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French fries aren't the healthiest snack, but it isn't a stretch to venture that they're the most popular side item served at restaurant chains in the United States—a thick, juicy cheeseburger isn't the same without a nice side of hot fries.
Gallery: Most Dangerous Fries
While sales of French fries have fallen throughout the decade, Americans still eat roughly 2 billion servings of fries each year. That's an awful lot of saturated fat and salt. French fries will never be found in the health food aisle, and French fry consumption has been linked to increased rates of Type-2 diabetes in middle-aged women with no history of chronic illness.
Yet while all fries may pose health risks if consumed in excess, not all fries are created equal. To find America's unhealthiest fries, The Daily Beast measured data on French fry dishes from 36 popular restaurant chains across the four categories available for each eatery: calories, saturated fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. Each plate of fries was ranked within each nutritional category, then the ranking each French fry dish received for each nutritional category was totaled to determine the final ranking. Ties were broken by calorie content, and each eatery was limited to three appearances.
And for those who are curious, we did measure the benchmark of fried potatoes, McDonald's large fries, and they came in well under the top 30.
Plus: Check out Hungry Beast, for more news on the latest restaurants, hot chefs, and tasty recipes.


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HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Even with Hurricane Ike more than 100 miles away, authorities began rescue efforts Friday, picking up more than 120 people stranded by rising seas along the southeast Texas coast.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescues a person trapped in a car on Friday as Hurricane Ike hits Texas.
Most of the rescues occurred in Galveston County, where rising water and other effects of the storm began hours before expected landfall early Saturday.
Stranded residents have been airlifted from Crystal Beach, Bolivar Peninsula and other communities in the Galveston area. Many of those rescued were motorists stranded on flooded roads.
In Surfside Beach, police waded through chest-high rushing water to rescue five people trapped in their homes. One man refused to leave, said Surfside Beach police Chief Randy Smith. Watch rescuers save a motorist from floods »
"Some of them took convincing, some of them didn't," he said.
Police also rescued another five people who waded out to meet the officers.
About half of those rescues were done by helicopters out of several bases along the coast, said Coast Guard Petty Officer David Schulein.
Three HH-65C helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Houston rescued more than 20 people and were continuing to fly round-the-clock rescue missions until weather grounds them, said Petty Officer Renee Aiello, a station spokeswoman.
The Coast Guard helicopters from Air Station Houston could make their last flights Friday afternoon as rain starts to move in, Aiello said. Watch Ike begin to spill water into Texas »
"We'll be out as long as the weather permits us," she said. "We're still working."
Some 37,000 people may need to be rescued after Hurricane Ike strikes, a U.S. military official said Friday.
Texas already has asked for help, and the active-duty military has 42 search-and-rescue helicopters on standby, the official said. iReport.com: Commander briefs Coast Guard crews
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and Air Force were unable to rescue 22 people aboard a freighter adrift in the Gulf of Mexico because of weather, the two military branches said Friday.
"Weather on scene deteriorated to a point that made the rescue impossible," the Coast Guard said in a statement issued Friday. First Lt. Lauren Johnson, an Air Force spokeswoman, confirmed the report. Aircraft were used in the effort, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard officials had said earlier they thought the best way to help the 584-foot freighter might be to let the storm push it to shallow water where it can drop anchor. Watch the captain of the freighter talk with CNN »
The freighter had been headed south from Port Arthur, Texas, and is loaded with petroleum coke -- a petroleum byproduct.
The Coast Guard said in a news release it received a distress call around 4 a.m. from the Antalina, a Cypriot-flagged freighter. It said the vessel had "lost main propulsion 90 miles southeast of Galveston" and was unable to steer.
Coast Guard Capt. Bill Diehl said the freighter had been "in the direct line of the path of the storm and lost its engines."
He said the Coast Guard is keeping radio communications with the freighter, and its news release said the Coast Guard is in hourly contact with the crew.
There had been warnings for residents to evacuate beforehand, and Chief Petty Officer Michael O'Berry, interviewed by CNN, was asked why they didn't get out in time. Watch last-minute evacuees explain their change of heart »
He said he thinks the residents "didn't understand, I guess, the strength of the storm. As it came about, they realized it's a lot stronger than they may have anticipated."
CNN's Mike Ahlers, Jeanne Meserve and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
All About U.S. Coast Guard

subset: commoncrawl


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Electric Power Delivery System
Electric power supplied to homes and businesses is typically AC (alternating current). The electrons do not travel along the power lines overhead but vibrate back and forth at 60 times per second within these lines. The AC outlet in your home delivers energy not electrons. When you plug in an appliance, the outlet supplies the power to move electrons that are already in the wiring of the appliance, around a closed circuit to produce a current. The energy is supplied to your home as a voltage through a large and very complex power distribution network. After electric power is generated within a power station, it is sent through a network of power lines to consumers. This is done in several steps.
Each time the voltage is stepped down, a transformer is used. Transformers are devices that work only with alternating current flows to either step up or step down voltages. They begin to behave badly when direct currents (DC) are superimposed on the normal AC currents that are handled routinely in the power grid. This is the main reason that power grids can be compromised by space weather events.


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Sunday's 31-24 Atlanta Falcons win started well for Steven Jackson, before rapidly taking a turn for the worse.
The Falcons running back took a Matt Ryan pass 8 yards into the end zone to give Atlanta a 7-0 lead over Jackson's former team, the St. Louis Rams. Minutes later, the veteran runner was seen retreating to the locker room with what the Falcons described as a thigh injury.
Losing Jackson for any amount of time would be a rugged setback for the Falcons. As powerful as Atlanta's passing game is, Jackson might be the team's most important offseason acquisition, serving as the featured back and an important piece of the air attack.
In other Falcons injury news: Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon left the game with a foot injury, and defensive end Kroy Biermann injured his ankle, according to the team's official Twitter account.
The "Around The League Podcast" is now available on iTunes! Click here to listen and subscribe.


