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If Democrats weren't nervous about November's midterm elections yet, they could soon be, especially when you consider that even their allies in the liberal media are starting to forecast doom for them, as NBC's Chuck Todd did on Tuesday's Today show, going as far to predict "Democrats are in deep, deep trouble." Todd, appearing in the 7am half hour of this morning's Today show explained to viewers that "The Tea Party has provided an enthusiasm boost to the Republican Party," however he reminded Democrats that they still had "six weeks to turn this around" but then added that "if they don't, they are headed for an historical defeat in November." [audio available here]
Interestingly though Todd and his NBC colleague Kelly O'Donnell, in her set up piece, didn't exactly paint a big Republican win as a defeat for liberals, as they couldn't even bring themselves to attach that label to any Democrats running in 2010. While Todd and O'Donnell used the "conservative" label a total of four times between them, neither of them used the "liberal" label even when they discussed Florida Representative Kendrick Meek who has a lifetime ACU rating of 7 and a lifetime ADA rating of 92 percent.
The following O'Donnell set-up piece and Todd segment were aired on the August 24 Today show:
ANN CURRY: Now to politics. Voters are heading to the polls in five states today headlined by primaries in Florida and Arizona that pit the political establishment against Washington outsiders. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell is in Phoenix this morning, with details on this. Kelly, good morning.
[On screen headline: "Primary Day, Incumbents Battle Outsiders In November Preview"]
KELLY O'DONNELL: Good morning, Ann. That's right. From Phoenix to Florida to Fairbanks voters are deciding some of the most talked about races this year. They include well-known incumbents and some very interesting outsiders and including is John McCain, who will start right here. He has spent more than $20 million in campaign cash and some of that was left over from his presidential run in 2008. Senator John McCain says he has something to prove.
JOHN MCCAIN TO VOTER: Thank you very much.
O'DONNELL: Going for a fifth term in this anti-incumbent year.
(Begin ad clip)
MCCAIN: I appreciate your support. I ask for your vote.
(End clip)
O'DONNELL: Means fighting off a conservative challenger and that requires fighting against Barack Obama once again.
MCCAIN: I'm running against his policies and what he and his administration have done to this country, but at the same time I'm running for Arizona. I'm running for jobs. I'm running for keeping people in their homes.
J.D. HAYWORTH: I'd really be honored to have your support in the primary.
O'DONNELL: Opponent J.D. Hayworth, a former congressman, accuses McCain of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants.
HAYWORTH: This is really true.
O'DONNELL: McCain exposed a 2007 TV show where Hayworth was a pitch man on how to get free government money, hardly the Tea Party conservatism he talks about today.
HAYWORTH: Even if they have some concerns about me and even shocking for me to feel that my personality may rub people the wrong way, the fact is they know I will vote against amnesty.
O'DONNELL: Turning to Florida's crowded senate race, Democrats are caught in a class struggle.
KENDRICK MEEK: I'm the true candidate for the middle class.
O'DONNELL: Miami Congressman Kendrick Meek has moved from long shot to leader in the polls up against self-made billionaire Jeff Greene, who's glitzy social life gets him attention. The winning Florida Democrat will be in a three-man race in November against Tea Party conservative Marco Rubio and Governor Charlie Crist, who quit the Republican Party to run as an independent. And there's a cold snap in Alaska's Republican Senate primary.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Hi, Senator. How are you?
O'DONNELL: Incumbent Lisa Murkowski.
LISA MURKOWSKI: I'm not working for the party. I'm working for Alaska.
O'DONNELL: And Sarah Palin is working against Murkowski with a Facebook page endorsement of challenger Joe Miller. Palin writes, "Alaskans can trust Joe to not shed his conservative antlers in D.C." And there's some history there. Palin defeated Senator Lisa Murkowski's father when Palin became governor. So there's been a long rivalry there. And of course it all ties back here. Palin, of course, was here in the spring trying to help out her former running mate, at a time when he looked very vulnerable as one of the incumbents who was being targeted this year. But a lot has changed. Today McCain is the frontrunner with a double-digit lead. Ann?
ANN CURRY: Alright Kelly O'Donnell this morning. Kelly thanks. Chuck Todd is NBC's political director and the chief White House correspondent for NBC News. Chuck, good morning.
CHUCK TODD: Good morning, Ann.
CURRY: We just heard from Kelly that John McCain is ahead, at least according to the polls, by double digits. But he had to spend like $20 million while his opponent spent just about $3 million. So what does that tell us about what's going on in Arizona, Chuck?
TODD: Well look, John McCain had to do this the old-fashioned way in politics, he's winning ugly. The $20 million was necessary. He always had about 35 to 40 percent of the Republican conservative electorate down there that wasn't crazy about him, was upset about him on immigration, on taxes, on a number of issues. And so McCain had to disqualify J.D. Hayworth. And here is what we found out, Ann. As upset as voters are these days about Washington politicians, infomercial hucksters are even worse and that's what McCain did. He completely disqualified J.D. Hayworth. The big question, Ann, that a lot of people in Washington have is, which John McCain comes back to Washington? Is it this new consistent conservative and is a consistent thorn in the side of President Obama or is it the guy from the early part of this decade who was unpredictable and he didn't know which side of the aisle he'd come down on a different issue?
CURRY: Let's, let's talk, move on to Florida. Why should the whole country be paying attention to what's happening there?
TODD: Well look this Democratic Senate primary, it's kind of nuts, it's kind of this, but a Kendrick Meek win, by the Miami congressman, means the Democratic establishment cannot flee the Democratic nominee there. They can't go over to Charlie Crist. And the big picture is this. Florida held up the country on who was gonna be president in 2000. Because we don't know which way Charlie Crist is gonna vote, if he's gonna be with the Democrats or the Republicans, on election night if he wins - and there's no guarantee he's gonna win, this is gonna be a nutty three-way race, maybe the best campaign in this state since Claude Pepper lost because his sister was a thespian. But what we won't know is whether, is whether, who's gonna control the Senate? Charlie Crist could hold that up for weeks.
CURRY: On the question of who is gonna control the Senate and actually Washington, are incumbents as weak as we thought they were going to be, Chuck? And what, what is what you're looking at in terms of these races telling us about the true party of the Tea Party, true power of the Tea Party?
TODD: Well look, here's, here's what we know. Look incumbents are not getting defeated in these primaries at a clip that a lot of people expected. There's been a few high-profile exceptions. But the bigger picture is this. Democrats are in deep, deep trouble. The Tea Party has provided an enthusiasm boost to the Republican Party. They are as excited about voting as the Republicans have been since 1994. Democrats have about six weeks to turn this around because if they don't, they are headed for an historical defeat in November. Losses that could not just include control of the House but also the Senate with or without this, the, what happens with Charlie Crist in Florida. It is that bad right now for Democrats, Ann.
CURRY: Alright, on that note we've got leave it. Chuck Todd, always a pleasure. Thanks.
TODD: You got it.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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BERLIN (Reuters) - Iris Wagner, great-granddaughter of composer Richard Wagner, died in Berlin on Thursday after a lengthy illness, her family told the Nordbayerischer Kurier. She was 71.
Born in Bayreuth, Germany, in 1942, Wagner was the daughter of Wieland Wagner, who with his brother Wolfgang led the Bayreuth Festival, devoted to Wagner's works, after World War Two.
A painter, photographer, filmmaker and translator, Wagner sat on the board of trustees of the Richard Wagner Foundation, which was formed in 1973 to oversee the estate of the composer.
She mostly stayed in the background of the family squabbles that the Wagner clan is famous for, but in recent years she criticized the foundation for its decision-making process.
She opposed plans to expand the Richard Wagner Museum, which sits in the Wahnfried House, where Wagner grew up, and media reports at the time said she blocked plans for a cafe and gift shop near the composer's grave, which is behind the house.
Reporting by Monica Raymunt; Editing by Erik Kirschbaum, Michael Roddy and Alison Williams


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Like I mentioned in the last "Latest Obsessions" post, I have been loving the neon lipstick trend, and I just discovered Maybelline ColorSensation Vivids and am obsessed! A neon lipstick is such a simple and easy way to add major "wow" factor to your look. It also adds a pop of color for every occasion, whether you're wearing a super-blah uniform or going on a super-hot date, just swipe your favorite shade lipstick and you're ready to make the school halls, restaurant or movie your runway.
My new secret is totally going to be a favorite pair of shades, sans makeup, and a bright lip. Probably with a cute hat or a topknot, tee, and boyfriend jeans. Who'll be the wiser that I just rolled out of bed?
What's your favorite way to pull a look together?
xox ~Chloe


