors capability to produde PWM signals in order to play music. There is more information about how PWM works written by David Cuartielles here and even at K3's old course guide
A Piezo is nothing but an electronic device that can both be used to play tones and to detect tones. In our example we are plugging the Piezo on the pin number 9, that supports the functionality of writing a PWM signal to it, and not just a plain HIGH or LOW value.
The first example of the code will just send a square wave to the piezo, while the second one will make use of the PWM functionality to control the volume through changing the Pulse Width.
The other thing to remember is that Piezos have polarity, commercial devices are usually having a red and a black wires indicating how to plug it to the board. We connect the black one to ground and the red one to the output. Sometimes it is possible to acquire Piezo elements without a plastic housing, then they will just look like a metallic disc.
Example of connection of a Piezo to pin 9
Second version, with volume control set using analogWrite()


text:
February 11, 2013
Brady photographed a 15-year-old girl in the program looking at one of the little books Brady creates for the children so they have pictures from each of the events.
Stories this photo appears in:
A Positive Reflection
Joan Brady gives foster children needed exposure.
On Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, Joan Brady of Great Falls had just started a three-month sabbatical from her job with an Internet company. Newly-married, Brady, who was 36 years old at the time, was exhausted from 80-hour work weeks in a rigid corporate environment. She wanted time that fall to contemplate what to do next with her life. The next day provided answers and a sense of urgency. It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks, and the moving stories of heroism and tragedy on 9/11, indelibly left their mark. Brady, like many Americans, was inspired to do something new, to take more chances, to change direction.
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.


text:
4 April 2007
One-Stop Sourcing Success(HKTDC Gifts, Premium & Stationery, Vol 02,2007)
The total sourcing solution offered by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) helps you find the right supplier easily and effectively.
The TDC's three product promotion channels - international trade fairs, product magazines and the www.tdctrade.com sourcing portal - are seamlessly combined and tightly integrated to maximise efficient sourcing.
Before visiting any of the 30 TDC trade fairs held in Hong Kong each year, you can:
- preview exhibits at www.tdctrade.com two months in advance
- enjoy an online matching service to identify the suppliers so you know exactly whom you need to meet during the fair
- prepare thoroughly by getting to know the fair specials, product and exhibitor highlights and fair details from TDC product magazines While at the fair, take the opportunity to drop by the Buyer's Lounge and:
- tell us your specific sourcing needs so that we can refer the right suppliers to you
- pick up a free product magazine
- relax and enjoy a free coffee while watching a demonstration on the latest features of www.tdctrade.com
After the fair is over, you can continue sourcing at www.tdctrade.com, which provides:
- free access to an extensive database with 100,000 reputable suppliers from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and around the world, including TDC trade fair exhibitors and product magazine advertisers
- supplier company profiles, product photos and specifications, trading activity information, production capability details and product and factory videos
- supplier references that enable you to identify potential partners by referring to facts and figures provided by third-party organisations such as Dun & Bradstreet business reports, PIERS' US import data (number and value of shipments to the US), GO-Business' Hong Kong export data (top three export countries/regions and top three export commodities), China export data (top three export countries/regions and value of shipments) supplied by Goodwill China and other supplier certifications
- a powerful search engine that lets buyers search by key word, region, product category and company/brand names, or fine-tune a search by suppliers' business nature and export market
- new product alerts for instant product updates in your interested categories
- a Super Sourcing Minds program that not only offers you the chance to win free trips to Hong Kong and earn fabulous prizes such as a notebook computer, smartphone, iPod or Amazon coupon by making sourcing enquiries on www.tdctrade.com, but also hotel sponsorships for visiting TDC trade fairs, free magazine subscriptions and complimentary research reports
In addition, sourcing through the TDC's 14 product magazines gives you the latest information on products from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and other manufacturing centres, as well as industry news, trade fair previews and reviews and market information.
TDC product magazines also contain full supplier Web contact details, giving you the opportunity to find out more about a supplier online by browsing through its web page on www.tdctrade.com.
Whatever the choice, the TDC's total sourcing solution is your first and most efficient choice when it comes to finding the right suppliers, precisely, efficiently and effectively.


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Ichiro Ozawa shows his disloyalty to PM Kan: time to be forced out of the DPJ?
Ichiro Ozawa shows his disloyalty to PM Kan: time to be forced out of the DPJ?
Ichiro Ozawa once more shows the nature of politics in Japan because factionalism and boosting personal power bases is a reality for many political bigwigs. Therefore, despite the seriousness of the ongoing crisis caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Fukushima; it is opportunistic times for Ichiro Ozawa to lambast the leader of the ruling party.
If you are an outsider to party politics in Japan then you may presume that this is an opposition attack. In a way, it is an opposition attack but true to the nature of factionalism in Japan it is a political attack from within because Ichiro Ozawa belongs to the same Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Instead of heeding the calls by PM Naoto Kan who states that now is a time of national unity it appears that for Ichiro Ozawa that he cares little; instead he is dreaming of being the future leader of Japan.
Therefore, Ichiro Ozawa cares little about national unity or being loyal to the party he belongs. It is, for him, a time to "jump on the bandwagon" and blame PM Kan for ills which do not belong to the current prime minister of Japan.
After all, it is factual that the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) had a close relationship with the government of Japan under various Liberal Democratic Party governments. With this knowledge, and the reality that Ichiro Ozawa was once the former Chief Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), then maybe he is suffering from memory loss?
In truth, Ichiro Ozawa is an enigmatic political leader in Japan and this applies to his energy, creativity, strong mindedness, and other positive factors. However, he is also a self destructive destroyer and clearly he is not being loyal during a time of great trauma for Japan.
Ichiro Ozawa is known as the "shadow shogun" because of his influence which is very strong within the DPJ. However, in recent times the funding scandal hindered his influence and image but true to the nature of Ichiro Ozawa he refuses to be "put out to grass."
Therefore, the current crisis in Japan may be seen to be a time of opportunism for the "shadow shogun" because it appears that principles and politics do not go hand in hand with many powerful politicians. Also, the faction based politics in Japan which is destroying the political body politic is once more rearing itself. This applies to recent comments made by Ichiro Ozawa towards his own political leader and this is further evidence of Ichiro Ozawa sinking into the pits of contempt and political shenanigans.
Ichiro Ozawa lambasted Prime Minister Naoto Kan not from sincerity but because of the desire of political office and if he destroys what he helped to create; then this will not concern him. Therefore, the "shadow shogun" attacked his own leader and implied that the leadership of Naoto Kan is inept.
True to the nature of Ichiro Ozawa, who is tainted by the funding saga, he can say this with a straight face despite him belonging to the LDP in the past. However, surely he had ample time to demand safety procedures or raise serious issues related to TEPCO when he belonged to the LDP. After all, he was no junior member because at one time he was the Chief Secretary of the LDP.
Ichiro Ozawa stated that "The irresponsible way the cabinet is dealing (with the disasters), with Prime Minister Naoto Kan himself not exercising leadership, could lead to further disasters."
He also stated that "I strongly accept the crushing defeat as the public serving notice to the Kan administration" and this applies to recent local elections which were held in Japan.
Ichiro Ozawa also stated that the "Disaster-hit victims are greatly anxious about whether (the government) can restore their lives and the state of their hometowns."
The DPJ broke the stranglehold of LDP rule which had virtually led Japan since the ending of World War Two. Therefore, the victory of the DPJ in 2009 was meant to usher in a new political dawn but Ichiro Ozawa belongs to the political ways of the LDP and members who jumped ship from the LDP to the DPJ share the old ways.
Also, the DPJ is unable to break the faction based politics in Japan and until this problem is tackled then respect for politicians will remain minimal and the latest comments by Ichiro Ozawa is further evidence of the reality of politics in Japan.
Ichiro Ozawa was first elected to the Diet of Japan in 1969 and he remained within the LDP until the early 1990s. Then he left the LDP because of opportunism because Ichiro Ozawa was close to Shin Kanemaru who wielded strong power. However, once Shin Kanemaru was embroiled in a corruption scandal in 1992 then Ichiro Ozawa decided to "jump ship" in 1993 along with Tsutomu Hata.
This created instability within the LDP and it ended their 38 year dominance of political government. The splinter party under Tsutomu Hata and Ichiro Ozawa was called the Japan Renewal Party.
However, the Japan Socialist Party was upset by Ichiro Ozawa's foreign policy comments and they joined a coalition with the LDP. After this debacle the great creator and destroyer then entered the fray within the New Frontier Party which had been created in 1994 by Toshiki Kaifu.
The confusing nature of Japanese politics meant that after the New Frontier Party began to destroy itself from within; then Ichiro Ozawa once more helped to create the Liberal Party. He even floated the notion of rejoining the LDP after forming a coalition with the LDP and Keizo Obuchi was thinking deeply about this.
Yet for Hiromu Nonaka, Junichiro Koizumi, Taku Yamasaki, Koichi Kato, and other important political figures; they would not entertain the return of Ichiro Ozawa irrespective if this happened because of a merger of the LDP and Liberal Party or if he just joined openly without a merger.
Once the door had been shut on Ichiro Ozawa within the LDP he then moved his party and joined the DPJ in 2003. He soon rose quickly because he was elected to be the head of this political organization and he soon brushed off the pension scandal which emerged in 2004 after being cleared.
However, other scandals emerged in 2009 and it is difficult from Ichiro Ozawa to distance himself from this. Despite this, he still dreams of being the leader of Japan and his disloyalty is clear for all to see because his political career is about self interests and self promotion.
It is time for the DPJ to become a proper political party which is based on being loyal to DPJ principles. Ichiro Ozawa who attacked PM Naoto Kan about his response to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis, which currently engulfs Japan; should not belong to the future of the DPJ and factionalism needs to end.
PM Naoto Kan and members who are true to the DPJ should either force Ichiro Ozawa out or limit his enormous power base within the DPJ. If not, then either he will seek to obtain power by undermining the current leader of the DPJ or he will drag the DPJ down.
After all, the "shadow shogun" is known for being a creator and destroyer; however, the usual end game is self destruction and if he drags the DPJ down then he will care little.
http://moderntokyotimes.com (please visit)