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Taxi Driver, March 19 and 22, check listings; ($10 at Amazon and iTunes)
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Martin Scorsese's classic film Taxi Driver, AMC theaters will be bringing the movie back to theaters this weekend for two days only. If you haven't seen it yet, let this be your chance. The story follows troubled taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) as he attempts to clean up the mean streets of 1970s New York. A former Marine, Bickle sports such standard-issue pieces as the M65 field jacket throughout the film. The mid-weight jacket replaced the earlier M51 during the Vietnam War and with its stand-up collar, oversized zippers and utilitarian pockets, it's slowly emerged as an icon of masculine style. This lightweight twill version of the classic jacket is ideal for the transition into spring.
$45, at Army Universe
What should I pack for my first business trip?
- Matt, OH
With nearly every airline imposing a baggage fee nowadays, if you can get away with flying with just a carry-on, do it.
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EQ Physio - Oakville, ON
Prevent sports-related injuries with targeted training programs
In a perfect world, athletes would be able to participate in their respective sport at full tilt without having to worry about hurting themselves or dealing with the consequences of an injury. But alas, the world we live in is not perfect, and injuries remain one of the most unfortunate and inescapable components of sports.
No matter how old an athlete is, the sport they play, or their fitness level or experience in that sport, there will always be some risk for getting injured. In general, the risk for acute—or traumatic—injuries increases with the amount of contact and cutting movements involved in the sport, which is why basketball and football players are injured so frequently. But a significant number of injuries result from overtraining and failing to recover properly, which is one reason injuries are seen even in sports that appear to be less dangerous, like golf, for instance.
Getting injured can have both short- and long-term consequences that need to be acknowledged. Immediately after an injury, an athlete will usually be sidelined for days or weeks, temporarily preventing them from reaping the benefits of their particular sport during that time. But when an athlete is kept from participating in their sport for several months or longer, it increases the chances of losing physical fitness and gaining weight, not to mention the psychological effects of not being able to play can have on an athlete. In the worst-case scenarios, certain severe injuries and those that are not properly rehabilitated can lead to long-term impairments and make it extremely difficult for the athlete to ever regain their pre-injury capabilities.
Together, this should make it clear just how devastating sports injuries can be in some cases and why it's important to take steps to prevent them. Sadly, there is no surefire way to eliminate the risk for all injuries in all sports, but there are a number of universal strategies that can significantly reduce it.
Injury-prevention programs should be a primary focus for all athletes
One of the most effective ways to reduce the risk for injury is by participating in a training program specifically designed for this purpose. There are a number of sport-specific prevention programs in which athletes improve their strength, flexibility, and conditioning by focusing on the dynamic movements involved in their respective sport. A number of studies have shown that these types of injury-prevention programs are effective for lowering the risk of injury in various sports, two of which are summarized below:
- One study reviewed all the available research on exercise-based programs to reduce injury risk in tackle collision sports like American football, Australian football, and rugby. Nine studies were identified, and of these, seven supported the prevention programs as an effective method for lowering the incidence of injuries in these sports.
- The other study was also a review of research that focused on a specific exercise called the Nordic Hamstring Exercise to prevent injuries of the hamstrings, a group of three muscles in the back of the thigh. Results showed that this single exercise reduced the overall number of hamstring injuries by 51% when these participants were compared to those not performing the exercise.
Additional tips to reduce the risk for injury in sports
There are a number of other general injury-prevention tips that apply to all athletes at all levels of play, and although some may seem simple or obvious, following them can go a long way in reducing your risk for injury. These include the following:
- Avoid overtraining: take enough time to rest and let your body recover in order to avoid overuse injuries, especially if you play one sport; a good rule of thumb is to take at least one day off per week and one month off per year from training in a single sport and switch over to other sports instead during that time
- Use proper equipment: make sure that all of your gear—including pads, helmets, and other protective devices—is in good, working shape and fits properly; also be sure to wear the appropriate shoes for the appropriate sport, and replace old or worn-out shoes
- Warm up: always warm up before every practice and game/match; warm-ups should last at least 5-10 minutes and include low-level cardiovascular activities, stretching exercises, and movements that mimic those involved in your sport
- Ease into it: when returning to a sport or activity after an extended absence—or if trying it for the first time—start off gently and slowly, and gradually work your way up to more aggressive play or training
- Improve your form or technique: whatever your sport, it's essential that you're using a form or technique that is helping you excel rather than adding to your injury risk; if you have a coach, they will be able to help you work on this; for others, see a physical therapist for guidance on improving your form
- Don't play overly fatigued: if you feel too tired during a game or practice, don't push yourself and sit out to recover; many injuries occur in athletes that are overly fatigued and incapable of performing at their optimal level, which is why it's crucial to know where this line is drawn and how to respond if it's crossed


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WASHINGTON >> President Barack Obama is practically weepy at the thought of his daughter Malia going off to college, a milestone many months away that is already on his mind.
Malia barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother. At 16, she stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm.
She has been seen touring the University of California at Berkeley and the Palo Alto, California, campus of Stanford, where another president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, attended college.
In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years. "So I'm trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her. So this is sort of my trial run here."
Obama said during a question-and-answer session with the chief executive of Tumblr, a social media site, that his daughter, like young people in general, should shop around for a college.
"We tell her, 'Don't assume that there are 10 schools that you have to go to, and if you didn't go to those 10, that somehow things are going to be terrible,'" he said. "There are a lot of schools out there."
Malia goes into the 11th grade this fall at the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington. The Sidwell parent's guide to college counseling suggests that juniors take the PSAT test in October, visit colleges as time allows, take the SAT exam in March and set up a family meeting with a college counselor in late spring, among other steps.
Michelle Obama is also thinking about her daughter's departure. In a commencement-eve address to Topeka, Kansas, high school seniors, the first lady said: "Days like this make me think of my own daughters, so forgive me if I get a little teary."
Chelsea Clinton and her mother, Hillary Rodham Clinton, toured some colleges together, at times attracting a horde and at other times going unnoticed. Then-President Bill Clinton never joined them, mainly because of the disruption that would have been caused by the large entourage that follows a president in public.
The prevalence of social media and cellphone cameras practically guarantees that Malia's college search will be even more documented than Chelsea Clinton's 17 years ago. In September 1997, more than 200 journalists showed up to cover her first day at Stanford.
Bill Clinton and his wife, who was Obama's first secretary of state, were shocked when their only child chose to attend college some 3,000 miles away. Her parents were educated at East Coast universities — Georgetown for him and Wellesley for her — before they met at Yale Law School. And they thought Chelsea would follow their path.
In her syndicated newspaper column, Hillary Clinton wrote about her dread at having to say goodbye to Chelsea.
Malia's journey into the next phase of her life will be a similarly emotional time for Obama, who grew up without his dad. He talks about his desire to be a "present" father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before. The Obamas lived in Chicago when the girls were born, but he was often away in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state senator, or in Washington representing Illinois as a U.S. senator.
Children already seem to grow up too fast, but it "happens more suddenly for a president and a president can feel cheated," said Doug Wead, who interviewed 19 children of presidents for his book, "All the Presidents' Children." "The president is feeling some angst over this, and rightly so."
Already this summer, Malia has worked in Los Angeles as a production assistant on the set of "Extant," a new CBS sci-fi thriller starring Halle Berry and produced by Democratic Party donor Steven Spielberg. She's also learning how to drive.
Perhaps compounding emotions for the Obamas is that they, too, will follow Malia out of the White House shortly after she starts college.
His presidency ends in January 2017, a few months after she departs.