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Black Santa, Black Santa, Black Santa, Black Santa...
Bitches, bitches, vicious style...
(Children snoring, voices calling...)
Team Early!
(Comin' out a happy New Year...)
Happy Holidays, Statik Selektah
Statik, what up?
(Children singing, Santa's bringing...)
(Santa's brining lots of cheer...)
Black Santa, we here
(Ho, ho, ho – ho, ho, ho, ho...)
(I have the feeling of Christmas!)
It's Black Santa – still deliver the gift to rap fans, but
Prior to this, on December 25th, on the morning shift
Gave fee nicks to crack addicts
It's Black Santa – still deliver the gift to rap fans, but
Prior to this, on December 25th, on the morning shift
Gave fee nicks to crack addicts
Court cases, never ratted – stand-up dudes don't take the stand
They sleepin' on me, time to awake your fam'
Down the chimney with the semi I came with black 'matics
It's Black Santa – still deliver the gift to rap fans, but
Way before this, after the Christmas platter
My folks played Snakes & Ladders and backgammon
Under the tree, filled up, gifts from my grandma
Drawers, T-shirts, tube socks from my aunt
Those was a little bummy, didn't have a lot of money
But I was blessed, I still had both of my parents
I feel honored, I still got 'em
A few years ago my father took shahada
Watched him go to Mecca with Mos Def and Lupe
Kingdom of Saudis said don't sweat they goddess
Big beard, when we travel people spot us
Best flow, but I'm tryin' to keep it modest, I'm a king
So I gotta keep it polished, I'm a target, so I gotta keep a burner
Learned that from Pac and Chris Wallace
I'm from the city where if your shit's stylish
People follow you home to get your dollars
Then y'all shoot it out like wild cowboys
Only thing is, they'll never make it to Dallas
We from the bottom like the kitchen floor
And my flow like it came out the bottle, this shit's polished
I lost a lot of niggas to the war
'Fore I made a million dollars niggas wind up in the morgue
Never got to make it to the awards
Never got to go on tour
Couldn't even see my two kids born
My neighborhood's ridiculous, sicker than Sycamore
Down at the district, my face on the picture board
Now I got my weight up, my face on the big screen
I got my dough right
I brought my homies off they triples, I had to clip 'em
Them niggas be wantin' more
My beard long, my money long
A million broke niggas won't get along
That's right my beard long, and my bread long
Verse sickening, that's what I'm stuntin' on a Christmas song
Opening title song off of Freeway's debut, Christmas-themed Extended Play, Black Santa. Produced by Statik Selektah.
Freeway hails himself the black santa who deliver gifts to rap fans. With all that beard, who can deny that?


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It's not just the words, it's about faith
Last week I released my 10th book: "The 13th Day of Christmas." It's hard to believe a crazy dream that began in the third grade has turned into a life's work of writing books and telling stories.
A new book means promotional appearances, signings, speaking engagements and question and answer sessions in some of my favorite cities. The events remind me why I write, and it certainly isn't because I enjoy long hours alone with my laptop. It's never been about the words on a page; it's always been about the people who read them.
At one of these events a reader asked me which of my books I'm most proud of and how I'd like to be remembered when my career or life have come to an end. I rambled on about how books are like children and it's tough to pick a favorite. I added that all the books are meaningful to me for different reasons.
But later, as I reflected on the exchange, I realized how wrong I'd been.
If my career ended today, if I never wrote again and my professional life were judged on the work I've already produced, how would I want to be remembered?
My instincts suggest that my first national release, "Christmas Jars," has had the greatest impact. Not because of the black and white words on a thin piece of paper, but because the words have grown into action for so many people. I am staggered by the number of you who've done more than simply read the novella, but who've dedicated themselves to the Christmas Jars movement.
But is that what I want to be most remembered for? Not really.
My latest is also a Christmas book and the quirky truth it reveals – you've been singing the "12 Days of Christmas" all wrong – is sewn into my soul. Though the plot is fiction, the tradition behind it is buried in a decades-deep foundation poured during my childhood.
I am proud of the book. But do I want it to define me? Not quite.
If I could chat with that reader again, I'd say that I don't want to be remembered for any specific title, plot twist or commercial success, but for the threads that run through the books. I care less about whether people remember characters, jokes, or scenes than I do what the stories fundamentally say about my beliefs.
Like any writer, I started with a dream of people seeing my book in a bookstore. Today I just hope someone picks up a book with my name on the front and knows exactly what they'll find inside. The stories may differ and the drama and conflict may change from character to character and from scene to scene. But I hope they see the common colors that hint at how I was raised and what I hope to become.
So, how would I like to be remembered when my career or life have come to an end?
I hope to be remembered not as someone who sold a few novels, but as someone who shared my faith in every line, every character arc and every closing chapter.
I want to be remembered as someone who knew that God lives.
I want friends, family and readers to know through the lines of my books that I know God has a plan for us to return home. Just like parents send their children out into the world and desperately hope they will make good choices and someday return, I know that God wants the same for us.
I want to be remembered as someone who knew that God loves each of us. He loves us on the good days, the bad days and all the days in the middle. Plus, I know that He never gives up on us, even when we sometimes give up on ourselves.
If it all ended today, I would want to be remembered for believing that God knows us individually. Why wouldn't He? God is our literal creator, our perfect Father. Of course He knows us by name.
I think if I had a chance to rewrite that scene and take a second shot at answering that reader's question, I'd finish by saying that if in 10, 20 or 200 years my books have been forgotten, I hope that my faith has not.
I look forward to my upcoming schedule and the next opportunity I have to answer questions. And if someone asks how I want to be remembered, I won't make the same mistake again.
I'm not sure writing books and telling stories should be my life's work, after all.
I'd rather tell His.


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Brown duck vest
This flame-resistant brown duck vest features two large pockets with quilt lining and an inside patch pocket with hook and loop closures. The vest also has a brass zipper with Nomex zipper tape, an inside and outside protective flap, and hidden snap closure for electric arc protection. The vest includes 13-ounce abrasion-resistant duck with a 10-ounce Moda-Quilt lining, giving it an arc thermal performance value (ATPV) of 50.4.
For more information, visit www.CarharttFR.com.
Low-voltage switchgear
Entellisys is a low-voltage switchgear solution that allows operators to perform most control, monitoring, and diagnostic work outside of the arc-flash protection boundary using remote human machine interface (HMI) options. Designed for 208V to 600V and 800A to 5,000A, the switchgear features a bus differential (ANSI 87B) to provide zone-based protection and detect faults that range from less than the bus rating to the full short-circuit rating of the equipment. It is fully redundant to avoid single-point failure for the system and provides fully synchronized waveform capture from every circuit simultaneously.
GE Consumer & Industrial
For more information, visit www.ge.com.
Cat. 6a cable certifier
The Lantek 6A is a cable certifier designed specifically to test Cat. 6a and ISO Class Ea (augmented) UTP and STP cabling, expected to be ratified by the Telecommunications Industry Association and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) early this year. The cable certifier has a sweeping frequency up to 500 MHz and can accurately test 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GBASE-T) networks to assure that they meet the transmission parameters of IEEE 802.3an. It includes a high-definition ¼ VGA color display, compact flash storage, USB port, and Lantek Reporter PC software.
Ideal Industries
For more information, visit www.idealindustries.com.
Ground tester
Rated to IP54, these ground testers come in four models. Model DET3TD is a digital, 3-terminal instrument for grounding and bonding tests. Model DET4TD is a digital, 4-terminal model that adds resistivity measurements. The DET3TA is an analog 3-terminal model, and the DET3TC is a new tester that adds a current measuring function for attached rod technique (ART ) testing capabilities, which can reduce testing time by as much as 40%. All instruments include a voltmeter and can measure resistance from 0.01 ohm to 2,000 ohms and earth voltages up to 100V. For noisy environments, the testers can reject noise of up to 40V peak to peak.
For more information, visit www.megger.com.
Safety eyewear
The Protégé line of safety eyewear weighs less than 1 oz and uses the company's proprietary Floating Lens technology for increased flexibility. The eyewear includes a wrap-around brow that expands to accommodate a range of users. Its lenses are available in clear, gray, and SCT-Reflect 50 mirrored tints, as well as Ultra-dura anti-scratch coating or Uvextra anti-fog coating. The safety eyewear meets the ANSI Z87+ standards for high impact protection.
For more information, visit www.uvex.com.