text:
Water Garden & Features Q & A
Q: Do I really need a pond deicer? It costs a small fortune to run it. Are there any other options? – Mary in Indiana
A: You're right! Some pond deicers do cost a lot of money to run – but there is an alternative. Unless you're lucky enough to live in a climate that doesn't freeze, your going to need some type of device to keep a hole open in the pond during winter months. When a pond develops a layer of ice, a deicer is used to melt a small hole in the ice allowing toxic gases to escape and oxygen to enter the pond. For years, this has been accomplished by just using a deicer.
Unfortunately, the deicer can also melt a hole in your wallet. Pond heaters use anywhere from 100 watts (for ponds up to 600 gallons) to 1,500 watts (for ponds up to1,000 gallons) of electricity. When you consider utilities charge from 8 to 15 cents per kilowatt hour (1,000 watts of electricity used in one hour) depending on the location, the price of running a deicer can cost more then $75 per month!
The good news is that an aeration system can also keep a hole in the ice – and do so for a lot less money. For instance, Water Garden Aeration Kits use a high-efficiency air compressor that operates with as little 12 watts (that's 88–99% electricity savings!) of electricity to push air to the diffuser. The action created by the air causes the ice to weaken, eventually creating a hole. This aerator also helps to add oxygen and circulate the water below the surface.
To install an aeration kit in your decorative pond, place the compressor near your power source. Make sure the compressor is covered – a faux rock cover is perfect for this application. Attach one end of airline tubing to the compressor and the other end to the diffuser. Place the diffuser away from the deepest point of your pond and no more than 4 feet below the surface. Plug it in and you're ready for the cold weather!
Another benefit to an aeration system is that they can be used all year long. Aeration works great in the summer, providing oxygen for your fish and keeping your pond free of muck and debris.
If you already have a pond deicer and plan to run it this winter, save money with the ThermoCube – it can cut your electrical cost in half!
POND TALK: What are some other ways to keep a hole in the ice?
Filed under: Deicer, Season-Long Control, Water Gardens & Features | Tagged: Aeration, Deicer, faux rock cover, winter | 23 Comments »


text:
KDE Releases Second Alpha of Necessitas
Necessitas is the project bringing Qt to the Android operating system. It has recently become part of KDE and now celebrates its second alpha release - its first as part of KDE.
Lead developer Bogdan Vatra explains the reasons for making Necessitas a KDE project:
This new release brings lots of changes:
Necessitas is now easier to install and update thanks to the switch to Nokia's SDK Installer. It also has the option to install Google's official SDKs and NDK automatically, and is available for Windows.
This is an important project for KDE, as having full Qt support in Android is the first step toward running KDE software on many more mobile devices. And both Necessitas and KDE have the same goals related to Qt. If you are interested, you can subscribe to the mailing list, and if you give it a try, don't forget to report bugs.
Please remember this is an alpha release; it's not yet ready for production. More news after the Qt Contributors' Summit in June.
Good news
This is great news. I'm glad Necessitas has found a good home here with KDE. I'll be following development closely.
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/06/01 - 6:14pm
I like it
I've been waiting for somebody to get Qt on Android, and the fact that this is now a KDE project make it even more awesome!
Who am I kidding :) with a name like "Necessitas" it has to be a KDE project (cuz it complies with all the Horrible Naming Conventions required to become a KDE project) - hehehe kidding (or am I ;-))
By Guillermo Amaral at Wed, 2011/06/01 - 9:23pm
I am sorry that I bring this up, but I really hope that you can remove the communism sign from Necessitas' current logo, because in certain countries, this sign has the same meaning as Nazi, in particular, for example, China (I am a Chinese).
If you look at the world, so called socialism countries are the major sources of internet censorship, which goes against with the spirit of being free and accessible.
It may not be appropriate to bring up this political argument here. My apologize. I just want say that I felt really uncomfortable at the Necessitas' logo.
Thank you very much.
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 9:21am
New logo maybe
Necessitas could probably use an entirely new logo in fact - I'm not sure how cool Google will be with the use of the Droid part too, leaving aside problems with the hammer and sickle part.
Maybe Bogdan would be interested in a contest, I'll ask him.
By Stuart Jarvis at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 9:33am
Google explicitly said you
Google explicitly said you can use the android mascot freely. You can't use the android logo text or font though.
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 7:03pm
Ok, cool
I hear a new logo will be coming anyway, but maybe that means the droid - but not the hammer and sickle ;-) - can be incorporated somehow...
By Stuart Jarvis at Fri, 2011/06/03 - 7:34am
Qt logo
I might be a version of the Qt logo you that you interpret to be the hammer and the sickle. To me it looks like the letters Q and t :-)
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 9:48am
It's a rework of the old-style Qt logo
By Stuart Jarvis at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 10:18am
China is the most capitalist
China is the most capitalist country on earth, my dear. And, no, I haven't heard of Venezuela, Brasil or Ecuador censoring the net,
I love the logo, BTW.
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 2:29pm
You are confusing "communism"
You are confusing "communism" with "socialism"... [objectionable comment removed - Ed]
By trixl at Fri, 2011/06/03 - 1:45pm
That is an unacceptable
That is an unacceptable comment, please refrain from this or you will be banned. Please read the Code of Conduct at http://www.kde.org/code-of-conduct/
[Edited to correct link - Ed]
By odysseus at Sat, 2011/06/04 - 1:27pm
Is it available for
Is it available for kwordquiz?
By trixl at Tue, 2011/06/07 - 8:55am
Move to KDE repositories?
Will it be moved to git.kde.org, listed at projects.kde.org, wiki moved to techbase/userbase etc. soon?
By Anonymous at Thu, 2011/06/02 - 8:41pm
It is in git.kde.org and on
It is in git.kde.org and on projects, you need to look in playground/mobile
By odysseus at Sat, 2011/06/04 - 1:33pm
Necessitas homepage
Is there an official homepage for the project, now that it is under KDE? Sourceforge page seems to be quiet...it would be nice if there were a page so that one could get information on updates, what's going on etc.
By Anonymous at Wed, 2011/08/24 - 6:44am