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This blog and related calendar are shuttering effective 1 Jan 2022 in favor of ConferenceKeeper.org
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
ISGS December 2012 Webinar – Ready-Set-Plan! Developing a One-Step Research Plan
Do you want to learn how to make your research more organized and manageable? Join us on December 11, where J. Mark Lowe will present Ready-Set-Plan! Developing a One-Step Research Plan. Be prepared to walk away with some practical tips to help you focus your research when tackling those challenging ancestors.
Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 8:00 pm Central
Description: Learn a simple technique for breaking down difficult research problems into manageable segments. Learn how to stay focused while getting more research done.
Presenter: J. Mark Lowe
J. Mark Lowe is a full-time professional genealogist, author, and lecturer and researches primarily in original records and manuscripts throughout the South.
He also serves as a Course Coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and Samford University's Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research (Research in the South) and Director of the Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance (RIGS Alliance), learning sessions and hands-on research focusing on original documents and manuscripts at regional archives. Mark has worked on several genealogical television series including African American Lives 2, Who Do You Think You Are? appearing on a recent episode featuring Lionel Richie.
He is a Past-President of APG, Past-President of FGS, and Past-President of the Southern Kentucky Genealogical Society. Mark is a Certified Genealogist and a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association, and was awarded the Graham T. Smallwood award by the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/226300078
Recordings and Syllabus Also Available
For ISGS members who cannot attend on December 11, a recording of the webinar, along with the syllabus, will be made available in the Members Section of the ISGS website at http://www.ilgensoc.org. If you're not already a member of ISGS, visit Join ISGS! for more information.
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Justin Willis has always aspired for greatness on the baseball field. Ever since the West New York native was a toddler, he knew eventually he would play at a higher level.
Last week, the 14-year-old Willis received his highest accolade to date, when he was selected to the 14-and-under Team USA National Development Program.
Willis will be among 40 players from across the country to participate in the Team USA event. He is the lone representative from New Jersey.
"I'm very honored," said Willis, who first made his mark locally two years ago, leading West New York American to its third straight District 7 Little League 11-and-12-year-old All-Star tournament title. "There were 62 teams from all over the country participating in the tryout, so I was a little anxious, wondering if I was going to get picked."
Willis will head to the Team USA National Development Program workouts in Cary, North Carolina next month.
"They'll pair the teams off, 20 on 20, and play there for a week," said Willis, who has been playing travel baseball with the famed Rakers of Rutherford, monitored by former Mets and Colorado Rockies pitcher Bobby Jones.
Willis said that he's ready for the foray into national level baseball.
"I know it's a real challenge, but I'm ready to step up to it," said Willis, who has been playing all summer with and against players two years older than him. "I feel good about the way I've been playing. Everything seems to be going pretty well."
Willis has been training at the Triple Baseball Academy as both a pitcher and an infielder.
"When I go to the national level, it's mostly for pitching," Willis said. "But I still play the field, playing second, third or shortstop."
Playing against kids much older, Willis has pitched to a 9-1 record with two saves and a 1.25 earned run average. Avid onlookers have been amazed by Willis' curveball to go along with a fastball and changeup.
Yes, Willis is achieving this success as a 14-year-old playing with and against 16-year-olds.
Willis did participate in the West New York Babe Ruth season, but moved on to the national level after the season was completed.
"None of this has really sunk in yet," Willis said. "I really can't believe this."
Willis said that he contacted a few friends from New Jersey who were selected to play for Team USA's U14 squad last summer.
"So I know what it's all about from them," Willis said. "Being the lone player from New Jersey taken this year is a tremendous honor."
Willis knows what the future might bring.
"Most of the guys who once played with USA baseball got drafted this year," Willis said. "That's the ultimate goal. That's what I want."
Remarkably, Willis will not stay local to attend high school. He will attend St. Joseph of Metuchen in the fall and will play baseball there.
"It's going to be tough, taking the trains every morning," Willis said. "But the coach there really sold us on the school, that their players usually go on to get into good colleges. That's what I want. That's another goal for me."
Chances are that we will hear bigger and better news from Willis in the years to come. After all, he's already playing on the national level. It gets no better than that.
If anyone would like to read more information about Justin Willis, log on to www.justinwillis.tripleabaseballacademy.com….
Speaking of the District 7 All-Star tourney, Hoboken has advanced to the winners' bracket finale and will await the winner of the game between defending champion North Bergen and Elizabethport. The championship games were slated to be played Wednesday and Thursday if necessary at Secaucus Little League's fine facility at Buchmiller Park…
EXTRA INNINGS focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area, from Little League action through travel leagues.
If you have any noteworthy information to contribute to the EXTRA INNINGS, feel free to contact Jim Hague by phone at (201) 303-5792, by general mail at 1400 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, or via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The e-mail would be the best way of getting in touch.
Please include a telephone contact name and number, in order to secure further information for a possible story. Also, if you have a picture to be used with the story, that would be a great help….–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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I have uploaded on Thingiverse "robcap3V1" and "leftrobcap3V1" for to close the elbow of the forarm. This part is necessary if you plan to go on with the project of the complete arm. It also gives a finishing touch to the forarm...
Here you see it attached to the forarm, with the "elbowshaft1" glued on it. |
It needs to be glued to "robpart5V2" or "leftrobpart5V2" depending on which arm you built. |
Here you see where they are meant to be used. |


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MONDAY, July 13, 2009 (HealthDay News) -- More than 43,000 children are injured in slips and falls in bathtubs each year in the United States, researchers report.
Earlier studies of bathtub injuries concentrated on burns from hot water and drowning and near-drowning. This is the first study that looked at injuries caused by slips and falls, according to the report published in the July 13 online edition of Pediatrics.
"What caught our attention was the frequency of the slips and falls," said lead researcher Dr. Gary A. Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
There are about 120 kids a day injured by slips and falls in bathtubs and showers, and that number is constant over the 18 years the researchers looked at, Smith said. "That is really telling me that we have a problem that needs to be addressed," he noted.
There are things that can be done to prevent these injuries, Smith said. "Parents need to use slip-resistant mats in and outside of bathtubs to prevent slips and falls," he said.
But, Smith also wants manufacturers to make safer tubs and showers. "Manufacturers need to go back and look at the current standard for slip resistance and strengthen that criteria," he said.
For the study, Smith's team used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from 1990 to 2007. The researchers looked at some 791,200 bathtub- and shower-related injuries in children aged 18 and younger treated in emergency departments.
The study found that the greatest number of injuries were in children aged 2 years. In all, children aged 4 and younger accounted for 54.3 percent of the injuries. Most injuries (71.3 percent) happened in the bathtub, and 97.1 percent happened at home, the researchers noted.
The most common injuries were cuts, which accounted for 59.5 percent of the injuries. Fall, slips and trips were the most common reason for injuries, accounting for 81 percent of all injuries, according to the report.
Most injuries were to the face (48 percent), followed by the head and neck (15 percent). Some 2.8 percent of the children were admitted to the hospital, transferred to another hospital, or held for observation, Smith's team noted.
Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said it's "alarming that more than 40,000 children are injured badly enough each year in bath and shower tumbles to warrant a trip to the emergency room."
If these injuries were unavoidable, that would be one thing, Katz said. "But they are extremely, if not completely, preventable, and by simple means," Katz noted.
"Bath and shower surfaces can be engineered to provide more friction, and surfaces in tubs and showers can be designed to pose less menace should a fall occur," he said.
For now, parents are forewarned that tub and shower tumbles in young children are a common cause of injury, Katz said. "So the first line of defense is parental vigilance. But the more definitive response is to re-engineer tubs and showers," he said.
More information
For more information on children's safety, visit Safe Kids USA.


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BERLIN – There will be no 'back-door' rezoning for the Davis Farm property in Berlin, the Berlin Mayor and Council decided this week, instead choosing to wait on further options that will allow the industrially-zoned site to be used residentially, as the developer intends.
The council tabled developer Tom Ruark's request for a text amendment allowing senior living facilities as a conditional use in the M-1A industrial district at Monday night's meeting.
The technology park intended for the Davis Farm, the only M-1A zoned land in Berlin, fell through years ago, but the unique zoning remains.
Last year, the council denied a rezoning request by the property owner, and the County Commissioners refused to countenance an unprecedented de-annexation of the property back into the county.
Ruark plans to build what he calls an integrated senior living facility on the Davis Farm, including over-55 housing, assisted living units, and health care offices, but under the M-1A zoning, he cannot, without a text amendment adding the use as either permitted or conditional.
Townspeople vocally objected to the text amendment during the public hearing Monday night.
"We had a referendum in town that the citizens of the town voted to put an industrial park on the property. They wanted jobs and they wanted an industrial park because it fit that location," said Marge Coyman. "This doesn't sound anything like what the community voted on."
That plan did not work out, said Joe Moore, attorney for Ruark.
"There's not one job on that property [now] except a farmer," he said, but the senior living facility would employ 110 people, at a payroll of $5 million. The facility would pay $500,000 to $750,000 in taxes to the town every year, Moore said. "It's now and it's not in the future," he said.
Berlin resident Sandy Coyman, a professional planner and director of the Worcester County comprehensive planning department, objected to the way the text amendment was written.
"This ordinance would provide for unlimited residential density," Coyman said. "This ordinance as proposed would essentially be a blank check."
The land could be developed into single-family homes, without adding one job, under the amendment as it is written, he said, and there is no guarantee that what Ruark proposes to build will ever come to be.
The town does not need to be rushed into a decision.
"This development would also break all the rules of good planning," said developer and Berlin resident Ron Cascio. "Explain to me why we should throw good planning to the wind because a speculative developer form Wicomico County is in a hurry? … It's hard to believe we could ever consider this."
Reisdent Marcy Rovansek said, "I just don't feel like we should be in a rush if it's not costing the taxpayer right now."
The text amendment also contradicts the current Berlin Comprehensive Plan, which reserves the M-1A land for industry, Sandy Coyman added.
"We have an opportunity right now to follow through with our Comprehensive Plan and make long term decisions," said Berlin resident Kate Patton. "To plan for the long term may require another few months or few years to make our decision."
None of the speakers disagreed with the need for senior housing facilities in Berlin.
"I just don't think this is the way to get there," said Sandy Coyman.
Town elected officials said there is little to no demand for new industrial land in Berlin. In his four years in office, Mayor Tom Cardinale said he has not had a single letter or inquiry on industrial sites in the town.
Berlin has seen almost no industrial development in 50 years, said Council Vice President Gee Williams.
"The tech park in this town is a pipe dream. It hasn't happened. It isn't going to happen," said Williams.
The annexation agreement for the property is a problem for Berlin.
"We really have a very flawed annexation agreement. I think we've got a lemon here and we're trying hard to make lemonade out of it. I think we've got a mess on our hands. We've had it for eight years," said Councilwoman Paula Lynch.
"I don't want to substitute a flawed annexation agreement with a flawed text amendment," said Williams. "This shortcut is not the way to go. It's the wrong way to try and possibly do the right thing."
The council also said it was concerned that that text amendment would not limit building to the senior living facility.
"In the end, I'm not sure we have enough teeth in to get a senior center," said Councilman Elroy Brittingham.
"It's a dilemma. It clearly is a back-door approach. It clearly is de facto changing zoning. I don't know. I absolutely don't know," said Lynch.
"I don't know, just like Paula," said Brittingham. "I don't want to be in a hurry to do anything and do it wrong."
"I don't look at it as a method of back-door change," council member Dean Burrell said. "I would vote in favor tonight."
The council voted to table the new text amendment and consider a new version at the March 24 town council meeting.
Ruark would have been prohibited from requesting a new text amendment for a year if the council had voted against the proposed change.