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"I've worked with Kevin Fryer since 1999, and together with the client we enjoy creating an overall visual scheme designed to compliment, but not compete with the instrument itself. I've applied the same sensitivity to the integrity of tonal and visual qualities in a number of highly successful collaborations with other instrument makers. " ...
Category: Builders/Restorers/Suppliers / Keyboard Instruments
Added on: Oct 29, 2005 | Hits: 7166


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SINEGODAR, Niger (Reuters) - Abdoulaye Mahamadou watches with a growing sense of trepidation as the new arrivals to his Niger desert village emerge every morning from flimsy tents made from cloth rags and sticks.
Mahamadou, chief of the 1,600-head village of Sinegodar, is doing all he can to help them. But these 13,000 refugees from a Tuareg rebel uprising just over the border in Mali are quite literally eating him out of house and home.
"Just today I had 200 come to ask me to find them something to eat. But the people of this village are more in need than ever - they haven't got any food either," he told Reuters.
Life has always been precarious in Sinegodar and hundreds of villages like it across the Sahel, the parched belt of land spanning nearly a dozen of the world's poorest countries on the southern rim of the Sahara.
But this year millions face not only failed rains but also the after-effects of the Libyan war to the north and the shockwaves from Nigeria's battle with Islamist sect Boko Haram to the south.
"This year there is one factor on top of the other. It is a cocktail which is putting enormous strain on households across the region," said Madeleine Evrard Diakite, Niger-based adviser for British charity Oxfam.
Climate change has made Sinegodar and other settlements across the Sahel drier by the year, subjecting their populations to an ever longer yearly "lean season" when food stocks dwindle but the new harvest is still months off.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates local cereal output fell 25 percent in 2011, and Mauritania and Chad saw huge 50 percent drops. It says more than 16 million people will be hit by food shortages over this year's lean season, which is due to start in a matter of weeks.
UNICEF is preparing to treat more than one million children for severe malnutrition.
The tell-tale signs of impending crisis have been around for weeks: food prices have spiked by up to a half above normal levels while entire families from the countryside decamp to cities like the Niger capital Niamey to beg on the streets - images all too familiar from previous crises in 2005 and 2010.
If the hunger will be particularly sharp this year, much of the cause can be traced back to factors outside the usual cycle of drought and food scarcity.
In Nigeria, 10,000 Niger nationals, mostly migrant workers, have fled back north across the border fearing the bomb attacks from the Boko Haram Islamic set.
To the north, the end of Muammar Gaddafi's ironfisted rule in Libya has had a de-stabilizing effect. Heavily-armed Malian Tuaregs who fought in Gaddafi's army have returned home and joined a rebellion seeking to carve out a new Tuareg nation in the northern half of a country over twice the size of France.
Since the start of the year the rebel advance and government riposte have forced an estimated 195,000 from their homes, with most escaping to Niger and other neighbors such as Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
The dire living conditions of the refugees and the strain they put on local resources have prompted Nigerien authorities to signal 155 cases of cholera along its border with Mali. They have also cited cases of meningitis - an infection that attacks the brain and can kill in hours - in at least three regions.
"The problem we have in northern Mali and surrounding areas is the security backdrop," UNICEF Regional Chief of Emergency Grant Leaity said of the risks of working in conflict zones.
"Anything that slows down the response to children when they are already sick is likely to increase the mortality," he said.
A third headache is the return to Niger over the past year of some 228,000 migrant workers from Libya to a country already struggling to support its existing population of 16 million.
A typical case is Djibril Saley, who for years scraped a living at a Tripoli dry-cleaning business. His $200 monthly salary covered rent and food for his wife and child, and sometimes he could even send cash home to the family in Niger.
When the 2011 uprising started, Saley's black skin made him a target for lynching by pro-rebel vigilantes who were convinced Gaddafi was using Africans as mercenaries to keep power. In the end he fled: now, instead of being able to support his extended family in Niamey, he has become an extra burden to them.
"Sometimes I tell myself it would have been better to have stayed for the war than to have landed in this misery. There is nothing here," Saley, 40 and jobless, told Reuters at the home of his elderly parents.
"I am proud of what I earned in Libya. I got married on that money and I could help my family. Now look - it's my mother and father who are supporting me."
While local governments will be grappling with the social and security impact of the Libyan conflict for years, its effect on the food crisis is something they must cope with immediately.
Niger has been slow to react to past droughts but has won praise for rapidly sounding the alarm to aid agencies and for its own efforts to distribute food rations and set up labor schemes for the returnees from Libya.
The international aid effort has so far been slow to bear fruit. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said only $218 million had been raised as of March 13 compared to just over $1 billion needed to cover the Sahel's food, farming and nutrition needs alone.
"We witnessed last year the situation spiraling out of control in East Africa as the aid community failed to act swiftly," said Oxfam Regional Director for West Africa Mamadou Biteye of the 2011 food crisis in the Horn of Africa.
"The worst can be avoided and thousands of lives will be saved if we act now. It's that simple."
Writing and additional reporting by Mark John in Dakar; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall


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Simplify network management
Simultaneous consolidation of the operational commands, messages, responses and alarm information.
IP network management for monitoring multiple network devices and information collection.View Video View Data Sheet
Use CA NetMaster Network Management for SNA to collect network information and monitor network devices to proactively manage large SNA networks. CA NetMaster allows you to handle commands, messages, responses and alarm information from multiple systems simultaneously. Utilize its real-time, detailed session-level information and diagnostics to solve end-user network problems.
Simultaneous consolidation of the operational commands, messages, responses and alarm information.
Provides correlated intelligent notification of impending failures, enabling operators to act before problems occur.
Delivers the capabilities necessary to lower costs and ensure service levels are maintained.
We have removed the complexity associated with our legacy tools and processes, which has, in turn, removed risk for the business. Stanislav Nosal
, Senior Technical Specialist , Tieto
Sharpen your skills with training, certifications and resources that can transform your company and career.
Accelerate your success with help that's timely and targeted.
Leverage the knowledge of CA Services professionals to get more from your CA solution.
Troubleshoot technical issues, browse the latest product documentation and access support announcements.
Find answers and share knowledge with your peers through interactive forums.


text:
[THIS WEEK] Biennials are booming. In the UK - since the Brighton Photo Biennial began in 2003 - Whitstable, Tatton Park and Liverpool have acquired biennials, and Folkestone has a triennial.
Worldwide, with 140 of them, once you've taken time off for Eid, Hannukah, Christmas and Diwali, there are usually two art biennials happening somewhere in the world each week. (See pages here for coverage of the Venice Architecture Biennale.)
The Biennial Reader is an anthology of essays that examine some of the problematic aspects of the biennial's vigorous growth. It includes an essay from a 2009 publication that covers similar ground, the 16th issue of Open (2009) a biannual 'cahier on art and the public domain' from the never-boring NAi publishing house.
The idea of art as an economic stimulus - as urban theorists such as Richard Florida would have it - is more popular than ever, judging from the regional development agency logos ever-present on biennial websites. As architect and curator, Christine Wang puts it in Open, 'Biennials allow the cities to enter the global economy'.
The Biennial Reader's editor, Elena Filipovic, criticises biennials in another essay, The Global White Cube. She argues that, rather than creating a new context for art, biennials have 'shown artwork in specifically constructed settings that replicate the rigid geometries, white partitions and windowless space of classical museum exhibitions'.
For curator Simon Sheikh, it's not all money-grubbing: 'Biennials are part of (inter)national cultural hegemonies as well as city-branding, but that does not mean that they can only represent these features. While biennials remain spaces of capital they are also spaces of hope.'
- One year subscription (two issues) to Open, 39.50 euros.
Address: SKOR, Ruysdaelkade 2,
1072, Amsterdam
- The Biennial Reader, Sept 2010, Hatje Cantz, 49 euros
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Here's your chance to ask the questions, learn the techniques and watch some of Chicago's top improv performers. The Four Star Comedy Fest is an all-day laugh expo with classes, discussions and improv performances (The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Cook County Social Club, Baby Wants Candy and Improv Nerd, featuring iO founder Charna Halpern, are scheduled to perform).
Why go: Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Tim Meadows and his all-star troupe, Uncle's Brother (Brad Morris and Joe Canale), will headline.
Reconsider: Improv is too sketchy for your tastes.
Details: 1 p.m. (classes), 7 p.m. (performances) Saturday at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.; $39-$99, free for classes; 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com


text:
Alleviate the headaches of Packing in Truro as well as transitioning into a new geographic area and home. Support is available in areas like temporary housing, securing utilities, schools, government services, recreation, health and Packing in Truro. Organize Anything's Welcome Consultation will have you settled in faster and ease the frustrations accompanied with any move.
New Home - We'll assist with the placement of furniture, art and accessories while you focus on the other aspects of the move.
Organize Anything | Phone: 902.233.1577 | Email: email@example.com | Halifax Web Design by: immediac


text:
About Ryn Del Mar
Del Mar was always enthralled with dance, and when a rare bone disease stifled her dance career, she vowed to capture its enchanting romance and physical intensity another way: in paint.
Del Mar continues to experiment and evolve with each painting produced. She uses many tools to amplify emotion and movement, including palette knives, paste, and acrylic spray-paint. She agrees with dancer Martha Graham's statements that 'the body is a sacred garment' and a moment is 'important, vital, and worth living,' not to be 'unnoticed and unused.'
Artist Statement
We have countless cliché phrases to describe the feeling dance and painting give me in my best moments: 'Cloud 9', 'In the Zone', 'Runner's High', 'Seventh Heaven' … I paint to communicate to all the blissful energy of dance; I dance to remember the satisfying hard work behind grace.