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majohnst needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 25 designs submitted by 8 freelance designers.
We are looking for a logo for our new TV community website, PrimetimeTiki.com. The logo should be fun, and casual, centering around the idea of the "tiki".
open to ideas
Desired Style:
fun, possibly cartoony
Accepted File Formats:
vector, compatible with Illustrator CS1
We are looking for a logo for our website, PrimetimeTiki.com. The website is a community site centered around TV shows. Users will interact with each other through message boards, articles, wiki, news, etc.
We would like the logo to be fun, and casual, centering around the idea of the "tiki". Initially, we like the idea of a cartoony tiki, or islander, but we are open to all ideas. We have no set color scheme or layout for our website. The current website is just pure filler and should not influence your logo. Once we have a final logo, we will change the site design to compliment the logo.
The delivered file should be a vector file, compatible with Illustrator CS1. If fonts are used, they need to be converted to outlines or a windows compatible font file must be included in conjunction with the logo.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
There were several Anderson farms in Londonderry. One was located on Nashua Road, now known as Route 102, approximately where the Apple tree Mall and Hess Gas station are today. The other, still standing, is on Mammoth Road near the Windham border, on the corner of Bockes Road. Across the street, on the corner of Chase Road, is a monument to the Anderson family and it lists the names of the men who owned the land over the years.
The Anderson family lived in Londonderry since the 1720s. Obviously this house was built much later. Several years ago the huge barn that outsized the house was removed, and a parcel of land behind the house was developed into several smaller house lots. There was an older salt box style house on the other side of Mammoth Road, too.
The Anderson Genealogy:
Generation 1: The first immigrant from Northern Ireland to Londonderry was James Anderson, who settled east of the turnpike in the Double Range of what is now Derry, New Hampshire.
Generation 2: His son, Samuel, mentioned above, was born abut 1730 and married Martha Craig. He lived on the present Anderson farm on Beaver Brook in the southern part of Londonderry.
Generation 3: Samuel, Jr., born about 1755 was a soldier in the American Revolution and had only one child, David.
Generation 4: David Anderson was born in Londonderry about 1780 and married Rebecca Davidson. All of David, Jr.'s children died of spotted fever except for Francis born in 1807.
Generation 5: Francis Davidson Anderson married Jane Davidson, and lived on the homestead. He was a representative in the New Hampshire legislature in 1850. Francis Anderson built the big house which still stands today in 1830, and various features such as the porch and the round tower were added later.
Generation 6: William H. Anderson was born 12 January 1836 and died in Lowell on 14 April 1902. He graduated from Yale University in 1859 and became a lawyer. He married Mary Hine of Springfield, Massachusetts. They had one surviving child.
Generation 7: Frances Welton Anderson was born 20 December 1877 in Lowell. She married Dr. E. J. Gillette of Waterbury, Connecticut. The Gillettes summered in an old saltbox house across Mammoth Road and behind the monument. The big house and farm passed into the hands of a family named Clark.
|This monument is on the corners of
Chase and Mammoth Road, on the Windham border
The Anderson Farm
First Settled in 1720
Saml. Anderson 1720 -1794
His son Saml. 1794 – 1796
His son David 1796- 1819
His son Frank D. 1819 – 1866
His son Wm. H. 1866
For more information:
Londonderry, by the Londonderry Historical Society, Acadia Publishing Company, 2004, page 128 has an old photo of the Anderson farm.
A sketch of William H. Anderson in History of Lowell and its People, by Frederick William Coburn, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1920, Volume 2, page 77 – 79.
Early Londonderry: Tidbits and Historical Sketches, compiled by the Londonderry Historical Society, 1968, Volume III, for a sketch of the Anderson family and the farm see pages 105 – 109.
UPDATE 27 January 2013
New information from Nancy Britts, an Anderson descendant.
UPDATE 27 January 2013
New information from Nancy Britts, an Anderson descendant.
Surname: ANDERSON
Source: History of Acworth with the Proceedings of the Centennial Anniversary, Genealogical
Records and Register of Farms by Rev. J. L. Merrill, Town of Acworth, 1869, page 180
James Anderson was one of the first sixteen settlers of Londonderry.
SAMUEL ANDERSON, his grandchild, whose father's name was Robert, settled in Acworth, 1793,
married Anna Alexander.
SAMUEL ANDERSON, his nephew and son of David, came to Acworth in 1795, married Jane Campbell
- children
I., Anna
II., David C., married Martha L. Brigham (see Brigham family) - children
1, Mary E.
2, Walter H., died young
3, Emma E.
4, George W.
5, Alice L.
III., Horace, married first, Lucinda Blanchard; married second, Isa Dora Burnham, residence
Windham - children
1, Samuel H.
IV., Milon, married Lucy M. Weston, residence Windham.
V., Sarah J., married Charles Abbot, residence Windsor, Vermont - children
1, Jennie S.
Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


text:
Driving Impressions
Boxster S Raises
The Bar A Notch
Go to our forums to discuss this article
Other Reviews
The increase in both bore and stroke help account for the 15% increase in horsepower. The move from 2.5 liters to 3.2 liters is a big step for Porsche who normally moves engine displacement in smaller increments. The drive-by-wire engine has revisions in the intake manifold, crankshaft and digital engine management systems. These improvements help the S attain a minimum of 85% of it's torque output at a low 2000 RPM's. This is where the driver can easily differentiate between the Boxster and Boxster S. This extra power at the bottom of the RPM range makes the car feel more powerful and responsive when motoring around town. The close ratio six speed gearbox (borrowed from the Carrera) has carefully matched ratios to keep the driver in the sweet spot of the power band. We sure would like to have the Z3 or S2000 shifter in this car though. Unlike front engined, rear drive sports cars that have their shifter connected directly to the transmission the Boxster must incorporate a linkage from the shifter to the transaxle behind the driver. This in part has made for longer throws between gears and a notchy movement between gears two and three. We cannot overlook this because for the price of the car we feel this should have been worked out.
Engine and Gearbox
The engine may be mysteriously hidden under the center of the car but that aspect will leave you smiling after a couple laps around your favorite road course or country road. The Boxster engine is a horizontally opposed 24-valve DOHC 6-cylinder masterpiece. The engineers have transformed this previously air-cooled, noisy pancake motor into a liquid cooled powerhouse. Extensive use of aluminum and composite materials help keep the engine weight down and optimize performance. The technology used to design the overhead cam cylinder heads was derived from the LeMans GT1 911 effort. Of course the production version of the cylinder heads differ from the racing version but this is a classic example of how racing technology can have influence on production vehicles. One little trick Porsche uses is to adjust timing chain tension with engine speed to advance intake valve timing. Adjusting valve timing with engine speed has become the new approach in capturing more power from the engine. Others accomplish this through a more sophisticated mechanism but Porsche gets the job done with a simplistic approach. The whole package comes together in a surprisingly quiet, smooth and powerful powerplant. At one time many people wondered if the emissions regulations and noisy operation would be the demise of the pancake engine, but Porsche totally redesigned the engine while keeping the boxer layout. A slick move and one that purists can appreciate.
The transmission in our tester is the 6 speed manual that also does duty in the Carrera. The gear ratios (listed in the tech data) are just right for keeping the engine in it's power band through all six gears. There was a little rumble from the transmission input shaft bearing when the clutch was released in neutral, but it's possible this is a normal condition on this car. The transmission is quite good but the shift linkage leaves a little to be desired. The movements are notchy and the throws are a little longer than we would like. The shift from second to third is balky but tolerable. We could tolerate this in a car of less expense but feel it should be worked out for $53,000. The other transmission available in the Boxster is the Tiptronic S. The Tiptronic provides shifting the 5 speed transmission without the use of a clutch. This can be accomplished using the shift lever or the shift buttons on the steering wheel spokes. The Tiptronic provides shifting in 0.2 seconds allowing the driver to pour through the turns like a Formula 1 driver.
Driving Impression
The Boxster S exhibits the grace of a ballerina while delivering the punch of a heavy weight champion. All this while providing for a comfortable ride that won't transmit road harshness to the passengers. The car instills confidence in the driver and soon you believe you could be the next Andretti.
One nice feature on the car is the quick easy convertible top. As Porsche states: One latch - One button - Twelve seconds. The top is quick and easy to operate and folds down flush with the body, but should incorporate a glass rear window. It appears the plastic window is required because of its flexibility to fit in the stowage area, but we would prefer a glass rear window for the cost of the car.
The brakes on the Boxster S are equipped with four piston calipers at each corner, cross drilled brake rotors and integrated cooling ducts. Does it stop? If you have false teeth you better not smile when you lay on those binders. Stopping from 70 mph takes just 158ft. The braking system was pretty much transplanted from the 911 Carrera so it has no problem stopping the lighter Boxster from pretty much any speed. If the brakes fade when they get hot we didn't notice it.
One of the most pleasant attributes of this car is the absence of cowl shake. So often open roadsters feel like they want to shake themselves apart on harsh roads, not the case with the Boxster. Because Porsche did such a good job in building a rigid body structure and controlling NVH the Boxster delivers a comfortable ride under most any condition. What music do you hear playing while cruising your favorite roads in this car? Certain music seems to go with certain cars and we would like to know what our readers think should be on the tuner when driving something like the Speed Yellow Boxster S.
Stuff We Liked:
Stuff We Didn't Like:
Note: All Photos copyright AutoRacing1.com and Dave Cipolloni
Go to our forums to discuss this article
2000 Toyota Tundra
2000 Chrysler Plymouth Prowler By David Cipolloni
Chrysler PT Cruiser - Get One if
You Can
Shelby Mustang Cobra
Audi TT Roadster
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I am planning to have my own website and would like to ask some questions regarding about the organization (I don't know if this is the right term for it) of domain names. Let me give an example:
If I have a domain named "www.joe.com" but is planning to have different websites or categories for my varied interests but would still retain the "joe" name on my domain, would it be better to have a sub-domain instead? Is that it? Is this what would turn out:
www.joe.com = my main site
bookworm.joe.com = a blog for my love of books
travel.joe.com = a blog for my travel experience
food.joe.com = a blog for my love of food and cuisine
I also notice that there are other websites that are like this: (this is just an example, but you get the idea)
www.personname.com = main site
www.personname.com/blog = a blog for his site ( is this a subdomain now)
Everytime you go to the www.personname.com, you are then redirected to the www.personname.com/blog address. Is it safe to say that the blog address is a sub-domain and for blogging only and then the www.personname.com is the main site? What is the difference of this approach compared to the first example I've given above?