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CAUX, JEAN, known as Cataline, miner and packer; b. in France; d. 22 Oct. 1922 in Hazelton, B.C.
As Cataline, he is a larger-than-life, almost mythic figure in the history of British Columbia, commemorated by a statue at Williams Lake. As Jean Caux or John Cox (as his name was usually pronounced), he was a prominent, and the longest lasting, pack-train operator during the era of packing transportation (1858-1914) in the province. Despite the legends that envelope him, and the paucity of reliable sources, his career can be reconstructed with reasonable certainty.
A native of France, born about 1829 in the Pyrenees region (possibly at Oloron), Caux appeared in British Columbia as a miner on the Fraser River in 1858. He had probably come there, as did so many others, from the gold fields of California. By 1862 Cataline - the origin of the name is not clear though some sources link it to the Spanish region of Catalonia - had switched to running a pack-train of mules and horses, the indispensable means of supplying the gold mines of the Cariboo and later those of the Omineca and Cassiar districts. Beginning with three or four animals, he slowly built up the size of his train until, by 1869, he was a principal packer. The maximum size of his train was around 40 animals, though the number fluctuated from season to season. In the 1870s and 1880s he wintered his animals in the valleys west of Ashcroft and in the spring he moved them north to the terminus of the Cariboo wagon road at Quesnel. It served as the loading point for the cargoes that his pack-train carried, in perhaps two or three journeys each summer, into the northern parts of British Columbia. By the start of the 20th century Cataline had shifted his base north to Hazelton, at the junction of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers. From there he supplied the nine repeating stations between Hazelton and the Nass River on the Yukon telegraph line (after its completion in 1901) and the hard-rock mines in the far north.
By 1900 Cataline had become a legendary figure. Tall and broad set, he sported a flowing moustache and shoulder-length hair. His toughness, his resistance to cold, and his skill with a throwing knife were unequalled. When he took a drink of liquor, which he consumed in vast quantities, he would often massage the last drops into his hair. On the trail he always wore a sombrero, a frock coat, a stiff white shirt, and high leather boots in which he kept his knife. He would not take off his shirt until he reached his train's destination, where he would purchase a new one and discard the old. He had children with at least two indigenous women. Reputedly made a naturalized citizen by judge Matthew Baillie Begbie* at a chance meeting on the Cariboo road, Cataline could sign his name (as Jean Caux) but could not read or write; he depended upon others to compose his letters and telegrams. His speech was a mélange of languages. His pack-train crews were made up of men of indigenous, Chinese, European, and mixed descent. His feats as a packer, including carrying huge pieces of mining equipment over long distances in the late 1890s, were widely reported and admired. He was known for his reliability - no mine or station was too remote.
Cataline's qualities made him a legendary figure, and a poor businessman. He relied on loans from banks, but it was almost impossible to cost some shipments because of the vagaries of the weather and the condition of the trails. He accumulated no savings and about 1912 he was forced to sell his pack-train in order to meet his debts. He spent his last years at Hazelton, dependent on the charity of others, and died there in 1922. If Jean Caux was not, as sentiment would have it, "the last packer of British Columbia," he did embody the qualities of the pack-train crews - men and women on the margin of settled society - and his withdrawal from the transportation business coincided with the close of the packing era.
BCA, E/C/B81.3; E/C/B172.2; E/E/C61; E/E/H85; E/E/M311; E/E/M963; GR-1372, F 1369, J. T. Pidwell, tolls collected at Clinton, 1869; GR-2025, 8: ff.231, 237; GR-3049, vol.1, mining licence, 19 Feb. 1859; MS-0676, 4, file 12; 9, file 19; MS-2018; VF42, frames 1197-99. LAC, RG 3, D-3, ser.6, vol.5 (mfm.). Victoria Daily Times, 27 Oct. 1922. R. J. Barman, "Packing in British Columbia: transport on a resource frontier," Journal of Transport Hist. (Manchester, Eng.), 21 (2000): 140-67. Sperry (Dutch) Cline, "Cataline," in Pioneer days in British Columbia: a selection of historical articles from "BC Outdoors" magazine, ed. Art Downs (4v., Surrey, B.C., 1973), 1: 98-103. Directory, Victoria, 1874: 89. Hilda Glynn-Ward [Hilda Glynn (Howard)], The glamour of British Columbia (Toronto, 1932), 116-17.
© 2005–2024 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Cite This Article
Roderick J. Barman, "CAUX, JEAN, known as Cataline," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 24, 2024, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/caux_jean_15E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
Permalink: | http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/caux_jean_15E.html |
Author of Article: | Roderick J. Barman |
Title of Article: | CAUX, JEAN, known as Cataline |
Publication Name: | Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15 |
Publisher: | University of Toronto/Université Laval |
Year of publication: | 2005 |
Year of revision: | 2005 |
Access Date: | February 24, 2024 |


text: A senior Vatican cleric defended the Catholic Church of Brazil's plans to excommunicate those who aided a child pregnant as a result of rape. According to the BBC, the church plans to excommunicate the girl's mother and several doctors who helped to secure a medically necessary abortion for the girl, who is 9 years old and became pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who leads the Church's Congregation for Bishops told an Italian newspaper that "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated .life must always be protected, the attack on the Brazilian Church is unjustified." Abortion is legal in Brazil only in cases of rape or when the mother's life would be endangered. Both conditions appear to have been true in this case. One of the girl's doctors, Olimpio Moraes, told Reuters that "as doctors, we could not allow a girl of 9 to suffer like this or until she paid with her own life." The Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao also told Reuters "I believe the position of the church is extreme, radical, and inadequate .I am shocked by the radical position of this religion which, wrongly saying it is defending a life, puts another life in danger that is as important as any other."