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MAYVILLE - Registrations are being accepted at Chautauqua Lake Central School for children's swimming lessons that will begin on Feb. 9. Registrations must be received by 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25. Checks will not be cashed until that date. No payments are accepted at the pool.
Swimming Lessons for children in Kindergarten or older will be taught on Saturdays between 9 and 11 a.m. After the registration period has closed, parents will receive a telephone call assigning their child(ren) to a specific half-hour lesson.
Registration forms and complete information are available at www.clake.org. Locate the Swimming Pool link on the left side of the home page. Forms are also in the literature rack at the main (center) entrance to the school building and in the Elementary School Office.
If sufficient registrations are not received in the District Office by the Jan. 25 deadline, the program will be canceled and payments returned.
Birthday or pool parties may be arranged by rental only. For rental information, including the new fee schedule established by the Board of Education in August 2012, see the Facility Usage link on the left side of the home page at www.clake.org.
Two weekday evening programs are now under way: the Adult Pool Program on Tuesdays and the Family Swim Program on Wednesdays. Registrations for each of these programs are still being accepted as space allows, but registrations received on the day the program meets will not be recorded until the following day, so use of the pool will begin the following week.
Questions? Call Pool Coordinator Michaelle Alonge, 753-5800, Ext. 1109. During the school day, calls may be directed to voice mail. Please leave a message. For questions about renting the pool or other facilities, call the Community Relations Office, 753-5802.
For recorded pool information, call the Swimming Pool Hotline, 753-5919.


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Welcome to WAPJ Torrington Community Radio
WAPJ is an all-volunteer, listener-supported radio station licensed to the Torrington Community Radio Foundation, Inc. We broadcast on 89.9 and 105.1 FM and have been serving the greater Torrington community since 1997. We are committed to offering unique, local programming and offer a wide variety of programs produced by community volunteers. Click on the "Programming" tab above to see our diverse schedule.
Comments about our programming are always welcome and should be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com. We are always looking for new programming ideas so please contact us if you would like to find out more about joining our volunteer staff.
Pledge your support to WAPJ's Marathon Fundraiser!
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BASi Board Chairman RetiresPosted: Updated:
Investing Lessons from Mount Elbert
With little mountain-climbing experience under any of our belts, a few friends and I decided to take on Mount Elbert, Colorado's tallest mountain. While regular climbers may not consider this "Gentle Giant" a tall task, it was for us inexperienced climbers. Is investing your "tall task"? If so, you can learn a lot from our experiences. And you won't have to climb a mountain to do it!
Most Popular Stories
Two Indiana Schools Break Top 50 List of Best Colleges
The Wall Street Journal and the Times Higher Education magazine have released their annual list of the top 801 colleges and universities in the country. Two Hoosier universities are included in the top 50.
School District Raises Questions About ILEARN
Like all schools in Indiana, we were disheartened at the ILEARN results for school year 2018. We would like to raise several questions concerning this test as it relates to college and career readiness for our students. The annual Indiana Statewide Assessment (this year's ILEARN) has been developed to evaluate college and career readiness at all levels tested. We are very troubled by our lack of understanding of what indicators in the test evaluate...
Protecting Data Integrity as Sports Betting Grows in Indiana
Casinos across the state are opening sports betting parlors this week, legally allowing gamblers in Indiana to place bets on professional and some collegiate sports. Some opponents of the law are concerned the integrity of sports is at risk. Others are worried about the integrity of the data used by odds makers in the now-legal betting houses. "There's a mechanism in place that can stop that from happening, or curtail it from happening in the future," explains...
Purdue to Open Chick-Fil-A Amid Protests
Citing overwhelming demand for Chick-fil-A's food and services, Purdue University has announced it will allow the restaurant to open on campus. The university has been at the center of a debate over the Georgia-based food chain.
Buttigieg to Lead Task Force on Automation
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will Friday launch a task force aimed at preparing for the effects of automation at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting. The mayor's office says "Automation and the Impacts on America's Cities" will include mayors from throughout the country.


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The St. James Tennis Association is hosting a racquet relay from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the Founders Tennis Complex.
An exhibition will be 6-7 p.m. Free consultations will be offered in the Wellness Center from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. including blood pressure checks, product samples, physical therapy and chiropractic care.
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WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A California World War II veteran denied service medals 65 years ago because of a bad-conduct discharge now has them, including a Bronze Star, officials said.
Loren Jutkins, 89, of West Hollywood received the medals Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Navy veteran, who took part in landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, received the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Liberation of the Philippines medal.
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., presented the medals after Jutkins' military records were upgraded to a general discharge.
"Your country owes you a great debt of gratitude," Waxman told Jutkins.
"This Veterans Day will be different, that's for sure," Jutkins said.
Friends of Jutkins, a retired former principal clerk at UCLA's Institute for Social Science Research, had encouraged him to appeal the Navy's 1946 bad-conduct discharge.
He had grown up in the Mojave Desert isolated from others his age.
"There were no other kids. In the service, I finally met guys my own age. They became my friends," Jutkins said. "One glass of beer was enough to get me drunk. "
He said he returned to his ship late several times, was considered AWOL and once ended up in the brig after getting drunk.
A friend, Joe Carafello, helped Jutkins write an appeal of the bad-conduct discharge to the Naval Review Board. The appeal noted the medals Jutkins had earned, his participation in a high school ROTC program and his having stopped drinking 47 years ago.


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Stretch & Exercise
The Columbus Community Center has provided high quality senior services in the Columbus community for over 50 years. In October 2013, the center became part of Catholic Charities and we continue to strive to be a focal point in the Columbus and surrounding communities for seniors.
Our program provides a safe and welcoming environment that mitigates isolation, improves socialization and provides programming and activities that are empowering to adults 60 years and older. These programs affirm seniors decision to safely remain in their own homes.


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Community group wants Penfield Lighthouse
A Bridgeport-based group hopes to become the new owner of the Penfield Reef Lighthouse, the historic beacon off Fairfield's shore
Connecticut Community Boating, a nonprofit group, is in "full fundraising mode" according to Chris German, to achieve the ownership goal. Those interested need to put down $10,000 to be eligible to bid.
In 2008, the National Parks Service took applications from nonprofit groups interested in taking over the lighthouse, which dates back to 1874, and the town submitted one of two applications received.
However, the lighthouse was awarded to an organization named Beacon Preservation, which later became embroiled in a dispute over the bottom lands and never took ownership.
The lighthouse was then put out to bid in 2011, but a town committee formed to raise funds for its purchase raised only about $22,000.
The winning bid was $45,000, but it was not accepted by the federal government "because it did not met the government's expectation of value for the property," Patrick Sclafini, public affairs officer with the General Services Administration's New England Region, said in 2012.
The historic landmark is now going back on the auction block, most likely in August, Sclafani said.
"If we won, we would hope to make it one of three lighthouses we hope to maintain as public resources," German said of his group's plans. "It would be restored to serviceable condition."
German said the plan includes establishing a group of volunteers who would assist the Coast Guard in maintaining the lights as navigational beacons and provide educational programming about the lighthouses.
The other two Connecticut lighthouses being put up for sale are in Old Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, and the New London Ledge light at the mouth of the Thames.
The community boating group already has the boats, the know-how, and the 501c3 designation, he said.
In 2011 , the Penfield Reef Lighthouse Preservation Committee estimated it would cost as much as $90,000 to acquire the property, and another $452,000 to make needed repairs.
The town committee exploring the lighthouse acquisition is expected to begin meeting again shortly, according to the first selectman's office.


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Because I still wanted to share a few pictures from the valentine exchange. Thanks to Melinda, there's even a picture of me :)
mother's daughter after all), but I barely have anything for Valentine's day (because it's not really a holiday anyone decorates for, right?). I'd much rather invest the money in renovations then temporary decorations so decorating for the holidays in this house has been all about big impact on the cheap. As luck would have it, the garlands of paper doilies and bakers twine that I used last year, fit perfectly across our new living room. And my mom brought over pillows and some pictures from her house to spruce things up(I didn't even ask, she's just that kind of party planner).
Sidenote-Creed's friend Lydia saw this and said, "I thought that guy with the arrows was supposed to be naked." And Creed was shocked and said that she shouldn't talk about naked people and said it would be gross if he was naked. Haha!


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The Parks and Recreation Commission meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. n the Council Chamber, 580 Pacific Street. Meetings are broadcast live on the Monterey Channel and streamed on the web.
Agenda materials are posted 72 hours prior to the meeting. To make sure the meeting is taking place, and to view the agenda materials, visit I-SEARCH Monterey: http://www.isearchmonterey.org/meetresults.aspx?startdate=1/01/2018&enddate=12/31/2019&meettype=Parks%20and%20Recreation