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Click below to filter your search results
Committee Opinion Number 518, February 2012
(Reaffirmed 2019)
ABSTRACT: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant yet preventable public health problem that affects millions of women regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or educational background. Individuals who are subjected to IPV may have lifelong consequences, including emotional trauma, lasting physical impairment, chronic health problems, and even death. Although women of all ages may experience IPV, it is most prevalent among women of reproductive age and contributes to gynecologic disorders, pregnancy complications, unintended pregnancy, and s...
Committee Opinion Number 496, August 2011
ABSTRACT: Compared with men, at-risk alcohol use by women has a disproportionate effect on their health and lives, including reproductive function and pregnancy outcomes. Obstetrician–gynecologists have a key role in screening and providing brief intervention, patient education, and treatment referral for their patients who drink alcohol at risk levels. For women who are not physically addicted to alcohol, tools such as brief intervention and motivational interviewing can be used effectively by the clinician and incorporated into an office visit. For pregnant women and those at risk of pregna...
Committee Opinion Number 479, March 2011
Reaffirmed 2019
ABSTRACT: Methamphetamine abuse has continued to increase in the United States since the late 1980s with its use spreading from the West Coast to areas across the country. Methamphetamine use in pregnancy endangers the health of the woman and increases the risk of low birth weight and small for gestational age babies and such use may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental problems in children. All pregnant women should be asked about their drug and alcohol use. Urine toxicology screening may be useful in detecting methamphetamine and other substance abuse during pregnancy, but this screening...
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
409 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-2188
Mailing Address: PO Box 96920, Washington, DC 20024-9998


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Vietnam man Nguyen Duy Hai has 90kg tumour removed
A Vietnamese man is in a stable condition in hospital after doctors removed a giant tumour which weighed far more than the rest of his body.
Nguyen Duy Hai's 90kg (198lb) tumour, which was growing on his right leg, was removed in a complex 12-hour operation.
The lead doctor, an American, waived his fee and other costs were funded through donations, the hospital said.
Family members burst into tears of happiness when they discovered he had survived, reported VietNamNet.
Mr Hai, who is believed to be 31, has been living with the tumour - which is non-cancerous and linked to a rare genetic disorder - since he was four years old, reported AFP news agency.
Part of his leg was amputated when he was 17 in an attempt to stem the growth of the tumour, reports said, but without success.
The tumour prevented Mr Hai walking and also hampered sleep.
This latest operation was carried out on Thursday at the France-Vietnam (FV) hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and led by US Dr McKay McKinnon, who previously successfully removed an 80kg tumour from a Romanian woman, AFP reported.
Family members and friends left their home in the mountainous central area of Da Lat to go to Ho Chi Minh city, where they prayed for Mr Hai and wept tears of joy once they learned he had survived, VietNamNet said.


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Buylines | Policies, strategies and trends to watch
About the Author
Stan Soloway is a former deputy undersecretary of Defense and former president and chief executive officer of the Professional Services Council. He is now the CEO of Celero Strategies.
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Locaetd next to the shop is a lone trailer. This is most likely where the shop owner lives. Usually a Freeway, Sanchez, or Wayfarer will spawn near the the trailer. On the other side of the shop is small path that leads to a pond that puddles up from a small river which is fed by the Sherman Reservoir. At the pond there is a small dock that is meant for fishing.
There is nothing to do at this bait shop and the shop itself cannot be entered.
At the bait shop in Angel Pine, the shop is very similar towards the one found in Tierra Robada, but the shop is covered in undergrowth. It is located across from you're first Save point when you have completed all the missions in Los Santos. The shop does not have stationary vehicles next to it but they are vehicles behind the shop at the Angel Pine Sawmill, which includes a Roadtrain, a DFT-30 and a Walton.


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PHOTOPHILE- Rock solid: Pavilion fever takes hold
Sure, it's come under fire for neighborhood noise and its looming design. But music lovers found it hard to knock the Charlottesville Pavilion last weekend as it played host to three renowned acts in four days.
The atmosphere was a little thick on Thursday, being 4/20 and all (a reference to a day when stoners traditionally light up), but the music was a breath of fresh air as headliner Robert Randolph & the Family Band took the stage following opening act Drive-by Truckers, both bands with pedal steel guitars. A surprise appearance by Charlottesville native and DMB fiddler Boyd Tinsley capped off a rockin' night under clear skies.
The weather was not so accommodating Friday, though the scattered showers could not dampen the high energy of the Hackensaw Boys, who played their down-home bluegrass with gusto.
As if two nights in one week weren't enough, Sunday brought Wilco, the biggest act of the Pavilion's new season. Scalpers and last-second concertgoers crowded the east end of the Mall for the sold-out show. Playing a mixture of light pop tunes and heavier indie rock, Wilco offered something for everyone– even serving up not one but two encores.
Judging by the opening weekend, it's going to be a great summer for music lovers in Charlottesville.
Thrifty concertgoers view the scene from the Avon Street Bridge.
Vince Martyn and Erin Tabolt rock out to Wilco.
Jacque Chevalier and Brittany McGrath refuel between acts.
By Sunday, it was all a blur.
Matt Lingvai and Kat Goodenough discover smoke breaks must be taken outside the tent.


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|Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
|Sociology of Education
|Three semester hours.
|Sociological analysis of the formal and informal sociocultural structures of educational organizations and educational learning theories in light of historical and present-day social conditions. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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Okay, so remember how we said that NYC tap water was some of the best around? Well, that was before they discovered one tiny little detail: LEAD. New York City has recently found high levels of lead in city tap water. Lead exposure is especially dangerous to pregnant women, babies and young children. The levels are still low enough to be "not so dangerous" right now, but, of course, it's better not to have any lead exposure at all.
NYC's solution to their recent lead problem? Food preservatives. Yep. Food preservatives create a protective coating on the pipes so that lead doesn't seep into the water. This may sound like no big deal, but artificial preservatives are also toxic and have been linked to cancer and other diseases. For example, nitrates which are often used to add flavor to foods, are fatal in large doses. It is recommended that infants and children stay away from food with nitrates altogether. The presence of nitrates in water are also one reason why many people choose to buy a water filter. This is just one of many types of artificial preservatives put in foods. In my opinion, adding them to the water supply only increases the risk of developing cancer or some other type of illness caused by exposure to toxins.
The bottom line: you don't want your children consuming toxins. So I'm here to propose a better solution to the lead in NYC tap water: water filters. It's that simple. Many whole-house and under sink water filters reduce lead, along with nitrates, and many other water contaminants, without adding artificial, cancer-causing preservatives to your water supply. Check out our water filter buyers guides at the the bottom of our articles page to learn more about the different filtration options you have.