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Press Release
Press Release
Miami, FL
United States
Thank you, Willy, for that kind introduction, and for the great work that you – and your team in the United States Attorney's Office – are leading here in the Southern District of Florida.
It's a pleasure to be back in Miami this afternoon, and a privilege to join with so many critical leaders – including the outstanding U.S. Attorneys for the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, Robert O'Neill and Pamela Marsh; the many dedicated investigators, law enforcement leaders, attorneys, and support staff who stand on the front lines of our anti-fraud efforts every day; as well as a broad range of critical partners – from the FBI, to state and local authorities, to the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other agencies – as we explore strategies for advancing the Justice Department's efforts to prevent and combat investor fraud; and to protect the rights, interests, and security of the American people.
Thank you all for being here. I also want to thank President [Eduardo] Padron, and the Miami Dade College community, for hosting this important Summit. And I want you to know that this entire community – and, especially, the victims of this week's tragic accident – are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
Today marks the last of six regional summits that have been convened over the last twelve days in fraud "hot spots" across the country. And I'm grateful that we have such a large and diverse group gathered here. I'd like to extend a special welcome to the experts and allies from the AARP, FINRA , and other private sector, non-profit, and advocacy organizations – who are here to help drive this conversation forward. Finally, I'd like to recognize, and thank, Dr. John Gentile and Manuel Comella for courageously sharing their personal stories with us, for teaching us about the devastating impact that fraud crimes can have, and for raising their voices to help prevent others from being victimized.
Especially today – as our nation continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, and as we move to confront a recent, and troubling, rise in investment fraud schemes – the urgency of this work has been brought into stark focus. And, as you've been discussing, the need to move both aggressively and collaboratively to help the American people safeguard their homes, their investments, and their hard-earned savings – and to bring fraudsters to justice – has never been more clear .
Recent estimates reveal that, since 2011, more than $20 billion has been lost to investment fraud schemes – and that, between 2008 and 2011, the incidence of these crimes increased by more than 130 percent. The FBI has indicated that these offenses represent an astonishing 60 percent of all corporate and securities fraud investigations that are currently being conducted. And their scope and complexity continues to increase.
From illegal kickback and market manipulation plots, to Ponzi schemes, business opportunity scams, affinity fraud, and "strike it rich" scams – we've seen that these crimes are as diverse as the imaginations of those who perpetrate them, and as sophisticated as modern technology will permit. Their costs can be measured not only in dollars and cents – but in lives turned upside down.
Far more compelling than any statistics I can cite are the stories you heard this morning – and thousands like them that play out every day in cities and towns across the country. Heartbreaking stories of bankruptcies, foreclosures, forced moves, and unexpected debt; of individual lives and families shattered by fraud; and of entire communities devastated by the actions of those who violate the law to take advantage of their fellow citizens – and, all too often, their own neighbors, coworkers, and family members.
You've all heard these tragic stories – and some of you have seen and experienced the consequences of investor fraud crimes firsthand. Not only do you understand what we're up against, you also recognize that this problem has reached crisis proportions – that fraud is most frequently committed by seemingly trustworthy individuals who prey upon their fellow community members; and that these schemes often target senior citizens and other vulnerable members of society.
Even more importantly, you know – as I do – that, despite our record of success, and despite the Justice Department's commitment to fighting investor fraud, government won't be able to make the progress we need – and attain the results that the American people deserve – on its own. By taking part in today's Summit, you've proven your dedication to helping us confront these challenges. And I want to assure you that you'll always have a strong partner – and a steadfast ally – in our nation's Department of Justice, and in your local United States Attorney's Office.
At every level, my colleagues and I have made the fight against financial fraud a top priority. We're more determined than ever to eradicate these crimes – and, alongside more than two dozen additional federal government agencies and private sector partners, we've made an historic commitment to advancing this work at the national level. We've also made remarkable progress.
Driving this effort forward is the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which constitutes the largest coalition ever assembled to combat financial fraud. I am honored to chair this Task Force – and we can all be encouraged by what it is enabling us to achieve. Since its inception in 2009, the Task Force has helped to leverage the tremendous strength of federal, state, local, and tribal partnerships; to streamline the investigative and enforcement efforts of multiple agencies that can operate across jurisdictions and state lines; and to advance cutting-edge strategies for recovering – and more effectively utilizing – precious taxpayer resources.
Already, this approach is paying dividends. In February, in cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 49 state attorneys general, and other partners, the Justice Department reached the largest residential mortgage fraud settlement ever obtained – totaling $25 billion – with five of the nation's top mortgage servicers. Earlier this year, the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force launched a Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group and a Consumer Protection Working Group to help take our comprehensive fraud-fighting efforts to a new level. On Tuesday of this week, I was proud to join HUD Secretary Donovan and other federal officials in announcing the results of an historic initiative that has helped tens of thousands of homeowners in distress. And just yesterday, I joined with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to convene the first-ever meeting of the interagency Elder Justice Coordinating Council – a group that will help guide national efforts to safeguard America's seniors from neglect, abuse, and financial exploitation, including the fraud crimes we've gathered to discuss today.
All of this is only the beginning in our fight against investor fraud. As a result of the cooperation made possible by the Task Force – and thanks to the hard work of investigators, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and analysts at every level of the Justice Department, in each of our U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and across a variety of partner agencies and organizations, many of which are represented here – we've devoted substantial resources, and an unprecedented level of attention, to stemming the rise in investment fraud schemes. Since the beginning of last year, federal prosecutors have brought a total of roughly 500 cases involving approximately 800 defendants who have been charged, tried, pled, or sentenced because of their alleged involvement in these crimes. And we have secured a 97 percent rate of incarceration for convicted defendants, with many receiving sentences of 10 years or more.
These include a prison sentence of 50 years that was obtained against an individual who preyed on more than 400 elderly victims in a $40 million Ponzi scheme – as well as a sentence of 30 years against another perpetrator who used roughly $15 million that had been entrusted to him by more than 160 retirees to build a home for himself, buy jewelry and luxury cars, pay his friends and family, and make private investments of his own. Right here in the Southern District of Florida, just over two years ago, a high-profile attorney from Ft. Lauderdale pleaded guilty to running a massive $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme – for which he is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence. And last November, we secured a sentence of 20 years against another Florida man who orchestrated a $30 million fraud scheme that victimized more than 500 people.
Here in the Southern Florida, your United States Attorney's Office has brought together a number of federal and state authorities to fight back against these crimes. To date, their efforts have resulted in charges against more than 100 defendants and over $1.5 billion in restitution ordered. And their work remains ongoing. In fact, just two days ago, Willy and his team – and their colleagues in the Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department's Civil Division – announced yet another indictment charging 10 defendants with participating in a scam that allegedly defrauded thousands of victims – by persuading them to invest in a vending machine business, then failing to deliver on their promises.
Now, these are just a few examples of the significant results we've obtained – and the meaningful, measurable progress that's been made – in our efforts to prevent, deter, and punish fraud targeting investors. Yet there's no question that serious challenges remain before us. Significant threats are all too common. And it's only by working together, engaging with relevant authorities at every level, and enlisting the support of an informed public – that we'll be able to make the difference we need, and capitalize on the momentum we've built.
That's why I made it a priority to be here this afternoon: not only to listen, to learn, and to hear from all of you – but also to pledge my strongest support, and my own best efforts, in carrying this extraordinary work into the future.
Today's event may mark the last in this series of Regional Investor Fraud Summits – but it proves that our anti-fraud efforts are only just beginning. And, as I look out over this crowd – of dedicated colleagues and indispensible partners – that's gathered here today, I can't help but feel confident in where this work will lead us from here. Though this effort is the responsibility of us all, I pledge that this Department of Justice will do whatever is needed to ensure the outcome we want. Our work will not be easy and the completion of our task will take time. But if we remain focused, if we continue to work together, we can, and will, hold accountable those who would prey on our fellow citizens, bring relief to those who have been victimized, and make our nation more safe and more secure.
Thank you.