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onions wrote:you guys are amazing!
i just kicked off another batch of 5k+ so we'll be hitting 20k by today. keep em coming. i'll be posting the additional incentive sometime tonight and it'll be well worth your efforts.
onions wrote:we're going to break 30k tonight.
onions wrote:i just kicked off another batch of 5k+ ...
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Just one week after it laid out new rules for mortgage lending, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now targeting mortgage servicers, the companies that process your monthly payments and come after you when you don't pay.
The nation's five largest banks service about half of all mortgages, but recently they have been selling those servicing rights to so-called "specialty servicers," like Ocwen and Nationstar, whose stocks have been soaring. These companies specialize in delinquent mortgages.
The new rules could make mortgage servicing more expensive, especially for those specialty servicers and level the playing field between them and the big bank servicers. That is because many of the new rules are similar to rules the big banks are already following under the $25 billion servicing settlement signed early last year with state attorneys general and the Department of Justice over "robo-signing" foreclosure abuses. The specialty servicers have no such mandates.
(Read More: Homeowners With No Mortgage Offer Recovery Clues)
"If you're a good servicer who's been doing sensible things, this will probably be about what you are doing now, just with a heavier enforcement regime behind it," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "For servicers that have been doing a poor job, and many of them have, they will have to change their processes and get in line."
The new rules include some very basic service standards, like clear monthly statements, prompt payment crediting and quick correction of errors; In other words, common sense that one might not expect to see mandated by a federal regulator.
"This shows just how poorly performing the mortgage servicing industry was before the crisis, and then as volumes increased in delinquencies during the crisis, it all exponentially worsened," said Cordray.
(Read More: US Home Prices Surge Despite Distress)
Most of the rules focus on those delinquencies. First, and perhaps foremost, servicers may not move forward with a foreclosure while simultaneously working with a borrower to avoid foreclosure. This "dual tracking" led to thousands of borrowers losing their homes when alternatives were well within reach.
"For servicers that have been doing a poor job, and many of them have, they will have to change their processes and get in line"
The rules also require servicers to look at all foreclosure alternatives, alert borrowers to those alternatives in writing as well as provide "easy, ongoing access to employees responsible for helping" borrowers. Servicers may not steer borrowers to options that are most favorable financially to the servicer.
The rules do not go into effect until January of 2014. The five big banks that signed last year's mortgage servicing settlement (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) have nearly completed their financial commitments under the deal, and some have been selling mortgage servicing rights. That makes the need for these rules ever more urgent.
"These are mandatory rules, it's now law. People will be obliged to follow them," warned Cordray.
(Read More: Why Big Houses Are Coming Back )
—By CNBC's Diana Olick; Follow her on Twitter @Diana_Olick or on Facebook at facebook.com/DianaOlickCNBC
Questions? Comments? firstname.lastname@example.com


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Kim Taipale is the managing partner of Stilwell Holding LLC, a private investment firm, and the founder and executive director of the Stilwell Center, a private, non-partisan research and advisory organization focused on information, technology, and national security policy. He is also a director of the Stilwell Charitable Fund.
Mr. Taipale is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute and serves on the Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age. He has served on the board or advisory board of several companies and non-profit organizations.
Previously, Mr. Taipale was a senior fellow at Columbia University, an investment banker at Lazard Frères & Company, a corporate executive at The Pullman Company, and, earlier, a lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Mr. Taipale is a frequent invited speaker (selected appearances), has appeared before Congressional and other national committees (selected testimony), and is the author of numerous academic papers, journal articles, and book chapters on information, technology, and national security issues (selected publications).
In prior years, he has presented at the Aspen Institute, the Highlands Forum (OSD), the National Academies, the National Science Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the AAAS Policy Forum, the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, the Brookings Institute, the Atlantic Council, the Yale Law School, the Texas Law School, the Duke Law School, the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School, the Kennedy School at Harvard University, the National Defense University, the Naval War College, the National Strategy Forum, the Global Creative Leadership Forum, the Boston Global Forum, and the Asian Leadership Conference, among others; and, has testified before the United States Senate Intelligence Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the House Intelligence Committee, among others.
Mr. Taipale has been quoted on technology and national security policy issues in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Boston Globe, Wired News, MIT Technology Review, Business Week, Newsweek and The Economist, among others, and has appeared on NPR, PBS, and ABC News, among others.
Mr. Taipale has extensive professional experience in a wide variety of diverse endeavors and with many kinds of complex issues and transactions. He has worked with international and national corporations, government agencies and other public institutions, as well as start-up companies and not-for-profit organizations. He has also helped develop, secure funding for, and implement a number of non-profit information technology related projects, including the Harlem Environmental Access Project, the Advanced Media in Education Project, and others.
Mr. Taipale received his B.A. in psychology from New York University and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law. He also received his M.A. and his Ed.M. in communications from Columbia University and his LL.M. from the Columbia Law School.


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SANTA ANA – City officials approved a settlement Tuesday that resulted in dismantling a downtown improvement district.
The City Council, faced with potential litigation, voted to adopt an ordinance to dismantle a downtown district that relied on property assessments, and directed staff to revive a business improvement district that relied on business license surcharges for marketing and other efforts aimed at boosting downtown business.
"The agreement provides for the continuance and funding of programs critical to downtown Santa Ana while dissolving the politically controversial community management district and property assessment," according to a statement from Downtown Inc..
For years, a number of downtown business owners have lobbied the City Council to dismantle what is formally called the Downtown Santa Ana Community Management District. It's informally called the PBID, for property-based improvement district. Under a 2009 agreement with the city, Downtown Inc. manages the PBID, which pays for enhanced security, cleanup and marketing of the downtown area.
Since the first assessments were levied in 2010, the PBID has been criticized by some business owners. They said they have received assessments of as much as $9,000 a year. Opponents said the assessments largely benefited a few downtown bars and restaurants.
"Downtown Incorporated and its board are pleased that the city has demonstrated its continued support of economic development in the downtown and has committed to fund that effort directly," said Ryan Chase, chairman of the Downtown Inc. board. "We look forward to this era of renewed cooperation."
Under terms of an agreement approved in closed session, the city agreed to several measures, including funding Clean & Safe programs for three years at a cost of $400,000 per year, and co-sponsoring five Downtown Inc. events each year. Clean & Safe programs provide enhanced security and clean-up efforts.
"Downtown Inc. will take over the management of safe/clean but there will be an advisory board made up of two city employees, two merchants and two Downtown Inc. representatives to oversee that the program continues to meet the needs of downtown," said Vicky Baxter, executive director of Downtown Inc. "DTI is picking up all the administrative costs to manage safe/clean daily and the organization of the advisory committee."
The City Council since July had difficulty mustering a quorum to deal with the fate of the PBID, in part because ex-Councilman Carlos Bustamante missed several meetings following his arrest on a series of sex-related charges, in part because some council members had declared conflicts of interest. It was unable to approve special assessments for the 2012-2013 tax roll on a deadline set by Orange County Auditor-Controller's office.
Both Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Vincent F. Sarmiento later got the okay to participate. Councilwoman Michele Martinez abstained Tuesday because of a conflict of interest, making the votes 6-0.
The council's actions cleared the way for city staff to begin work on resurrecting the business improvement district, which had initially been created in 1984 to provide a way of funding promotion, security and maintenance downtown. Assessments haven't been levied under it since 2007.
Downtown Inc. said it had received $750,000 annually from the property assessment. A business license assessment could generate $125,000 annually if the council and local businesses approve it. It's unclear where that money would go, but it would be used for marketing and events.
"Downtown Inc. has and will continue to be significantly downsized and have less resources to respond to business and property owners' requests, but programmatically we hope to continue robust economic development activity," said its executive director. "Downtown Inc. operations will be voluntarily funded by interested businesses and property owners and will engage in fund raising efforts to benefit the downtown."
According to a city staff report, some 623 business downtown could become part of the renewed improvement district. The city would notify them of its intent to levy assessments, ballots would be sent out and then a public hearing would be held. If a majority of potentially affected businesses protest, the proceeding would end. If a majority responds favorably, the City Council could adopt a resolution approving the assessments.
Downtown Inc. expects the approval process to take four to six months. It will rely on voluntary contributions and fundraising, even after the business license assessment begins.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6999 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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Harry Potter actor Dave Legeno has died while hiking in California, police in the US have confirmed.
British actor Legeno, 50, who played werewolf Fenrir Greyback in three Harry Potter films, was found in a remote part of Death Valley by a pair of hikers in the early hours of Sunday, the Inyo County Sheriff said.
Officers sent a helicopter to locate his body and recover it.
It is believed Legeno, who was also a mixed martial arts fighter, died of heat-related issues, police said.
A sheriff's department spokesman said: "The remains have been identified as David Legeno, a 50-year-old United Kingdom man.
"It appears that Legeno died of heat-related issues, but the Inyo County Coroner will determine the final cause of death.
"There are no signs of foul play," he added.
Legeno was set to star in upcoming film Sword of Vengeance, produced by Vertigo Films.
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Crawford iQ
Crawford iQ™– It's more than just Information Technology, it's Intelligent Technology.
Crawford & Company® provides its employees and clients with the most advanced set of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in the industry. They are integrated, flexible and user-friendly. By design, they foster a faster and simpler workflow environment and deliver forward-thinking, cutting edge solutions that clients value. As a way to categorize and describe this innovative suite of ICT products and services, we now refer to our systems collectively as Crawford iQ.™ Delivered in four easy offerings, Crawford iQ provides the intelligence that powers The Crawford Solution,™ the most comprehensive global, integrated solution for all corporate, insurer and re-insurer claims administration.
Crawford iQ simplifies our extensive offering of technological services and processes in a way that is easy to understand. This is accomplished by consolidating our ICT products and services in a meaningful and logical manner according to their specific function. The goal is to make Crawford's state-of-the-art technology approachable, accessible, and uncomplicated.
Elements of Crawford iQ
Crawford iQ consists of high-quality technology, data and processes categorized in four easy offerings.
These include:
- Crawford iQ Portal™ – Offers clients a gateway to access the work we do for them
- Crawford iQ Claims Manager™ – Delivers a vast array of claims management solutions
- Crawford iQ Analytics™ – Provides clients with claims analytics, dashboards and reports
- Crawford iQ Mobile™ – Allows claims to be managed anytime, anywhere on PC's and mobile devices
To learn more watch this video on Crawford iQ™