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The family of a pregnant, brain dead Tarrant County woman has filed a lawsuit against a Fort Worth hospital to pull her off life support.
In legal paperwork filed Tuesday morning, the family of Marlise Munoz asserts that she is legally dead and that John Peter Smith Hospital has kept the pregnant woman on "'life sustaining' treatment, thus mutilating, disturbing and damaging Marlise's deceased body, and further refusing to release it to Erick [her husband] for proper preservation and burial."
Munoz has been on life support since being found unconscious in the early morning hours of Nov. 26 by her husband Erick. The family said it doesn't know why she lost consciousness, though a blood clot is a possibility. Both Marlise and Erick are paramedics who agreed they did not want life support should a situation such as this arise. Marlise Munoz's parents agree.
U.S. & World
When she was found, Marlise was 14 weeks pregnant. The family has said they do not know the condition of the fetus. Marlise Munoz is believed to have been without oxygen for some time before her husband found her. Doctors have told Erick Munoz that they are monitoring the fetus, but Munoz has said he's uncertain about how healthy the fetus will be given his wife's condition.
"You know what kind of damage my wife sustained, and what kind of possible damage the baby inside her sustained," he said during a recent interview.
A 2010 article in the journal BMC Medicine found 30 cases of brain-dead pregnant women over about 30 years. Of 19 reported results, the journal found 12 in which a viable child was born and had post-birth data for two years on only six of them -- all of whom developed normally, according to the journal.
John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth said Texas law prevents them from withdrawing life-sustaining treatment and following a family directive when a pregnancy is involved.
Specifically, the Texas Health and Safety Code Section 166.049 states that "a person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment under this sub-chapter from a pregnant patient."
In the lawsuit, the Munoz family asserts that an earlier part of the same code defines Marlise Munoz's condition as legally dead.
Experts familiar with the Texas law say the hospital is incorrectly applying the statute because Munoz would be considered legally and medically dead.
"Marlise Munoz is dead, and she gave clear instructions to her husband and family -- Marlise was not to remain on any type of artificial `life sustaining treatment', ventilators or the like," the lawsuit said. "There is no reason JPS should be allowed to continue treatment on Marlise Munoz's dead body, and this Court should order JPS to immediately discontinue such."
The suit argues that the hospital's interpretation of Section 166.049 is "in complete conflict with other portions of the statute, makes no sense, and amounts to nothing more than the cruel and obscene mutilation of a deceased body against the expressed will of the deceased and her family."
Additionally, the suit argues that Section 166.049 is unconstitutional and an "infringement on Plaintiff's right to privacy pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Erick Munoz's lawyers, Heather King and Jessica Hall Janicek, also asked for an expedited answer from the court. No hearing was immediately scheduled.
Hospital spokeswoman J.R. Labbe directed questions about the lawsuit to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, where spokeswoman Melody McDonald Lanier said attorneys were reviewing the case and declined to comment further.
That office serves as the hospital's legal counsel in many civil areas, including informed consent and state statute issues.
Labbe previously has said hospital officials stand by their position: "This is not a difficult decision for us. We are following the law."
Erick Munoz's lawsuit argues that his directives -- and the hospital's decision to not follow them -- no longer matter because Marlise Munoz is dead under Texas law.
The documents can be read here:
- Petition for declaratory judgment and application for unopposed expedited relief
- Plantiff's motion to compel defendants to remove Marlise Munoz from "life sustaining" measures and application for expedited relief
A date has not yet been set for the court case.
On Sunday, protesters took a stand alongside the family outside of the hospital as a show of support for the family.
NBC 5's Greg Janda and Associated Press' Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report.


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Don Goo to Direct Leadership Practicum at UH Manoa's School of ArchitectureUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
School of Architecture
Arlene Abiang, (808) 956-5637
External Affairs & University Relations
HONOLULU — Don Goo, FAIA, former chairman and current senior vice president of Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), an international architecture firm headquartered in Honolulu, has joined the faculty of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture as professor and director of practicum. A principal of WATG since 1968, Goo has been a mainstay in extending the firm's reach and influence internationally. Among his many notable projects throughout the Asia-Pacific region are the Hawaiʻi Convention Center and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Previously an adjunct faculty of the school, Goo has served in several major roles, including advisor for the new first-in-nation professional doctoral program to prepare graduates for leadership positions with a focus on Asia-Pacific practices. The innovative UH architecture program was recently accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board in July, 2004.
Goo will be responsible for coordinating the school's off-campus professional leadership practicum program which consists of more than 40 CEO-level principal architects who serve as mentors for students placed in their respective international offices located in major cities around the world. The program was previously directed by Joyce Noe, associate dean of the School of Architecture.
"We are indeed fortunate to have a distinguished practicing architect of Don Goo's stature to help develop this important program of the school," said Raymond Yeh, dean of the School of Architecture."
For more information, visit: http://web1.arch.hawaii.edu


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Geeks.com settles charges claiming its security was crap
A decade in the stockade
Geeks.com, a large online seller of computer hardware and software, has agreed to allow federal regulators to monitor its website security for 10 years to settle charges it violated federal laws requiring it to adequately safeguard sensitive customer data.
The agreement, which also applies to sister site computergeeks.com, settles a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission that accused the online retailers of misleading its customers about the safety of their personal information. Names, addresses, credit card numbers, and other data were routinely sent unencrypted to authorization services, making them ripe for identity thieves, the complaint alleged.
What's more, the sites carried privacy policies that claimed the company employed "secure technology, privacy protection controls and restrictions on employee access in order to safeguard your personal information."
During a six-month period starting in January of 2007, the sites were breached repeatedly by hackers who used simple SQL injections to siphon credit card numbers, expiration dates, and other sensitive details on hundreds of customers. Website operators didn't learn of the attacks until the following December. During the time of the breach, Geeks.com proudly displayed a banner provided by security provider McAfee claiming the site was "Hacker Safe".
The sites have since closed the security holes and notified law enforcement authorities.
Genica Corp., the websites' parent company, has agreed to submit its website security to outside auditing by qualified security professionals every other year and to make the results available to FTC officials. The agreement will remain in place for the next decade. The company also agreed not to make misleading claims about its website security.
Even with federal charges settled, Genica is likely to have some explaining to do with the credit card industry. Payment card industry regulations require merchants to follow a maze of procedures designed to protect card data as it's stored on servers and zapped to authorization services. Penalties for violations can be steep.
The FTC's complaint and settlement (both of them PDFs) are here, and here respectively. ®
Sponsored: Detecting cyber attacks as a small to medium business


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Are you a paid supporter of Gun Channels?
Do you already have your Gun Channels Logo Patch?
Join in on the Weekly Photo Contest for chances to win free gear
If you are not a paying member, please consider supporting Gun Channels, it is just $12 a year
If you would like an extra patch? you can !!
Thank you for your support


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Crystalized agate skull
- 350.00€
This highly detailed skull is made from beautiful agate with lots of crystalized parts. It has some natural cracks and holes in the back and bottom. The color is 100% natural! Made by one of our favorite carvers.
Dimensions: 13 x 8 x 10 cm
Weight: 1400 gram
Shipping costs
We try to keep your shipping costs as low as possible. This is why we pay a part of the shipping costs for you and use discounted flat rate shipping fees. Our low flat rates can save you up to 85 euro!
To calculate the shipping costs for your order you can go to your shopping cart and fill in the "Estimate Shipping & Taxes" section to calculate your shipping costs.
Worldwide shipping
We ship worldwide with PostNL and we use registered and insured shipping for all orders.
Fast shipping
All orders placed before 14:00 hr GMT will be shipped the same day
We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Within 30 days after receiving your delivery, you can return your purchase, no questions asked! We will refund you the full amount including the shipping costs within 1 week after receiving the goods from you. If you decide to return your purchase, please contact us before sending it back so we can provide you with a shipping label with the return address.