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Coco Lime Crush (Bath Bomb)
Shipping Cost 50$
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Guaranteed 925 Sterling Silver Jewellery Surprise
Scent Description: A tantalising fusion of fresh coconut and crushed lime soothed by luscious vanilla.
Turn your bath into an ultimate sparkly experience! Our fizzy & frothy bath bombs release a relaxing aroma & beautiful bath art colours that help hydrate your skin with nourishing oils. Once dissolved, discover a gorgeous 925 sterling silver jewellery for a bathing experience like no other. Each purchase gives you a chance to win a piece of jewellery worth thousands of dollars.
How to use: Drop in a tub full of warm water. Watch the colourful bath art unfold and reveal a stunning silver jewellery once it has fully dissolved.
Ingredients: SODIUM BICARBONATE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM SULFATE, SODIUM CARBONATE, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER), TARTARIC ACID, PENTASODIUM TRIPHOSPHATE, CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, PEG-400, FRAGRANCE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, ISOPROPYL PALMITATE, SEA SALT, FD&C YELLOW NO. 5, FD&C BLUE NO. 1.
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*The gemstone and design of the jewellery surprise inside the product is randomised and will not necessarily match the one in the photo*


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The $35 million in additional port deepening funds proposed by Gov. Nathan Deal has been approved by the state legislature and now awaits the governor's signature.
Along with previous funding, Georgia has now allocated $266 million, fulfilling the state's portion of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.
"Lawmakers across Georgia recognize that improving the Savannah Harbor is critically important to the continued economic health of this state and region," Deal said. "That unified vision is also evident among our delegation to Washington, which has worked tirelessly to secure the federal portion of the project costs. It is now long overdue for the federal government to fund their portion of this federal project to make U.S.-manufactured products more competitive overseas."
Deepening the Savannah Harbor from 42 to 47 feet will accommodate an increase in the number of super-sized container vessels transiting the Panama Canal after its 2015 expansion. With a deeper channel, larger and more heavily laden ships can arrive and depart with greater scheduling flexibility. These Post Panamax vessels will lower shipping costs per container slot.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study has shown that SHEP will reduce shipping costs for private companies by $174 million a year.
The new funding was part of Gov. Deal's FY2015 budget request, and was included in the final version of the state spending plan passed Tuesday by the General Assembly.
"The leadership from the General Assembly and the governor, pressing forward on the harbor deepening, is a testament to the importance of Georgia's ports to communities throughout the Southeast," said GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson. "We appreciate this strong message our state officials have sent in support of efficient global trade — a key factor in keeping America competitive on the world stage."
Approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the project is anticipated to cost $652 million. The Corps of Engineers study shows a 5.5-to-1 benefit to cost ratio, meaning that for every dollar spent on the deepening, the nation will reap $5.50 in benefits.
"The $266 million in state funding for SHEP is enough to allow significant progress on the project, including environmental improvements such as rerouting freshwater flows, and improvements to the outer harbor," said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz.


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HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston head cheese maker is recalling almost 2½ tons of hog head cheese it says may be tainted with salmonella.
A Thursday statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says Stallings Head Cheese Co. is recalling 4,700 pounds of the cold cuts shipped to a distribution center for retail distribution in Louisiana and Southeast Texas.
The 10-ounce packages of Richard's Hog Head Cheese bear the establishment number "EST.2257" inside the USDA inspection mark and sell-by dates "Use by 2 1 2013" or "Use by 3 20 2013."
The products have been linked to six recent cases of salmonella treated in Louisiana.
Hog head cheese is a gelatinous mixture of meat from a hog's head popular in Cajun cuisine.
Salmonella contamination can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.


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I was up a little later than I should have been last night. (I'm not going to tell you how late I was up, so don't even ask. The official answer is, "Way too late!") :-)
Anyway, I was happily researching away, convinced that my brain was firing on all cylinders, until I came upon an online sleep test at the BBC website.
That's when things started to fall apart.
According to the results of the online sleep test, I was functioning about as well as an ambling armadillo -- as opposed to, say, a turbo-charged cheetah -- their terms, not mine.
I was so dopey, in fact, that the test recommended that I get myself a cup of coffee, pronto.
For once, I turned down the offer of a virtual java and headed straight to bed. Even I could see I needed sleep.
Try the test for yourself and then swing back over here to let me know how you did: whether you were as surprised by the results as I was.
Was your brain a little more sluggish than you'd predicted? Or is your brain super-charged 24/7?
* * * * *
It's funny how the sleep deprived mind can play tricks on itself, convincing itself (or you) that it's functioning normally when it's obviously not.
Sleep deprivation affects us in all kinds of ways, an important point to bear in mind during the early months and years of parenthood when sleep tends to be in chronically short supply.
Sleep deprivation takes its toll on your emotional equilibrium -- your ability to take life as it comes; your creativity and problem-solving skills; your interest in using your bed for anything but sleep; your powers of concentration (an important point to bear in mind before you get behind the wheel); and your overall enjoyment of life.
One more thing. Don't assume that your situation is hopeless or that your child's sleep problem is hopeless because you're desperately craving sleep. There are ways of dealing with even the most frustrating of sleep situations. Sometimes you deal with the sleep problem. Sometimes you deal with other areas of your life to make it easier to deal with the sleep problem. Sometimes you take a combined approach.
Just remember:
When you're feeling sleep deprived,
you may need someone to help with the problem-solving piece.
(Remember what I said above about your creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making skills getting zapped by sleep deprivation? That's why this seems so tough.)
So hold on tight, wave a onesie, and ask a good friend for help. That's what friends are for.
Sleep deprivation in pregnant women
Author Interview with Anjali of the Dotmoms: See question: What practical tips can you give tired and weary parents who can barely make it through the day, and see no end in sight to their children's sleepless nights?


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13 Worst FoundationsReaders say these foundations will cake up, transfer onto your clothes, turn your face orange, and ruin the rest of your makeup |
Why: One reader says, "to be honest, I threw away this foundation before I'd even used a quarter of it. It just wasn't worth it." As for the packaging, readers say it may "look cool, [but] it's incredibly bulky. The cap takes up over half of the packaging, which is a huge waste. I don't like the applicator, because using it directly on your skin potentially contaminates the liquid foundation, and could make it go bad faster than a pump applicator would, or a squeeze tube." The color selection is also subpar, making it "hard to match skin color to the swatches in the catalogue and it seems like they ran a bit dark and orange."
Agree? Disagree? Write your review here.
*At time of publication
SEE NEXT PAGE: No. 12: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Liquid Foundation, $11.95
Older comments
I have to disagree with Cover Girl's "Clean Makeup." It saw me through blemish-prone years beautifully and kept oil at bay and imperfections covered.
by GigiSD Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 09:10PM Report as inappropriate
While it is great to know which products are worse, there will always be different foundation preferences for each individual. Different shades, textures, applications, etc. One thing that can be agreed upon, is poor packaging, which can make or break even the "best" foundations sometimes.
by hiddenexpose Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 08:07PM Report as inappropriate
a lot of RImmel products there. I guess, they are not doing too well there!
by venenumletalis Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 04:32PM Report as inappropriate
Good to know what not to try on my quest for the best foundation.
by unfamiliargirl Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 12:25PM Report as inappropriate
Thank you for this article. I've been looking to revamp my makeup bag. Now I know what choices to avoid.
by tyann_ott Monday, March 4, 2013 at 07:27PM Report as inappropriate
I see so many top 10 and best lists out there. It's nice to see something focused on what not to use. Very happy mine isn't there too!
by lanereidbeauty Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 12:17PM Report as inappropriate
Thankful for this article. I don't want to waste money on horrible products.
by krista_dailey Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 11:04AM Report as inappropriate


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ENJOY ALL OF THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVANTAGES OF BEING A MONAT VIP CUSTOMER FOR A ONE-TIME MEMBERSHIP FEE OF ONLY $19.99 USD / $24.95 CAD and three Qualifying Flexship Orders.
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By joining as a VIP Customer, you must place an initial Flexship order of $84 USD/$110 CAD (a Qualifying Flexship Order) and two more Qualifying Flexship Orders after you enroll. You schedule your first Flexship during enrollment, which by default will ship approximately 30 days after you enroll. These two additional orders can be pushed out up to 60 days at a time, and there is no set deadline on when you must complete your three orders. If you do not push out your order, your order will be shipped and you will be billed.
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Adults approaching retirement could add £46,388 to their savings if they defer their pension by 5 years.
According to research by Aegon, a 65-year-old could increase their monthly income by £314 – up from £457 to £771 – if they delay retirement and keep on contributing to their personal or workplace pension.
Those who delay by 3 years (aged 68) could add an extra £25,542 – increasing their post-retirement income by £164 a month.
Out of 2,000 people surveyed, those between 55 and 64 contributing to a pension scheme were paying £355 a month and had an average fund of £105,496.
Those 65 year olds with a fund of £105,496 and paying £355 into their pensions would see a 67% boost to their savings if they maintained those payments and remained in work for 5 more years.
That would equate to a total pension pot of £151,884 and a post-retirement income of £771 a month.
On changes to working patterns and transitioning from working life to retirement:
- 25% expect to continue working full-time, while a further quarter expect to work past state pension age on a part-time basis
- 12% would cease work upon reaching state pension age, while 9% will stop working pre-retirement.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said:
"Working a few years longer and saving into a pension can dramatically improve retirement incomes.
"This is a result of the triple boost of continued investment growth on the pension fund, further contributions being added and fewer years to spread the fund over once no longer working."
Contact us to discuss your retirement planning.