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Drugs brought by a supplier from New Jersey
A simple tip led Kinston police to an enormous heroin bust.
At about 4:50 p.m. Monday, officers with the Kinston Department of Public Safety conducted what KDPS Director Bill Johnson said was a �knock and talk� at room 107 of the Hampton Inn on U.S. 258.
Granted permission to search the room, officers found and seized 132 grams of heroin with a street value exceeding $10,000. They also recovered $11,479 in cash.
Officials believe the narcotics came by way of Cornelius Crews of Elizabeth, N.J. He was arrested at the scene, along with Sarah Harper of Kinston. Both received $500,500 bonds, and are charged with trafficking a Schedule I controlled substance, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Johnson said investigators aren�t sure if Kinston is being used as part of a drug pipeline, but officers will be paying attention if other narcotics activity points in that direction.
�I don�t know if it�s a pipeline (operation), but I can tell you it was a significant amount of heroin, obviously,� Johnson said. �This person, apparently, was traveling for the purpose of sale and distribution.�
Check Wednesday�s edition of The Free Press for more information.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.


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Waking To Find Yourself On A Milk Carton-obia
November 19, 2016
Steve was at the farm last night so I let Caroline and Edward fall asleep in my bed. Then I spent fifteen minutes walking around the house trying to figure out where I had put my phone so I could listen to a book* while I cleaned the kitchen. Eventually I gave up, used the phone finding thing and waited until it went off like an air-raid siren.
It was in my room.
On the bedside table, actually, so before I could scurry in to silence it, Caroline had shot straight into the air, a gaffed salmon.
"What?" she shouted. "Was that an Amber Alert? Where am I?"
I blinked. An... Amber Alert?
"Shhh. You're fine, you're in my bed," I whispered.
"Oh," she said. "Where's Edward?"
I patted around until I found that nice round head of his.
"He appears to be lying on top of your legs. Do you want me to move him?"
But, reassured that she was not, in fact, a missing child, Caroline had fallen back asleep again.
*For... well, for reasons it has been months since I have been able to listen to anything more stressful than an Agatha Christie and I think I have now gone through them all. No, that's not true. I finished all of the ones that are neither terrible (Passenger to Frankfort, The Big Four, The Caribbean Mystery, et cetera) nor too depressing (And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, anything with Miss Marple written after the war) but even with those exceptions it was still a whole lot of Christie. And very soothing I found them, too; there is something charming about an age in which one person could murder another with hat paint and it would be seen as an accident.
So that is my recommendation for the day. Go to the library and get an Agatha Christie. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, maybe. I would argue - in fact I would love to argue; would you like to argue with me on this one? - that it is the best mystery she wrote.
PS A downside of this overdose on the Golden Age of Crime is that I share my audible account with Steve. Every time I bought a new one it would show up on his phone, too, and since Steve has spent an inordinate (let me italicize that again for even more emphasis - an inordinate) amount of time lately sitting in trees with nothing else to do but listen to my audiobooks he goes around the house saying, "But no! It is imbecile what you say there, mon ami. You must use the little grey cells."
Thank heavens I'm temporarily off the kilt-rippers; Steve would be absolutely unbearable.


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IFT provides global leadership in the science of food safety and defense by offering viewpoints and technical resources serving as a source of reliable expertise and actively engaging with the scientific community and other stakeholders. IFT seeks to enhance your understanding of the safety of foods and ingredients by providing information on best practices, risk analysis, traceability, regulatory developments, and scientific and technical advancements through outreach and education activities.
IFT members have access to year-round opportunities to participate in discussions, share insights and learn from other colleagues through an online group devoted to this topic.
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We're all about the Chaperone Tax. If you accompany a minor while trick-or-treating, they're pretty much required to hand over some of the goods. You see, it's a reciprocal relationship, you're basically a bodyguard. A bodyguard who is paid in delicious Halloween candy.
I like to call this the Chaperone Tax, I rule with an iron fist. lol


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Rollingwood Real Estate
Rollingwood is one of the many beautiful neighborhoods found in the community of Fair Oaks. Known for its gorgeous oak trees and majestic natural setting, Rollingwood is just blocks from the American River and offers an abundance of wildlife, including deer, wild turkeys, and squirrels. Rollingwood is a popular choice for nature enthusiasts. The picturesque homes were built in the 1980s and are nestled amid rolling terrain, winding roads and wooded greenbelts, creating stunning natural views in every direction.
Rollingwood is located east of Fair Oaks Village. Rollingwood Racquet Club provides year-round activities for the whole family with swim teams, tennis leagues, and fitness classes, as well as kids' summer camps and after-school programs.
Rollingwood connects to Phoenix Field to the east, which is home to Phoenix Park – a large park featuring soccer and baseball fields, playground, picnic areas, community garden, and a very popular dog park.
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The University of Cincinnati Classics Department is one of the most active centers for the study of the Greek and Roman Antiquity in the United States. Thirteen full-time faculty members specialize in Classical philology, ancient history, and archaeology, including Greek prehistory.
About thirty-five graduate students are in residence at any given time, while others spend a year or more abroad to study or conduct research. The heart of the Department is the recently renovated Burnam Classical Library, the world's most comprehensive library for advanced research in Classics (with ca. 260,000 volumes). The department's Tytus Fellowships bring an additional nine to twelve researchers to the Department each year. About fifty undergraduate majors profit from the vibrant scholarly community, while an Outreach Program takes faculty and graduate students to area schools. The department's full lecture series, including those sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, attract audiences from the larger academic and lay community in the Cincinnati area. The Department edits an international scholarly journal, the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, as well as Nestor, a bibliographic resource for Aegean Prehistory. Archaeological fieldwork is currently being conducted in Greece at Pylos, Knossos, and Isthmia, in Italy at Pompeii, in Turkey at Gordion, and in Israel at Caesarea Maritima.
Department of Classics
410 Blegen Library
PO Box 210226
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0226
Phone | (513) 556-3050
Fax | (513) 556-4366


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This may have been something I've asked you before but I want to be sure – how many posts do you want to see on Cosmetic Candy?
I generally do at least 3 posts a day, but somedays I may go nuts and post 15! But then do you have time to read these? Do you feel overwhelmed if there is too much new content? Do you prefer things more spread out?
Tell me in the poll/comments!
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"Ladybug Love" - Card
"Ladybug Love" - Card
from 5.00
Each card has an original watercolor illustration printed on to bright white 100% recycled heavy card stock using Epson archival inks. The card is protected with a clear cellophane sleeve and includes a white envelope. My business name Tallewig, logo and website appear on the back. The card is standard A-6, 4 3/4 inches by 6 1/2 inches.
The card is blank on the inside so you can add your own personal message. :)
Single or Dozen:


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Let's Panic About Babies!
This is a very funny book, written by me and Eden Kennedy.
You can buy it from:
Maybe you're thinking of having one. There might even be one inside you right now, draining nutrients from your system via a tube growing from its midsection. Or maybe you've already got one around the house, somewhere, and you're responsible for its continued survival. You're saddled with a helpless being whom you've agreed to house and feed and love with all your heart for the rest of your life, more or less.
Either way, you're confused, you're frightened, and 911 won't take your calls anymore. But don't despair! Let's Panic About Babies! is here to hold your hand and answer some important, age-old baby-related questions, including:
- How can I be sure I'm pregnant? (Torso swells gradually until baby falls into underpants.)
- Did I just pee myself? (Yes.)
- What happens if I have sex during my pregnancy? (Your baby will be born with a full, lush beard.)
- How can I tell if I've chosen the wrong pediatrician? (He/she can't pronounce "stethoscope.")
- How do I make sure my baby loves me back? (Voodoo.)
From the moment they're created until the day they steal our cars, our babies demand center stage in our lives. So join Alice and Eden as they tell you (and your lucky partner!) exactly what to think and feel and do, from morning sickness to baby's first steps. They know everything!
"LET'S PANIC ABOUT BABIES! is the hilarious antidote to all those serious, earnest books that make you feel like you'll never master parenthood. Deeply irreverent, and surprisingly comforting, this book will resonate with any parent or parent-to-be."- Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT
"There are a lot of pregnancy books out there that purport to be "funny." This book is different in that it's actually hilarious. LET'S PANIC ABOUT BABIES is the brilliant reply to every fear-inducing baby manual out there. You already screwed up royally by getting pregnant-- now do something smart and buy this book."- Diablo Cody, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Juno
"The next time I am invited to a baby shower, LET'S PANIC ABOUT BABIES! is what I'm getting the mom-to-be. Then I'm going to sit in the corner and read it, and it will be the first time in history that someone has had a howling good time at a baby shower. I love this book unconditionally. Brilliant, funny, fabulous. Every pregnant human being should have a copy." - Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of STIFF, BONK, SPOOK, and PACKING FOR MARS
"Please read this book while wearing an adult diaper, because you will laugh very, very hard."- Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author and staff writer for The New Yorker
"An outrageously humorous, over-the-top guide to surviving pregnancy and child-rearing.
What's the most important thing women need in order to prepare for a new baby? According to the debut book by mommy bloggers Bradley and Kennedy, it's not formula, blankets or even a car seat. Come prepared with a sense of humor. Through absurd anecdotes, lists, charts and pictures, the authors satirize typical pregnancy handbooks in a comically ironic and often bawdy manner.
...A refreshingly unorthodox approach to a subject typically portrayed in a sappy, sentimental fashion."
"The authors of the very funny "Let's Panic About Babies!" want to calm any anxieties moms-to-be may have about this "small, hairy bowling ball" developing inside them.
For instance, even as the debate continues as to whether fish is safe for expectant mothers to eat, this handbook declares that consuming lox while pregnant will have the rather nasty result of your baby being "born covered in capers." Also, please be aware that drinking chamomile tea could produce an offspring who enjoys "Hummel figurine-collecting," and be sure to avoid smoking clove cigarettes because they are "a gateway drug to hacky sack."
Other subjects include: "Preparing Your Pubic Area for Labor," "How To Judge Your Baby Against Other Babies" and "Ways To Handle the Crushing Fear that Washes Over You in the Dead of Night." (For the last one, the authors suggest repeating a mantra: "I am excited to meet my baby, who will probably not eventually abandon me in a nursing home.")
With a deadpan delivery and a wonderfully crude sense of humor, "Let's Panic About Babies!" cleverly apes all those pregnancy and parenting guides littering bookstore aisles. It also draws from the proliferation of "mommy blogs," where moms (and dads) argue about child rearing with overblown rhetoric."