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Oh pumpkin season! There's a chill in the air, kids and adults alike are planning their Halloween costumes, and carving pumpkins are pouring out of the local market. Now's the time for pumpkin bread, don't you think?
Not all pumpkins are equal when it comes to cooking. Those large carving pumpkins? Probably best left to carving, and maybe salvaging the seeds to roast. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are raised more for their durability than for their taste.
Most people use canned puréed pumpkin for baking recipes like this because of the consistent results. If you want though, you can easily roast up a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash, or kabocha pumpkin for its purée. You'll get more roasted and caramelized flavor that way. Steaming also works, though you'll miss the extra flavor from the roasting.
This pumpkin bread recipe is quite adaptable to different types of pumpkin purée and spice mixes. We took an old recipe from Fannie Farmer as a base and have made several changes to it over the years.
These days we use melted butter instead of vegetable oil (though you can easily use oil if you want), and we've added some ground ginger, grated orange zest, and molasses. We have also made a lovely optional glaze for the pumpkin bread—with orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Recipe updated, first posted 2006. If you are missing the original version of pumpkin bread we had posted, just swap out olive oil for the melted butter, and omit the ground ginger, molasses, and orange zest.
- 1 1/2 cups (200g) flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup (240 ml) pumpkin purée*
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 4 ounces (1 stick, 112 g) butter, melted (can sub 1/2 cup light olive oil)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Optional Orange Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
* To make pumpkin purée, cut a small sugar pumpkin in half horizontally. Use a large metal spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff. Place the pumpkin halves cut side down on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Or, if you are working with pumpkin pieces, roast or boil them until tender, then remove and discard the skin.
1 Preheat oven and prepare loaf pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Put in the middle rack of the oven. Butter the insides of an 8 x 4 x 3 -inch loaf pan.
2 Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.
3 Mix together the pumpkin purée, sugar, the melted butter, beaten eggs, 1/4 cup of water, molasses, and orange zest (if using) in a separate bowl.
4 Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined and there is no more dry flour in the batter.
Do not over-mix! If adding chopped pecans or walnuts, stir them in.
5 Bake: Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 45 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven and the color of your loaf pan—dark pans cook the contents more quickly than light pans), or until a tester poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
6 Remove from pan and cool completely: Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Then run a blunt dinner knife around the edges of the pumpkin bread to gently separate it from the pan.
Invert it to loosen it from the pan and put the loaf on a rack to cool completely.
7 Glaze: If using the glaze, whisk together in a medium bowl the powdered sugar, orange juice, zest, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. If too thick add a little more juice. If too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Wait until the pumpkin bread has cooled completely before drizzling with glaze or slicing. Tip: use a serrated knife to slice. Less crumbs that way!


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Why not consider a home exchange as an alternative way to explore the UK on a budget? It's a great option to enjoy a cheap UK holiday and works particularly well for families.
As Liz Walsh, from Topdogdays explains, the main advantage is that a trip to the UK can cost you no more than your travel arrangements and general living expenses. Liz and her family have undertaken 12 exchanges in the past 5 years, and they swap not only their home but cars, bikes, toys, outdoor equipment and even a boat on one occasion!
You can arrange to take care of pets, (optional), and can give each other the low down on best places to visit, shop and eat out. We've put together a few simple steps to help you achieve a successful UK home exchange.
1. Always join a reputable home exchange organisation. Whilst there is never a fail safe guarantee, people who've joined a paid membership programme, (usually around £100 a year), have already made a level of commitment to home exchanging. Two of the more established Home Exchange Programmes are run by Intervac and Homelink.
2. Try to arrange your first exchange with a family experienced in home exchange. You can then follow their lead and be re-assured by taking up references from others who have stayed there.
3. Draw up an exchange contract before making any firm travel arrangements. Be up front about household bills, what is and isn't included in the exchange & ensuring car insurance is in place.
4. Agree to book your travel arrangements on the same day/time. As a courtesy, pass confirmation emails from airlines etc to your host family. Often you will find you will overlap at airports with opportunities to meet up, exchange keys and reduce airport transfer costs.
5. Trust your instincts. Initially there's a lot to discuss with a potential host family and you'll quickly pick up if this is going to work for you.
6. Be upfront if you have any concerns. If you decide this one isn't for you, let the other family know quickly and before there is any financial outlay on either side.
7. Home insurance. This can be a tricky area so ensure you are clear where you stand with your policy.
8. Leave a simple meal. Welcome your exchange family to your home with a simple meal including a local delicacy plus plenty of information about your area.
9. Trust and Courtesy. The most fundamental principle to understand is that a successful home exchange is based on trust so please treat your host family's home as you would your own, as long as this means with care and consideration! Home exchange is one of the best family decisions we have ever made and a great way to see the UK on a budget.


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McDonald's has said a global sales figure fell 2.5 per cent in July, dragged down by persistent weakness in the U.S. and a food safety scare in China.
The world's biggest hamburger chain said Friday that the decline included a 3.2 per cent drop in the U.S. and a 7.3 per cent drop in the unit encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The results reflect what is likely to be just the beginnings of the fallout from a Chinese food scandal late last month. A TV report at the time showed workers at a McDonald's supplier, OSI Group, repacking expired meat.
McDonald's subsequently stopped using the plant in Shanghai, which left many of its restaurants unable to provide a wide range of items including Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets.
The company has since been working with other OSI plants to restore supplies to the affected restaurants. Still, sales are likely to continue suffering given the sensitivities around food safety in China.
Yum Brands, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, says it did not rely as heavily OSI and quickly cut all ties with the company. But its sales have been battered as well.
McDonald's Corp., which has more than 35,000 locations around the world, warned earlier this week that the scandal puts its global sales forecast for 2014 "at risk." It had previously said it expects sales to be "relatively flat."
If the figure were to fall, that would mark the first annual global sales decline since 2002. Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski also noted the decline in July could be the worst monthly showing in the past decade.
Back in the US, McDonald's has failed to boost sales since October amid intensifying competition and shifting eating habits. The drop last month came despite its sponsorship of the World Cup.
Part of the problem is that chains like Chipotle are gaining favor by touting more wholesome ingredients and the ability to customize food. McDonald's is trying to adapt on multiple fronts, including a "Build-Your-Own-Burger" test in Southern California and a new Bacon Clubhouse burger positioned as a premium offering at $5 or $6.
McDonald's CEO Don Thompson has also noted that the company's lower-income customers are struggling more financially, making them reluctant to eat out.
Thompson has also said McDonald's complicated its menu and slowed down service by introducing too many items too quickly. He says the company is working on getting the basics rights - such as improving service.
The one bright spot in July was Europe, where sales at established locations edged up 0.5 per cent.
McDonald's shares rose 17 cents to $93.48 Friday afternoon. Over the past year, its stock is down about 5 per cent.


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Gender Studies Course Descriptions
GST 2300 Introduction to Gender Studies
(3 semester hours) An introduction to the way gender shapes individuals,
social institutions and culture. Examines gender, class, sexuality,
race/ethnicity, and nationality as interactive systems. Topics include
biological arguments about gender and sexuality; the cultural construction
of gender; the psychology of sex roles; the ways gender shapes families,
workplaces and other social institutions. (Same as SOC 2300) (3-0) Y
This catalog is a general information publication only. It is not intended to nor does it contain all regulations that relate to students. The provisions of this catalog do not constitute a contract, express or implied, between any applicant, student or faculty member and The University of Texas at Dallas or The University of Texas System. The University of Texas at Dallas reserves the right to withdraw courses at any time, to change fees or tuition, calendar, curriculum, degree requirements, graduation procedures, and any other requirements affecting students. Changes will become effective whenever the proper authorities so determine and will apply to both prospective students and those already enrolled.
Statement on Equal Educational