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Floating Twitter and Fleeting Tweets: The Illusions of Technology
"This is the story of the next half-century as we effectively become cyborgs" – Joshua Foer [1]
It says much that one of the great technological achievements of the last 20 years is a creation emphasizing the writing of 140 characters: the tailored, high-speed medium of communication that has effectively created a virtual community, with a set of virtual ethics and codes of misconduct. It has become the parasite of conversations – one doesn't so much have conversations as fingering sessions on blackberries and iPhones. The real, a term that has ceased being popular, are left behind.
Twitter addicts are incapable of actually having a conversation beyond the cyber community they have constructed. Therein lies salvation, and perhaps destruction, for them. Then comes the other side, one of revolt against such tendencies. Either you stay off it or at the very least escape the Blackberry world. Go to Spain, Gwyneth Paltrow suggests, where she assumes that a relaxed life repels the need to be on the grid. The Spanish "don't always have their Blackberrys on."[2]
By all accounts, founders Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone did rather well in the company's initial public offering (IPO): a good showing given that such technology floats can crash with Icarus-like doom. "Kudos to Twitter for orchestrating a highly successful IPO," said Lou Kerner of the Social Internet Fund.[3] Then, the warning. "However, as FaceBook showed, an IPO success, or disaster in FaceBook's case, is really just noise in the long term. Twitter's success as a stock is going to be based on how the company performs."
Yelp, Zynga, Groupon, LinkedIn are among the other companies in the social-media field that have taken the IPO plunge. For Twitter, shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $45, which placed the company's value at $30 billion. Seventy million shares had been offered at the initial price of $26, valuing the company at $18.34 billion.
Analysts make their predictable predictions on the fortunes of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald of Youssef Squali, speaking in the obtuse, torturous language of marketing, wrote of how, "Twitter is based on a one to-one-all, all-the-time broadcast distribution model, and as such, fulfils and unmet need." The model is "highly complementary to traditional media outlets (especially TV), and fulfills the need for up-to-the-minute, trending information in real time."
What is the substance, as opposed to the form, at stake here? We know that Twitter does perform well – if you believe brevity to be the soul of wit. But monetizing it has always been the great conundrum. It might have 230 million users worldwide, at a rough estimate, though it still posted a loss of more than $65 million in its last quarter.[4]
Individuals like E-commerce Director Brett Holmes don't see Twitter as being any more challenging that what is already in place. "Social media companies are legitimate advertising websites, no different than, say, Google or Yahoo. The same way Google made its money is the same way Twitter and FaceBook will make their money."[5] Tara Clarke of Money Morning suggests that grandest of shibboleths: that the success of such advertising depends on insertion without detection, or, the exertion of an influence on the user "without impacting the user in a negative way." Then comes that great challenge of keeping people on their accounts – incessantly, even permanently.
Of course, the instant idea of Twitter is not the world of advertising but the influence of what it has become outside its seemingly banal existence. It has played a significant role in organizing groups and directing information. It has given birth to tweet activism, though this tends to be the cyber-version of hot air, virtual venting, activism via the click, the spurt, the dash.
Twitter has been the lifeline in some natural disasters, used in emergency landings, and become the target of law-enforcement authorities concerned about its scope. It is used to troll, to bully, to harass. It is used to express unguarded views that result in sackings, demotions and retributions. Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group, adds another, not so exciting point: "it's a great mechanism that celebs can use to embarrass themselves."[6]
Then there is an argument wishing that Twitter might go away, vanish into the ether of babble that seemingly produced it. Each technological innovation doesn't necessarily result in neurological advances. Joshua Foer's, book Moonwalking with Einstein is replete with such examples. There is much to be said that Twitter performs a powerful dumbing down function, stunting memory the way writing and printing began challenging the oral tradition. From Gutenberg to Biz Stone; from the written word to the Tweet. Pity the mind.
But the founders have certainly put their finger on the sometimes profound but often extraordinary ordinariness of human communication. In Twitter's economic debut on the New York Stock Exchange, one can't deny that the medium itself had its day, creating a slew of paper millionaires, and even a billionaire in the form of Evan Williams, who owns 10.4 percent of the company. Its founders should enjoy the buzz and hope it lasts longer than it takes to write 140 characters.
1. New York Times Magazine, May 18, 2011.
2. Wall Street Journal, Jul 6, 2009.
4. The Independent, Oct 25, 2013.
5. Money Morning, Oct 4, 2013.
6. Computer World, Mar 11, 2011.
Editor's Notes: Photographs one, two, four and five by Steve Garfield.
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About 300,000 people enthusiastically greeted Pope Francis for his first Angelus prayer and address Sunday and heard a short reflection on mercy, a theme the new pope had preached on at the Mass he celebrated that morning in the parish church of Vatican City dedicated to St. Anne.
When he appeared at the window of his study in the apostolic palace, he showed again a knack for engaging his audience. He greeted the crowd with a simple, "Buongiorno," [good day], and the people in the square roared back, "Buongiorno."
The pope also surprised some observers by mentioning in his address retired German Cardinal Walter Kasper, a theologian and former Vatican official known for his sometimes public disagreements with Pope Benedict XVI.
Francis told two stories during the Angelus address that drew laughter and applause from the immense crowd.
First, he mentioned meeting a very old women at a religious festival while still archbishop of Buenos Aries, Argentina. Francis said he asked her, "'Grandmother … would you like to make your confession? But, if you have not sinned …' and she said, 'we all have sinned.'"
Francis said he replied: "'If perhaps he should not forgive you?' and she replied, 'The Lord forgives everything.' I asked, 'How do you know this for sure, madam?' and she replied, 'If the Lord hadn't forgiven all, then the world wouldn't [still] be here.' And, I wanted to ask her, 'Madam, did you study at the Gregorian ?'"
The Gregorian is a pontifical university in Rome, the oldest Jesuit university, established in 1551 by the order's founder St Ignatius Loyola. Francis is the first pope from the order.
The elderly woman showed great wisdom, surely given by the Holy Spirit, Francis continued. "Let us not forget this word: God never tires of forgiving us, but we sometimes tire of asking Him to forgive us."
"Let us never tire of asking God's forgiveness," he said.
Such straightforward messages of essential kindness have been winning over Catholics not only in St. Peter's Square, but world-wide since Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope and took the name of Francis on Wednesday, March 13.
Paolo and Catia Cavani Storchi of Rome brought their son and daughter to the square Sunday to see Pope Francis. Catia said that she wanted to come because she has been very impressed with what she has seen and heard from the new pope. She sees him bringing new hope to the church because his has a very different view of the world, different from previous popes.
"The world needs change. The church needs change and this represents a new way to bring a change," she said.
"He is humble and the name he chose has meaning. He is like St. Francis [of Assisi]; he wants to change some things. He wants a church that is at the service of the poor people, the humble people -- just people in general."
"I think he wants to underline that it is the person who is important, to find what [each person] has inside," Catia said.
About halfway through his Angelus address, Francis mentioned he had been reading a book about mercy by Kasper, a retired prelate who has previously served as secretary and president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Previous to working in the Vatican, Kasper had received public disapproval from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1993, when Kasper was serving as bishop of the German diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.
As head of the Vatican's powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger expressed his disapproval over a letter Kasper had signed along with other German bishops allowing divorced and remarried Catholics access to the sacraments.
In another instance of disapproval between the two, Kasper openly criticized a document written under Ratzinger's leadership in 2000 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the role of the church in salvation.
While joking that he didn't mean to use the Angelus address to give publicity to cardinals, Francis said he had enjoyed reading Kasper's book and called the cardinal "a talented theologian, a good theologian."
In the square for the address and Angelus, Sophie Janssens said she thought the new pope was helping "the church show its true face."
A Belgian living in Rome and a member of the Community of Sant'Egidio, a global Catholic lay movement, Janssens said she thought his declaration Saturday that the church is for the poor "is a victory for the gospel."
"The pope seems to be a very sympathetic man and wants a church that is close to the people. That is energizing!" she exclaimed.
Janssens said the church faces many challenges right now, including being relevant in the world. Francis has shown that he wants to engage the world, not hide from it or be separate from it, she said.
"When you love the world and love the people, that is the right attitude to have to find solutions," she said.
"The gospel should be announced," she continued. Francis is showing that the "focus should be on the external world and then on internal problems. You have to love people first and then the solutions will come."
Before praying the Angelus Sunday with the crowds at St. Peter's, Francis had celebrated Mass that morning at Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri, a small parish church inside the Vatican for its residents and staff.
Dressing in a simple purple chasuble and a plain white mitre, Francis gave a short five-minute homily for the Mass without a prepared text.
The pope focused on the Gospel reading for the day, an account from John where Jesus tells a crowd to "let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone."
Francis said that mercy is the key point of that Gospel account. "Mercy is the Lord's most powerful message."
"It is not easy to trust oneself to the mercy of God, because [God's mercy] is an unfathomable abyss -- but we must do it," the pope continued.
"He has the ability to forget, [which is] special: he forgets [our sins], he kisses you, he embraces you, and he says to you, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now, on, sin no more.' Only that counsel does he give you."
"We ask for the grace of never tiring of asking pardon, for he never tires of pardoning," the pope concluded.
Following the Mass, Francis went to the back of the church and greeted people one-by-one as they left the service, shaking hands and even hugging some.
Thomas Meyer and Manuela Raker, 30-something practicing Catholics from Cloppenburg, Germany, wanted to be in Rome for the election of the new pope, but arrived after the white smoke had appeared. They are staying in Rome until after the inaugural Mass, because they feel excitement around the new pope.
Meyer said he finds hope in the name the new pope chose. "I hope that will mean he will be a sympathetic to people," Meyer said, which he thinks the church needs from a pope now.
Raker agrees that Francis has instilled hope in Catholics, but she worries that he may be too old at 76 to bring enough change to the church. "The church must change. The churches in Germany are empty," she said. "The only people who go are old people. More young people need to go to church."
To make that happen it will take more than talk about "the poor" and "a poor church," Raker said. Still, she wanted to reiterate that she sees hope for that change in Francis.
Francis warmly ended his noon-time Angelus remarks by telling those in the crowd to "have a good Sunday and a good lunch."
It has long been a tradition for the pope to address crowds in St. Peter's Square on Sundays at noon and then recite the Angelus Prayer. The practice began to be broadcast by Italian television during the pontificate of John XXIII.
The English text of the prayer, which is traditionally recited daily at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m:
Leader: The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R: And she conceived by the power of Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace ...
Leader: Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R: Be it done unto me according to your Word.
Hail Mary, full of grace ...
Leader: And the Word was made flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace ...
Leader: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Glory be...
[Dennis Coday is NCR editor. His email address is email@example.com. Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. Follow his tweets from the Vatican at twitter.com/joshjmac.]
See below for video and English translation of Pope Francis' homily today at the Church of Saint Anne in the Vatican, provided by Salt + Light, a Canadian Catholic media network.