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Eagles' Reid Among Seven NFL Coaches Fired
The NFL's annual "Black Monday" witnessed an especially bleak 2012 edition for mediocre football teams: Seven head coaches had to turn in their whistles and at least five general managers have lost their jobs.
The day after the regular season ends has always been the time for owners to pull the plug on a losing coach, but Monday's total dwarfed the two changes on last year's Black Monday. That year, three firings took place during the season. By comparison, no coaching changes occurred in-season this year.
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid was Monday's headliner, losing his job after 14 seasons at the helm. His departure was a foregone conclusion after a 4-12 season, but general manager Howie Roseman will remain with the team. The biggest surprise was the Chicago Bears' firing of Lovie Smith, who had coached the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2006 and led the Bears to five winning seasons in nine years. As with Smith, a Super Bowl appearance couldn't save Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who lost Super Bowl XLIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers but was dumped Monday.
Three teams engineered clean sweeps of their power structure. The Cleveland Browns, under new owner Jimmy Haslam, fired coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert, the San Diego Chargers canned Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith and Arizona fired Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves. The New York Jets fired general manager Mike Tannenbaum but will keep coach Rex Ryan after a tumultuous 6-10 season. The Jaguars fired their general manager, Gene Smith, whose personnel choices, including the decision to back much-maligned quarterback Blaine Gabbert, led the team to a 2-14 record this season.
While no candidates have emerged for any vacant spots, it's believed that University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly will be among the hottest names on the market, while television analyst Jon Gruden, a former Tampa Bay and Oakland coach, will likely attract interest. Then there's the annual speculation about whether retired Super Bowl-winning-coaches-turned-TV-analysts like Brian Billick, Bill Cowher or Tony Dungy will step back into the game. Last year, seven NFL head coaches were fired, including two well after Black Monday: Hue Jackson by the Oakland Raiders and Jim Caldwell by the Indianapolis Colts.
For general-manager openings, the hot candidates are less clear, but former Colts executive Bill Polian, current New York Giants college scouting head Marc Ross and David Caldwell, a Falcons player personnel executive, are expected to get looks. Baltimore Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta, who is annually a top name for openings, released a statement saying he is not leaving Baltimore.
Elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel, but the fate of general manager Scott Pioli remains undecided. Likewise, Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey was fired before it was clear whether his general manager, Buddy Nix, would join him on the unemployment line. The Chiefs were also awarded the first overall pick in April's draft this week, making their choice of general manager particularly interesting.
After the 2010 season, only Cleveland's Eric Mangini lost his job on the day after the regular season, when the firing was more spread out. Carolina Panthers coach John Fox for instance, had been axed the previous Friday. After 2009, Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn got fired on Black Monday when, again, owners exhibited a preference to firing their coaches in-season.
Write to Kevin Clark at firstname.lastname@example.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Systems Made Simple Part 3: Isolation in Solar Inverters
Engineer It: Demystifying creepage and clearance for isolation
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We live in a world where design engineers are on a seemingly constant pursuit for higher efficiency. Everyone wants to do more with less power. Higher system efficiency is a team effort that includes (but is not limited to) better-performing gate drivers, controllers and new wide-bandgap technologies. In this multi-part video series, we will focus on the gate drivers and how choosing the right driver can help your whole system design. You will learn about important gate driver specs, why they're important, and how they can influence the systems around them.
Anti-tamper Techniques to Thwart Attacks on Smart Meters
Non-technical losses ("theft") account for billions of dollars of revenue loss for utility providers around the world as individuals are able to hack meters to slow or stop the accumulation of energy usage statistics. This loss has driven increased requirements for enhancing the protection designed into new smart meters. This training session will discuss different methods of attacking smart meters and how TI's analog portfolio can be used to detect or even prevent these attacks. In one scenario magnets are used to saturate any transformers present in the system.
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Introduce high power DC/DC conversion design: comparison of PSFB and FB-LLC Part 2
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The topics will cover system design issue and solution for Building Automation, Power Delivery and Test & Measurement. TI experts introduce the latest technology and innovation system reference design. Discover ways to enhance the time-to-market and create safer and efficient industrial systems.
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Tooling Update
New Tools for Forming in a Turret Press
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Mate Precision Tooling, Anoka, MN, has expanded its
Ultraform family of forming-tool holders for thick turret punch presses with two new holders available in B through E stations, multiple angle settings and with grooved guides for enhanced lubrication. The Ultraform FX fixed-length forming-tool holder proves ideal for presses with precise stroke control; Ultraform XT gets the call for presses without precise stroke control or where form-tooling changes are desired but tool-length adjustment seldom is required—operators need only loosen the head cap and rotate the punch to the desired length.
Mate Precision Tooling: 763/421-0230; www.mate.com
See also: Mate Precision Tooling
Related Enterprise Zones: Tool & Die
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Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD)
MDA-supported investigators are actively pursuing several approaches to halt or reverse the muscle damage caused by Becker muscular dystrophy.
Some of the front-running strategies include: inserting new dystrophin genes; changing the way cells interpret genetic instructions for dystrophin; changing the mutated dystrophin gene itself; manipulating other proteins in the body to compensate for the lack of dystrophin; increasing blood flow to muscles; and using stem cells to repair damaged muscles.
Some studies are focused specifically on the dystrophin-deficient heart.
Flaws in the dystrophin gene cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), as well as the less severe Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), so many of the strategies being tried in DMD also apply to BMD.
For more, see these 2012 videos on BMD research: Preclinical Testing in Animal Models of Muscular Dystrophy and From Targets to Clinical Trials in Becker Muscular Dystrophy.
Cardiac support
Researchers are pursuing a number of strategies to sustain or improve heart function in BMD and DMD. They're testing existing medications for their possible benefits in the BMD/DMD-affected heart, and conducting basic research to understand and find new approaches to treating the heart in these diseases.
Understanding and treating dystrophin-deficient cardiomyopathy (cardiac muscle abnormalities) is a priority for MDA. The MDA DMD Clinical Research Network has made studying the natural history and treatment of this condition a primary focus. In addition, MDA sponsored a meeting of more than 40 leading clinicians and researchers from the United States and Europe in January 2011 to discuss optimal clinical care of the DMD/BMD-affected heart.
In 2009, scientists found that dystrophin gene mutations that cause cardiomyopathy in BMD affect specific regions of the dystrophin protein, not necessarily the same regions associated with skeletal muscle loss. The study will allow better prediction of cardiomyopathy in BMD and earlier consideration of cardioprotective treatments in this disease, as well as giving researchers insight into which parts of the dystrophin protein are essential to preserve when shortened dystrophin molecules are being considered as therapeutic strategies.
The drug sildenafil (Viagra) has been found to impart cardioprotective effects in mice with both an early- and late-stage DMD-like disease. Sildenafil, which is used to treat erectile-dysfunction, belongs to a class of drugs called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, which relax the smooth muscles lining blood vessels, increasing blood flow to muscles and the heart. The cardiac effects of sildenafil in teens and men with DMD are being studied.
Laboratory studies have found that an experimental compound designed to help seal cell membranes, p188, benefited heart function in dystrophin-deficient dogs.
In 2011, MDA-supported researchers found that inhibiting the action of a protein called NF-kappa B improved cardiac function in mice with a severe DMD-like disease.
Gene repair
Although still in very early stages of development, repair of the dystrophin gene at the DNA level shows promise. This strategy is aimed at helping cells permanently repair errors in the dystrophin gene, fixing the underlying cause of DMD.
In experiments on cultured cells and in mice with flawed dystrophin genes, "designer" gene-repair molecules stimulated DNA repair levels more than 10 times greater than those achieved by a previous class of targeting molecules. The muscle cells containing rejuvenated dystrophin genes successfully produced normal dystrophin protein at levels consistently higher than muscle cells treated with the older-generation molecules.
Although the results so far have been encouraging, the frequencies of gene repair are in the 1 to 5 percent range — too low to be considered therapeutically relevant. And, for now, the gene repair strategy is limited to correcting "single-letter" errors (point mutations) in a gene.