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Yup, I won a game for the Cubs when I was 9 years old, a kind of pre-pubescent reverse-Bartman deal. The next day's Chicago Tribune called the anonymous fan who interfered with a critical eighth-inning play "the fourth outfielder," which. with its resonance of "The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame," may have been the nicest thing anyone has ever called me, even if it implied I was playing that day for the Mets when I knew for sure that I was actually helping the Cubs. The picture in theChicago Sun-Times showed me with my eyes closed as I tried to make the catch just above the ivy on the wall.
The date was June 9, 1967, and I had my own "Summer of Love" going at Wrigley Field. My family lived in an old Victorian on Hawthorne Place, a leafy street a mere seven blocks from the Friendly Confines, so close that we could sometimes hear the crowd roar. In exchange for completing two or three modest chores (OK, two), my mother, the late Joanne Alter, packed me a brown bag lunch and gave me around $2, which came out to $1 for admission to the bleachers, 25 cents for a Frosty Malt frozen dessert and an extra 75 cents that was supposed to be only for emergencies but often got accidentally spent at either Tony's Hot Dogs near Broadway and Cornelia or for a late-afternoon snow cone on Addison.
I'd been going to Cubs and White Sox games with my grandfathers since I was 5 years old. In those days, it was kosher to root for both teams, but you still had to be careful, as I found when I wore what I assumed to be a flannel Sox uniform to kindergarten on the North Side and was teased for showing up in my pajamas. Grandpa Sol was raised on the South Side and thus took me to night games at Comiskey. Grandpa Harry, who was not prone to exaggeration, told me he had gone to speakeasies with the Cub Hack Wilson (whose 191 RBIs in 1930 will never be broken) during Prohibition and had witnessed Babe Ruth's famed "called shot" off Charlie Root in the 1932 World Series, though unlike retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, he saved no ticket stubs to prove it. Harry sprung for $4 box seats at Wrigley.
The first Cubs season I dimly remember was 1961, the year owner P.K. Wrigley had the brilliant idea of replacing a single manager with a "College of Coaches" to run the team by committee. This failed to achieve the desired results, but it did set a pattern of predictably dashed expectations that has provided valuable consistency to the lives of millions of Cubs fans. When I was in second grade, I obtained Ernie Banks' autograph at a banquet and my allegiance was settled for good.
My faith deepened in 1966 after my dad and I saw Ken Holtzman throw a no-hitter through eight innings against Sandy Koufax and the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Just two days after Yom Kippur, it was Jew lefty vs. Jew lefty. I was a Jew lefty, too! The Dodgers broke up the no-hitter in the ninth, but the Cubs prevailed 2-1. This provided some compensation for the perfect game Koufax threw against the Cubs the year before, though not enough. The Cubs finished 59-103 under new skipper Leo Durocher, in 10th place. But things were about to look up.
"The Cubs will be heavenly in '67ly!" Ernie Banks enthused. Sounded right to me. That was the year my parents first allowed me to go to the ballpark without parental supervision. It was day baseball, they figured, and walking distance, safe enough if I went with a friend like Billy Foster or Casey Dinges. Little did the adults know that their darling fourth-graders would spend a chunk of their summer days in the company of bartenders, guys just off the graveyard shift, unemployed layabouts, lesbians (though we recognized them only as nice ladies who knew a ton about sports and came even when it wasn't Ladies Day), and pimply faced, beer-swilling juvenile delinquents who always out-raced me over the bleacher benches to batting practice balls. These fine fans, the source of much valuable information about life, were soon to be immortalized as the Bleacher Bums.
On this June day I was with Casey and as usual we fully intended to bring our mitts to the ballpark to increase our odds of catching a home run. But as fate would have it, I was sporting a first baseman's glove (homage to Ernie) that covered about half of my scrawny right arm and hadn't spent enough time under my mattress to be properly broken in. So we left our gloves at home that day, a fact that would soon take on great importance.
On arrival that morning for batting practice, we had a choice between left field with the Bleacher Bums or better seats in center right, and we chose the latter. After a rain delay, we moved to the first row, just above the 368 foot sign. This was a couple of years before the installation of the mesh baskets that now jut out from the top of the wall, another highly relevant factor in the game's outcome.
The Cubs were getting some decent relief pitching from Chuck Hartenstein (later known as "Twiggy" after the British model) and hulking Dick Radatz, but still trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Ernie Banks doubled and scored when Norm Gigon, playing at third base for Ron Santo, bounced one through the legs of Bud Harrelson. Randy Hundley struck out, which brought Adolfo Phillips to the plate — the "gay Panamanian," as the Tribune described him the next day, by which the paper meant happy and high-spirited.
Phillips hit a high drive, deep to center, and it was coming right at me as a homer and my heart was pounding and my first baseman's glove wasn't there and the next thing I knew the ball had stung me and bounced back on to the field. The Mets right fielder, Tommie Reynolds, started pointing at me and then the Mets manager, Wes Westrum, argued to second-base umpire John Kibler that it was fan interference and thus a ground rule double, which would have sent Gigon back to third.
Instead, the umpire ruled that Phillips had tripled and thus Gigon's tying run counted. I had tied it up for the Cubs! In the ninth, Banks singled home the winning run, giving the Cubs a 6-5 victory.
Forty-five years later, I dug up the snippy New York Times description of "the invisible spectator" who helped cause the Mets loss that day. Invisible? I knew what I had done and Casey knew and the Mets sure knew.
The next season was exciting, too, and the one after that — 1969 — well, let's just say the Mets got their revenge for me muscling my way into their outfield. As the Cubs cratered in August, one of the great chokes in sports history, I would walk home from the ballpark, my head hung like a failed Fergie Jenkins curve ball, past the Mexican snow cone man on Addison without stopping, then straight past mom, wordless, up the back stairs for a sullen rendezvous with the baseball cards in my room. Day after gloomy day, loss after shattering loss. If that built "character," as the cliché went, I'd rather be a reprobate.
In the years that followed, I found plenty of Cub joy, especially when two of our children, Tommy and Molly, caught the bug even though they've lived their whole lives in New Jersey. We followed the team to St. Louis and chatted up Derrek Lee and Ron Santo in the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. On the night of Greg Maddux's 3,000th strikeout, Molly charmed her way into two baseballs tossed into the Wrigley grandstands. In August 2010, a large group of family and friends watched me throw out the first pitch in a game against the Braves, the thrill of a lifetime, especially since I avoided grounding the ball in favor of what Tommy charitably described as "a high changeup, just a little inside."
But I wouldn't have missed the bad times either. In 2003, I was at Wrigley for game six of the National League Championship Series and from the press box witnessed the Bartman incident that may or may not have cost the Cubs the pennant. Like Jimmy Breslin interviewing the gravedigger after J.F.K.'s assassination, I sought out the Andy Frain usher who had helped hustle the benighted fan out. I took note of the cheese nachos under Bartman's seat. Did they play a role? We'll never know.
The next day, I spoke at my alma mater, the Francis Parker School, and asked for a show of hands from anyone who thought it was something he or she did — sitting on the couch in the wrong position, going to the fridge in the middle of an inning — that jinxed the Cubs. Dozens of superstitious students — Larry Davids all — raised their hands.
This was crazy! Fans can't affect the game from home! And even those interfering in play like Bartman aren't fully to blame. The rational mind knows that it was Alex Gonzalez's fault for booting that grounder, and Mark Prior's for falling apart.
And yet another part of me felt with burning certainty that we each have it in our power to change the fate of the Cubs. I know, for I performed such a miracle nearly half a century ago.
Read about Bardball, a new poetry website that celebrates baseball, the sport of poets and unmet fantasies.
Watch TribU Emcee Jenniffer Weigel talk with James Finn Garner about the inherent poetry of America's pastime, and listen as Garner reads some of his favorite baseball-themed poems.
Jonathan Alter, a columnist for Bloomberg View and MSNBC analyst, is the author most recently of "The Promise: President Obama, Year One."
Yup, I won a game for the Cubs when I was 9 years old, a kind of pre-pubescent reverse-Bartman deal. The next day's Chicago Tribune called the anonymous fan who interfered with a critical eighth-inning play "the fourth outfielder," which. with its resonance of "The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame," may have been the nicest thing anyone has ever called me, even if it implied I was playing that day for the Mets when I knew for sure that I was actually helping the Cubs. The picture in theChicago Sun-Times showed me with my eyes closed as I tried to make the catch just above the ivy on the wall.


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My Dodge Ram 3500 Dually
This will be a gallery of my Dodge Ram 3500 Dually truck. It is a 2003, equipped with the Cummins 5.9 diesel engine and the 48RE automatic transmission. I have already made many modifications to the truck and will add photos to document this ongoing process. Life is good.Read More