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One good thing about taxes is that they get citizens invested in government -- literally. Taxpayers want to be sure that the government spends their money sensibly, but first they must know how their hard-earned cash gets spent.
The City of Edmonton works in an open-data and open-government manner. (Photo from SAP TV) |
"The public seeks transparency not for the sake of transparency, but as a tool to hold their leaders accountable to results," open government advocacy organization California Forward stated last week. "Conversely, governments may pursue openness as a means to increase efficiency by promoting inclusion and civic participation, which in turn fosters innovation."
Open data initiatives are happening in democracies around the world at all levels of government. Such programs seek "to 'liberate' government data and voluntarily-contributed corporate data to fuel entrepreneurship ... and create jobs," according to a White House Web site.
But governments should determine what will best nurture accountability and innovation before breaking the chains on their data, a recent report by the Albany-based Center for Technology in Government (CTG) found. "The Dynamics of Opening Government Data" appraised the value of emancipated information through the lens of road construction in Edmonton and restaurant inspections in New York City.
Northern Exposure
"A best-run city is a city that has a vision [and] plans that will achieve that vision," Edmonton CIO Chris Moore told SAP TV. |
Edmonton, home to around 900,000 people in Alberta, Canada, has used open and Big Data to redesign intersections, leading to fewer accidents and fatalities, according to Chris Moore, the city's CIO. Providing open data for co-creation and collaboration helps Edmonton and its constituents communicate better via citizen dashboards, privately developed mobile applications and gamification.
But putting a dollar value on open data is tricky because there's rarely an empirical ROI on business data, Moore told SAP Business Trends. So the city shares data, and the public creates applications, which saves taxpayer money and makes it easier for departments to share information.
"The public sector is nebulous -- it's difficult to assign value to some things," Moore said. "We do some things just because they make sense."
An Open Book
Restaurant owners in New York were outraged when the city first made public its restaurant inspection data in 2007, but unexpectedly high citizen query volumes crashed the city's IT infrastructure. Poorly reviewed restaurants cleaned up their acts and clamored for do-overs, and the city hired more people to meet increasing demand for follow-up inspections updated data.
Edmonton no longer spends tax dollars to make useful applications. It puts data online, and citizens create applications on their own. (Photo from SAP TV) |
"Release of the data can't be the end game," state and local government news site GOVERNING noted. "It's just the beginning."
Governments must consider which data to release based on what would be valuable. Innovation and accountability will not be possible if administrations and agencies do not manage and update their open data initiatives.
Tax Money Well Spent
"Transparency is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time deal," California Forward stated. "Transparency is a cornerstone of good government and that ... is key to earning back the public's trust."
No matter how one measures ROI, well-executed open data initiatives can inspire citizens civically, technologically and vocationally. All three yield excellent returns for the taxpayer.
Related Media:
"The dynamics of governing Open Data" on California Forward
"City of Edmonton: Customer Testimonial Video" on SAP TV
"Transparency, Social Media and Gun Safety" on GOVERNING
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Wrong Number 2
"Hi honey. This is Daddy. Is Mommy near the phone?"
"No, Daddy. She's upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Paul."
After a brief pause,
Daddy says, "But honey,you haven't got an Uncle Paul."
"Oh yes I do, and he's upstairs in the room with Mommy, right now."
Brief Pause.
"Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do. Put the phone down on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door and shout to Mommy that Daddy's car just pulled into the driveway."
"Okay, Daddy, Just a minute."
A few minutes later the little girl comes back to the phone.
"I did it, Daddy."
"And what happened, honey?" He asked.
"Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now she isn't moving at all!"
"Oh my God!!! What about your Uncle Paul?"
"He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on, too. He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimming pool. But I guess he didn't know that you took out the water last week to clean it. He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he's dead."
Long Pause
Longer Pause
Even Longer Pause
Then Daddy says, "Swimming pool? Is this 486-5731?"
"No, you have the wrong number……."
What's your Reaction?


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PHOENIX — A same-sex couple from southern Arizona wants a federal judge to immediately order the state to recognize their marriage because one of the men is terminally ill.
Lawyers for George Martinez and Fred McQuire of Green Valley say the order is needed so McQuire can be recognized as Martinez's survivor when he dies.
That will allow him to take care of his affairs and collect larger Veterans Affairs and other benefits.
The men have been a couple for 45 years and were married in California last month after Martinez was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Never Miss a Beat
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The men are parties to a lawsuit filed in March by Lambda Legal on behalf of a group of gay and lesbian couples who argue Arizona's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. It is one of two suits challenging the ban.
Follow this case: Majors v. Horne.
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