Work must be done before this technique can progress to human trials, including refinement of the targeting molecules, studies to determine the most effective delivery methods, and testing in different animal models.
Gene therapy
Gene therapy, or gene transfer, refers to the delivery of genes as therapeutic agents. Since genes carry the instructions for protein synthesis, they can lead to production of proteins that are directly or indirectly therapeutic in neuromuscular diseases. Because transferred genes potentially can continue to produce protein for some time, gene therapy may offer a more permanent fix than other therapies. But gene therapy faces many technical challenges, as well as a high bar set by regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The key challenges are delivering the genes to the targeted tissue while avoiding off-target tissues, and avoiding unwanted immune response to the proteins made from the new genes, or to the delivery vehicles in which the new genes are delivered.
MDA-supported scientists have created a miniaturized, working dystrophin gene that has been tested in boys with DMD. Although the treatment appeared to be safe, some of the boys experienced an unwanted immune response to the dystrophin protein that limited the effectiveness of the gene transfer. This immune response is undergoing further investigation.
Blocking the myostatin protein via a protein called follistatin is a strategy that has potential for treating DMD and likely many other neuromuscular diseases. Mice with a DMD-like disease that received genes for the follistatin protein showed an overall increase in body mass and weight of individual muscles. Monkeys that received follistatin gene transfer had stronger, larger muscles.
Increasing blood flow to muscles
Experiments have shown that, when dystrophin is missing from the muscle-fiber membrane, it causes another protein, known as nNOS, to be missing as well, and that this results in an inability of blood vessels supplying muscles to adequately dilate during exercise. When nNOS-deficient mice were treated with a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, which dilates blood vessels, their exaggerated fatigue response to exercise was eliminated. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors are a class of drugs that include sildenafil (Viagra) and tadalafil (Cialis), both used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Other investigators found that treatment with sildenafil significantly improved heart function in mice missing the dystrophin protein.
On the basis of these and other findings, researchers have started investigating the possibility that phosphodiesterase inhibitors can improve skeletal-muscle or heart-muscle function in people with BMD or DMD.
In 2010, an MDA-supported trial testing the effects of tadalafil on blood flow to muscles began in men with BMD.
Other trials of phosphodiesterase inhibitors also are under way to test their effects on skeletal-muscle and heart-muscle function in DMD and BMD.
Myostatin inhibition
A strategy that has received considerable MDA support involves inhibiting the actions of a naturally occurring protein called myostatin, which limits muscle growth. Researchers hope that blocking myostatin may allow muscles to grow larger and stronger.
Inhibitors of myostatin have received much attention from the neuromuscular disease research community ever since it was found several years ago that people and animals with a genetic deficiency of myostatin appear to have large muscles and good strength without apparent ill effects. In 2010, a study showed that mice lacking dystrophin and showing a DMD-like disease benefited from treatment with a "decoy" that lured myostatin away from their muscles.
The biotechnology company Acceleron Pharma then developed a drug based on this decoy and began testing it, with MDA support, in boys with DMD. Unfortunately, unexpected safety issues arose during that trial, causing Acceleron to terminate it in 2011.
The company hopes to resolve these safety issues and resume testing ACE-031, or a modified version of ACE-031.
Other strategies to inhibit myostatin, such as injecting genes for the myostatin-blocking follistatin, also are under consideration.
Stem cells
MDA scientists are using stem cells (cells from which specialized cells "stem") isolated from muscle, blood vessels or bone marrow to regenerate muscles in dystrophin-deficient laboratory animals.
Stem cells are cells in the very early stages of development. They may be destined to turn into a specific cell type (such as muscle or nerve cells), or they may still retain pluripotency — the ability to develop into any of a number of different cell types.
In 2006, MDA-supported researchers restored mobility to two dogs and stabilized function in a third using stem cells taken from muscle blood vessels.
In a study reported in 2007, a European research group successfully used a combination of genetic correction and stem cells to treat DMD research mice. The researchers in this study extracted muscle-generating stem cells from muscle tissue and blood in people with DMD, corrected the genetic error in the cells' dystrophin genes, and then injected the cells into dystrophin-deficient mice. The muscle-derived cells gave rise to better muscle regeneration than did the blood-derived cells.
In 2010, MDA-supported scientists in France reported they had identified a previously unknown type of muscle stem cell located in the spaces between muscle fibers in mice. Although still in the early stages of research, it's hoped the new cells, dubbed PICs, may play an important a role in muscle regeneration and repair.
Scientists reported in 2010 that formation of new muscle tissue first requires a controlled type of DNA damage. The new finding increases scientists' understanding of how immature muscle cells become muscle and could help them manipulate this process to treat several forms of muscular dystrophy.
Stem cells continue to be a major area of investigation for MDA-supported researchers. Some are continuing to study muscle satellite cells, a type of stem cell present in muscle tissue. Others are studying different cell types that are capable of surviving transplantation into muscle and producing the desired proteins. Still, others are studying the similarities and differences in the development of skeletal muscle and fat tissue.
Stop codon read-through
In stop codon read-through, drugs target mutations known as premature stop codons (also called nonsense mutations), which tell the cell to stop making a protein — for instance, dystrophin — before it has been completely assembled. The drugs coax cells to ignore, or "read through," this improper stop signal. Premature stop codons in the dystrophin gene cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) more often than they do BMD, but either disease is possible.
A company called PTC Therapeutics, in conjunction with Genzyme Corp., and with some initial funding from MDA, developed an experimental stop codon read-through drug called ataluren for people with DMD or BMD due to a premature stop codon. In October 2010, PTC announced that a lower dose of ataluren appeared to work better than a higher dose. In a clinical trial, those on lower dose walked an average of 29.7 meters (about 97 feet) more in six minutes than the high-dose or placebo groups (although all groups' walking distance declined over the course of the trial).
Another experimental drug designed to cause stop codon read-through of the dystrophin gene is known as RTC13. In 2011, MDA gave a three-year grant to Carmen Bertoni at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to develop RTC13 so it can be taken orally. By the end of the trial, RTC13 is expected to cause a lot of muscle cells to ignore premature stop codon (nonsense) mutations and produce dystrophin; and improve symptoms in dystrophin-deficient mice with a DMD-like disease.
Utrophin boosting
Laboratory evidence shows that raising levels of the muscle protein utrophin can, to some extent, compensate for a deficiency of dystrophin.
Utrophin closely resembles dystrophin but, unlike dystrophin, is normally produced and entirely functional in BMD. Therefore, raising utrophin levels is unlikely to provoke an unwanted immune response, while raising levels of dystrophin may do so. Increasing utrophin production has the potential to help compensate for dystrophin deficiency regardless of the specific dystrophin gene mutation.
Although utrophin is close to dystrophin in both structure and function, there's at least one key difference between the two proteins. During fetal development and perhaps a little beyond, utrophin is present all around the muscle fiber, interacting with clusters of proteins stuck in its surrounding membrane. As the animal or person matures, utrophin is replaced almost entirely by dystrophin, with one exception. At the neuromuscular junction, utrophin remains throughout life.
Several strategies are being tried to increase utrophin. One is to identify and suppress whatever is inhibiting utrophin production — find the brake and release it, so to speak.
Another strategy is to inject a modified version of the utrophin protein itself into the body. A 2009 study found that modified utrophin protein conferred significant benefits when injected into mice lacking the dystrophin protein and showing a disease resembling DMD.
Scientists reported in 2011 that systemically injecting the human form of a protein called biglycan into mice with a disease resembling human DMD improved the resistance of mouse muscles to contraction-related damage; restored several proteins to their normal location at the muscle-fiber membrane; and recruited utrophin to the muscle-fiber membrane.


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Oooooh...SO CLOSE
So do bakers still get points if you can at least tell what their cakes were *supposed* to say?
The period is how you know that new hairstyle is really working for you, Raquel. Honest.
Excellent advice for those pesky potty-training years.
Is this like an "I am legion" thing? 'Cuz if so, I'd rather you roar over there, if it's all the same to all of you.
And for bonus points, let's see if you can tell what these last two words were supposed to say:
Not sure? Then here's a hint: it's the same thing the last word on THIS cake was supposed to say:
But hey, who's counting?
Thanks to Shimon M., Raquel, Rebecca D., Jennifer B., Tom M., & Shane A. for the close falls.