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Tagged: Lean In
As Feminists Debate 'Lean In', Real Feminists Just Do It
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of the bestselling book "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead" has coined an upgraded mantra for feminism, "Lean In." She exhorts women to "Lean In," so that they can reboot feminism while achieving corporate equality.
"Lean In" was released in March 2013, and immediately struck a raw nerve with feminist pundits who struggled to reconcile "Lean In" tactics with helping the feminist movement accomplish its goals. Equal pay and reproductive freedom were the core feminist issues in the 1970s; they are still the core issues in 2013.
Gloria Steinem, an icon of the feminist movement, defines feminism as "complete social and economic equality between men and women — not man-hating, angry women, as pop culture often makes feminists out to be." The image of man-hating, angry women has been so effective in shaming and alienating women that many of them refuse to call themselves feminists and have distanced themselves from the movement.
Kristopher Wells, assistant professor and associate director, of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, University of Alberta, studies and writes about the power of demeaning words.
"There are many ongoing challenges within the feminist movement, including an entire generation of young women who think that feminism is the new 'f-word' and don't want to be associated with it. So yes, a cultural shift is needed, as is 're-education' as to what feminism actually means and represents to women and to men!"
Misrepresenting the word feminism has had a ripple effect across social and economic norms. For more information on this ripple effect, refer to the infographic, "You Say Feminism Like It's A Bad Thing."
Not all women grapple with an allegiance to feminism, and for those women "Lean In" is simply another way of looking at what they have done all along.
Linda Lingle, an Energy and Education consultant based in Washington, D.C., has worked and "Leaned In" on political campaigns for years. She was most recently involved with Elizabeth Colbert Busch's 1st Congressional District special election. She believes for equality to happen, women must have a practical political presence at state and federal levels. During the interview, she pointed out that while there are only 20 women Senators, their numbers are now strong enough that they are introducing legislation for equality.
But she acknowledges that women have a long way to go in achieving political equality and she attributes the inequality to the age-old practice of gerrymandering.
"Gerrymandering is one of the things that hurt Elizabeth the most in this past election," she said. "Being a woman didn't hurt Elizabeth in her district, but being a Democrat and being consistently tied to Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat that Southern voters don't like, did." Colbert-Busch's South Carolina 1st District is 75 percent white and Republican.
Lingle reiterated that while gerrymandering has happened for years at the state and federal levels it is starting to influence local elections.
"Women must become politically involved to effect real change," she said. "Otherwise gerrymandering will continue to perpetuate ideologies and agendas that have historically discriminated against women and minorities."
Other women believe that creating collaboration among women and involving men will help feminism "Lean" successfully.
Deborah Young, Ph.D., a plant pathologist at Colorado State University, believes that for feminism to succeed, women need to continue to bring other women along. Thirty years ago the state of Arizona hired Young as the first female county extension agent. She was responsible for working with farmers in rural Arizona. When going to visit a farm, she made it a point to drive up to the farmhouse and introduce herself to the farmer's wife first.
"These were family farms and the women contributed as much as the men did," Young said. "I wanted to make sure these women knew I valued their expertise and wanted to include them in any discussions about their farms."
Madi Lapidot, Board President of Har Shalom temple in Fort Collins, Colo., works closely with families to help build a strong community. She is also a working mother of three and believes that women must include men in any discussion about equality, particularly as their role in the family expands.
"It's complicated," she said. "There's very little acknowledgement that men and women are different. There is an innate, integral difference that is exacerbated by socialization."
Gloria Steinem seems to agree when she pointed out what the debate surrounding "Lean In" has ignored. "I would say the most radical thing in [Sandberg's] book, and perhaps in the long run the most important, is that she suggests that fathers can equally raise children and be equal at home." She continued, "I have not seen that in the coverage of her book. Maybe I've missed it. She also says the most important career choice you will make if you want to have children is who your partner is. I don't see that discussed either."
Women Can Begin To "Lean In" By Becoming Contributors
Video Transcript
Genevieve Berry: Women face obstacles to equality every day. To overcome those obstacles women must step up and see themselves as contributors. Nancy Ogren, Director of Pathways to Wellness, explains how women can do this.
Nancy Ogren: This is the place in life where we also see ourselves as part of a collective rather than I'm by myself in this.
Genevieve Berry: Warren Buffett recently said that women are the key to America's prosperity.
Nancy Ogren: In my picture of me at whatever point in life I'm looking at myself I want to see
myself as where do I belong? Where am I going? How am I stepping up?
Genevieve Berry: As everyone steps up, feminism isn't just about women.
Nancy Ogren: We're all either, either we're contaminating or we're contributing, and there really isn't, it's sort of like a resounding yes or a no. We're either contributing or we're not and that's contamination. So, see yourself as a contributor,
Genevieve Berry: Contamination exists, but we don't have to be a part of it.
Nancy Ogren: "I'm going to give you something of myself" that's the ultimate contribution, and as you give of yourself, you create in others a confidence that you didn't even know you created for them. Because if you can contribute, they can contribute and we're all in this together, so we all must contribute. And the contaminators don't serve anybody.
Genevieve Berry, unfinishedbusinessblog.com.


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Baig: Magellan SmartGPS is smart but a tough sell
- Supplies Yelp and Foursquare reviews
- Can warn you about traffic delays and red-light cameras
- The screen can get cluttered in some views
NEW YORK — You have to wonder if portable navigation devices for cars will meet the same fate as film cameras. If PNDs, as they're inelegantly called, aren't exactly obsolete, the companies trying to sell them face major roadblocks. Dealer-installed in-dash navigation and infotainment systems, while still pricey, are becoming more common. Smartphones and tabletsdeliver directions via free turn-by-turn navigation apps — Google Maps, Apple Maps or any number of third-party options.
According to IHS research, the sale of personal navigation devices will continue to fall, from a high of more than 15.1 million units in 2008 to just over 4.3 million units in 2019. At the same time, usage of smartphone navigation apps continues to expand.
Such is the predicament that MiTAC International finds itself in as it tries to sell its Magellan brand of navigation products. MiTAC hopes to keep the category relevant with the new cloud-based Magellan SmartGPS unit that I've been testing in and around New York City. It goes on sale at the end of April for $249.
On the surface, SmartGPS is similar to others that you prop up in your car by placing it in a cradle attached by suction cup to your windshield. You plug in via the car's power port (if not plugged in, the battery won't last all that long).
SmartGPS resembles a small color tablet with a 5-inch touch display. As with other navigation devices, you can alter the map view between 2-D and 3-D. A female voice pipes in with driving instructions.
What makes this particular Magellan different: It wirelessly communicates with a computer, smartphone or tablet, using apps on those devices to find a favorite destination or enter an address, which you can then easily sync with the SmartGPS unit in the car. SmartGPS takes advantage of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
I tested the unit along with companion apps on an iPhone; Android apps are expected to be available by the time of the launch.
As you drive around, Yelp and Foursquare reviews are automatically sent to the Magellan, based on your location. These appear in small square tiles on the display. By tapping a tile, you can have the GPS route you — choosing the fastest or shortest route or the one with the fewest highways. You are also notified of special deals at these places (e.g., 20% off your order at Pizza Fusion on your first check-in). Star ratings are also visible, but only a small snippet from a single user review is shown, no matter how many underlying reviews make up the star ratings. Magellan didn't want to load too much data on top of the device.
In the default view, the Yelp and Foursquare reviews appear as ever-changing square tiles on the right half of the screen; on the left half a map of your location is visible.
You also see tiles for weather, parking information and nearby gas stations with fuel prices that are delayed by about three hours.
What I especially appreciated were traffic alerts, detour options, warnings when I exceeded the local speed limit and notifications as I approached an intersection with red-light cameras (don't consider that as an indictment on my safe-driving skills).
SmartGPS generally worked well in my tests, though as with most GPS devices I've tried it has its quirks, some more annoying than others. The audible female voice that directs you referred to major highways around New York as "freeways." That's not what we locals call them.
The voice also referred to Whitestone "Branch" and Throgs Neck "Branch," not the Whitestone Bridge and Throgs Neck Bridge. Sloppy.
Sometimes if I purposely avoided suggested directions and went my way instead, the alternative routes she piped in with didn't jibe with the way I would route someone.
You can change the default views on the SmartGPS display by rolling a virtual onscreen dial. Roll the dial all the way to the right and the map pretty much takes over the entire screen, the view with the fewest distractions. Roll it all the way in the other direction, and instead of four tiles you'll see eight. Your map location appears in one of these tiles, but the screen is too cluttered for the person at the wheel — leave it to a passenger to let you know if any of the tiles are useful.
I was also mildly distracted at times in the default view. To minimize the distractions, Magellan says that the faster you go the fewer tiles you'll see. When you're stopped or driving slowly, the frequency of tiles increases.
You will have the option to pay subscription fees for certain kinds of alerts (school zones, dangerous intersections, etc.): $20 a year under a current promotion.
Via the Bluetooth connection with your phone, you can use SmartGPS as a speakerphone. It also has a very simple browser and is overlaid on Android (older version 2.3). But you wouldn't otherwise use this as you would use a tablet.
SmartGPS is, well, a pretty smart GPS. It has some nice features. But given that you can get directions and a world of other information from your phone or tablet, I still think it's a tough sell.
The bottom line
Magellan SmartGPS
Price: $249
Pro. Delivers Foursquare and Yelp reviews, gas prices, traffic alerts, red-light warnings and more. Lets you wirelessly sync locations from phones, tablets, PCs.
Con. Screen is cluttered in some views. Location quirks.
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